tksnobords

+1

i have had this happen...not in my 8 or at 95mph. in my mazda pickup at about 50mph. either way...same thing "Clutch it, put it in neutral, turn the key off. Nothin' to it." although controlling your vehicle instantly becomes hard as hell! hahaha. i turned my truck all the way off and the wheel locked...i think all cars unlock the wheel once the key is in the on position. turn it back one click and you're good. your car didnt almost kill you...panic almost killed you. i'm glad you handled the situation with good results. i'll be devistated if i hit something with it.

Jethro Tull

iTrader: (6)

My Explorer gets the gas pedal stuck on the floor mat if the mat gets shoved too far up the firewall and bunches-up. I just reach down and yank the mat back and the pedal pops back.

It could be a problem with the cruise control in some instances, though I can't recall hearing or reading about it happening before.

RotaryP7

Damn, I've had dreams of these kinds of situation. Scary..

Rems31

well it did grab my attention enough to actually read his post...if it was "my accelerator stuck" i probably would have just passed on it. And it's a good contrast to the "RX8 saved my life" threads :-P

23109VC

$5 says that was not a "frozen" pedal, but instead, your pedal got jammed up under your floormat.

that happened to me in a car once. the car redlined, bouncing off rev limiter, scary...it was the floormat that had crept forward up to where the pedal comes to the floor. i pushed the gas down and the pedal wedged up on top of the floormat... basically the same concept of a doorstop...only the floormat is the doorstop and your gas pedal is the door....

check your floormats. change your floormats, get them secured..etc.

glad you are ok

New Yorker

I agree. I bet that's why Mazda provides a driver's side floormat post.

the stig

that was pretty scary. my floor mat for my old car keep moving up also, i have to pull it down once a while.

TQ025

Well it wasn't the floormat I checked and it was actually pulled back away from the pedals and yeah i was going pretty hard I think I saw a 7x so I don't know if I got to 80mph or not the speed wasnt exactly my concern. I didn't even think to turn off the car that was the last thing to come to mind. And as for the warning, I didn't mean for it to sound like a Mazda/RX8 flaw I'm not calling Mazda complaining or anything like that I'm just referring to driving while its cold as the warning. Temp wise I'd say it was close to 10 before wind chill and in Indiana the wind chill is big because we have no hills... and remember it was the first time my car was ran in like 2+ weeks of really cold weather.

New Yorker

I'm confused. Are you saying the reason the car accelerated - without you intending it to - was because of the very cold temperature? Because that would most definitely be a design flaw! You should be able to drive the 8 or any other car in sub-freezing weather without the accelerator "freezing to the floor," as you said.

NoRotorNoMotor

+1 couldn't agree more.

Moyenne

Tossing some ideas out there. My 2005 would on occasion idle extremely high 6500rpm when first started. This was winter starts at below -10c ( Toronto ). Since then there have been two flashes done on my vehicle and I have not encountered the high idle in over a year and a half.
If the driver was already pointed straight and ready to roll away from stop, there could possibly have been just enough of a delay before the mentioned ( strange high idle ) kicked in. There was no way in hell, I was rolling away when the idle was above 6000rpm.
I have rode sport bikes for over twenty years, the high rpm did not scare me, it did however alarm me ( should warm idle at more like 2000rpm ). Just'a thought. Have you had thic vehicle flashed ?

TQ025

Ok sorry take away the whole warning thing... I'm just saying that it wasn't the floor mat and the only thing that I could think of was because it was cold... I'm not sending out a warning about the car in general or other cars I was just worded it wrong when I was originally just trying to tell my story.

New Yorker

I understand. No problem—and hey, thanks for clarifying.

Lebren

iTrader: (5)

No, my pedal rubs against the material on the firewall (above the bellhousing) next to the pedal. Ive gone down there to verify and sure enough it rubs when 50% depressed! Not the floor mats, they're outta the way. The pedal is very light to the touch, not much effort needed to push.

If enough resistance is made im sure it could snag on the material. This is why I plan to take preventative action. And no, my shoes/feet are not extremely fat

dmc27

Scary *****, man. Glad you handled it and were not hurt.


Turning the engine off - one click ("acc" position) - will kill the power assist to the steering and brakes, and make both respond much different. If you don't know what will happen, killing the engine could easily lead to killing yourself. Try it on the way up the road to your house or somewhere safe to know how it changes; it may prove useful some day. (everybody who has recommended it, especailly)

The steering wheel LOCKS when the key is turned two clicks - ("off" position) and usually only locks AFTER the steering wheel is turned a certain amount. Not sure what amount that is, or how much it may vary vehicle to vehicle. Do this at 90 and you're very likely to end up totally wrecked.


Either way, there are few things in life scarier than a stuck throttle at high speed. The combination of loss of control and the screaming, "I'm gonna blow the f8ck up and take you with me" sound of the engine . . .

It's pretty freaky to re-start an engine with a stuck throttle, too.

Mike06

WOW!

you must be one of those really inexperienced, new drivers.
or one of those people that are born with a disability of reflexes and/or the ability to think under pressure.

OR your just really dumb...

if my car is accelerating out of control, there is one thing and one thing only that would seem painfully obvious and effective in my predicament.

TURN OFF YOUR DAMN CAR!

it doesn't take a rocket scientist or being a seasoned war veteran with psychological training and nerves of steel to come to the conclusion that turning off your car will cut power to the engine...

geez, people these days...

Socket7

Turning off your damn car can also cut power to your steering, brakes, and can possibly lock your steering wheel as previously mentioned. So perhaps your painfully obvious solution may not be the best one. I'm not going to argue the merits of shifting to neutral vs turning your engine off, I can't say I've ever tried either, but personally I like the idea of my traction control being functional when I'm trying to stop a vehicle which is accelerating out of control.

OP is obviously someone who has reflexes and the ability to think under pressure or he would be dead. No need for the hate.

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Steering does NOT lock if key is turned to OFF.

Try it.

You would have to pull the key OUT, then turn the wheel.

S

Spin9k

It's the floor mats, they can stick the accelerator down if the carpet is just in the right position and if you push the pedal really hard, like WOT (yippie!). Happened to me entering the interstate... it was like boing! boing! boing! off the fuel cutout in 3rd at 90+. Disconcerting to say the least. Make sure those carpets aren't near or under the accelerator!!

New Yorker

I disagree. In an unexpected, high pressure situation like that one - your car suddenly accelerating rapidly by itself - it would not be at all unusual for someone not to think of turning their engine off. Has nothing to do with intelligence.

When I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation beginner course, they taught us to always turn off the engine with the emergency "engine kill" switch, even though it's not an emergency. Why? As I recall, studies found that - in an emergency - normal, responsible, intelligent riders would fumble around, trying to turn off the engine the normal way, with the key. These riders knew they had an "engine kill" switch, but it didn't occur to them in an emergency because they were under extreme pressure - and they weren't used to using it. In other words, the pressure - and unexpected nature of the event - made these normal, intelligent people not think completely logically.