My local newspaper carried a story this morning about a Woman in a 2011 Kia Sorento whose accelerator apparently stuck on Interstate 35 in Missouri. She reached speeds of 110 MPH as she was dodging traffic, talking to a 911 operator on her cell phone. The story doesn't say how she got stopped, but it always amazes me when I read these stories. Does it never dawn on these people to shift into neutral? Sure, the engine may over-rev, but wouldn't that be preferable to a high speed collision? Or how about this, just shut the dang car off! OK, you lose power steering and brakes. Big deal. I think if the key was left in the "On" position after power is cut, the steering wheel will remain unlocked.
This seems so simple to me, and I can't believe a well trained 911 operator would not suggest these measures. Or am I missing something?
Jim

I know the feeling! It's been a few years ago by now, but I remember getting the throttle stuck on my '46 CJ2A. I think I hit 40 mph before I got things under control, and by then the engine had a bad knock.

Scared the heck out of me!



Oh, I got enough of my foot under the pedal so I could lift up on it and get it un-stuck.

I had a '65 Corvette that would do that occasionally. Speed cops would never believe my "runaway" story. After the 3rd ticket and losing my DL for 3 mos. the problem mysteriously went away.

I am impressed every day with the lack of common sence in the general public. I must have just grown up in a different environment i guess. My dad was a wood working teacher for 35 years and from a farm background. He tought me how to work on cars and tractors etc since I was big enough to crawl up on the bumper and look to see what he was doing. Stuck a 20 gauge in my hand at 12 and said " time to start helping feed the family". It was his willingness to raise a kid the best he could that got me here. I was never good in school but he always told me dont worry. You have way more common since than most people. That will get you a long way in this world. Its just amazing how many people DONT think about whats going on. If you are being held hostage in your own run away car without a clue what to do.........you should NOT be driving.

Hayden.

Hey at least she never got off the damn cell phone. 911, what is your emergency?, My accelerator is stuck, what should I do???

Reminds me of the old "Blond Star Joke" (Take off of "On Star") Google Blonde Star Commercial


Mrs Rule is Blonde and gave me permission, but does not approve this message

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Still Running Against the Wind

The real news here is that a Kia Sorento will go over 100MPH. Tomorrow morning at the KIA plant, the engineers will be high-fiving each other.

Most cars steering wont lock unless the car is in park... the key does not turn that far and will not come out. And your breaks will still work and power steering will not be noticeable at 110 mph lol. To put it simply the 911 operator should have just hung up and let natural selection do its job.

"Hi 911 Im getting seriously burnt at my house"
"Is your house on fire?"
"No Im holding onto a cookie sheet that just came out of the oven, how do I make this stop?"

I know someone that tried to stop a run a way by putting the trans in Park.

Have an ex wife that put her car in park while it was moving.Didn't tell me about it.Started it for her a few days later and went to grab the newspaper from behind it on a long sloping driveway.A rolling car is damn hard to fend off!

These stories come up from time to time. Most likely the person missed the brake pedal and had their foot on the gas. Instead of stopping, car goes faster, person panics.

Unless the brakes are in really bad shape, they can overpower the engine and stop the car.

A snapped off parking brake detent pounding around in an automatic trans is usually not good.

...going to neutral is the key...go to neutral...pull over...and shut it off. Most new cars that are ECM controlled have a rev limiter...but even if they don't...a blown engine beats someone getting killed.

911 is stupid.

PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL YOU IDIOTS! Guaranteed to slow or stop forward motion. I can GUARANTEE this can be done in every car out there.
You can turn the key off and NOT lock the steering, again, in every car out there I"ve ever seen/driven (was a mechanic and service advisor for 20 some years).

go try it in your car and you'll see.

Yep, throw 'er in neutral and let 'er blow.

What would I have done? I would have fired up Steppenwolf"s "Born to be Wild" or Deep Purple's "Highway Star" and enjoyed the ride.

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I'm with the banned ...

jammed throttles are nearly unheard lately unless radical technological changes are involved such as the prius issue.
Kia, failed to avoid the problem like everyone else managed to .. so now ya want to trust their brakes? ..
even if they could, most in that situation tend to waste the brakes with several feeble attempts because they start to smell.

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it just needs more voltage

Kia.....? 'Nuff said................

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Go big or stay home

How about just stepping on the brakes!? Back during the run away Toyota scare a few years ago one of the car magazines conducted a test. The cars included everything from economy subcompacts to a fire breathing modified super car. You guessed it! Brakes trumps full throttle every time.

Ed

This is correct.

Put the car in neutral and you still have power assist brakes and steering.

On most vehicles you can turn the key from On/Start to Accessory. But you will not have hydraulic power to the brakes or steering. You cannot turn the key all the way off unless the shifter is in Park. And some vehicles, when the ignition is turned to Off, the steering locks. However most require the key to be removed from the ignition to lock the steering.

911 operators just aren't being trained like they used to be.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I'm trying to defuse this explosive device and the timer shows I have 90 seconds left before detonation -- there are 3 wires leading to the
striker cap -- do I cut the red one or the blue one or the green one?

