Accident because the throttle stuck!

[mountainsoft]

The cars I drove when I was younger were generally junkers and I've had a throttle stick several times. Usually because the cable was frayed or the linkage bound up on the carb. I just pushed in the clutch and pulled off the road, no biggy. Even if it had been an automatic I could have turned off the ignition, enough to stop the engine but not enough to lock the wheel, and pulled off to the side of the road.

I had a total brake failure years ago when the brake lines rusted out in BOTH circuits. Scary, but I let off the gas and used the emergency brake to come safely to a stop (I did blow through the red light I was originally stopping for, thankfully no one was crossing at the time).

One of the scarier situations was in my current car. The throttle body was failing and the car would just accelerate on it's own as I was cruising down the interstate. Again, I let off the gas and applied the brake, nerve wracking but no harm done.

I've never encountered a mechanical emergency that couldn't be recovered from safely if you don't panic.

 

[candrew]

When do you know that it is time to stop driving?

I was elected by my siblings to have "the conversation" with our now dearly-departed Dad when it became apparent that making his annual cross-country driving treks from AZ to Michigan were no longer not only in his best interests but also not in the best interests of other drivers on the same roads. Dad was in his early 80's at the time.

In spite of my most diplomatic approach to this delicate subject, the phrases "went over like a lead balloon" and "like a fart in a space suit" don't come close to describing Dad's reaction.

His response included poking at my chest with his index finger and asking me "who in the hell do you think you are to tell me that I shouldn't be driving any longer?"

What brought an end to those long distance journeys was when his wife told him that he'd be going it alone from then on.

I wish others who find themselves in a similar position as I was the best of luck and you have my sympathies. OTH, I hope that it becomes a matter of self-selection to cease driving rather than being told to stop by someone else, or worse yet, having an accident that causes harm to others.

 

[ERD50]

Something to be aware of...turning off the key too far to the "lock" position may lock the steering wheel preventing you from controlling the car's direction.

Yes, and in the excitement, I would imagine it would be easy to go too far and lock the wheel, making for even more excitement.

Hmmm, my new car uses a fob and has pushbutton start/stop. I guess I should test it on an open road to see if I can even shut it off while driving?

-ERD50

 

[gerntz]

My question is how do you plant the seed that it may have been an issue with her foot being on the gas pedal, not the brake. I would sure hate to see her have another accident with injuries to her or anyone else. She is not a close friend, just another person that lives up here at the Ranch who I chat with a bit from time to time.

I don't see why you can't just flat out tell her that that's what you think could have happened. What's the downside? She gets mad at your for trying to help her thought process? For me, that's better than not trying to have her see what may have actually happened. I'd feel better that I shared/done my best than worry about her reaction.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Another day in the garage, and a complete take down of the steering wheel, and more testing..... an intermittent short in the cruise control.

If I had, had an accident, am sure it would have been attributed it to old age.

I know you drive older cars—perhaps the problem is related to the car’s age, not yours. We have a 2004 vehicle (I think your cars are older than this?) that we keep well maintained but every time something little breaks for no reason at all (like the little knob to close the dashboard vents, or the spritzer mechanism for the rear window) I think about how the mechanical things that keep the car moving are also slowly deteriorating in places that are hard to get to, like the cruise control wiring.

 

[Out of Steam]

Driving while old, its always old people.

I build an off road vehicle about 10 years ago and the combo of new vehicle and the hiking boots i was wearing, i accelerated unintentionally about 3 different times, its a weird feeling and immediate response is to press harder on the gas cause i wanted to hit the brake and was sure i was on the brake, took a few monents to get my act together, lickly didn't hit anything.

Quit wearing the hiking boots.

I'm a hiker and have always avoided driving in hiking boots. Probably because I drove a manual transmission car until about 10 years ago. Just was never comfortable with managing the pedals, where 2 or 3 of them.

 

[Texas Proud]

BTW... pressing the brake pedal doesn't necessarily stop the acceleration. At speed, it hardly slows the 4.6L engine.

Was not thinking about that.... my mom's was a 3.1 and the brakes worked just fine... but remembering back to my Firebird with a 5.7 and there were times it was hard to stop with the engine not slowing down that fast.... do not think I could stop with just brakes...


However, by accident I found out that at full throttle going about 70+ if you put it into second gear the back tires lock up .... lucky for me I was able to up shift before anything blew up.... scared the heck out of me though... it was also easy to pop it into neutral if needed...

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

However, by accident I found out that at full throttle going about 70+ if you put it into second gear the back tires lock up .... lucky for me I was able to up shift before anything blew up.... scared the heck out of me though... it was also easy to pop it into neutral if needed...

In my BMW circle they call that "the money shift" -- when winding out the car, the driver accidentally downshifts instead of shifting up, sending the engine way over redline and often bending some valves in the process.

 

[gauss]

I have heard from a bona-fide expert in this area that one of the key indicators of a driver induced problem is something along the line of "The harder I pressed the brake pedal the faster it went".

Big shoes/boots also a red-flag.


-gauss

 

[Texas Proud]

In my BMW circle they call that "the money shift" -- when winding out the car, the driver accidentally downshifts instead of shifting up, sending the engine way over redline and often bending some valves in the process.

Actually interesting in that when I did it I had just looked at the tach... it did not go up much which is why the tires stopped moving... I would say it was in that gear between .5 seconds to 3 seconds.... not really sure as time seems to slow down when you do something stupid like that...

 

[John Galt III]

What kind of a car was she driving that was able to plow through all these tree stumps?

