About a month ago I started having acceleration problems with my 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier. The car seems to be idling at a high speed. When I shift into drive, it can go 15-20 mph without stepping on the gas. When you do step on the gas, the car seems to “surge” and it does not slow down easily when you let up on the gas. The only way to slow it down is to brake. It also seems to have a lot of “play” in the gas pedal. I had it inspected 1 month ago. Three days later, while on a trip, the fuel pump died. I was having the gas pedal problem when this happened, and I thought it was related. The fuel pump was replaced, but the other problem seems to be getting worse. I have owned this car for a little over a year, and it did not act this way when I bought it. Any thoughts as to what is going on?
The first thing to check for a problem would be the throttle position sensor. It may have a dirty wiper connection.
I vote for the Idle Air Controller.
i agree that its probably the iac motor (idle air control motor).
It sounds like you have a vaccuum leak. Listen carefully under the hood for a loud hissing sound. The only other thing I could think would be a binding throttle cable.
~Michael (dartman69)