If the gas pedal sticks can I just throw it into neutral and then step on the brake. Toyota seems to recommend stomping on the brake with all your might
I would instinctively do BOTH. Then steer the car off the road to safety.
Please read the multitude of existing threads already discussing this. The answer for you is the same as the answer for everyone else.
Toyota does NOT,"…seem to recommend stomping on the brake WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT"! Toyota says to put both feet on the brake. Please, don’t exaggerate. There’s more than enough panic, already.
In the event of sudden acceleration:
- Heavily apply brakes, with a constant push. If the brakes control the vehicle, safely steer to the side of the road. If the brakes don’t seem to be capable, reach down, WITHOUT LOOKING, and PUSH the gear shift lever toward N. Don’t worry, it won’t go into R, or P. Even if it did, it would only hurt the transmission, not you.
- After safely pulling over to the side of the road, turn the engine off (if running).
- Call for a tow.
In your driveway, PRACTICE the stepping on the brakes, and blindly pushing the gear shift lever to N. In your mind, safely pull over to the side of the road, and turn the engine off. Practice and be better prepared for eventualities.
PUT IT IN NEUTRAL
any brand, any reason for stuck accelerator ( CD case falls down there, floor mats in wrong after detail )
PUT IT IN NEUTRAL
PUT IT IN NEUTRAL
all the rest that may choose to do cames after that.
Ken,
You miss my point. If you think about the average, unprepared driver, in a stressful situation, such as sudden acceleration, how long would the average driver take to: 1. Look at the gear shift; 2. Carefully place the gear shift lever into Neutral?
Several car magazines have tested the idea of the brakes overpowering the engine at full throttle. They have found that the brakes WILL control the vehicle…even, ones with very power engines. Google Car and Drive, for an article.
Because brakes only worked so well for that one guy in the Lexus…
I say neutral and brakes, or brakes and neutral.
Youall are missing MY point.
THAT’S the problem we need to fix.
People are too busy blaming toyota for their malfuction not realizing the stuck accelerator scenario applies NOW, to THEM no matter what brand they drive.
The average unprepared driver has GOT to get the messege.
We can push from our ends for people everywhere to assert this instruction ‘in your face’ in every way concievable.
print ads
billboards
radio
tv
news
talk shows
The words " put it in neutral" have got to become emblazoned upon the average unprepared driver’s subconcious memory so that , when the time comes, that’s what they’ll do.
No, the average joe doesn’t get that right now. But WE have to see that it gets done asap before others needlessly die when all they needed to do was
"put it in neutral".
I’ve “been there, done that” even before Ford’s floor mat recall years ago. I put my own floor mats in after detailing but it was weeks later when, upon flooring it to get into traffic, the pedal stuck. Neutral was not my first reaction.
THAT’S what brings this suject up that the general frame of mind must be changed accross the nation.
It CAN be one’s first reaction when it is reminded, restated, and repeated to everyone everywhere.
how long would the average driver take to: 1. Look at the gear shift; 2. Carefully place the gear shift lever into Neutral?
If you have to LOOK to shift from drive to neutral…then you shouldn’t be driving a car. Most modern cars don’t allow you to shift to R unless you push it to the left (or right). But shifting from D to N is just push forward. I can’t remember the last time I actually looked at the shifter.
Ken, if I may suggest a valid point here…
Your second sentence in your last paragraph is something that REALLY needs addressing, TO THE PUBLIC.
If when people feel the need to replace the manufacturers floor mats, the majority of them forget or neglect to think about possible consequences of NOT trimming the mat away from the gas pedal or considering the possibility of the mat sliding ahead (usually when entering the drivers seat) to interfere with the gas pedal.
I thought about just this problem when I took out the original summer mats in the fall.
I inspected them for size and design and bought winter mats which were close to, but not designed to meet the needs of the area of the gas pedal and foot rest.
I slightly exaggerated the size of the necessary cutouts before I installed them in the car.
The car I’m speaking of is an '04 Toyota Matrix XR.
This recall does NOT affect it, BUT if proper attention to detail and safety is not adhered to, the recent alledged problem could occur.
When I bought this (off-lease) vehicle, I had sat in an '09 to check for my tall fit.
What I didn’t notice, due to the black carpet and dark grey floor mats, was whether or not there were mat hooks set into the floor to HOLD the mats from moving.
These, I found when I tried to remove the original mats to replace them.
Seeing those two hooks made me think of the safety factor and I thought, ‘great idea’ and proceded to cut small holes in the winter mats to accept the floor hooks.
Re-installing my original mats, I studied the recent alleged problem and thought there is NO way the original mats, proerly hooked, can cause the gas pedal to get stuck under them.
Personally, I’m convinced the ORIGINAL mats are NOT the cause of stuck acceleration.
“If you have to LOOK to shift from drive to neutral…” I fully agree, but Toyota does have some crazy gearshifts that look like you have to zig-zag them to change gears.
You should be able to work all of the important controls without looking at them.
C’mon guys. There are probably 200 million drivers on the roads ranging in age from 16 to 96, with countless levels of experience, countless temperments, and countless configurations of vehicle and tranny. It’s a nice thought to think that everyone will sit in their driveways and practicing throwing their cars in neutral and putting on the brakes, but terribly unrealistic. Can you truely envision some 86 year old man or 16 year old girl sitting in the driveway practicing that?
Apparently, most don’t even know how to use turn signals.
The statement (implied, inferred, or spoken outright), “People (drivers) SHOULD be able to do this, or SHOULD be able to do that …”, brings up a good question: Do the car makers use Mr. Average Joe, and Ms. Average Jane, to test operate their vehicles? It seems that, to insure that the vehicles “fit” most drivers, it would be necessary to have “just regular folks” operate and drive them under some kind of observation, and recording. This would yield much better data than relying on “survey feed back”. Knowledge? Thoughts?
But then, BMW’s iDrive would never have made it.
Each emergency could require different action. Approaching your garage: gas pedal sticks: Put both feet on brake pedal to stop car. Driveing down I-95 at 80 mph,a long line of cars behind at same speed. Gas pedal sticks. Place shifter in neutral go to emergency lane, apply normal brakeing. I suspect if you don’t know how to stop a car safely in an emergency situation, you shouldn’t be driveing a car.
When my son was a teen-age driver, he was 50 miles out of town with our 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass which was 14 years old at the time and the accelerator pedal stuck. He had the presence of mind to shift to neutral and call for a tow to a service station. He called me and I drove to the service station where he had the car towed. He wasn’t there when I arrived, but came driving in a few minutes later. He had had the car towed, but he found the problem himself–the floormat was causing the accelerator to stick. He had taken the car around the block when I arrived to be certain it was o.k. My son was very apologetic and wanted to pay for the tow. I told him tht he did exactly the right thing and I paid for the tow. I was proud of him for taking the action he did.
Hee, hee, good one.
Applause. Good for you. He did good, didn’t he?
Why stop at N, throw it in Park 
I had to do that in my Chevelle one day. Was sitting at a stop light when I could feel my brake pedal slowly drifting to the floor. Finally, the pedal went clear to the floor and the car lurched forward. In a panic, I took the gear lever and put it all the way into park, with some grinding sounds coming from the car in protest.
I’m almost positive it was some form of vacuum leak or something since the break pedal(and brakes) worked fine even after that incident. I figured a transmission(powerglide) was cheaper than an increase in insurance from rear ending someone at a stop light. It’s also a good thing I give plenty of room between myself and the car in front of me when I stop at a light