2019 5.3 throttle super sensitive initially then nothing without punching it

[shock]

Hi folks,

After a couple thousand miles on my new-to-me Tahoe, I can't seem to get used to the throttle. I know every car/truck can be a little different, and I've driven hundreds, if not thousands, of different cars over time. I usually get accustomed to throttle sensitivity within just a few minutes of driving anything.

When I initially touch the throttle, it seems very sensitive, and then it's like it is dead and I need to push hard to get the engine to react (which it does without problem). Is this normal for this drivetrain?

I generally don't accelerate aggressively at all--very much an old man when it comes to that. I just can't seem to get in-sync with this throttle for a smooth acceleration from a stand-still. #whiplash

 

[OR VietVet]

It does sound to me like you may have a throttle position sensor problem but instead of being a separate part, it is now built right in to the throttle body. In an attempt to try and fix another way, I would clean the throttle body, several videos about that. I would also clean the MAF sensor. Get that cleaner at the parts store and follow directions.

Might want to post how many miles on the rig and if ignition components are original.

 

[shock]

Just 11K on the clock. According to the service records, the only things ever done to it were two oil changes, a tire rotation, and a front alignment.

 

[OR VietVet]

So, maybe 2.0 years on the parts and very low miles. It should still be under warranty and I would take to dealer and have checked out. I wonder if there are any TSB/RECALLS related to this?

 

[Doubeleive]

really hard to say, might just be the way it is or if you really want to explore the situation you could buy another throttle body and swap it and see if that's what it is or not. There not that expensive I think you can ****** one up online for around $150 ($167 on rockauto) then you will always have a spare, could also just be the way the transmission works, a tune might help with that. one thing you could try is leave it in 3rd gear and drive it around town a bit and see if it seems a little better if so it could just be the way it shifts.

 

[shock]

Thanks for the responses.

So, maybe 2.0 years on the parts and very low miles. It should still be under warranty and I would take to dealer and have checked out. I wonder if there are any TSB/RECALLS related to this?

Asking my dealer about a TSB is a good suggestion. If there's no TSB, they generally say everything is "normal" no matter what it is. They seem to put a lot of effort into avoiding warranty work.

really hard to say, might just be the way it is or if you really want to explore the situation you could buy another throttle body and swap it and see if that's what it is or not. There not that expensive I think you can ****** one up online for around $150 ($167 on rockauto) then you will always have a spare, could also just be the way the transmission works, a tune might help with that. one thing you could try is leave it in 3rd gear and drive it around town a bit and see if it seems a little better if so it could just be the way it shifts.

I'm going to avoid changing anything myself or adding a tune until the b2b warranty expires next year. I'd like to disable AFM anyway so maybe a tuner than can do that and adjust throttle settings is in my future.

 

[OR VietVet]

I would at least want to go to dealer and get your concern documented in their system for your VIN and ask to ride along on a road test.

 

[iamdub]

Since you have a warranty, definitely let the dealer look at it first. It could be as simple as it needing an updated engine and/or transmission tune. GM is notorious for sloppy and confused shifting patterns. With so many more gears to pick from, they get confused easily and certain driving scenarios can really bring them out. Mine, with the crappy 4-speed, has a really bad dead spot. It's not really so much a fault as it is that particular driving scenario. I'd pull out across the highway to get to the median to accelerate and merge. It'd take off fine but since I was either steady on the throttle or backing off to slow for the turn in the median, it would upshift. I'd press the throttle to accelerate and, since I only had four gears, I was going a bit too fast for it to downshift but not fast enough for it to upshift. So it'd stay in that one gear and lug and accelerate slowly. I've since had it tuned and it's MUCH better.

You can take your trans out of the equation by manually shifting it. Put it in "1" and ease onto the throttle like you normally do and take note if the "dead spot" is still there. Shift to "2" and repeat. A vacuum leak would affect how the PCM reads the engine's load and that could affect the trans shifting and/or fueling and/or actual throttle opening. A dealer service department should be able to easily spot something like this when checking over a real time data stream.