The Diecast Zone · Model Car Club Since 1994
Diecast Collector Forums
Eight forums, every scale, and thirty years of shop talk — new arrivals, restorations, reviews, and the finds you won’t see posted anywhere else, with the full archive back to 2002 restored and searchable. Free to Register.
8Forums
195,000+Topics
1,276,000+Posts
10,000+Members
Notifications
Clear all
The Lounge
5
Posts
5
Users
0
Reactions
6
Views
Topic starter
22/10/2015 4:52 pm
LINK: The real deal on unintended acceleration
We had a discussion about this a while back. Here's a great article over at Curbside Classics detailing the events behind the law suits against Audi in the 80s. CLICK HERE.
John Kuvakas
Warrenton, VA
22/10/2015 6:44 pm
Yep, it was a fiasco. A car's engine cannot overcome its brakes. As an added precaution...
... I've taught my wife that if she finds herself in a situation where her car experiences unintended acceleration, to put the car in neutral and let the engine scream itself to its demise. With the engine screaming away, it'll sound scary but she'll be able to safely stop the car.
23/10/2015 2:58 am
That happened to me once in my '13 Hyundai...
not only did I put the car in neutral & let it scream, but I then turned the key off & it shut down on its own. Never happened again (just some kind of fluke, I guess).
In the old days (back in the late '60s and/or early '70s), that used to happen to me frequently in my '63 Fury. I reacted similar to the above & discovered that I had a broken motor mount & every time I stomped the pedal to the floor, it would bind up the throttle linkage. Once I replaced the motor mount, it never happened again.
Today's "drive by wire" cars alter that scenario drastically.
23/10/2015 6:17 am
Just think, with today's all electric [controls] with the computer controlling everything, no hard linkage or cables just electric switches, if the computer decides for some unknown reason to ignore all input [gas pedal switch, shift lever switch, etc.] and causes the engine to go to max acceleration: what do you do, but pray.
One errant power surge, drop of moisture, or impact of the computer could cause the car to go nutsy; leaving the operator helpless.
The old "bailing wire, chewing gum" or even the modern "duct tape, tie wrap" car roadside repairs are a thing of the past. Today we are at the mercy of the repair shop with the computer trouble shooter. There are no mechanics or actual repairs just PARTS REPLACERS, because most of the parts cannot be repaired, just replace.
23/10/2015 7:02 am
I would think you could also just turn off the engine. Manual steering and brakes but a safe stop.