A scary thing happened to me (and a warning)

[cluckcluck42]

Oh my god I got chills reading that. That is TERRIFYING! I am so glad you are here to write this story. Things could have turned out quite differently, thankfully you thought to kill the ignition.

It's really scary when people report these things, I wonder how many accidents and deaths have been caused by this but we never know because the person has passed away. Thank you so much for sharing. I just got a car with CC and I might think twice about using it. I do believe the problem is with newer model vehicles though.

 

[sheila3935]

I had an old chevy when I was first starting to drive. I didnt know it had a broken motor mount. I pulled away from the corner and when I stepped on the gas it took off like a bat out of .... Scared me too death first time driver and all I shut the motor off coasted to the curb and called my dad. Thats how I found out about the motor mount. He said when I stepped on the gas the motor tipped and the gas stuck. He was smiling though said I did the right thing. Ive had my cc come on by itself but so far just touching the break disengaged it. Maybe I should have DH disable it.

 

[ranchhand]

Borderkelpie, I am very glad you survived the horrible experience, and I agree, get the whole vehicle checked out.

One word of caution to everyone - if you decide to turn off the ignition and you're still moving? The steering wheel will LOCK. Better to shift into neutral and stomp those brakes. Get off the road, then shut it down.

 

[cmjust0]

I agree 100% with shifting to neutral instead of cutting the ignition. Even if the steering wheel doesn't lock when you shut the engine off, you'll lose power steering and power brakes, making the vehicle really difficult to steer and stop -- especially if your brakes are already hot from riding them as you zoom down the highway.

Shift to neutral, hit the brakes, pull over safely, shut it down, and call someone for help.

 

[Spookwriter]

Cruise control is the one option I can live without. Never use it.

(Would you believe cruise control is on most big trucks now? tractor/trailer
Like they really need it!)

To turn off the ingition, you lose your power steering and power brakes.
ALWAYS throw it in netural. Let the engine rev. Most it can do is blow. Keep
the brakes and steering.

But I'm glad you're okay.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I do not think shifting into neutral is a safe approach at all. I would not advise people to suggest that.

Consult the owner's manual for the car, talk to your dealer or a mechanic, before deciding how to handle this. In some cases, putting the car in neutral during some mafunctions of the throttle could burn your engine out.

 

[Spookwriter]

She was busy trying not to crash.

I doubt that she had time to read the owners manual, call the dealership
the mechanic or anybody else. She was busy...

Let the motor blow...cars are way cheaper than a life.

 

[chickensioux]

I have never liked CC, I don't feel in control. So glad you are allright.

 

[EweSheep]

I love my cc on my van and I will continue to use it despite of the problems people are having. However it is in the back of my mind when it does comes up or hear about the accidents. Look up the recalls. I take it as an isolated events when it happens. If we had enough of it, then there should be a recall.

I'd rather shift it in neutral if the engine gets out of hand. Don't want the brakes and steering wheel lock up either. All you can do is to honk loudly and often and if you have a hands free cell, use it to advance notice to cops that the car is a runaway.

For those of you want to disconnect the CC, dont disconnect, just dont use it.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I would stick to shutting it off. Power steering is a luxury for when the car is not moving. A moving car without it is still drivable. Power breaks dont stop after the engine does. You have to push the 3 or 4 times before the reserver runs out an then they still work, they just take more pressure. I don't believe the cruse had anything to do with it. There are to many safetys for it to have came on after stopping. Cruse has been on cars for 50 years now an this is the first I have ever heard of that happening. An to unhook the cruse you only have to pull one pin. Takes half a second. If a mechanic charged you that much to do that then he was playing ya.

An if the cruse was somehow stuck on it would have twisted the engine well past 4000, probably would have hit the rev limiter. A stuck on cruse would be the same as you pushing the peddle to the floor. You ether had a stuck butterfly in your throttle body or a stuck peddle or your TPS is acting up. You need to take it to a real mechanic that will find out what really happened.




I thought I would point out that the power breaks run of vacuum. If the throttle is stuck open you are losing any vacuum that is being created threw it. So leaving it running is not helping you stop.