# Recent "stuck gas pedal" runaway car **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919 "2012-08-28T13:11:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/21 "2012-08-28T20:36:08Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I’m curious as to why she wasn’t instructed to > > 1 - shift the car into neutral (yeah let the engine scream but at least you can stop the car and live) > > or > > 2 - turn off the ignition Turning the ignition off can be a problem. Be careful not to lock the steering wheel. Also, if you have a push to start system, you may not be able to turn it off in gear. Some allow you to hold the button for several seconds and it will shut down, but your system may not. The best thing to do is check for anything interfering with the gas pedal like the floor mat, and keep it where it belongs, not bunched up under the gas pedal. Bet if most of us looked now, we’d see the mat has moved up under the gas pedal. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/22 "2012-08-28T20:40:43Z")
I rented a Nissan with a proximity key. The car would not start unless you were depressing the brake pedal while you were pushing the start button. Side note: It would be nice if they put some instructions in the car on how to start it so you didn’t have to walk all the way back into the airport to finally find an employee who knew what the problem was. ---
**Author:** ![kiwimac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@kiwimac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiwimac)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/23 "2012-08-28T20:44:20Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Do not turn off your engine while the car is moving. Power steering depends on the engine. > > Do brakes require the engine to be on? When I step on the footbrakes with the engine off, they’re really hard to move. You can steer a car with power steering with the engine off, it is not easy but no harder than the old days when no cars had power steering. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/24 "2012-08-28T20:49:29Z")
> [@kiwimac](#): > > You can steer a car with power steering with the engine off, it is not easy but no harder than the old days when no cars had power steering. My understanding is that it’s more difficult than in a car without power steering. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/25 "2012-08-28T21:06:44Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > My understanding is that it’s more difficult than in a car without power steering. Yes. Typically cars designed with manual steering have different steering gear ratios and/or larger diameter steering wheels to keep the needed effort in a reasonable range. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/26 "2012-08-28T21:20:22Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I’m curious as to why she wasn’t instructed to > > 1 - shift the car into neutral (yeah let the engine scream but at least you can stop the car and live) > > or > > 2 - turn off the ignition It was a push button ignition. **[This CNN video](http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/us/2012/08/27/stuck-accelerator-help.kcci)** goes through some of the things she tried that didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/27 "2012-08-28T21:22:08Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > She was asked to do 1). **They wouldn’t ask her to do 2) because pretty obviously from both the video and the fact that she ended up in this situation in the first place she’s hardy the brightest bulb in the chandelier and she’d quite probably turn the ignition off all the way to activate the steering lock.** Although I understand that in some cars now that won’t happen precisely because of idiots who’ve managed to lock their steering when driving. > > She was at least lucky enough to be in such a crappy car it could only do 115, and to be on an open highway with little traffic. This could very easily have been a darwinian incident. The bolded part is incorrect! See the link in my previous post. She was asked to shut the car off, but couldn’t because it was a push button ignition. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/28 "2012-08-28T21:23:01Z")
Something like an automobile should not be designed without a hard off switch; something that physically breaks a circuit and shuts off power to the motor. Software switches are not adequate. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/29 "2012-08-28T21:23:43Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Basically what we are seeing is rare erratic complaints of runaway vehicles that have no direct physical means of killing the engine. But then, that started in the early 80’s with the Audi’s, didn’t it? Nah, that was made up as well. In that case it was old people and/or idiots pressing the accelleartor instead of the brake. Lots of parallels with this case and the recent toyota stuff too in that it’s imbecile user error rather than dangerous engineering. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/30 "2012-08-28T21:31:44Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > The bolded part is incorrect! See the link in my previous post. She was asked to shut the car off, but couldn’t because it was a push button ignition. Fair point. I’m surprised they did ask her though given, as I say, the risks involved (although appreciate said risks don’t really apply in a car modern enough to have push button ignition). Oddly enough I went to a special effort today to drive my car at 115mph (this is legal by the way because I’m currently on the Isle of Man). On one very special road with no corners I could last two or three minutes without having to cut out my little experiment with braking\*. Anywhere else it just wasn’t possible. Of course in Mainland UK, where there are motorways and dual carrigeways, I could probably manage this for an hour in some locations. But it did bring it home how lucky she was location wise, I hadn’t really appreciated at a gut level how much concentration is required. \*There is another road where I could manage it for about seven or eight minutes if I knew there was nothing coming, as it has bends that could be done at that speed but you could never stop if there were hazards. However, I wasn’t inclined to put both myself and other road users in jeapordy for a silly experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/31 "2012-08-28T21:35:57Z")
