If you suddenly find your accelerator stuck, keep calm and put your car in Neutral

[WCGreen]

Listening to that call on the Rick Sanchez show about the guy having his Lexus accelerator stick and then listened as he and his family went over a cliff made me remember when I was with my aunt and the same thing happened. This was back in 1973 and I was only 15. I reached over and slammed the car in Neutral. this is about the only thing you can do to save yourself.

Don't panic and don't try, as the guy did, to use your brake to hold back the car, the lines will just break under the strain.

Always remember, keep calm.

[whyverne]

1. Or Park, folks should practice that sort of stuff. n/t

[WCGreen]

5. You'll ruin your transmission and perhaps the whole car...

if you slam it in park...

[rvablue]

24. Beats driving over a cliff, doesn't it? n/t

[dipsydoodle]

8. That would lock the transmission

Surely ? Be a really exciting way to stop.

[MNDemNY]

13. "Park" will not engage at any sort of speed.

[dipsydoodle]

16. I'd wondered about that aspect

but never having tried it, through common sense , I didn't mention it.

[BootinUp]

26. That would make a neat clicking noise

wouldn't do much to stop the car though.

[gateley]

2. And once in neutral, turn off the engine? Thanks for the good advice! nt

[dipsydoodle]

12. But not too much !

Steering would lock !

[gateley]

19. GOOD THINKING! nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

33. Turn off the engine and you lose power steering and brakes. n/t

[gateley]

43. Yeah, thank you and babylonsister. I'd realize it the moment the engine quit... nt

[MNDemNY]

3. NO !!! This is WRONG !!!

What you MUST do is scream, piss you pants, then jump out the door.(remember to "tuck and roll" when you hit the pavment.)

[EmilyAnne]

6. And the car explodes just as you make contact with the pavement. nt

[maxrandb]

25. This is why I've always said; "I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather

...not screaming and crying like the passengers in his car"

<RIMSHOT>

[Xipe Totec]

4. Better to turn off the ignition and engine brake

if you go to neutral with a stuck gas pedal you will red line the engine.

[WCGreen]

7. Yea but you can turn off the car in neutral, you can't while in Drive...

[Gold Metal Flake]

31. Please Stop talking About Cars!

You CAN turn of the engine while in drive. Stop telling people that it can't be done. Please seek guidance for any further car-related posts before you pass on more bullshit.

[WCGreen]

34. I double checked and you are correct.

the main point of this is to get the car in Neutral to stop the momentum...

That was MY POINT.

[Gold Metal Flake]

38. But do not talk down other solutions.

And do check. But I did thank you for pointing out the N. N is good.

Again, it is important for people to try these things out. Shifting from D to N, turning the key one position back to kill the engine in D or N without locking the steering wheel, pulling the emergency brake up slowly. These are things that can be practiced in a driveway without moving the car.

Then one can move on to doing 180s and 360s on a wet street with the aid of the emergency brake.

[MNDemNY]

9. Yes, the life of the engine is of paramount importance.

[Xipe Totec]

17. No, I guess you should destroy the engine and claim self defense

If you can save yourself and the car, why not?

[triple point]

28. I can recalibrate your sarcasmometer for $9.95 plus shipping

:D

[sinkingfeeling]

10. Blowing an engine is a lot better than dying.

[Xipe Totec]

15. Who said anything about dying?

What's wrong with saving yourself AND the engine? :shrug:

[sinkingfeeling]

22. The Lexus this happened to (why the recall) crashed and killed 4 people.

[Fresh_Start]

11. some cars, the steering wheel stops responding

when the ignition is off. Don't car about the engine at that point. Want to be able to control that car as much as I can.

[ddeclue]

14. not necessarily and turning off the engine will deprive you of braking and steering.

Most engines will limit on newer cars and not let you damage them.

[Xipe Totec]

18. Will deprive you of power braking and power steering

but not breaking and steering.

[Jazzgirl]

42. Pop it in neutral and you can still at least guide it

over to the shoulder.

[Ikonoklast]

20. Install a killswitch.

Nice anti-theft device, also.

