Gas Pedal Flex Solution

[batman900]

This needs to be a sticky because holy hell it made such a massive difference fixing that freaking pedal bracket flex!!!!

 

It drives like a totally different truck!

 

Side note, what the F were they thinking with that design?! Big TY to OP & the replies. This plus disabling AFM has made me soooo much more satisfied with the truck. My thoughts on a tune are now on the back burner, I honestly have darn near no complaints with the shifting & throttle response now, before these 2 simple mods it was almost scary to drive sometimes due to the hesitation & unpredictable, lazy pedal.

[BeauTie]

I just got a 2016 crew cab and the gas pedal bracket in mine had a lot of slop in it like has been reported here. It was frustrating to drive as I would push on the gas pedal and get little to no response. Driveability was pretty poor in my opinion. I put a piece of hard rubber matting under the bracket and the throttle response is much improved and much more consistent.

 

I have no idea why GM hasn't addressed this simple issue in the 3rd model year. If they want the throttle to respond slowly for enhanced fuel economy, it seems to me that should be done in the throttle mapping and not by having the accelerator bracket have a half inch of slop in it.

[freshstart12]

WOW. I am glad I saw this thread.

 

My 2014 was a little sluggish off the line. It felt like I had to REALLY push in the pedal...

 

Just went out to check and I probably had a MINIMUM of 1/2" of Flex.

 

I ended up cutting up a wooden shim. I pulled the gas pedal as far as I could towards the driver seat. Then I stuck the wooden shim behind the plastic bracket...

 

Made a HUGE difference. No more sluggishness. I greatly appreciate the OP for making this thread.

[oneandzero]

I installed the shim on mine also. Definitely an improvement in throttle response with out the flex.

[FL335i]

When I first posted this, I had no idea how much of a hot topic this would be. Man.

[HondaHawkGT]

I just got a 2016 crew cab and the gas pedal bracket in mine had a lot of slop in it like has been reported here. It was frustrating to drive as I would push on the gas pedal and get little to no response. Driveability was pretty poor in my opinion. I put a piece of hard rubber matting under the bracket and the throttle response is much improved and much more consistent.

 

I have no idea why GM hasn't addressed this simple issue in the 3rd model year. If they want the throttle to respond slowly for enhanced fuel economy, it seems to me that should be done in the throttle mapping and not by having the accelerator bracket have a half inch of slop in it.

GM didn't intentionally design the bracket to flex for improved fuel economy. It's just a cheap design that allows flex and hampers accurate throttle control. The true source of the unresponsive throttle is the drive-by-wire system in conjunction with torque management:

 

"The 5.3L, and 6.2L suffers from poor throttle response down low. In fact the factory programming has limits on the max throttle blade opening that PCM allows and is based on RPM range engine is operating in. By correcting this issue and a few others; improvements will be much better throttle response, step on go pedal, vehicle will respond quickerthis DBW system is a torque driven system, it works by taking a certain amount of torque via engine and wheel and applies it to what the driver foot say it needs; a better way to explain it is its a torque limiter. It only allows so much torque at a given pedal position. Stock tables are conservative and numb at best and thats why one would feel some times a lag or a goofy pedal with DBW systems. For a 5.3L, or 6.2L V8 this is one of the most critical areas that must be addressed and modified to generate more torque /hp and throttle response."http://5startuning.com/got-a-gmgmc/

 

The pedal flex eliminates some of the vagueness of the throttle but only a tuner can make your truck truly reponsive and "torquey" off the line.

Edited February 22, 2016 by HondaHawkGT

[scottl1346]

Same issues with my 2015 Silverado z71 5.3 it had about 1/2" of movement so I took a shim cut it and barley got it to fit ünder the plastic. whatever they used for the sound deadening was right up almost under the plastic they should have kept going with it then I wouldn't have had to put a shim. I did notice it now flexes some at the top when you push the peddle but I don't think it will matter that much other then that truck definitely responds better

[mjager]

This is the video I shot this afternoon. Hopefully you can see the flex of the bracket. Sorry for the poor quality of the video. First one I have done.

 

 

 

But is it not flexing as your pulling on it, not pushing it down?

[awd_rs]

 

But is it not flexing as your pulling on it, not pushing it down?

Exactly...checked mine no flex when pushing only when pulling it up. Bracket sits firmly on the firewall

[neokonig]

I found that on my adjustable petals there was also flex in the large plastic bracket the pedal assembly sits in. It was making a terrible plastic torsion sound at certain temperatures. I used some left over EPDM rubber roofing material on the side of the bracket, literally just folding it and stuffing it in, and it seems to stiffen it up quite a bit. I am hoping the sound/torsion is mostly gone.

 

The small things....

[BeauTie]

I hesitated to post this but figured I might as well as it's at least mildly related. I noticed today that the throttle response on my truck is very dependent on my foot placement on the gas pedal. I tend to keep my heel between the gas pedal and brake which lets me rotate the top of my foot between the gas pedal and brake. This basically means that I'm pushing on the bottom of the gas pedal. I happened to put my whole foot on the gas pedal in basically a vertical orientation and the throttle is much more responsive.

 

I've probably driven this way my whole life and never noticed that any of my cars were sensitive in this manner. My truck only has 400 miles on it but the throttle response has always seemed very slow unless I really pushed on the pedal. With my foot position adjusted, the throttle feels a lot more responsive. I feel a little goofy writing this but figured it couldn't hurt to throw it out there.

[dave07]

I came across this thread because my gas pedal is making a horrible squeaking/creaking noise. I noticed the flex while I was down there checking out the noise. Has anyone else had a noise associated with this issue?

[neokonig]

I came across this thread because my gas pedal is making a horrible squeaking/creaking noise. I noticed the flex while I was down there checking out the noise. Has anyone else had a noise associated with this issue?

I noticed this, it drives me nuts, I haven't fully solved the noise that is often associated with certain temperatures for me. I did put a shim to reduce flex, but I still sometimes get the creaking noise.

[dave07]

I noticed this, it drives me nuts, I haven't fully solved the noise that is often associated with certain temperatures for me. I did put a shim to reduce flex, but I still sometimes get the creaking noise.

I'm going to the dealer on Thursday to get it looked at. I will let you know what they say.

[beetle]

I'm going to the dealer on Thursday to get it looked at. I will let you know what they say.

 

Mine just started making that groaning noise too. It looks like it's coming from the pedal pivot point, I sprayed it with a little wd40, I'll see if there's any improvement next time I drive it. Yeah, it's annoying.

 

Update: Save yourself the aggravation or trip to the dealer, problem solved with a quick squirt of WD40.

Edited April 6, 2016 by beetle