Vauxhall Zafira B (2005 - ) - 08 1.8 Delayed throttle response | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Fri 31 Jul 2009 10:29

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - merlinauto

I have a Zafira 1.8 petrol, currently 18k miles. It had its 12 month service in May, at 16k miles.

It has a slight delay to responding to changes in accelerator pedal position. Bit sluggish on pulling away if not given a few revs early enough. Worst of all is changing up gears; this causes the engine rpm to momentarily increase when the clutch is depressed.

The car starts, idles and runs well other than the above problem.

I understand this is a full 'fly by wire' system where the throttle plate is motorised from the ECU.

Could this problem be software related, electrical or dirty/gummed-up throttle body?

The fault was reported at the last service but the dealer said 'no fault found - it's OK'.

Any ideas greatfully received prior to returning to the dealer.

Thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 1 Aug 2009 14:42

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - merlinauto

Any ideas anyone? Perhaps Dynamic Dave?

BTW, I think this is a Z18XER engine.

Thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 1 Aug 2009 15:26

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - Dynamic Dave

Perhaps Dynamic Dave?

Has it always behaved like this, or only recently?

Can't think of anything offhand. Not sure if topbloke has any suggestions?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 1 Aug 2009 16:15

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - topbloke

nowt springs to mind, if the vehicle is new to your selves then it may just be the way the car is due to drive by wire, while at the dealer you could try a back to back comparison,Regards TB

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 1 Aug 2009 17:53

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - Victorbox

I have an 06 1.6 Zafira which I assume uses same throttle system. It's quite smooth - you'd think it was using a throttle cable!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 1 Aug 2009 21:51

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - Dynamic Dave

I have just thought of something - the airbox mod.

The following is for an Astra, but it's much the same principle.

www.astraownersclub.com/vb/showthread.php?t=96753

and then scroll down and click on "'How To'..... De-restrict The Airbox"

Not sure what warranty implications this might cause, but I understand you can refit the part you've removed from the airbox so the garage would be none the wiser.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 2 Aug 2009 07:08

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - merlinauto

Thanks for the replies.

I've had the car since March. The feature/fault has been present since I bought it. It's an ex-rental car so probably had a hard start to its life.

I'll look at doing the airbox mod. Now you mention it, there seems to be quite alot of induction roar when the engine is revved from idle.

I'll report back with any findings - it'll be a couple of weeks though as I'm working away at the moment.

Has anyone known of faults with the VVT actuators? Could one of these being faulty or stuck 'at one end' cause these symtoms?

Thanks again.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 2 Aug 2009 12:00

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - topbloke

there has been one or two issues with the vvt units, normally the engine is very noisey at idle sounds like it needs to go to the garage for further investigtion,Regards TB

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 28 Sep 2012 19:01

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - killerking

Hi merlinautos

Did you ever resolve the problem you were having with the zafira? i have a 1.8 SRI vvt 2008 doing the same thing. Thanks

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 7 Oct 2012 18:03

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - merlinauto

I've never cured this problem, just lived with it. I never got around to trying the airbox mod.

There seems to be a slight delay on pressing the accelerator and a larger delayed response when releasing the accelerator; this often causes the engine rpm to flare up when I'm changing up a gear.

The car is mainly driven by my partner who seems to have gotten used to it.

I have read elsewhere that the ECU fuels the engine for a very short time after releasing the accelerator pedal for catalytic converter protection of some sort.

Maybe someone knows more about this now that these cars have been around for a while?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 9 Oct 2012 20:41

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - killerking

Well i was thinking of doing the airbox mod and cleaning out the throttle body to see if that helps, i find it at its worst when i want to pull away quickly i seem to over rev as pulling the clutch out to quickly will kangeroo, its also bad when im on a incline and stuck in stop start traffic, when to the safari park the other week complete nightmare, its a very tiring car to drive. Even more so with A/C on ?

Im not sure if they are designed to be like this, i find the gear change is also stiff.

Mine also has a slight delay when accelerator is pressed, there is a couple of cm where nothing happens when its pressed too.

I think they have a anti stall built in, do you have any judder when releasing the clutch on pull off in 1st gear (without pressing the accelerator) as mine does dont know if this is normal on these, as i get dont judder on my works van (diesel) and a focus 1.6 (petrol)

I just dont know what to do it, my works van is a caddy and its a dream to drive compared to this, i had a focus for a month and again that was a dream to drive.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 15 Sep 2013 15:43

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - greenfinger

Hi. I'm in the same boat as you were only mine is a 52 reg 1.8 Zaffy. Wondered if you'd had any success since your post? I have all the same symptoms. Revs on mine go up and down on trying to feather the throttle too. Air con seems to make it worse. Throttle body has been cleaned and I'm getting to the stage of looking at some steep costs on a not too expensive car with no guarantee of success if I'm to go further. Frustrating cos when when its right its a really nice drive. Just seems to spend more and more time in this mode which is bothering. Really grateful if you could shed some light on it?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sun 15 Sep 2013 21:11

08 1.8 Delayed throttle response - Cyd

I changed from a cable throttled Rover 800 Vitesse Sport (the 200PS one) to a Saab 9-3 Aero 2.0T which is fly-by-wire and similar to the Zafira in set up. The thing I noticed immediately about the Saab was the delay between the throttle and "action". Coming from a car where I could snap open the throttle at will, I found it disconcerting at first, but apparently they are known for it and I just had to get used to it. I did find the Maptun tune improved it but not elliminated it.

One of the big "killers" of turbochargers (especially on petrols) are the massive rotational accelerations the turbo shaft can experience with throttles being snapped open or shut. I suspect that these f-b-w systems have this delay to soften these accelerations and protect the turbo.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Ask Honest John

Sell Your Car

Real MPG

Fuel Calculator