SORTING RULES - THROTTLE / PEDAL POSITION SENSOR COMPLAINTS (P0122 THROTTLE/PEDAL POSITION SENSOR "A" CIRCUIT LOW INPUT, P0123 CIRCUIT HIGH INPUT, WITH THE SISTER CODES P0120, P0121, P0124 AND P0220-P0229)
PulsCar analysis of NHTSA public data, October 2026. License: CC BY 4.0

Fingerprint of the rules text below, taken when it was written and before any complaint was sorted: b35d0c18697f5ed0911fa3754e5f58ad630ff117de57597b65efdabc788a88d1 (2026-10-30T16:13:20Z)

[Changed when published, wording only, so that the file reads on its own: the title line moved up; the file name of the search list replaced by a pointer to the end of this file; the word "sorters" replaced by "sorting"; one phrase about sending narratives on for sorting reworded; one word in the description of category F replaced by "reprogramming"; the word for this file replaced by "sorting rules" throughout.]

Written before any complaint in the set was sorted.

## Pool (how the complaints were found)
NHTSA complaints received 2015-01-01 to 2026-10-04 (the latest received date in the flat files). A complaint is in the pool if its
narrative matches any of the following case-insensitive text searches (R2 and R3 also need one of their context words somewhere in the
same narrative; the exact expressions are written out at the end of this file):

1. R1 - the code P0120, P0121, P0122, P0123 or P0124 by any spelling (letter O for zero, a space, hyphen or period after the P, suffix 00), or a bare number after a code word:
   `(?<![A-Z0-9])P\s?[-.]?\s?[0O]\s?1\s?2\s?[0-4](?:\s?[-:]?\s?[0O]{2})?(?![0-9])`
   `\b(?:code|codes|dtc|dtcs|error|cel|coded|fault)\W{0,6}#?\s?[0O]?12[0-4]\b`
2. R1x - the sister circuit codes P0220 to P0229 (throttle/pedal sensor "B" and "C" circuits), same spellings.
3. R2 - the throttle position sensor in owners' words: "throttle position sensor", "throttle sensor", "throttle pedal position sensor", "throttle position switch", "throttle potentiometer", "TPS" (a bare "TPS" counts only if the narrative also says throttle, engine, idle or accelerat-), "throttle position".
   together with: reduced power, limp, code, DTC, check engine, engine light, CEL, MIL, wrench, replac-, fail-, faulty, bad, defect, malfunction, diagnos-, no response, not respond-, unresponsive, stall, hesitat-, voltage, surg-, accelerat-, shut-, lost power, loss of power.
4. R3 - the accelerator pedal sensor in owners' words: "accelerator pedal sensor", "gas pedal sensor", "throttle pedal sensor", "APP sensor", "pedal position sensor", "pedal sensor", "accelerator position sensor", "accelerator pedal position", same context words.

Every narrative that matches is sorted. Nothing is sampled. Throttle body, throttle motor and "electronic throttle control"
complaints that use none of the words above (about 3,800 narratives name a throttle body) are NOT in this pool: they are the throttle-motor
fault, not the position-sensor circuit.

Background for the reader (not a sorting rule): on a modern car the gas pedal and the throttle are wired, not cabled. A position sensor
on the throttle (or in the pedal assembly) tells the engine computer how far the throttle or pedal is open, as a voltage. P0120 is the
sensor "A" circuit malfunction, P0121 range/performance, P0122 circuit LOW input (voltage too low), P0123 circuit HIGH input, P0124
intermittent. Wording differs by maker: some print "Throttle/Pedal Position Sensor/Switch A", others "Throttle Position Sensor 1". The usual
result is reduced power ("limp mode"), a wrench or engine light, a throttle that does not respond, a high or low idle, or a stall. Owners
say "throttle position sensor", "TPS", "throttle sensor", "pedal sensor", "reduced engine power", "limp mode".

For each complaint record exactly one CATEGORY and four yes/no FLAGS. You see an excerpt around the matching words (and the whole
narrative when nothing matched). Code what the excerpt supports; if it is cut off at a point that matters, code what is stated.

