High Desert Community

BoyWonder-73 · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:16 am Post subject: Toyota Gas Pedal Problem

I hope all of you drivers out there have enough sense to know what to do should your accellerator stick. I had an '83 Nissan Sentra stick shift, and the pedal stuck once while I was getting off the freeway. Not a "floor mat" problem, it actually stuck.

First, whether stick or automatic, PUT THE THING IN NEUTRAL. So the engine might get damaged, you and your family don't die! Most automatics can simply be knocked into neutral by pushing on the gear shift button (automatic) and moving it into neutral.

Another option, stick or automatic, DOWNSHIFT. Lower gears slow the car. Stick shift: Use the clutch! Car can't pull if it's not in gear.

Yet another option, EMERGENCY BRAKE. Don't yank it, your car might spin out, but push in on the button and work the thing (pull, release) until your car slows down. I also lost brakes on that '83 Sentra one time, and using the gears and the E-brake, I was able to limp it home, SANS accident.

DO NOT shut the ignition off. While turning the key one click may shut off the engine without locking the steering wheel, your brakes and power steering won't work right.

I can't believe the 911 operator didn't know any of this. Tragic that that family died.

Eric Reyes · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:25 am Post subject:

It was indeed tragic what happened to that family. I wouldn't necessarily blame the operator nor the emergency system for not knowing about what doesn't typically happen on a daily basis. I think the information NOW is good. I mean I've owned toyota vehicles and something like that never happened to me. I feel bad that driver called 911 instead of using your helpful tips.

BoyWonder-73 · Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 1:31 am Post subject:

Didn't mean to sound self-righteous, it's just that people in my family believe in learning how to "operate a motor vehicle," not just learning how to "drive." In our opinion, it's not enough to learn how to make the thing go, you must also learn what to do should the thing fail.

I was given driving lessons early in life. Every road trip, every weather phenomenon, I was told how to handle it. Even though I was too young to drive.

My first car was a '76 Ford Grenade, er, I mean, Granada. I replaced the battery, alternator, smog pump, water pump, brake light switch, you name it. The water pump blew. I lost power steering. The cruise control stuck. I dealt with vapor lock in the fast lane on the 91 freeway.

Had to pump the gas twice, start the car, wait two minutes, gun it twice, slam the gas pedal to get it to idle. I LEARNED the car. I'm just trying to say that it's not enough to learn how to make the car GO, people need to learn how to DRIVE.

I love my Toyota, never had a major problem with it... But I know what to do if it fails.

Eric Reyes · Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 7:41 am Post subject:

Splendid! Perhaps you should write an automobile emergency response manual for 911 operators. While you are at it, make one for what to do when stuck in an elevator after a building explodes. (It could happen...you know?) Wink

Sorry for the sarcasm, but it seems you feel superior to the driver who died along with his family because you know how to not panic when considering placing a speeding car into neutral. It is good that at least the guy had the presence of mind to call 911. Perhaps the emergency operator could have helped diffuse the inevitable by simply saying, "Don't Panic" and "Put the car in neutral". But I really wouldn't know.

I do think that NOW is the time to come up with solutions to such problems so as that they don't tend to happen again if not more often. I'll bet that guy learned how to change a spark plug or two or an alternator in his own day, and still....you know? I don't think it is fair of you to imply the driver didn't know how to "operate a vehicle". Maybe I should have just said that. Smile

I take it that nobody in your family (thank God), have ever been in an automobile accident, or that if so, it was NEVER EVER their own fault because they are experts at operating a vehicle and not merely "drivers".

BoyWonder-73 · Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 10:07 pm Post subject:

Well, you're right about that, nobody in my family has ever been in an automobile accident, because we maintain our cars and we know what to do should they malfunction. Grandpa believed in thinking ahead and using common sense. He also believed that panic never solved anything. Sorry that my post translated into self-superiority.

I don't blame the driver or the 911 operator. I blame DMV for passing out driver's licenses to anyone just because thay can pass a written test and drive around the block and parallel park.

I tend not to get stuck in elevators, not too many high rises in the High Desert. Very Happy