911: "Let me look thru my training manual -- (pause as 911 operator looks thru 330 pages of possible scenarios ranging from toddlers locked in cars to rabid raccoons to aliens landing for 60 seconds) --
cut the blue wire!"

Caller: "Are you sure?"

911 operator: "Not really, but there is a 33.3% chance that I'm right -
I'll stay on the line and if I hear a Boom, next time I'll go with red or green. Have a nice day"

so her car went full throttle and she didn't have the common sense to save her dumb ***, but was able to pick up the phone and make a call? She should be taken to the nearest vet and spayed immediately.

Back in the early 1980s I had I think, a 1972 chrysler new yorker. My Ex, I and a buddy were headed to the santa anita horse races. It happened so fast its a blurr in my mind as to exactly what I did but I was takeing the off ramp of the freeway and the car speeded up. I stood on the brakes and it still raced ahead. It gets foggy, but I think I tried to turn the key off but it woudnt turn! I tried downshifting and that didnt work! Finaly I hit the cross street, ran it off and somehow the engine quit with me standing on the brakes. Seems I had to also deal with a frozen steering wheel for a secound when the engine quit on me before we came to a halt! The problem? A engine mount had busted and the engine had rocked the throttle wide open! Get your kicks on old route 66!
Years ago and probley now things can defeat each other in a untried emergency! All these gadgets!
It never crossed my mind to try and sue chrysler.

I remember almost 25 years ago I had a similar experience when I was in my early 20s. I was driving on an interstate highway in the winter. Lots of snow and ice. Car was an older Rotary engine Mazda. I took my foot off the throttle at one point and it didn't slow down. HHMMMM. OK, I can deal with this, guess I now have cruise control (which, by the way, I HATE and never use). I just steered it along, and if I got to going too fast I just threw out the clutch, shut it off, braked to the speed I wanted, put it in 4th gear with the ignition in the "on" position, dumped the clutch and roll started it. Did that for almost an hour. Got to my location in total safety, with a fun story to tell.

People today have no idea how to deal with life's little difficulties.

Jim

I would never damn someone else`s story like that after it happened to me. I have drove, flew and rode many motorcyles etc. In that experiance I cant even remember the sequence of everything I tried!
I found out nothing is foolproof. As said different cars have different safe guards. On most or many you cant turn the key off in motion. If you are going too fast on some the auto transmission wont let you downshift. That chrysler wouldnt with the broken engine mount.
Another story: I had a 1985 ford ranger 4WD I bought new. I had about 150,000 miles on it. I was on a trip in the sierras and the fuel pump started doing strange stuff. The engine quit repeatedly always on a down hill left turn. When that happened the steering locked up and I had no power brakes. I had to put all my weight and strength on the brakes to stop! Uphill or on the level it ran as it should. I was lucky to get home alive! I also was sick of the truck from other standpoints and the next day went and bought me a brand new GMC truck.
After those experiances I would be carefull about calling another person stupid or a liar! I also had a few freak things happen flying.
Sorry, but the older I get the softer and more understanding I get too!

Today Lee in quartsite posted this picture. I LOVE IT! I think it go`s with this thread too. Thanks Lee!
Bummer when your engine quits in flight........
Sorry. That didnt work. It was that picture of a pilot stepping out of a cub trying to turn the prop!

...back in 1975...I was driving between Tonopah and Ely Nevada...the very definition of the middle of nowhere...when my throttle cable (1970 VW bug) broke. The inventor of the cell phone hadn't even been born yet...and I don't think there's a cell tower out there even today. I thought about it for awhile...then ran what was left of the throttle cable under the rear seat...wrapped it around one of the heater control levers next to the between seats emergency brake lever...and clamped it with a set of vice grips. Drove home 700 miles with a hand throttle...got really good with it by the time I got home.

I call that 'cockpit skills'. Some people have it, most don't.

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But then, what do I know?

My work van, an E250, accelerates by its self occasionally . The cure is fairly simple. I take my foot off the pedals. My foot is wide enough to catch both the brake and the gas at the same time. The first impulse is of course to press harder on the brake, which also is pushing harder on the gas. Was a little nerve racking until I figured out what was going on.

I've had 2 runaway cars in my life. One was my 1st Jeep in which I never knew why the gas got stuck but it only did it once. The pedal wasn't all the way down so I was able to use my brakes to get the truck to stop it. After that I put the car in park and was able to push the pedal back. After taking to my dad about it on the side of the ride, he told me to put it in neutral. I was 16 years old at the time.

2nd time it happen to me was last year in a rental car. The floor mats got bunched up and started to push down on the pedal at WOT. I remembered what my dad told me and I just shifted it into neutral and pulled over.

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Don't look, reload and shoot!

Funny, I knew a runaway that met up with a tranny at the park.........


It happened a long time ago on one of my racebikes. Road America, Wisconsin. Headed down the front straight, about 155mph, maybe 160 and when I lifted to start braking for turn 1...... the motor was full beans and I was chopping the throttle madly. The old V4 Hondas had some linkage issues if they were not installed very carefully when they were switched to push-pull cables.