## RELEVANCE
N - Not a throttle / pedal position-sensor event on THIS vehicle. Use N when:
    - the match is false (the words appear in a list of unrelated parts, tire pressure "TPS", a different system);
    - the narrative is about sudden unintended acceleration, a stuck or trapped pedal (floor mat, pedal arm), pedal feel, brake-pedal or
      clutch-pedal problems, with no statement that a throttle/pedal position sensor, a P0120-P0124 or P0220-P0229 code, or a
      reduced-power / lost-throttle-response event occurred;
    - the narrative only lists the words among many other complaints, with no statement that this vehicle had a throttle/pedal sensor
      fault, code, warning or repair;
    - the words come from another vehicle, a news story or advice, not this vehicle;
    - a throttle or pedal sensor is mentioned only as a part checked or replaced during a repair for something clearly unrelated.
    NOT N (relevant) when, on this vehicle: one of the codes above is named; OR a throttle/pedal position sensor is described as failed,
    replaced, blamed, diagnosed, suspected by a shop/dealer/mechanic, or recalled; OR a throttle-response problem (limp mode, reduced
    power, no response to the pedal, erratic idle) is tied by the owner or a shop to the throttle/pedal sensor or throttle assembly; OR the
    sensor's wiring/connector is described as damaged.

## CATEGORY (one letter) - what was found or done, on this vehicle

S - Throttle position sensor replaced as a separate part (the TPS itself, or the sensor/cover module), named by a shop, dealer or
    mechanic as the cause or replaced.
B - Throttle body replaced (the whole assembly, motor and sensor in one), named as the cause or replaced.
P - Accelerator pedal assembly or pedal sensor replaced, named as the cause or replaced.
W - Wiring or connector. A connector, pigtail, harness, ground, fuse/relay, throttle/pedal plug, corrosion/water in the plug, or the
    battery/charging feed was named as the cause or was repaired/replaced.
L - Cleaned or relearned. The throttle body was cleaned, or a throttle/idle relearn or reset procedure was done, and that is the only
    fix stated (no part named).
F - Software or campaign only. A reflash/reprogramming, recall, TSB, special-coverage or warranty-extension procedure was the only repair
    stated (no part named as cause).
O - Another cause. A repair outside the categories above was named as the cause (engine computer replaced, mass air flow, vacuum leak,
    fuel, transmission, other system), or the code or symptom was traced to something else.
K - Checked and cleared. The shop or dealer inspected or tested and found no fault, or only cleared the code, with no repair; or the
    light went out by itself and nothing was done.
U - No diagnosis or repair stated. The event is reported but nothing was found or done yet, or the complaint does not say; also an
    owner's own guess, a code reader or scan with no shop/dealer/mechanic mentioned, or parts replaced with the problem staying and no
    other cause named.

Precedence when more than one fits: use the FINAL repair the complaint reports as having fixed it (or, if it never got fixed, the cause
the shop named last). A part replaced that the owner says did not help does not count. If several parts were replaced together and no
single one is named, use the most specific named part in the order W, S, P, B, L. Among F, O, K, U: F before O before K before U. A
cause the owner merely guesses at does not count (an owner's "probably the throttle sensor" is U unless a shop or the dealer said it, or
the part was replaced by someone).

## FLAGS (yes/no)

limp - the complaint states reduced engine power, limp mode, a wrench or "reduced power" message, the throttle or pedal not responding,
    or the engine held at low rpm because of this fault.
stall - the complaint states that the engine stalled, shut off, or the vehicle lost drive while moving or at a stop because of this fault.
recall - the complaint states that a recall, special coverage, service campaign, extension, TSB or "known issue" notice for this vehicle
    was performed, offered, missing, refused, asked about, or is blamed or credited for this event.
returned - the complaint states that after a repair or a reset the same light, code or symptom came back, or the repair did not fix it.

## OUTPUT

One CSV line per complaint, in the order given, no header line:
`odino,category,limp,stall,recall,returned,note`
category is one letter (N S B P W L F O K U); flags are yes or no (for N, all four flags are no);
note is at most 15 words, no commas, saying what decided the category.

==============================================================================
ADDENDUM WRITTEN AFTER THE COMPLETENESS SEARCH, BEFORE THE SECOND BATCH WAS SORTED
Fingerprint of the addendum, taken before the second batch was sorted: 7fe4315e0d0352f1f9ddbb643a985d65714e958ba94e59fe880f29f88a5fc266 (2026-10-30T16:37:05Z)

The first batch (926 narratives) used the main rules only. An independent search of the whole complaint file then found 537 more
narratives that may describe a throttle / pedal position-sensor event without the expected wording. Of these, 143 are complaints
whose only link is a pedal/throttle correlation code P2121 to P2139 (mostly P2135 and P2138): they belong to the sister pages on those
codes and are left out of this study (their number is given in the pool history at the end of this file). The other 394 are sorted under the same rules, with this
clarification of what counts as sensor wording:
- misspellings and short forms: "throttle postion sensor", "thottle sensor", "TP sensor", "T.P.S.", "TPS1", "APPS", "pedal assy sensor";
- "sensor on the throttle body", "throttle body sensor", "throttle control sensor": a position sensor of the throttle, when the narrative ties the event to it;
- an accelerator (gas) pedal assembly or pedal replaced or diagnosed for loss of power, reduced power or no response to the pedal, even if the word sensor is not used: category P.
The relevance rule (N / not N) and all categories and flags are unchanged. A narrative that is only a bare list of replaced parts is still N.