Cheap and effective.


http://www.killswitchcentral.com/

[rucky]

23. Or an ejector seat.

[izquierdista]

21. Bottom line, know your car

I'm sure there are all possible permutations of steering wheel, brakes, ignition switch locking, or not locking if you make an off-normal action to counter the accelerator being stuck. Each permutation has probably been deemed eminently reasonable by some automotive engineer and put into production. The best thing to do is to know what your own car will do in that kind of situation and be ready if it happens. I believe the story in the OP was about someone who had that happen in a rental car, a situation where the car is unfamiliar to the driver. Had it been the car he drove everyday, he probably would have reacted correctly.

[Arkansas Granny]

27. That may or may not have made a difference in the outcome. I remember

many years ago when I worked at an attorney's office that there was a case we worked on where an accelerator stuck while the driver was parking his car behind another vehicle. He struck the car in front of him, as well as the little boy who had been standing there. He was applying the brake as hard as he could, but the car kept bouncing off the other car's bumper and hitting the boy several times before he finally wrenched the wheel of the car enough to send the car into the ditch and across a lawn. His wife finally had the presence of mind to reach over and turn off the ignition which stopped the car.

This man was in his own car, but he panicked and couldn't figure out what to do.

[Gold Metal Flake]

29. BULLSHIT!

Your brake lines WILL NOT "break under the strain". What utter bullshit! Telling someone who is experiencing some sort of runaway vehicle incident, whatever the cause, to not use their brakes is ridiculously unwise. Telling them to put the trans in neutral is good advice, and thanks for it. But the braking system is sufficiently strong to pull a car locked at full throttle from 60 to zero in only a few yards more distance than with the throttle closed. This has been tested, most famously in the 6/87 Car & Driver article "Audi Agonistes". DO BOTH!

Most people have never even practiced an emergency maneuver like putting a trans into neutral while traveling at high speeds. they should. Do it on a lightly traveled residential street. Try it sitting still first. Don't put it in park, as the pawl will grind against the locking gear and make an awful noise. There is no detent between D and N. Simply slide the shifter up. Don't even press the button.

Next, practice turing the ignition switch from run to accessory, just ONE click backward. This will be one click forward of lock. Doing so will turn the engine off but will not lock the steering. Try it in the driveway. Practice.

Finally, make sure you can tell the difference between the brake pedal and the gas pedal. Many can't and then panic. The Audi 5000 issue was simply that.

That family was killed not because the car could not be stopped but because the driver was tragically incompetent.

[WCGreen]

36. Could you just say I'm wrong instead of jumping straight to histrionic stage...

The point I was making is that you should first shift to Neutral.

[Gold Metal Flake]

37. That's my style on DU.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

30. Good advice...

We just checked the floor mats in our cars, and they're OK.

Keeping calm is paramount. You cannot think when you're panicking.


And you cheated death that time...Good on you!


K&R

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Do nothing. Get there faster.

If cops have a problem, you've got a good excuse.

[flvegan]

35. I'd just push in the clutch pedal.

Love my 6-speed.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

39. Neutral is good, but brakes over-ride the engine pretty easily

And most stuck accelerators are people hitting the wrong pedal.

You did the right thing, since your aunt had probably done the sadly common thing of hitting the gas thinking it is the brake, and then when the car moves hitting the 'brake' even harder.

Didn't see the story and don't know your Aunt. My comments are about such incidents in general. I am sure there have been cases where gas pedals got stuck and brakes failed but operator error is more common.

[WCGreen]

40. This guy would have had a chance had he shift to N....

It probably was the mat. That is what ended up being the problem with my aunt.

[Jazzgirl]

41. WCGreen, I had a '76 or '77 Buick Opel

that did the same thing. I'd be riding along and suddenly it would just speed up and keep going. I figured out pretty quick that braking wasn't going to help so I popped it in neutral. The engine would be racing but at least I could pull over to the shoulder where I'd slip it into park and shut it down. It can be scary but I never did understand why the police officer in the Lexus didn't think about that.

[Anakin Skywalker]

44. Would the E-Brake Have Worked? Just Wondering...

[armyowalgreens]

45. Drive a 5-speed...

Or any standard transmission.

Problem solved.

[Recovered Repug]

46. I've always been told

to drop it into the lowest gear (use the engine to slow you down) and use the parking brake while holding the release. Hopefully, I'll never be in a position to determine the best method.