Festiva with a mind of its own!

[timmay89]

Hi, so I got a call from my girlfriend driving her Festiva and this is what she said, "the car revs spontaneously on its own when idling, when accelerating it some times chooses not to accelerate at specific speeds, as well when braking it increases rpm and tries to pull forward."
When I heard this I thought it must be the TPS sensor, so I went to the car, replaced the sensor, and it drove well for me, but when my girlfriend was driving it alone, it started doing the same problem.
So what could the problem be? (making the car drivable for now is preferred because I am doing a bp swap next week)

[GenevaDirt]

Hi, so I got a call from my girlfriend driving her Festiva and this is what she said, "the car revs spontaneously on its own when idling, when accelerating it some times chooses not to accelerate at specific speeds, as well when braking it increases rpm and tries to pull forward."
When I heard this I thought it must be the TPS sensor, so I went to the car, replaced the sensor, and it drove well for me, but when my girlfriend was driving it alone, it started doing the same problem.
So what could the problem be? (making the car drivable for now is preferred because I am doing a bp swap next week)

Could be that your girlfriend is just trying to get you to get her a different car and saying it is doing the weird stuff? Or maybe it had a run in with a Toyota?



Seriously though....not sure what is going on...weird situation....hope some of the more mechanically inclined will take a stab at it......

[bakerga1969]

manual or auto

[hofficergrover]

Now this isn't one that has cruise control is it?
Ford has alot of problems with cruise catching fire or coming on at random or sticking.

[timmay89]

No cruise control, it is an auto, and no, she LOVES Festivas. So any more guesses on this one?

[bravekozak]

vacuum leak

Check to make sure all the vacuum hoses are connected and do not have any cracks or leaks in them.

[resuwrecked]

check for vac. leaks/ unplug IAC

[FB71]

Now this isn't one that has cruise control is it?
Ford has alot of problems with cruise catching fire or coming on at random or sticking.

what? no. Get your facts straight before you post something like this.

The brake fluid pressure switch on some F/L/M domestic products (excludes Festiva and others) can build internal resistance and fail in one of three ways; stuck open - cruise inoperative; stuck closed - cruise won't cancel with brake application only; overheat and catch fire to the wiring harness at the switch. The last is in the extreme minority.

[FB71]

agreed w/ checking for vacuum leaks. Also check the inlet tube between the VAF and TB for leaks and cracks.