==============================================================================
RULES USED TO SETTLE DISAGREEMENTS (each decision in the published complaints file names the rule applied in the column rule_applied; rules R1 to R20 were written first; the letters after the number - a, b, c - mark the group of complaints the rule was written for: a and b the first batch, c the second batch)
- R1 an owner's, code reader's, parts-store's or forum's statement of the cause, or a repair the owner only plans, with no shop/dealer/mechanic naming or doing it -> U.
- R2 a part named as the cause by a shop, dealer or mechanic, or replaced/cleaned, is the category when it is the repair stated as fixing it, or the last cause named. A part replaced that the owner says did not help does not count (the sorting rules precedence rule).
- R3 the throttle or pedal sensor only in a list of three or more parts changed or checked, with nothing singling it out (no code, no diagnosis naming it) -> N.
- R4 sudden-acceleration, hesitation or surge complaints where no throttle/pedal sensor fault, code or repair is stated -> N; a dealer who found nothing after a throttle/pedal sensor recall or notice -> K.
- R5 a shop that checks, tests or finds nothing, or says the event is a non-issue, -> K; a parts-store reading is not a shop.
- R6 flags are yes only when the excerpt states them: limp = reduced power, limp mode, throttle/pedal not responding / no acceleration / power cut / engine held at low rpm; stall = engine stalled, shut off, or lost drive while moving or at a stop; recall and returned as in R7-R9.
- R7 recall = yes also when a bulletin or notice number (TSB, PIP, GM letter) for the fault is named as seen, offered or asked about.
- R8 returned = yes only when a repair, clear or reset was done and the same light, code or symptom came back, or the owner says the repair did not fix it; repeated episodes before any repair are not returned.
- R9 recall=yes only when a specific recall/notice for THIS vehicle's fault was performed, offered, seen, named, asked about or reported missing on a direct question; a general remark that the maker should recall -> no; a recall named for an unrelated part -> no.
- R10 a code read anywhere that names a sensor, with no shop/dealer/mechanic saying the part is the cause and no replacement -> U.
- R11 throttle body replaced as a whole assembly = B; a separate sensor, sensor cover or TPS part replaced = S; an electronic throttle (motor) fault with no sensor named and the body replaced = B.
- R12 a sensor mentioned only for other vehicles' cases or as generic advice, while this vehicle's cause is something else -> N.
- R13 a repair attempt by the owner (replacement, cleaning) after which the owner says the symptom went on counts as returned=yes; the category then follows R2.
- R14 returned = yes when an earlier repair for the same symptom is stated as not fixing it, even if a later repair is the final one stated.
- R16 a sorting-rules-explicit case beats a generic rule: a light that went out by itself with nothing done is K even when a parts store read the code.
- R17 when the final category is N all four flags are no; a flag difference on an N complaint is settled as no.
- R18 a shop or dealer that refused or was unable to inspect (no test done, nothing found) is not K; with no cause or repair stated -> U.
- R20 reduced power or limp named only inside quoted TSB, recall or bulletin text, not as the owner's own event -> limp no.
- R21a a named part replaced (shop/dealer or owner) and the complaint says the failure persisted or recurred, with no later cause or fix named -> U (sorting rules U: parts replaced with the problem staying).
- R22a a drive-by-wire lost-throttle-response event with no code, part or shop diagnosis -> U with limp yes (not N, the sorting rules counts a lost-throttle-response event as relevant).
- R23a a sensor adjusted or realigned without replacement is the only fix -> L.
- R24a a recall or campaign that was only offered, or the maker says wait for failure, with no procedure performed -> U, not F.
- R25a loss of power that ends in a stall or shut-off, with no separate reduced-power or no-response statement -> stall yes, limp no.
- R26a a warning light named in a list of three or more lights or parts while the event and repair belong to another system -> N.
- R28a plain 'lost power' with no statement of stall, shut-off, restart or coasting -> limp yes (power cut), stall no; 'lost all power' ending in a stop, coast, shut-off or repeated pedal pumping to move -> stall yes. An owner switching the car off himself to reset is not a stall.
- R29a a relearn, reset, cleaning or campaign done and stated not to have fixed it, with no cause named -> U (same as R21a for parts).
- R30a water from a leak (sunroof drain, footwell) reaching the pedal or throttle sensor or its plug, named as the cause -> W (sorting rules: water in the plug).
- R27a a repair the owner says his own mechanic is scheduled to perform counts as named by the mechanic (R1 covers only owner-planned repairs).
- R21b a named part replaced and the complaint says the failure persisted or recurred, with no later cause or fix named -> U (sorting rules U: parts replaced with the problem staying).
- R22b a repair proposed by a shop or dealer as the fix for the fault counts as the cause that shop named, even if not yet done.
- R23b loss of power or motive power that leaves the vehicle stopped, with no reduced-power or no-response statement -> stall yes, limp no.
- R24b a bare question naming a throttle or pedal sensor, with no event, code or repair stated -> N.
- R25b an owner's word "stall" that the text shows is only a brief loss of acceleration with power returning -> limp yes, stall no.
- R21c a repair or recall done before the current owner (previous owner, seller) is background, not the repair of the reported event: category follows what happened to the reported event, returned = no.
- R22c a shop or dealer that names two alternative causes ("either X or Y", "X or Y") without choosing -> U (narrower reading).
- R23c a shop's or mechanic's "probably / believes it is X" with no test, code or repair, while no shop confirms it -> U (suspicion, not a named cause).

