2000 Avalon hesitates

[Laneman]

This seems to be a known issue. Does anyone know what the cause is? I have 50K miles. During moderate acceleration there is a spot at about 2/3 throttle where the gas peddle gets noticeably stiffer (almost like the old four barrel carburetor secondary circuit). At this spot, if the gas peddle is pushed, the car hesitates badly before speeding up. Already had the dealer check it twice and nothing was found.

[cecivic]

Sounds like a problem I had. My '01 Avalon peddle would "stick" not only during moderate accelration, but even during stop and go traffic. Stepping harder on the peddle would make the car jerk forward. My dealer mechanic said there was carbon buildups in the throttle. It cost me $99 to have it fixed. No more problems since then.

The mechanic also said gas additives (like Techron, found in a bottle or in Chevron gas) will help prevent carbon buildups.