Stuck Throttle
Recent news reports on recalls have centered around a problem with the accelerator, or throttle, sticking on some of their vehicles. While these reports have focused on issues with Toyota vehicles such a problem can occur with cars from any manufacturer. One problem that is being faced is a component in the control system that is made by a third party manufacturer. Many other auto companies source parts from this same manufacturer so they could also experience the same sort of failure.
There are reports of injuries and deaths from cars accelerating uncontrollably. What happens is that a driver accelerates into traffic, perhaps on an on-ramp or to pass another vehicle. When the release the pedal, however, the car continues to accelerate. While this can be a dangerous situation a good driver should be able to easily handle this and bring the vehicle to a safe stop.
One thing to do, before you ever drive your vehicle, is to work to minimize the chances of a problem. While, without a recall or other notification, you can’t predict an actually failure of the vehicle parts, there are other causes of uncontrolled acceleration. The most common of these is something interfering with the operation of the pedals.
Before driving your vehicle you need to ensure there is nothing in the floorboard that could cause a problem. Trash or other things in the floorboard in the vicinity of the pedals could lodge around a pedal and prevent it from operating smoothly. Keeping your vehicle clean of such objects, especially on the driver’s side of the vehicle, is very important. Make sure that any floor mats that you have installed in the vehicle are in their proper location and adequately secured to prevent them from sliding around or bunching up and interfering with the operation of the pedals. Sand and gravel can also cause problems, especially on pedals that are hinged at the floor, so regularly vacuuming the carpets will also help.
If something does occur to cause your vehicle to accelerate without control you need to know what to do. Accidents occur due to lack of planning or understanding of how to handle your vehicle, not commonly because of the component failure itself.
As soon as you start to experience uncontrolled acceleration you should attempt to resolve the issue. Tapping the pedal may help a jammed component become unstuck. If that fails you can try to lift the pedal by sliding the edge of your foot underneath the pedal and lifting, if the problem is caused by something jamming the pedal itself this might help.
If this fails you need to plan how to bring your vehicle safely to a stop. If you can do so without losing control of your car, turn on your emergency flashers. Depending on where the switch for those is, however, you will probably not be able to do so. You should be aware of all of the vehicles around you so you can maneuver without a collision.
Ideally such a problem will occur in light to moderate traffic when you are in a right hand lane. From there it is very simple to safely stop the vehicle. Simply place your transmission in neutral, coast to the shoulder and apply the brake. While your engine may be racing, along with your heart, you will be able to safely stop the vehicle and avoid an accident. Once your vehicle is stopped you should shut of the engine to, hopefully, prevent any further damage.
If you are driving in the left hand lane and traffic prevents you from pulling safely to the right and the shoulder you may think about pulling to the median if one is available. While this isn’t preferred, you will effectively be stuck in the middle of the highway until emergency or assistance vehicles can come to your assistance, this would be preferable to trying to cross one or more lanes of heavy traffic. You may be able to safely get out of your car in the median but avoid trying to cross a busy highway on foot. Call for assistance on your cell phone or wait for the state patrol or other help to arrive.
One thing you want to avoid on a modern vehicle when still in traffic is to turn off the engine. Many parts of your vehicle have power components that make your vehicle safer to operate. If you turn off the engine your power steering and power brakes are likely to not be working making it more dangerous to maneuver through traffic and bring the vehicle to a safe stop. However, if there is something that prevents you from placing the vehicle in neutral turning off the engine could be your only choice.
With proper planning and preparation there is no reason for such a situation to be particularly dangerous.
