Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting 99 Contour hesitates at 1/16" of throttle

My 1999 Contour (4cyl, auto, 85k miles) hesitates when the throttle is presses about 1/16th of an inch.
When at a stop, if I hit the throttle hard it is fine, if I press the throttle slowly it hesitates (misses) badly almost stalling until the throttle gets past this spot....then when driving along as the throttle is released after accelerating (while trying to maintain a constant speed) the throttle again is in the 1/16th of an inch spot and it spits and sputters. It idle's fine.

Please help.

thanks,

Jerrit

Coiuld be TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) or a vacuum leak.

Check all hoses and tubing.

BTW, you are the only one with a 2001 'Tour.

Hehe....yup, i edited my post....it's a 99...sorry.

Wow.....this almost sounds exactly like the problem I am STILL having with my car that I posted on over a month ago. I got some good suggestions, but nothing that atually fixed the problem. I took it to a shop, and they replaced the MAF, and said it was fixed, which it was for about 2 days, then it started back up again. If anyone has ANY more insight on this, please reply. I really need to get this fixed.....Thx.

If it stumbles at the exact same throttle position every time no matter what - it's the throttle position sensor.

Otherwise there can be many possible causes, most of which relate to running lean. This is often caused by vacuum or intake duct leaks.

Tecsup95 :

In your case, since you seem to have a 99 Zetec, you may be having a VCT issue. If VCT is getting sticky it could cause this. Many 98's have had VCT problems, so it's about time for the 99's to start acting up.

Rogerm60, sorry for my ignorance but what is the VCT?

And yes, it always does it at the EXACT same throttle position regardless of engine RPM or forward speed.

Thanks,

Jerrit

OK, I what VCT is
VCT = Variable Camshaft Timing System
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/july2002/techtips.cfm

Ironicly, I just had a new timming belt put on this car and thats when it started happening...hmmmmmmmmm

Jerrit