Throttle sticks at times when starting out. Hear a popping sound and throttle moves easily then

Sounds like the timing belt has jumped some teeth. that pop you hear is detonation as the cylinder is firing while the piston is on it's way up.

make sure the throttle cable is not damaged and moves easily by disconnecting the cable at the throttle body and move the cable back and forth it should move easily and no restriction in movement. if this is good then you can try to clean the throttle body as it gets dirty inside and can cause the throttle to stick.

If this is a "Cam Phaser" style engine, it may be the problem. Engines of this type used a part that adjusts the timing on each half or bank of the motor. When a "cam Phaser " sticks out of position, one side of the motor is timed different than the other.

Look up articles about your motor by size. The 2004-2008 years were bad for this problem and there were recalls with limits.

sounds like your butterfly valve could be sticking you can get throttle body cleaner at pepboys auto zone and take off the tube that goes from the throttle body to the air filter and use a rag and clean the butterfly valve and the black ring around if you move it by hand it should not get stuck it should be free. there is a throttle position sensor on the other side and if it dosent move freely it will not allow the engine to function right let me know if this helps

car and start it up and try to push the gas pedal and it doesn't move. Perhaps it comes free with a bit of coaxing, or force, but, over time, this problem is certain to get worse.Or, far more frightening, you're on the freeway and push the pedal to pass a slow moving truck. When you take your foot off the pedal it doesn't come back up and your car goes speeding down the highway.
Having a sticking gas pedal can be a very dangerous situation and you shouldn't drive your car if you're experiencing these kinds of problems. However, it may be an easy fix once you figure out why it is sticking. The gas pedal to throttle connection is actually quite simple. The pedal acts as a lever that moves the throttle able in and out. The throttle cable pushes a small lever that opens and closes the throttle. Any problems with the gas pedal is certain to be in one of these three parts.
The first step to diagnose the cause of a sticking gas pedal is to remove the breather so you can get to the carburetor or the throttle body on a fuel injected vehicle. Once the breather is removed you will be able to access the cable linkages. Disconnect the cable from the throttle. You can now move the throttle manually to see if the problem is there or if it is in the cable or the pedal.
If the throttle moves freely the issue is most likely somewhere else. If the throttle is the location of the problem you will want to clean that. Depending on whether you have a carbureted or a fuel injected vehicle you will want to make sure you get the appropriate spray cleaner from your parts dealer. Fuel injector cleaner won't get all of the stuff that might be causing problems on a carburetor but carburetor cleaner will leave residues that can damage a fuel

Sounds like an issue with the IAC ( Idle Air Control ) on the back of the throttle body. Some times the plunger that moves to let air in the back of the throttle body at idle get gummed up, and won't move ( or move far enough ).

You will need to take the plastic throttle body cover off to get to it, it is held on with 2 8mm ( 7 or 9 ? ) size bolts ( actually a sheet metal screw with a hex head ).

When my 2001 had similar symptoms the 1st time I cleaned the IAC with throttle body safe cleaner and a q-tip. I rinsed the IAC with 90% alcohol, let it dry and reinstalled it. The 90% alcohol could be the source of the 2nd time I had an issue ( guess it dried out the rubber seals on the plunger ), so I replaced it ( think it was ~ 70.00 new from a Ford dealer that sells part online ).
Here is a picture of where it is located, bit of a stretch to get it out, but easy enough to do.


This is the plunger on the inside that needs to be clean and operate smoothly

This is a dangerous defect. What you want to do is isolate the Cruise cable from the Throttle mechanism. Then get the Cruise cable away from the Throttle so it can not jam the Throttle accidentally.

With the engine OFF use your hand and move the remaining Throttle mechanism and feel for sticking or roughness in the control. If you feel binding, start removing the connection of the Throttle cable and work your way through all the moving parts like a Butterfly flap on the Airhorn, the TPS (throttle position sensor) and so on until you find out what is rubbing.

It is possible that the Cruise was disengaging because the Throttle parts were binding. If disconnecting the Cruise eliminates the sticking throttle, then all the problems came from the Cruise control cable or the Cruise Box. Once you have made a thorough check of the Throttle you can blame the Cruise for your problems and replace the parts.

I had same problem on my 2004 lesabre, I waited until it was stuck and opened the hood and pulled on the throttle by hand very easily and could feel it sticking there, so I sprayed carb cleaner on the springs and around and through them. This loosened it up right away and have not had any trouble since, I did not spray anything into the throttle body, Good luck

Shake the shifter or press up past park and it will free the key. The pins in the ignition get easily stuck on GM vehicles. I would also assume that you may have a short or bad negative ground cable from motor to body, door switch wiring, or radio. Otherwise your altenator may be bad

have you checked to see if the choke is on? this light lets u know the choke has an open circuit, it is heated by stator wire from the alternator.