> [@kiwimac](#): > > You can steer a car with power steering with the engine off, it is not easy but no harder than the old days when no cars had power steering. I disagree. I’ve also driven a PT Cruiser with bum power steering, and I’ve driven my dad’s '65 Chevy S-10 with (obviously) no power steering. The PT Cruiser was significantly more difficult to steer from my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/32 "2012-08-28T21:44:15Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Nah, that was made up as well. In that case it was old people and/or idiots pressing the accelleartor instead of the brake. Lots of parallels with this case and the recent toyota stuff too in that it’s imbecile user error rather than dangerous engineering. I had one of the Audis in question and I was not a senior citizen and would like to think I wasn’t an idiot. I assure you that the problem was very real. I remember times when I would be driving down the freeway at 70 mph with my foot on the break. And, yes, I tried pulling up on the gas pedal. It could always be controlled by pressing down on the break. You learned to keep your foot firmly on the break when shifting into drive or reverse and when it suddenly revved while you were cruising on the street, you learned to use the break to keep it under control. Running a couple of cans of fuel injector cleaner through seemed to make it go away for a while, but maybe it was just coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/33 "2012-08-28T21:49:57Z")
I’ve had the accelerator stick down while driving. My Dad briefly owned a Reliant Fox Camper (AKA the most hilarious piece of crap with wheels ever sold). It turned out that it’d been illegally sold in a not-even-nearly-roadworthy state, with a fake MOT, hence the brief ownership. Among its many issues, the accelerator would occasionally jam when fully depressed, you had to sort of kick the pedal sideways to unstick it. It was an ancient comedy vehicle, and fortunately for me it basically couldn’t go over the speed limit even with the pedal jammed to the floor, so I had plenty of time to work out what to do the first time it happened- but I can see how it’d be utterly terrifying if that did happen in a faster car. I wouldn’t call someone stupid for panicking a bit in a situation where their car is suddenly and utterly unexpectedly not responding to normal controls and rapidly gaining dangerous speed. I found it freaking scary, and I was going pretty slow, in a manual car where I could have easily put it in neutral or turned it off. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/34 "2012-08-28T21:52:26Z")
What car was this exactly? Audi 5000? P.S. Most of us like to think we aren’t idiots, but we all are about some things. It’s nothing to necessarily be ashamed about. First time I tried driving a formula ford car, I stalled it three times in the pit lane. Solution? Take off my shoes - the pedals were too close together! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/35 "2012-08-28T21:59:10Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I had one of the Audis in question and I was not a senior citizen and would like to think I wasn’t an idiot. I assure you that the problem was very real. I remember times when I would be driving down the freeway at 70 mph with my foot on the break. > > It could always be controlled by pressing down on the break. Quoted without comment. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/36 "2012-08-28T22:07:04Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > What car was this exactly? Audi 5000? > > P.S. Most of us like to think we aren’t idiots, but we all are about some things. It’s nothing to necessarily be ashamed about. First time I tried driving a formula ford car, I stalled it three times in the pit lane. Solution? Take off my shoes - the pedals were too close together! Audi Coupe GT. I assure you that whether I was an idiot or not, I was not pressing on the gas. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/37 "2012-08-28T22:08:42Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Quoted without comment. 🙂 I am not sure what you are trying to imply. I meant that the car could be slowed down or stopped using the brakes, but that the engine kept revving at a high speed. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/38 "2012-08-28T22:11:09Z")
The pedal on the floor of you car next to the gas is the brake. If the brake breaks it is broken. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/39 "2012-08-28T22:15:45Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > The pedal on the floor of you car next to the gas is the brake. If the brake breaks it is broken. I guess if you’ve made up your mind that the Audi acceleration problem was a fiction concocted by senile idiots and ambulance-chasing lawyers, there’s nothing I can say to convince you otherwise, right? I just must be too stupid to know which pedal is which. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919/40 "2012-08-28T22:39:38Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I guess if you’ve made up your mind that the Audi acceleration problem was a fiction concocted by senile idiots and ambulance-chasing lawyers, there’s nothing I can say to convince you otherwise, right? I just must be too stupid to know which pedal is which. Examine the spelling in the first quoted post of yours, please? You spelled brake break. We like to be correct here in these forums. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recent-stuck-gas-pedal-runaway-car/632919.md?page=3)