IS350 Throttle Stuck - Near DEATH experience
10-23-06, 05:54 PM
#31
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WOW! Well first off.. Glad you are ok! 59 & 610 sure is one hell of a busy intersection to have that problem come up. I had a problem once in my 2001 IS 300. The acc pedal got stuck under my exactmat and I was like WTF! So now I always watch my mat when I get in the car. Thanks for posting.
--Nate
--Nate
10-23-06, 05:57 PM
#32
While it is true that many people come to other forums to start crap, I really don't think there was any evidence of that in his post. And while I also agree that it is likely a floormat issue, I personally don't see anything wrong with his first post. He was not talking crap and from what I can tell, he genuinelly feels there is a problem with the car and was sharing information, and possibly even hoping to get some information too. To imply otherwise I think was a bit premature on your part and I don't blame him for taking offense. If he had come on here and said what he said, then followed it up with something like "is this typical Lexus quality?" or "i've never had this problem on any of my other cars" or anythng to that effect, that would have been different.
10-23-06, 06:00 PM
#33
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ummm mats have a recall...is there anything else to discuss? Jigga, when it happened to me I swear that I thought it was somthing with my car. It didnt feel like the mat was the cause at the time, but after stopping and taking a look, it was surely the mat.
10-23-06, 06:47 PM
#34
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It's the mats...your dealer should confirm that nothing else is going on. You might want to drive it to the dealer without the driver's floor mat installed.
This happened all the time on an old Ford Ranger I had with crappy rubber aftermarket mats. This is not a Lexus issue.
My first inclination when it happened to me was to get something (e.g. part of my shoe) under the accelerator pedal and "unstick" it.
Please let us know what the dealer says after they finish beating you with a dirty rubber floormat.
This happened all the time on an old Ford Ranger I had with crappy rubber aftermarket mats. This is not a Lexus issue.
My first inclination when it happened to me was to get something (e.g. part of my shoe) under the accelerator pedal and "unstick" it.
Please let us know what the dealer says after they finish beating you with a dirty rubber floormat.
10-23-06, 07:00 PM
#37
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10-23-06, 07:15 PM
#38
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I agree with the earlier posters -- the fact that you observed the pedal stuck down makes me think this was likely interference from the floor mat. The IS is a throttle-by-wire car, the gas pedal simply rotates a pair of potentiometers that are read by the computer. If the spring isn't broken - and I assume it isn't since the car was fine after you pulled over, it sure sounds like a case of outside interference.
Do you have the factory OEM floor mats? Or something aftermarket?
Do you have the factory OEM floor mats? Or something aftermarket?
10-23-06, 07:28 PM
#39
Lexus Champion
And the lesson is .....
Regardless of what caused the situation here the important lesson is that the best way to get out of a stuck throttle pedal issue is to just shift the transmission into neutral and get to the side of the road. Don't try to outbrake the engine as it is too inefficient. And if you turn off the ignition (don't know if it is possible) you will loose the power functions which causes another problem.
This reminds me of the Audi problem of about 20 years ago when people swore the car would accelerate WTO when put into reverse. Even '60 Minutes' did a hack job on Audi. After years of study they could find no fault with the car. The fault lay with the drivers who somehow got the pedals confused. Although Audi was exonerated it almost killed the brand in the USA.
This reminds me of the Audi problem of about 20 years ago when people swore the car would accelerate WTO when put into reverse. Even '60 Minutes' did a hack job on Audi. After years of study they could find no fault with the car. The fault lay with the drivers who somehow got the pedals confused. Although Audi was exonerated it almost killed the brand in the USA.
10-23-06, 07:36 PM
#40
Sorry to hear about it, just put in my all weathers. Going to double check before I get in tomorrow.
It wasn't the hack job in the report that killed Audi's reputation, it was the **** cars they manufactured that nearly killed the brand.
This reminds me of the Audi problem of about 20 years ago when people swore the car would accelerate WTO when put into reverse. Even '60 Minutes' did a hack job on Audi. After years of study they could find no fault with the car. The fault lay with the drivers who somehow got the pedals confused. Although Audi was exonerated it almost killed the brand in the USA.
Last edited by tazdevl; 10-23-06 at 07:39 PM.
10-23-06, 07:44 PM
#42
Lexus Champion
I think your wrong, try going 60 mph floor the gas pedal and brake at the same time, You will NOT stop the car in any safe distance. It is not the same as flooring bolth from a dead stop. Check out the other threads, something seem's a little too strange here. It could be human error, but I"m just not convinced it is, till more time passes. I would have to see if more people have this problem.
Regardless, when you slam the brakes, most of the weight of the car will transfer to the front tires. This reduces the weight on the rear wheels and correspondingly, the traction, be it for acceleration or deceleration.
You mention flooring both from a dead stop is different. You're right. You'll actually get more traction from the rears in this situation as you don't have the weight transfer to the front because there is no momentum.
Some big hp automatics use the method of standing on the brakes and accelerator to get the best acceleration run. They get the rears spinning and just let go of the brakes to take off. If a small block v8 with loads of torque can't overpower it front brakes, I doubt the IS can.
10-23-06, 07:49 PM
#43
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True, but I believe his point has to do more with inertia which in this case, is a far larger factor than traction of the rear wheels. If he's already going 60mph, the brakes have to be able to absorb all that energy, in addition to the engine itself still sending power to the rear wheels in which case he is correct and stopping distances will be significantly longer.
10-23-06, 07:51 PM
#44
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By the way, I just tried pressing the stop button onthe ES350 loaner...it does not do anything. VDIM disable does work on it though...and man do those tires squeal like pigs when you get on it.
10-23-06, 08:04 PM
#45
Lexus Champion
True, but I believe his point has to do more with inertia which in this case, is a far larger factor than traction of the rear wheels. If he's already going 60mph, the brakes have to be able to absorb all that energy, in addition to the engine itself still sending power to the rear wheels in which case he is correct and stopping distances will be significantly longer.
It's probably no different than having 1 or maybe 2 more people in the car. Well within what the car's brakes can deal with. Hope I making sense.
Last edited by al503; 10-23-06 at 08:17 PM.