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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Cars / May 2009

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Sudden acceleration grounds for big lawsuit

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George Orwell - 21 May 2009 01:46 GMT
You read about it all the time: driver presses gas pedal instead of brake
and a serious accident occurs.

This is not due to a clutz behind the wheel. It could happen to you or me
and it did happen to me (no accident though).

The cause is improper pedal geometry. The brake pedal is too low and too
close to the gas pedal. If the shoe contacts the brake pedal offset to the
right, as the pedal is pressed, the shoe simultaneously contacts the gas
pedal, causing acceleration. The driver instintively presses harder on the
brake, but the engine dominates and the car lurches forward.

It all happens so fast, the accident occurs before the driver can figure it
out. Think cross-controlled ailerons on an airplane where the mechanic
hooked up the cables wrong. It is 100% fatal regardless of pilot
experience.

If there is doubt, look at a Ford F100 and a '55 Chevy. The Chevy got it
right but the Ford is an accident waiting to happen.

Il mittente di questo messaggio|The sender address of this
non corrisponde ad un utente   |message is not related to a real
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Per maggiori informazioni      |For more info
                 https://www.mixmaster.it
Tom - 21 May 2009 10:23 GMT
or maybe you really ARE a klutz that don't know the difference between the
brake pedal and the gas pedal.
> You read about it all the time: driver presses gas pedal instead of brake
> and a serious accident occurs.
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> Per maggiori informazioni      |For more info
>                  https://www.mixmaster.it
Ed Pawlowski - 21 May 2009 10:41 GMT
> or maybe you really ARE a klutz that don't know the difference between the
> brake pedal and the gas pedal.

Some cars have three pedals and man, that gets confusing.  They should have
colored lights on them so you know which one to push.
jamesd43081@yahoo.com - 21 May 2009 13:08 GMT
I guess I am a Klutz with large feet, it happened to me several times
with my old Taurus, really quite a shock, fortunately no accident.
Jim

> or maybe you really ARE a klutz that don't know the difference between the
>
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -
Ordained - 21 May 2009 13:30 GMT
Sudden acceleration is not just a matter of pressing the wrong pedal.
What with computer controlled
fuel systems the car has the potential to take off by itself. The engine
speed is now controlled by computer
controlled sensors. There is no linkage (cable or otherwise) between the
gas pedal and the engine.

I have a 2006 Mustang GT that took off all by itself. And before the
usenet know-it-alls cite driver error,
or some other remarks, I'll state this. You cannot shift from reverse to
drive unless your foot is on the brake
pedal.

I backed out of a driveway, putting my foot on the brake to stop and
shift into drive the car lunged ahead all
by itself. As soon as the shifter hit drive the engine went wide open.
And with both feet on the brake, the car
would not stop. The damage to the Mustang, a Cadillac, and a garage was
$20,000.00     Ford denies any
problem with the car. Hit with an insurance surcharge also.  After what
took place with  the cruise controls on
Ford vehicles, Ford will never admit to another problem. It was the
wildest 8 second ride I've ever had....

> You read about it all the time: driver presses gas pedal instead of brake
> and a serious accident occurs.
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> Per maggiori informazioni      |For more info
>                   https://www.mixmaster.it
Derek Gee - 22 May 2009 00:38 GMT
> Sudden acceleration is not just a matter of pressing the wrong pedal. What
> with computer controlled
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Ford vehicles, Ford will never admit to another problem. It was the
> wildest 8 second ride I've ever had....

A load of BS.  A recent debunking (last week!) by the CarConnection of the
supposed phenomenon involving a Prius:

http://www.allaboutprius.com/blog/1020362_prius-sudden-acceleration-much-ado-abo
ut-nothing


Note item # 2 carefully, and pay attention next time you drive.

Derek
PeterD - 21 May 2009 14:24 GMT
>You read about it all the time: driver presses gas pedal instead of brake
>and a serious accident occurs.
>
>This is not due to a clutz behind the wheel. It could happen to you or me
>and it did happen to me (no accident though).

This is the troll elimination feature, which didn't work in your
case... Please try again, preferrably while the car is pointed towards
deep water, and report back the results. <g>
Ordained - 21 May 2009 16:11 GMT
Troll elimination feature?
I wonder what you'll do when it happens to you. You'll probably poop
your pants.
But you have to buy a new car for it to happen, it wasn't a feature on
the old cars.....
You're an xxxhole that talks with a paper xxxhole.........
Do a search on "sudden acceleration" and see how prevalent the problem
is.......

>  
>> You read about it all the time: driver presses gas pedal instead of brake
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> deep water, and report back the results. <g>
>  
IYM - 21 May 2009 16:39 GMT
 Troll elimination feature?
 I wonder what you'll do when it happens to you.

 No offense, but if it did and I had a whole 8 seconds with both feet on
the brake, I probably would have thrown the damn thing into neutral or
straight through to park - transmission be damned...., then kill the
engine....But that's just me....Again - I'm just thinking what I would have
done....

