A bad throttle position sensor will lead to your engine running poorly and you may notice that you have poor acceleration.
With a bad throttle position sensor the computer is not telling the injectors to inject more fuel into the engine as you accelerate as the throttle position sensor works with the vehicles computer.
Common signs and symptoms of a bad throttle position sensor include.
Intermittently flashing of your check engine light for no other apparent reason.
Sudden surges in speed while driving down the highway.
Hesitation or sluggish engine when accelerating.
Sudden engine stalling and sudden idle surges.
And unexplained bucking and jerking in the vehicle.
A throttle position sensor will throw a code when it's bad or not operating properly.
The code for a bad throttle position sensor or TPS is a generic code of Po122.
When the TPS or Throttle Position Sensor goes bad the throttle body may not open and the engine will not be able to run without air.
A bad throttle position sensor or TPS may cause erratic idling, stalling, and sudden surges of acceleration.
The car may not start when the TPS is faulty.
Your car may idle or misfire when stopped.
You may also notice that your car accelerates itself, hesitates to accelerate, or come to a halt altogether.
You may also face difficulty changing gears and experience other issues with the car's air conditioning, ignition timing (ignition system), or fuel efficiency.
A bad or failing throttle position sensor can cause problems such as hard starting, rough idling, loss of engine power, increased fuel consumption, loss of engine power upon accelerating, slow idle, and failure to start as well as check engine light to come on.
A properly working throttle position sensor is essential to a properly running engine and to keep your vehicle from using excess fuel.
Engine spitting and sputtering is also a common sign of a bad throttle position sensor.