Hey guys!
Thanks in advance for taking a look and for any help you can provide.

So my wife drives an '08 Tribute I 2.3L I4 with 105,000 miles and it started randomly having this odd issue here recently (a week or so after I changed the spark plugs).

Generally once a day (but not every day and generally in the cold mornings) when she pulls up to a stop sign and hits the accelerator to go again the car will not move. It sounds like the RPM's aren't going up either. It just sits there as if she isn't pressing the gas then all of a sudden (maybe 2 or 3 seconds later) the tires will spin out and shes going again. I finally was able to get the issue to repeat itself with me in the car and as far as I could tell the RPM's didn't go up at all. It just seems like it's not being told to go.

Like I said I did replace the spark plugs about a week before all of this to ones that O'reilly suggested (Bosch Iridum 9657 Pre-Gapped).

The car does have a slight engine rattle at idle but it had that even before the plugs were replaced. I was told that it could possibly be the coil packs because I had just replaces the spark plugs but I'm not 100% sure. Also read where it could be the throttle cable position sensor possibly not telling the engine that the gas is being pressed.

I took it to Advanced Auto and the issues isn't throwing any codes at all. The guy there suggested I try some SeaFoam in the gas tank so I did and that actually did clear up the slight engine rattle that I could feel however my wife called and said it locked up again on the way to work this morning (This is after I used it for the past three days with no issues)

I did clean out the throttle body last year to fix a different issues and I checked it again recently and that doesn't appear to be the cause this time. Last year on cold mornings she would press the gas and the car wouldn't move for a second but then it would launch. A sticky residue had build up around the flap and prevented it from opening without excessive force. Cleaning that out solved that issue.

What I'm really scared about is that to me it really sounds like it is a transmission issue even though this came about after I changed the plugs. But at the same time it doesn't happen every time it stops and it doesn't happen every day. The transmission fluid levels look good and the oil is good as well.

I've checked the recalls and all I see is something out there for power steering.

There are just too many things that it could be so I didnt want to start throwing money at it without getting some other opinions first. I've Google'd, YouTube'd and even AskJeeves'd (some of you might get this) but I can't seem to find any info out there that sounds like the issue I'm having.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!!!!
Tyler

 

Still sounds like the throttle body sticking. The problem with letting carbon buildup for too long before cleaning them is that the carbon works it's way into the butterfly shafts. A really good bench cleaning would probably fix it. If not it sounds like you will need to replace it. Are there any codes?

 

Did you ever change the tranny fluid? (do not be fooled by lifetime fluid, automatic needs to be changed every 30-40 thousand miles).
I would clean the MAF sensor and check for vac leaks.
Change your air filter.
Change the PCV valve (Mazda never does).
While doing this work unplug the negative terminal on battery followed by a few brake applications. When work is done, re-hook up and let idle for 5-10 minutes before driving. Now computer will re-learn with new clean stuff.
Do this small stuff first before spending too much money.

 

Thanks for the tips guys.

Hixx there are no codes at all(Which I think is a little odd).

I haven't changed the tranny fluid yet although I asked for a quote earlier today to have it done because I'm not sure how much work it would be. (Probably something I could do myself I guess considering they say it will be $160)

I'll see what I can do as far as getting the throttle body a little cleaner and hopefully the the butterfly shafts cleaned out well. Gonna clean the MAF censor as well as replace the air filter. I'll have to look into the PCV valve. Found a video on youtube but I think it was an older model and the V6.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply guys! I'll keep you updated!
Tyler

 

Heard a rumor that Ford extended the warranty on the throttle bodies to 150,000 miles so I tried to get in touch with Mazda yesterday afternoon to look into that with no luck so I sent them an email. Hopefully I hear something back soon.

I took the throttle body apart last night and cleaned it really good with some CRC. Even though I had wiped it off before I got tons of grime off of it. I had been filling one side with the cleaner just to let it soak before I tried to blow some of the grime off of it. The second time I tried to let it soak most of the cleaner dripped through to the other side this time whereas the time before it was water tight. So I looked online and watched a video that shown that a clean throttle body should have an actual air gap against the tb pipe even when it was fully closed. So I went back outside and opened the butterfly and noticed that a there was a ton of residue that I had missed on the on the part of the butterfly that was touching the edges of the tb pipe. Got all of that cleaned of both sides of the butterfly so I think I'm in good shape there now.

I also cleaned the Mass Airflow Sensor with CRC after reading that could be the cause of my rough idle. The '08 Tribute/Escape looks nothing like the sensors in any other video that I found online. The sensor wires are visible but are enclosed in the plastic housing. I sprayed it off a few times with MAF cleaner and let it dry for a good while before replacing it. I also replaced the air filter because it was about time and I plan on changing the fuel filter later today (again just because it is time to).

I should be able to do a little test drive today to see if that fixed anything. I know it couldn't have hurt. I'll keep you updated.