Sweden may not be number one in car manufacturing, but they do take their time to manufacture great cars. The Volvo, for example, hit the roads almost a century ago and has been doing exceedingly well. Their durable and functional designs have served car owners to great satisfaction.
A great car like Volvo doesn’t come without its faults. Like other cars, this vehicle is prone to sensor failure which in extreme conditions may spell doom for the driver. Like other sensors too, the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) is a sensor in your Volvo that can fail and cause unwanted issues.
Don’t wait for your throttle position sensor to cause you problems, be proactive and get to know more about your vehicle sensors because when driving, a false reading from your TPS may cause the butterfly valve in your Volvo throttle to close more than required and therefore lead to a total engine breakdown. It can also cause problems with fuel injection into the engine, thereby leading to engine problems and also causing severe stress on the car’s motor & transmission mounts which can finally fail.
Symptoms of throttle sensor problem
The throttle position sensor sits on the butterfly shaft and helps to monitor air intake into the vehicle engine via directly monitoring the throttle position. Issues with the sensor can exhibit itself in certain ways. Quickly identifying them will help in preventing more problems. The symptoms include:
- Problems with acceleration: A throttle position sensor problem can manifest as a hesitation or sometimes a jerk of the car when you are trying to accelerate. The hesitation means your car will smoothly accelerate but then accelerate way slower than usual.
- Idling issues: Rough idling can be a sign of a faulty throttle sensor. Sometimes, the engine may misfire or even stall.
- Acceleration limit: When the car accelerates slowly and reaches a certain speed but would not accelerate more than that, it could be a sign of throttle sensor problems.
- Check engine light: when the check engine light indicator lights come up, it could be for a number of reasons, with a faulty throttle sensor being among them.
It should be noted that these symptoms can occur without being related to throttle position sensors. This means that there could be a more sinister cause to it and therefore, whenever you hear or see something unusual in your car, do well to involve your mechanic rather than trying to do quick fixes, especially with electronics or electrical systems.
Causes of sensor throttle problem
- Code errors: Sometimes, code errors can cause your Volvo’s throttle position sensor to work incorrectly. A reprogramming of the sensor usually does the trick in this case and is best done by a professional mechanic.
- Loose or faulty wiring: Loose or broken wiring of the sensor can lead to erratic performance. Short-circuiting in the wiring can also result in a faulty sensor. Problems like this can also indicate other electrical faults in the car, which need fixing since what caused the issue can also lead to faults in other electrical systems. To fix this problem, take your car to a reliable mechanic.
- Mechanical damage: Mechanical damage to your sensor will cause it to fail. This requires a change of sensor. Trying to do this yourself may lead to more damage, so put a call to your mechanic for a quick replacement.
Fix your throttle position sensor with Hayes European
If your Volvo is struggling to accelerate, idling roughly, and/or showing the check engine light, this could be a fault of the throttle position sensor. Bring your car to us for professional repairs of this problem and any other problems.
At Hayes European, we are fully equipped to handle your European automobile. We have been serving Santa Cruz, Aptos, Soquel, and Capitola, CA, for about 27 years now while offering these cities world-class services. Our team of certified auto-repair technicians works to provide you with satisfactory services in conjunction with giving you short wait times, affordable prices, and great customer service. We understand how precious your car is, which is why we are always available to serve you. Call us on 831-269-5858 to book an appointment.