# 1998 Toyota RAV4 - Newly hesitant

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-rav4-newly-hesitant/121357>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** rav4, toyota\
**Created:** [July 20, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-rav4-newly-hesitant/121357 "2018-07-20T12:21:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sid14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Sid14](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Sid14)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-rav4-newly-hesitant/121357/1 "2018-07-20T12:21:16Z")

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I have a 1998 rav4 awd 2.0 litre automatic transmission. Noticed for months now the hesitation upon acceleration from a stop position. Seems worst when the car sits out overnight and sometimes it hesitates worst in reverse if the car sits out overnight. Runs down the road fine but needs a muffler.

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**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-rav4-newly-hesitant/121357/2 "2018-07-20T20:17:05Z")

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When the engine is started cold, there are four primary inputs into the computer.

These are the crankshaft position sensor, the coolant temp sensor, the MAP/MAF sensor, and the **Throttle Position Sensor**.

[https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,1998,rav4,2.0l+l4,1317533,fuel+&+air,throttle+position+sensor+(tps),5136](https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,1998,rav4,2.0l+l4,1317533,fuel+&+air,throttle+position+sensor+(tps),5136)

That could be what’s causing the hesitation.

Tester

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sid14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Sid14](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Sid14)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 1:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1998-toyota-rav4-newly-hesitant/121357/3 "2018-07-22T13:02:15Z")

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Ok…been wondering if the TPS is the problem…are they worth cleaning instead of replacing? Also, I noticed when I brought this problem in before to two different mechanics they replaced the plug wires and/or plugs and it ran without hesitation for a while then the problem started back up again. Would spraying water over the coil or plug wires generate the same hesitation at idle that I experience driving from a dead stop and could it be a suspect coil?