==============================================================================
RULE OF THE FINAL CHECK (the resolution column says "changed in final check" for the complaints it changed). Rcons1: a check of the 174 complaints that had been sorted to a repair category (S, B, P, W, L, O, F or K) and say the problem came back after a repair (106 in the first batch, 68 in the second); 46 changed category, 40 of them to U.
- Rcons1 (final check) a category that breaks the precedence rule is changed: a repair stated as not holding (recurrence within about two weeks) with no later cause named -> U; a later cause or part named by a shop after the first repair failed -> that later cause.

==============================================================================
THE TEXT SEARCHES AS WRITTEN (case-insensitive; the first search is the union of R1, R1x, R2 and R3)
R1 (code): (?<![A-Z0-9])P\s?[-.]?\s?[0O]\s?1\s?2\s?[0-4](?:\s?[-:]?\s?[0O]{2})?(?![0-9])
R1 (bare number after a code word): \b(?:code|codes|dtc|dtcs|error|cel|coded|fault)\W{0,6}#?\s?[0O]?12[0-4]\b
R1x (sister codes P0220 to P0229): (?<![A-Z0-9])P\s?[-.]?\s?(?:022[0-9])(?![0-9])
R2 (throttle position sensor wording; also needs a context word, below, anywhere in the narrative; a bare "TPS" also needs one of the words given below): throttle[\s-]*(?:position|pedal[\s-]*position|pos\.?)?[\s-]*(?:sensor|sensors|switch|potentiometer)|\btps\b|\bt\.p\.s\b|throttle\s+position\b
R3 (accelerator pedal sensor wording; also needs a context word): (?:accelerator|gas|throttle)[\s-]*pedal[\s-]*(?:position[\s-]*)?(?:sensor|sensors|switch|potentiometer)|\bapp\s+sensor|pedal\s+(?:position\s+)?sensor|accelerator\s+(?:position\s+)?sensor|accelerator\s+pedal\s+position

Context words: reduced\s+(?:engine\s+)?power|limp|\bcode|\bdtc|check\s+engine|engine\s+light|\bcel\b|\bmil\b|wrench|replac|fail|faulty|\bbad\b|defect|malfunction|diagnos|no\s+response|not\s+respon|unresponsive|stall|hesitat|voltage|surg|accelerat|shut|lost\s+power|loss\s+of\s+power
A bare "TPS" counts only if the narrative also contains one of: throttle|engine|idle|accelerat

==============================================================================
POOL HISTORY
- First search: 926 complaints, found by the searches above (R1 code P0120 to P0124: 46; R1x sister codes P0220 to P0229: 18; R2 throttle position sensor wording with a context word: 478; R3 accelerator pedal sensor wording with a context word: 455; 65 complaints matched more than one search). They were sorted in 5 groups of about 186.
- Left out on purpose: throttle body, throttle motor and electronic-throttle complaints that use none of the sensor wording or codes above (about 3,800 narratives name a throttle body), and the narratives whose only link is a pedal/throttle correlation code between P2121 and P2139 (143, found by the completeness search; mostly P2135 and P2138, which have their own pages).
- Completeness search (a separate search of the whole complaint file, run after the first batch was sorted): about 1,500 narratives that the first search had not returned were read against the same relevance rule; 537 were judged to describe a throttle or pedal position sensor event, 143 of them the P2121-P2139 group above, leaving 394, which were sorted as the second batch (2 groups of about 197). found_by in the complaints file says which search found each complaint ("first search" or "second search").
- Final: 1,320 complaints; 1,118 relevant (740 from the first search, 378 from the second search), 202 not relevant. A relevant complaint is one that describes, on the owner's vehicle, a throttle or pedal position sensor code, fault, repair or recall, or a lost-throttle-response event tied to the sensor.