Quote:
Originally Posted by OUMX117
Haha these stories on the news where people don't know what to do when the car is putting the gas at WOT drive me crazy. I wonder how NONE of these people thought "Hey maybe if I turn the key off the engine won't be running anymore". Or maybe put the car in neutral? Apply brakes? Any of the above actions can prevent a catastrophe. LOL
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It's easy to smile at this unless it happens to you (and, OUMX, I'm not taking potshots at you, I'm just talking from experience).
I used to own a 70's era T-Bird and I remember one day having the accelerator pedal stick down (in town). My fist reaction was to step on the brake. This had a slowing effect but not as much as you'd think, because the engine was at several thousand rpms and it just seemed to add more power as the car slowed a bit. Next, I turned off the ignition - this helped too, but not as much as you'd want because at that rpm and with the pedal down, the engine "dieseled" and just kept running. I finally hooked my toe under the pedal and lifted it, which allowed me to bring the car to a safe stop. My heart rate was pretty high at this point.
It didn't occur to me to shift into neutral.
In my case, a floor mat had caught the pedal and caused it to stay down. I've been VERY careful about floor mats ever since that incident.
But, to modern vehicles: The brake MAY stop or slow the acceleration, but the vehicle is still going to be hard to manage. My guess is, it won't stop the vehicle by itself. Turning the ignition OFF may work now, since the PCM controls fuel delivery and it should shutdown fuel to the engine so that it won't diesel like mine did. However, you DO risk engaging the ignition interlock that might lock the steering wheel in some models. I haven't checked Janet's Toyota to see if the wheel would become locked when in a forward gear with the ignition off, and I need to do that. Locking the steering could be a disaster.
People will warn about losing power steering and power brakes with the ignition off, but that's not really a big deal.You just have to push harder on the pedal and perhaps use more force on the wheel, if that's all you lose.
Finally, shifting into neutral: I think this is the
second thing you should try right after stepping on the brake (which is naturally the first thing you do). You'll certainly cause the engine to rev to its limit by doing this, but the rev limiter probably won't allow the engine to self-destruct. And besides even if it did, if you don't die like the policeman's family did, it's worth it. Once you get the vehicle under control, you can turn the ignition off.
The important thing is to "have a plan", because I guarantee you will not be thinking very clearly if this happens to you.
- Jack