I managed tro slow it to about 65 before I stuffed into the haybakes and went for a short flight. Even with the kill switch flipped, the motor dieseled pretty good on the leftover fuel being sucked from the carbs under the vacuum created by the high compression.

Kids, don't try this at home.

I had another one that wasnt quite as bad with a 1961 oldsmobile. Both incidents, it and my older post, were due to engine mounts breaking and the motor will twist and open the throttle.

Its been 46 years ago so I can tell it now. I gassed up my 1946 luscombe that didnt have a starter. I should have got someone to hand prop me but I didnt know or see anyone there. I had done it many times with the tail chained down and even got away with it before a few times without tyeing the tail down. This time I must have set the throttle a tad too far open. I swung the prop and the plane started out without me! I jumped out of the way, ran around and grabbed a strutt, hanging on to that with one hand was running along side and was able to get to reopen the door and throttle back. This was in san fernando california. The plane probley might have took off it didnt hit something first and probley crash like a kamo kuzzi somewhere in the los angeles area! I have heard of it happening before! Until now, nobody else knew of my blunder!

Shift to neutral and turn the key off but not to lock the column. If it overrevs and blows up so what.

What would I do? See if I was fast enough to qualify for Taladaga.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

Let Sandra Bullock take the wheel, and call Keanu Reeves.

...I'm willing to bet she was already on the phone when it happened...put her call on hold...and called 911...probably resumed the original call when she got it stopped.

Nah, Bonneville Salt Flats!!

"PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL YOU IDIOTS! Guaranteed to slow or stop forward motion. I can GUARANTEE this can be done in every car out there.
You can turn the key off and NOT lock the steering, again, in every car out there I"ve ever seen/driven (was a mechanic and service advisor for 20 some years).
go try it in your car and you'll see."

You are dead right with that last piece of advice.

With every car I've owned (the ones with power brakes and/or steering anyway) since the late 60's I find a safe place, get up to speed, shut the ignition and see how it stops and steers.

Unless it's a '69 Electra 225 or the like it should stop and maneuver just fine.

I'm convinced a large percentage of drivers have no seat-of-the-pants driving skills, a result of dependency on ABS, Traction Control, Stability Control etc. - JP

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noli illegitimi carborundum

Ah, maybe stomp on the brake?

Remember Gm's Saginaw steering columns? When you turn the key off, the steering wheel locks. How many of those did you see?

This was a newer car, not a GM relic with a pot metal steering lock that is defeated with a screwdriver. The 1986 Olds got stolen from work by kids for a joy ride. Had a trashed steering column when recovered.

I had a 1967 Chevy with a 307 CI engine that was upgraded with a Holley 4-barrel carb. If you are an air force aircraft mechanic, anything can be improved. The vacuum open secondaries on the carb were adjusted to open sooner. Too bad the secondaries wouldn't close after 10 seconds of full throttle. My foot is off the gas, car is at 75 MPH and accelerating with vigor. Turned off the key, coasted to the side of the road, and restarted the engine.

Tried full throttle again with the same result, used same solution. Drove home and "fixed" the vacuum open secondaries for correct operation.

You can turn the key from "RUN" to "OFF" and shift to NEUTRAL, the steering functions, brakes function, and the engine stops. Brakes aren't great (but work with effort) and steering is hard (no power assist), but nothing gets destroyed.

Motorist, "My throttle is stuck wide open!!!!!!!!! "

911 operator, "Say the Lord's Prayer and aim carefully."

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S&WHF 366

For Heaven's sake, man, come back and tell us how!!!
The suspense is killing us.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

"Remember Gm's Saginaw steering columns? When you turn the key off, the steering wheel locks. How many of those did you see?"
I never had one that locked but that's the point in finding a "safe" place to test your car, just in case .
What models had the Saginaw columns?-JP

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noli illegitimi carborundum

OK, update time thanks to a friend on Facebook, where I also posted this.
Apparently this vehicle had a keyless ignition, whatever that is. They advised her she could try to throw the key fob out the window, and MAYBE that would kill the engine.
My friend couldn't comment on shifting into neutral, although I can't see how that would be a problem.
One more reason to hate newer cars.
Jim

I believe once the Key fob is over a certain distance away from the vehicle, the signal is lost for ignition, and vehicle will die. I'm not sure then what functions you'd have or wouldn't have at this point.

Too many to list or remember. Millions were made. It was the standard column for 30 or so years in GM and Jeep vehicles. Chrysler and Ford also had their versions.

Federal regulations did not require locking steering wheels until 1968.

911 operator says to the caller, please hold, I'm still looking in the manual.

Jim, "keyless" ignitions are becoming the standard slowly but surely. Throwing the key out the window will not help.

When you unlock the doors with remote, the vehicle recognizes the frequency and knows it's you. And it allows you to start the car once your inside by means of a push button start switch. No need for a key. So once the car is started, the remote has done it's job. It cannot turn the engine off. You must simply push the button again to turn it off.