Our 1991 Jetta has started having problems with the accelerator pedal sticking in accelerate mode. I have to tap it to get unstuck and slow down. It is getting worse and I am wondering if this is an easy home repair like cleaning out a valve or do I need a mechanic. Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks!
If it’s a cable accelerator, replace the cable. Probably DIY.------ Manualy check the travel of the accelerator pedal with your hand while kneeling on the ground beside your car paying particular attention to the bottom edge of the pedal and the leading edge of your floor mat. Yes , your floor mat. Waaaay too many “stuck accelerators” are just mis-aligned floor mats and un-attentive operators. Thus the reason( law suits gone wild ), in newer cars, for the little hook on the floor that fits into a hole in the o.e. mats to keep it from creeping forward.
A common problem with these cars is a bad throttle position switch. If acts up the engine will idle high on occasion. This can give the sensation of a sticky throttle.
This may be your problem. If not, then a bad throttle cable is very likely. They don’t seem to last much longer than 150K miles.
Neither of the repairs are difficult.