I am terrified because of unintended acceleration

General Discussion
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1

My 2014 Hyundai Elantra with 45K miles on it: today while stopping behind a car at a stop sign it rapidly accelerated and I literally stood on the brake pedal to stop the car from moving forward and all it did was slow it down and I was able to get it into neutral - then it just immediately returned to normal. Luckily I had about 15 feet between me and the car in front so there was room to stop and there was no collision. This happened twice before but acceleration was very slight those two times - nothing like today.

I’ve searched online for an explanation but found nothing helpful. Can anybody give me advice because now I’m terrified to get in and drive this car.

2

Why are you searching online instead of bringing the car to the dealer? I assume it should still be under warranty.

3

Is your floormat bunched up near the gas pedal? Did the gas pedal stick down?

Agree with @lion9car, get that car to the dealer ASAP and get it checked out!

1 Like
4

Thanks. Dealer is closed until Monday and I am searching online to find if it is a known problem with this car.

5

Thanks. No floormat problem - I checked right after it happened. It has plenty of clearance.

6

Go to safercar.gov and log a complaint. NHTSA uses this information to determine the need for a recall. There are few unintended acceleration complaints to date, but adding yours may eventually lead to an investigation by NHTSA or Hyundai.

7

OI was able to find some admittedly limited information on 2013 Hyundai TSBs. I don’t know if any of them apply to your car, but here they are anyway. You may want to try the NHTSA website.

ENGINE (PWS)

Date Reported:
NOVEMBER 01, 2014

NHTSA Reference:
#10057053

TSB Reference:
#TSB-14-FL-006

Description: HYUNDAI: THE DIAGNOSTIC LOGIC IS REVISED FOR ENGINE CONTROL UNIT (ECM) AND OP CODE, THAT WAS UPDATED. MODEL 2011-13 ELANTRA. *PE

Want to learn how to fix NHTSA #10057053?

Date Reported:
OCTOBER 01, 2013

NHTSA Reference:
#10054172

TSB Reference:
#TSB-12-AT-022-1

Description: HYUNDAI: DUE TO AN IMPROPERLY ADJUSTED OR IMPROPERLY OPERATING INHIBITOR SWITCH (RANGE SWITCH), ON SOME VEHICLES, RESULTED IN RANGE SWITCH SENSOR CIRCUIT (P0705), OPEN CIRCUIT (P0707), SWITCH RANGE/PERFORMANCE (P0706), SHORT CIRCUIT OR MUL

Want to learn how to fix NHTSA #10054172?

Date Reported:
OCTOBER 01, 2013

NHTSA Reference:
#10054170

TSB Reference:
#TSB-13-FL-008

Description: HYUNDAI: AN UPDATE FOR ECM TO REVISE LOGIC DUE TO IDLE AIR CONTROL SYSTEM, RPM HIGHER THAN EXPECTED (P0507). MODEL 2013 ELANTRA GT. *PE

Want to learn how to fix NHTSA #10054170?

Date Reported:
AUGUST 01, 2013

NHTSA Reference:
#10053532

TSB Reference:
#TSB-13-FL-006

Description: HYUNDAI: THE FOLLOWING DTCS P2096 POST CATALYST FUEL TRIM SYSTEM TOO LEAN, P0301/2/3/4 CYLINDER 1/2/3/4 MISFIRE DETECTED, ON SOME VEHICLES, WILL BE REVISED THE LOGIC BY AN ECU UPDATE. MODELS 2011-2013 ELANTRA. *PE

Want to learn how to fix NHTSA #10053532?

Date Reported:
APRIL 01, 2013

NHTSA Reference:
#10052144

TSB Reference:
#TSB-13-FL-002

Description: HYUNDAI: THE THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) BODY, ON SOME VEHIICLES, NEEDS TO BE CLEANED AND PROCEDURAL INFORMATION IS BEING PROVIDED, DUE TO DEPOSITS FOUND AT VALVE-TO-BORE INTERFACE. MODELS 2011-2013 ELANTRA, 2010-2013 GENESIS COUPE, 2010-2013

Want to learn how to fix NHTSA #10052144?

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM

Date Reported:
APRIL 01, 2013

NHTSA Reference:
#10052144

TSB Reference:
#TSB-13-FL-002

8

Good idea. Thanks!

9

As posted above, don’t drive the car until this is fixed. One thing you could do yourself probably, get a flashlight and mirror and inspect the pedal area and the various linkages, see if you spot something unusual. Anything seems to be bent, off-kilter, sticking? Could also start the engine ( in the driveway only, don’t drive), and step on the gas pedal while a helper looks for anything unusual happening in the throttle body area. Sticking movements, etc

10

Had the same experience pulling up to the automatic gate at work on my 03 f250, blaming it on winter boots I had on at the time, pressing on brake and accelerator pedal at the same time, my best guess. Antilock brakes kicked in but the truck kept creeping forward, Luckily no harm as I was able to stop within inches of the gate!

11

The most common cause of this is the left foot being trapped under the brak pedal. what you experience is that you are stepping on the pedal very gard and the car just doesn’t want to slow down.

1 Like
12

Just remember that you can put the car in neutral and it will stop accelerating. The engine might race, but it will not explode. Don’t shut off the ignition until you are stopped and in a safe place, because if you do the steering wheel might lock, the power steering will not continue to be powered and the power assisted brakes will require a lot more effort. The car will not blow up.

13

It could be a throttle sensor mine went out on my car and accelerate out of nowhere and the pedal wasn’t stuck or nothing