 

[jazz4cash]

What kind of a car was she driving that was able to plow through all these tree stumps?

Probably a Sequoia.

 

[Hermit]

What kind of a car was she driving that was able to plow through all these tree stumps?

It was a Honda. I think you would call it a small crossover. The tree she hit was totally rotten. I went out there with another guy up here (he was the first responder) and we retraced the car's path. This lady had to have some very astute angels doing the driving for her. I don't think an accomplished stunt driver could have made it through that course without flipping the car, even if the driver knew the tall tree stump she hit (dead center) was totally rotten.

 

[Sunset]

Most people who have never had unintended acceleration happen to them always surmise it was driver error. Before the whole Toyota (or was it Honda?) fiasco unfolded, I bought a new 1999 Chevy Corvette and this is what happened to me.

About 1 1/2 years of trouble-free ownership, I turned the key in the ignition and started the car in the garage. It immediately revved up, like I was flooring the gas pedal even though I had not pressed on the accelerator. The electronic console was scrolling messages like “ . . . Fuel mixture too rich, depress gas pedal immediately, caution, fuel mixture too rich . . . “. Thinking maybe the gas pedal somehow got stuck, I tapped on it once, then twice, without any change in the RPMs. Fortunately, the transmission was still in Park. I turned off the ignition, waited a minute, then turned on the ignition. It started up normally, without any error messages. I shut the engine off and went inside the house to tell DH. He was skeptical, and said the accelerator probably just needed to be tapped on, that’s all.

A week later, same thing happened while starting the corvette inside the garage. This time, while the engine was roaring in full throttle, I got out of the car and went inside the house and asked DH to come outside and take a look. He entered the garage, said something like “Holy smokes . . .” , tried tapping on the gas pedal without effect and finally shut off the engine. “Something wrong?” I asked. “Yeah, definitely.”

Made a service appointment with the Chevrolet dealership and they ran the car through their diagnostics. Service manager called back and said no error codes came up. But he suggested that since both times I reported it occurred on a Monday after sitting in the garage all weekend, he would try it again after letting it sit for 2-3 days. The next time, he called back and said all kinds of error codes came up, and they needed to keep the car until it was repaired. He acknowledged it was too dangerous for me to drive. I asked what was wrong with it. In layman’s terms, he explained it appeared the computer module that controlled the car’s acceleration was defective, and it needed to be replaced.

So from personal experience, it was not simply a case of the floor mat getting stuck under the accelerator pedal, as so many people have assumed.

We had a similar thing happen, this is the story.
Had the car tuned up, and a couple of days later the engine went nuts with high rev's right after starting.
Had it towed to garage, and they "re-tuned" the engine.

 

[JoeWras]

Probably a Sequoia.

... Rim Shot ...

---

Dad blasted through the garage wall when he was 87. We had been having "the conversation" and getting nowhere. He protested that it was a throttle problem. But after a few months, and as we found out later, getting lost a few times, he relented and gave up the car.

Thankfully the structure didn't collapse and nobody was hurt.

 

[Hermit]

I finally got a chance to talk, very briefly, to the lady driving the car. I recommended that she put the car in neutral if she ever had such a problem again. I can only hope that maybe that short message may sink in during an emergency that I hope never happens in the future.

I was in a hurry because I was on my way to do an emergency check on a 100-year-old. Her daughter could not get in touch with her. That was a 15 mile drive on mountain roads, but the mom was OK. I don't think she would have had any supper if we had not gone over there. Her son-in-law was watching her, but he wound up in the hospital while out to the gym. The daughter is out of town.

 

[jazz4cash]

Hmmm, my new car uses a fob and has pushbutton start/stop. I guess I should test it on an open road to see if I can even shut it off while driving?

-ERD50

Yeah, that got me wondering also, so I tried it on my car (also a GM product). When you push the start button while moving a message on the display reads “press again to stop engine”. Steering does not lock but you lose assist. I don’t even know if this car uses electric power steering pump but I guess not. It will restart while moving if you select neutral and press start.

 

[JoeWras]

Yeah, that got me wondering also, so I tried it on my car (also a GM product). When you push the start button while moving a message on the display reads “press again to stop engine”. Steering does not lock but you lose assist. I don’t even know if this car uses electric power steering pump but I guess not. It will restart while moving if you select neutral and press start.

That's good to know. I don't have pushbuttons yet (older cars) but the day is coming.

I do have an electric parking brake. It is the same process. You pull it to engage the parking brake. If you are moving and pull it, it gives a nasty beep back at you. However, if you keep pulling, it will engage. This would be for only a true emergency like all your brake lines got ripped away or something because it is tricky that only the rear brakes are engaged. After all, drifter tricks are done using the parking brake to intentionally lock the rears.

As for brakes. If you lose one line -- a real possibility if you run over something -- it means that you should still have two wheel brakes working (on diagonals). The pedal may go to the floor. Keep pushing, you will get some action.

Sudden, complete brake failure without any impactful event is a true meteor hit kind of event, i.e. extremely rare.

 

[jazz4cash]

I’m told new cars are equipped with parking brakes, not emergency brakes. I guess I missed that memo but I miss having a hand operated auxiliary brake. My electric park brake automatically disengages if you accelerate while it’s engaged. I ll have try applying it while moving to see what happens.

 

[Just_Steve]

As far as I know the majority of cars since 2012 have brake throttle override so as soon as the brake peddle is depressed the throttle cuts out thus eliminating any possibility of a stuck throttle.