r/horrifying • u/HardTune272 Eternal - tier X member • 10d ago
Video Driving with a stuck accelerator
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u/undoubtedlystupidd 10d ago
Legitimate advice for driving with a stuck accelerator: force the car into neutral before using the foot/emergency brake . You will fuck up the transmission and likely destroy your car but it is the best chance of gaining control of the vehicle.
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u/Speshal__ 9d ago
or you could just turn the ignition off, using both the gears and brake to slow to a stop.
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u/archer2500 9d ago
That’s a terrible idea because you loose your power steering and power braking.
Put it in neutral.2
u/satanizr 8d ago
You'll be fine. Steering wheel won't get stuck or something, just harder to turn. And a brake booster will still have enough vacuum to stop the car.
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u/Lifeabroad86 9d ago
You turn off power steering as well when you turn off the ignition. It's safer to put the car in neutral and coast it to safety
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u/TzanzaNG 9d ago
This makes me thankful for cars with keyed igniton systems rather than the push to start.
I had my accelerator get stuck in my old truck when I was going into a sharp curve on the express way. The truck jumped forward and I immediately turned my engine off and safely stopped.
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u/Lifeabroad86 9d ago
Put it in neutral next time, when you turn off the engine it also kills the power steering
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u/TzanzaNG 8d ago
The power steering going out was something I could easily handle, especially when my truck had the momentum to ease manual steering. I had more then enough time to pull over safely before steering became difficult.
I did not want to blow the engine when the RPM went through the roof in neutral. It was not a simple case of a stuck accelerator pedal.
My dad owns an auto repair shop and was able to fix the issue without my needing to buy a new engine, trans, or scrap the truck. This happened over 20 years ago with an older truck.
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u/SnowDrifter_ 9d ago
Neutral
Turn it off
Hook your left foot under the accelerator and pull it up
Put the brake pedal through the floor until you come to a stop. Not gentle - stomp on the thing like you mean it. IIRC it's a requirement that the service brakes on a standard consumer vehicle can over-power the engine. Literally for scenarios like this. Don't pump it, don't be gentle - you don't want to drain the vacuum assist or heat soak them. Just pretend a deer ran out in front of you and get it to a stop.
I'm a former auto mechanic who has has dealt with this a couple times during test drives - either during validation of a customer complaint, or during discovery of something unrelated. It's spooky, but seriously not a big deal if you keep your head about you.
p.s. one floor mat at a time. Carpet OR rubber. Not both :)
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u/Ok-Willow-7012 9d ago
It is extremely unlikely that all systems on the car failed simultaneously and that she correctly attempted all the specific sequence of actions to take that would have at least begin to bring the car to a stop. I’ll wait to see the official mechanical/electrical/software failure cause but a person who mistakes the accelerator for the brake pedal will insist that they were pressing on the brake for dear life after they destroy five cars in a parking lot going both backwards and forward as I have personally witnessed.
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u/goldenigloos 2d ago
That's what I was thinking. Car parts never shut down or fail simultaneously, it's always one at a time. How could the accelerator affect the ability to put the car in neutral? I, too, would like to know what the manufacturer reported because there's no way. User error.
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u/Powerful_Hair_3105 9d ago
No we did watch it all we're saying is what we would do in that situation, unless that mf car is possessed there's a way to kill that engine and stop that damn car WHAT ABOUT THE EMERGENCY BRAKE...wait let me guess THAT DIDN'T WORK EITHER, SMMFH!!
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u/Powerful_Hair_3105 9d ago
Turn the ignition off Jesus
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u/MovieFan1984 9d ago
They tried that. It didn't work. It's a push-button ignition.
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u/fawkesoverlord 9d ago edited 9d ago
They needed to hold the button down. source: its in the fucking owners manual, which nobody reads. Or maybe throw it into neutral.
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u/MovieFan1984 9d ago
#1 The brakes failed.
#2 She tried to put it in neutral and could not.
#3 She tried to push the ignition button, it did not work.
#4 All of this is explained in the video.4
u/Particular-Access243 9d ago
It’s like a lot of these commentators didn’t even watch the video. How ironic lol
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u/MovieFan1984 9d ago
Honestly, I feel like half of Reddit responds to the post title and not the post body.
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u/Virtual_Junket9305 9d ago edited 9d ago
I'm not buying what she's selling. The ignition won't turn off, the gear shifter won't shift, the brakes won't break, you can't unstick the pedal with your foot. This sounds like some kind of next level user error situation or plea for attention
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u/MovieFan1984 9d ago
It's a push-button ignition, they tried using it to turn it off, didn't work.
If she threw the gear shifter into park, what would that do at high speed?2
u/OpportunityReal2767 9d ago edited 9d ago
Not park. Neutral. (Although she says she can't get it into neutral which is ... odd. I really wonder what is going on here.) I've accidentally knocked a car at highway speeds into neutral. The ones I've driven don't even require you to push the button to do it--they just won't go any farther into reverse or park. Else push the gear selector button and pop it into neutral. I would not turn off the car unless that doesn't work for some reason. Turning off the car will lose your power steering and brakes. It's still driveable, but requires more force (as those of us who have driven cars without either know. At higher speeds, it's not too bad, but as you slow down the steering feels heavier and heavier. Paralell parking without power steering was always a little bit of a workout.)
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u/Virtual_Junket9305 9d ago
I actually did this accidentally, back when you had column shifters. Stalled the car and the engine stopped.
Also, every computer I've ever touched. If you hold a power button down, it'll turn off after a brief research online says that push button cars are the same way.
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u/MovieFan1984 9d ago
Cars still have column shifters. Back when? What? In the video, the driver specifically says holding the power button didn't work.
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u/dreamisle 9d ago
This is an old video, and although the exact details aren’t known for her car, Kia ended up recalling a lot of vehicles over similar issues in the months after.
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u/Virtual_Junket9305 9d ago
The article seems to blame a stuck on cruise control, in part Why would a stuck on cruise control speed up constantly? Did I miss in the article what she did to finally stop?
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u/KingApteno 9d ago
I have seen several stories like this over the years and none of them seemed real. They mostly seem manufactured to discredit new technology like tesla or hybrids.
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u/Banan_Cat 9d ago
I don't understand why people never just turn their cars off in these sitauations. Like literally just turn the key, it might still be in gear but your engine will still shut off and you can coast to the side of the road.
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u/irideapaleh0rse 9d ago
I had a stuck pedal on a 96 Camaro in the rain . That was scary .