 IYM
Ordained - 21 May 2009 21:25 GMT
Ahhhhh.... hindsight....
I was TOO BUSY steering away from obstacles, like house, other cars, etc....
Like I said you can't say anything until it happens to you.....

>     Troll elimination feature?
>     I wonder what you'll do when it happens to you.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>      
>     IYM
Happy Trails - 22 May 2009 03:47 GMT
>Ahhhhh.... hindsight....
>I was TOO BUSY steering away from obstacles, like house, other cars, etc....
>Like I said you can't say anything until it happens to you.....

Hopped up VW van went open throttle on me once - cable/linkage
problem.  Call me psychic if you like, but it only took me about one
second to get the ignition off.
80 Knight - 21 May 2009 15:45 GMT
> You read about it all the time: driver presses gas pedal instead of brake
> and a serious accident occurs.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> If there is doubt, look at a Ford F100 and a '55 Chevy. The Chevy got it
> right but the Ford is an accident waiting to happen.

Georgie, if you like the cars from the 50's and 60's so much, why are you
driving one from the 90's?  Seriously, go out and get yourself a '55 Chevy.
As for your 'problem', it is actually more common on the Toyota Prius, as
several cases have been documented.  Unfortunately, 99 percent of the morons
who have had the problem, won't do anything about it.  I have read of only 2
people who actually have gone after Toyota.  The others just shrug it off,
and thank whatever God they believe in that they are still alive.  And
people wonder why Consumer Reports always ranks the Toyota's so high...
PerfectReign - 21 May 2009 16:02 GMT
> The cause is improper pedal geometry. The brake pedal is too low and too
> close to the gas pedal. If the shoe contacts the brake pedal offset to
> the right

Funny - I often think the brake pedal is too far back (towards teh
driver) from the gas pedal. I often catch my shoe on the inside of the
brake pedal as I try to travel back and push it.

Of course, having size 14 (48 for you commie metric countries) shoes
doesn't help.

Signature

perfectreign
www.perfectreign.com || www.filesite.org
a turn signal is a statement, not a request

Ordained - 21 May 2009 21:29 GMT
Another know-it-all.....
The cause was a faulty sensor.... When the car went to the dealer for
body repairs, the dealer had the car
in the service dept. for two weeks before the body shop. The dealer
denies there was a problem, but you
can definitely see they replaced the throttle sensors.

>  
>> The cause is improper pedal geometry. The brake pedal is too low and too
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
>  
SC Tom - 22 May 2009 00:43 GMT
It seems that you had a different problem than the OP. His is being blamed on "improper pedal geometry." To me, that is because the person is not familiar with the vehicle, either because it has just been purchased and is new to the driver, or the driver is distracted because of texting, eating, drinking, etc.

Your problem, as you stated, is caused by a faulty sensor- nowhere near what the OP was posting about.

I see where you are coming from, though. Back in 70-something, I had a '64 Buick Skylark. The complex I lived in had fairly high speed bumps, and a security patrol that loved to hand out tickets for doing 12 in a 10MPH zone. I was going over a speed bump and kinda punched down on the gas pedal to sort of "jump" over it, and the pedal went all the way to the floor and stayed there, wide open throttle. I immediately pushed hard on the brake and turned off the key. Neighbors came out to see what the problem was, and we popped the hood and could see nothing wrong. One of the guys reached in and wiggled the linkage some and said "Try it now." Luckily, I had gotten in the car instead of just reaching through the open window. As soon as I turned the key, the car started and leaped forward, WOT. Les had grabbed the top of the grill and got off very lucky- skin off the ankle and a burned forearm from the radiator. That problem turned out to be a broken motor mount. When I went over the bump, the engine torqued up, the throttle linkage pivoted down instead of up, the shifter pin pulled out of the side of the transmission, leaving it with a WOT and the tranny in drive, The interlock switch was on the shift linkage, which thought it was in park, so the engine started. No one was seriously hurt (whew!), and the mount was easy enough to replace.

SC Tom

 Another know-it-all.....
 The cause was a faulty sensor.... When the car went to the dealer for body repairs, the dealer had the car
 in the service dept. for two weeks before the body shop. The dealer denies there was a problem, but you
 can definitely see they replaced the throttle sensors.

 PerfectReign wrote:
On Thu, 21 May 2009 02:46:06 +0200, George Orwell fired up the
etcha-a-sketch and scratched out:

 The cause is improper pedal geometry. The brake pedal is too low and too
close to the gas pedal. If the shoe contacts the brake pedal offset to
the right
   
Funny - I often think the brake pedal is too far back (towards teh
driver) from the gas pedal. I often catch my shoe on the inside of the
brake pedal as I try to travel back and push it.

Of course, having size 14 (48 for you commie metric countries) shoes
doesn't help.

 
 
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