Sudden acceleration grounds for big lawsuit

Some cars have three pedals and man, that gets confusing. They should have colored lights on them so you know which one to push.

in message

Sudden acceleration is not just a matter of pressing the wrong pedal. What with computer controlled fuel systems the car has the potential to take off by itself. The engine speed is now controlled by computer controlled sensors. There is no linkage (cable or otherwise) between the gas pedal and the engine.

I have a 2006 Mustang GT that took off all by itself. And before the usenet know-it-alls cite driver error, or some other remarks, I'll state this. You cannot shift from reverse to drive unless your foot is on the brake pedal.

I backed out of a driveway, putting my foot on the brake to stop and shift into drive the car lunged ahead all by itself. As soon as the shifter hit drive the engine went wide open. And with both feet on the brake, the car would not stop. The damage to the Mustang, a Cadillac, and a garage was $20,000.00 Ford denies any problem with the car. Hit with an insurance surcharge also. After what took place with the cruise controls on Ford vehicles, Ford will never admit to another problem. It was the wildest 8 second ride I've ever had....

George Orwell wrote:

This is the troll elimination feature, which didn't work in your case... Please try again, preferrably while the car is pointed towards deep water, and report back the results.

Georgie, if you like the cars from the 50's and 60's so much, why are you driving one from the 90's? Seriously, go out and get yourself a '55 Chevy. As for your 'problem', it is actually more common on the Toyota Prius, as several cases have been documented. Unfortunately, 99 percent of the morons who have had the problem, won't do anything about it. I have read of only 2 people who actually have gone after Toyota. The others just shrug it off, and thank whatever God they believe in that they are still alive. And people wonder why Consumer Reports always ranks the Toyota's so high...

On Thu, 21 May 2009 02:46:06 +0200, George Orwell fired up the etcha-a-sketch and scratched out:

Funny - I often think the brake pedal is too far back (towards teh driver) from the gas pedal. I often catch my shoe on the inside of the brake pedal as I try to travel back and push it.

Of course, having size 14 (48 for you commie metric countries) shoes doesn't help.

No offense, but if it did and I had a whole 8 seconds with both feet on the brake, I probably would have thrown the damn thing into neutral or straight through to park - transmission be damned...., then kill the engine....But that's just me....Again - I'm just thinking what I would have done....

IYM

A load of BS. A recent debunking (last week!) by the CarConnection of the supposed phenomenon involving a Prius:

Derek

It seems that you had a different problem than the OP. His is being blamed on "improper pedal geometry." To me, that is because the person is not familiar with the vehicle, either because it has just been purchased and is new to the driver, or the driver is distracted because of texting, eating, drinking, etc.

Your problem, as you stated, is caused by a faulty sensor- nowhere near what the OP was posting about.

I see where you are coming from, though. Back in 70-something, I had a '64 Buick Skylark. The complex I lived in had fairly high speed bumps, and a security patrol that loved to hand out tickets for doing 12 in a 10MPH zone. I was going over a speed bump and kinda punched down on the gas pedal to sort of "jump" over it, and the pedal went all the way to the floor and stayed there, wide open throttle. I immediately pushed hard on the brake and turned off the key. Neighbors came out to see what the problem was, and we popped the hood and could see nothing wrong. One of the guys reached in and wiggled the linkage some and said "Try it now." Luckily, I had gotten in the car instead of just reaching through the open window. As soon as I turned the key, the car started and leaped forward, WOT. Les had grabbed the top of the grill and got off very lucky- skin off the ankle and a burned forearm from the radiator. That problem turned out to be a broken motor mount. When I went over the bump, the engine torqued up, the throttle linkage pivoted down instead of up, the shifter pin pulled out of the side of the transmission, leaving it with a WOT and the tranny in drive, The interlock switch was on the shift linkage, which thought it was in park, so the engine started. No one was seriously hurt (whew!), and the mount was easy enough to replace.

SC Tom

PerfectReign wrote: On Thu, 21 May 2009 02:46:06 +0200, George Orwell fired up the etcha-a-sketch and scratched out:

The cause is improper pedal geometry. The brake pedal is too low and too close to the gas pedal. If the shoe contacts the brake pedal offset to the right Funny - I often think the brake pedal is too far back (towards teh driver) from the gas pedal. I often catch my shoe on the inside of the brake pedal as I try to travel back and push it.

Of course, having size 14 (48 for you commie metric countries) shoes doesn't help.

Hopped up VW van went open throttle on me once - cable/linkage problem. Call me psychic if you like, but it only took me about one second to get the ignition off.