RX8 almost killed me
 

So I decided to get my RX8 out the other night because I try to run it during the winter every now and then and as I started driving the gas pedal froze to the floor while I was in 3rd gear and kept increasing speed and rpms. It was sitting on 10k for a good 5 seconds or so while I did everything from pump the gas to press the brake and putting it in neutral until finally i put my foot behind the pedal and pulled it back. Luckily there was noone around and i was far from stops or pedestrians and my engine didnt overheat or explode or wreck. I havent had and problems since then but I'd like to tell my story.

Wow no way. Thank god you where not hurt. How cold was it out?

Time to replace the pedal

weird......did you figure out why it got stuck??

dude that is flippin scary! so you were going like 95 or so with no control over the gas?

Clutch it, put it in neutral, turn the key off. Nothin' to it. Why the panic?

^Yes +1


If you ever accelerate out of control, just turn the car off.

The goddam fabric rubs against the petal, I notice! This car which everyone knows is Drive By Wire so it's a light weight petal; needs little pressure to send signal to ecu/throttle. I can totally see this happening, I plan to trim the fabric down by my petal after hearing this!

Do you have rubber weather mats in the car? That happened to me once in my Rav4. The rubber mat slipped up behind the pedal and pinched there. All that rubber bunched up behind the pedal wouldn't allow it to come back out. Had to stick my foot under the accelerator and pull it back up. Check to see you don't have the rubber mats riding up behind the pedal.

If you were topped out in 3rd - you were going fast; you're very lucky! If something like this ever happens again, immediately kill the ignition!

Take your car in and get it checked out as soon as possible.

hm... thanks for your story. I'm gonna see if my rugs all the way in the front now.

:uhh: Are you talking about the floor matts?

:uhh:Doesn't the steering wheel lock when you turn the key "off"?

if u turn it too quick yeah.

it sound like he was going a straight anyway, so just turn it off and Brake. no need to panic

Looks like you won't have to worry about carbon for awhile.

Maybe a week, then back to redline a day.

dude that's freaking scary.. you know the suggestion about killing the ignition is a good one, but when you're in that situation, I doubt everyone can remain calm and think of the best way out. I mean you're seconds into a possible disaster, being able to remain calm and coming up with a solution is not exactly a skill many people have.

I'm glad you safely got out of that situation...

Also remember you'll need to press on the brakes very hard when the car is "off" to get the same effect as tapping on them normally.

I think he did alright people - he said his process took about 5 seconds. Hard to believe the pedal froze to the floor though.

^Its also hard to believe this car can burn to the ground in seconds right? Well it can.

turning the car off...then back on so he has power to turn the steering wheel. and all out of gear of course. there will be no vacuum available to assist in braking force as well.

but still good thing that he managed his way out.

i never used/bought any more of those plastic floor mats after my first car. being this "pedal stuck under mat" incident occured to me as well. aftermarket mats are always in the way and worth more out of the car then in.

have the pedal linkages inspected for any bindings and rust and such...

Brakes still work fine without engine vacuum, steering is also easy without the power assist.

The steering wheel won't lock just because you turn the ignition off, it don't work like that. You would need to pull the key completely out, and even then you can steer to a straight stop without it locking.

S

what about those that have the credit card key and dont have to put the key in?

I was always taught to never turn a car off while it's moving. To many things rely on engine power like traction control, brakes, steering wheel locks, power steering, etc. etc. Yeah, you shouldn't have a problem turning the engine off, but personally I'd rather come to a screeching halt then kill the engine, rather then the other way around.

I'm Glad your safe. That's scary as all hell.

There is still a nob where the key normally sits for you to turn.

yea I know but Stealth said you have to pull the key out of the ignition...so how does it work in that case

A "warning," huh? So what are you saying, exactly? That the RX-8 has a design flaw that can cause unintended acceleration? The title you gave this thread - "RX8 almost killed me" - certainly suggests that. That's a fairly serious charge to make and, frankly, I suspect it's not true.

If that happened to me, I'd have to completely, positively, absolutely rule out driver error (i.e. an unsecured front mat) before starting a thread scaring people into thinking the RX-8's accelerator will suddenly "freeze to the floor." I'm not saying there isn't a design flaw, just that it's highly unlikely. (And when you start a thread about something this serious, you might give it a more appropriate, less sensational title. Something like "my accelerator stuck.")