BAD TPS Sensor ? on a 2001 GMC Savana 1500

Hi Everyone,



Thanks for taking the time to look at my question!



I have a 2001 GMC Savana that has had some issues when it heats up. At cold temps, life is great, but when it heats up I start seeing acceleration problems/hesitation. It’s hard to get to highway speeds and the van seems to struggle to stay there.



With the advice of a mechanic friend and a few parts stores, I’ve replaced the plugs, wires, coil and ERG. This made it seem better for a little bit, but then back to its bad habits.



Sometimes I can drive around and have no issues. It seems to act up faster if its left to idle.



I took it to a shop to have it diagnosed and they couldn’t find the problem. I told them I could make it act up, so they left some computer hooked up to it and let me take it out. I let it idle a little and then drove around on it, BAM, it started acting up.



Sweet right? I go back, they say the computer indicates a shotty TPS. Great, that’s a $30 part. I go grab one and things seem better.



Fast forward a couple months, its acting up again :frowning: I throw a new TPS on it, and its happy again.



My question is this, it seems like a bad TPS is what’s causing problems, but I’m surprised that it died so quickly. Does that mean something else is “eating” the TPS?



I’m trying to get the van to last another six months, and I’m worried that replacing the TPS is hiding a larger issue that could knock it out of service with a large repair bill.



Should I be heading to the dealer with the new TPS in it looking for maximum trade-in, or are there some repair possibilities out there that might help me limp along for a while?



Thanks!

It certainly is possible that the first TPS you bought was defective/poor quality.

It is also possible that the problem isn’t in the part - but rather in the wiring for the TPS. Check that out.