my car just took off and didn’t stop until I hit something. happened twice. I don’t know if it was me or not. I am a careful driver, first two accidents in 33 years.
Get out your flashlight & inspect the accelerator pedal area. See any mats, carpets that might be bunching up and obstructing free pedal movement? Try removing everything carpet/mat related in that area, might help. Check for a soda can, etc, that might have rolled under seat as well.
A Nissan dealership might have some gadget they can plug into your car which monitors the throttle valve position. If it happens again they might be able to determine the cause. No harm to ask.
Another idea. Is there something unusual occurring in your life that may be distracting you? I had something like that happen to me many years ago, after some close calls during driving, found I had to be extra careful when driving during that period to avoid accidents.
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Soooooo many questions about this…
1st of all if your vehicle is taking off on it’s on with no input from you (according to your header) then for YOUR safety and EVERYONES around you, it needs to be towed to the nearest Nissan Dealer for a diagnostic… Sorry, not being mean but if you are not capable of knowing if you wrecked your vehicle or not (your words) then you probable aren’t qualified to diagnose your vehicle… Again, please no disrespect but that could be a life or death crash… Safety 1st…
( If I need to edit that just let me know and I will)
Now, maybe if you would explain what exactly happened in detail then it might not be as bad as it sounds… Like you stated Unintended Acceleration… What does that mean??? To me it sound like you were not in the vehicle and it took off with out any input from you… And you said it did it two times… Was it on different days or different hour or after hitting something it took off again???
I have seen many times, even rear ended due to this but someone get mixed up and hit the gas pedal thinking it was the break pedal, the reason I know that is what happened to me was cause I was in line at a drive through (manual trans) with the ebrake on and I heard the engine rev up and watched through my mirror as the driver freaked out and slammed into me… Crap happens, but sometimes Age, meds, bad time of life, event in life ( as George stated) can cause this to happen, not always a bad driver… Had an older Tech (great B tech) hit the gas pedal and drove a jeep over the alignment rack into our alignment machine… We were glad he and the vehicle was ok but also glad it happened cause we got a new machine… lol
So either A) you have a major issue that the dealer needs to take care of
Or B) you need to call Ghost Busters
Or C) you mixed your pedals up and caused the crash…
A) the dealer needs to find what happened and possibly put put a TSB on it if not already out there…
B) sorry don’t know what to tell you there
C) Just face it that you had a bad day and try not to let it happen again…
Again, a more detailed encounter will/can shed a lot more light as to what happened and how to help if at all possible…
Drive with your right hand on the gear shifter, ready to shift to neutral. Have your left foot ready on the brakes. The brakes will be weak if the throttle is engaged, so be ready to stomp the brake pedal down hard.
Does this happen in parking lots? Must have been two minor accidents if you’re still driving it.
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Tester
I just want to say, really clearly, that neutral is your friend. If the car starts to run away with you, put it in neutral. Then you stop, then you turn off the engine, then you figure out what’s going on. In that order.
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The Sentra in question is a 2018. The article you posted is for MY2013-2014 cars. I looked on the NHTSA website and there are no open recalls, complaints investigations or manufacturer communications for unintended acceleration. In one of the complaints someone did add that the brake and accelerator pedals are close together and that while braking someone might also press the accelerator.
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It’s also not a Versa or Versa Note.
This might sound silly but I’ve gotten into the habit of using the heel of my shoe to make sure the floor mat is slid as far back as it will go everytime I get into the driver seat. I’m anal about making sure the driver side floor board is clear of any trash. That’d be the first thing I’d look for.