2008 Mazda Tribute Fuel System Problems

MY GAS PEDDLE DROPS AND I CANNOT ACCELERATE. THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER 10 TIMES WHEN I'M DRIVING. I THOUGHT THAT I POSSIBLY SLID THE CARPET TO KNOCK THE GAS PEDAL OFF, BUT I HAVE REMOVED MY CARPET AND IT HAPPENED TWICE SINCE THEN. I'VE BEEN IN INTERSECTIONS AND MY GAS PEDAL JUST DROPS TO THE FLOOR. THIS COULD BE VERY SERIOUS IF I HAPPENED TO HAVE BEEN PASSING SOMEONE. IN THESE SITUATIONS, AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS PULLING IT BACK UP, I DID MANAGE TO GET THE PEDDLE TO WORK AGAIN. BUT I'M AFRAID I WON'T ALWAYS BE SO LUCKY. I BROUGHT MY CAR IN TO A MAZDA DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY HAVE A BULLETIN THAT REQUIRES A CABLE CHANGE AND A CLIP AT THE COST OF APPROX. $140.00. THIS STARTED HAPPENING AT APPROX. 65000 MILES, AND I NOW HAVE 80K MILES.

2008 MAZDA TRIBUTE, APPROX, 72,000 MILES. THE GAS PEDAL STICKS IN COLD WEATHER. WE LIVE IN THE BATON ROUGE AREA SO IT DOESN'T GET COLD OFTEN, BUT THE LAST FEW DAY'S WE'VE HAD LOWS IN THE 20'S AND THE GAS PEDAL HAS A STICKING ISSUE. IT'S HARD TO PRESS AND WHEN IT FINALLY DOES THE VEHICLE LUNGES FORWARD. WE HAD THIS SAME ISSUE LAST YEAR WHEN IT ALSO GOT ABNORMALLY COLD FOR THIS AREA. *TR

ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS STICKY. IT BECOMES VERY DIFFICULT TO PUSH, THEN WILL SUDDENLY RELEASE AND ALLOW YOU TO ACCELERATE. HAPPENS EVERY MORNING, AND LASTS FOR ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES. CONDITION IS WORSENING. DEALER "CLEANED THROTTLE BODY", BUT IT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. I RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHO SAID THE THROTTLE BODY SHOULD BE REPLACED. MAZDA EXTENDED WARRANTY INITIALLY DENIED MY CLAIM FOR REPAIR STATING "NOT A COVERED PART". HOWEVER, THEY NOW SAY IT IS A COVERED PART, BUT STILL HAVE NOT YET AGREED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR. I WAS TOLD THAT IF I PAY $100 THAT THE DEALER WOULD RUN SOME TYPE OF CLEANER INTO MY GAS TANK, BUT WITH NO GUARANTEE IT WOULD WORK. THIS WOULD NOT BE COVERED BY MY EXTENDED WARRANTY. A BADLY STICKING ACCELERATOR PEDAL SHOULD NOW BE CLASSIFIED AS A SAFETY CONCERN! *TR

HAPPENS MORE DURING COLD WEATHER. WHEN YOU PUSH ON THE ACCELERATOR IT STICKS AND WHEN IT FINALLY LETS GO YOU LURCH FORWARD. LUCKILY I HAVE NOT HAD ANY ACCIDENTS OVER THIS YET, BUT FEEL THAT IS ALWAYS A POSSIBILITY AND FEEL LIKE IT IS UNSAFE. I WAS TOLD IT HAS TO DO WITH THE BUTTERFLY VALVE. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR AT LEAST 4-5 YEARS. I HAVE ASKED NUMEROUS TIMES IF THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL BECAUSE FROM WHAT I CAN SEE THERE HAVE BEEN MANY COMPLAINTS BY OTHER CONSUMERS. IF THIS EVER CAUSES ME TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT, I WILL BE SUING MAZDA! *TR

ON COLD MORNINGS THE GAS PEDDLE STICKS AND WON'T PRESS DOWN UNTIL THE CAR WARMS UP COMPLETELY. SOMETIMES TAKES ALONG AS 15 MINUTES TO WARM UP ENOUGH TO ENGAGE THE GAS PEDDLE. AND SOMETIMES AFTER DRIVING THE CAR FOR SEVERAL MILES (AS MANY AS 15 MILES) THE GAS PEDDLE STICKS AGAIN AND NO GAS IS BEING SUPPLIED. I'VE HAD TO JUST COAST OFF THE ROAD AND PAT THE GAS PEDDLE UNTIL IT BREAKS LOOSE. *TR