Stories of cars whose gas pedal gets stuck while driving sometimes appear in the news. This problem can appear at any time and anywhere, so you need to be prepared for such a situation and know what to do.

A high-profile incident occurred in America in 2012. Then a 47-year-old woman got her gas pedal stuck in her SUV while driving. Her car began to rapidly pick up speed and in about half an hour the woman drove almost 100 km, accelerating to 195 km/h. Thank God it happened on a wide highway. During these 30 minutes, she found a way to unlock the gas pedal and stop her car.
So, let’s look at how to deal with such a nuisance as a stuck gas pedal.

First, stay calm and try not to panic. Stress and the rush of adrenaline can wreak havoc on the situation. However, it is easy to say but difficult to do. But keeping yourself in control is the only right choice. You will succeed because… you will be prepared and know what to do in this dangerous situation. Assess where you are, take a deep breath and focus on the next step.

Try using your toe to return the gas pedal to the top. The car’s engine will gradually slow down if the gas pedal nevertheless returns to its original position. Then all that remains is to park and turn off the engine and move around in this car yourself, with a faulty gas pedal, it is absolutely impossible. Call a friend or call a tow truck and have your car towed to the nearest service station.

The most correct and correct solution would be to move the gearbox to neutral and use the standard brake. In “neutral” we turn off the transmission of torque from the engine to the wheels of our car and stop further acceleration of the car. Now that the car is in neutral, you can safely use the car’s standard brake to stop it completely.

With an automatic transmission, this “trick” may not work. You will not be able to move the lever to the neutral position. Then you will have to use the standard brake or handbrake, and then turn off the engine.

Turn off the engine IT IS FORBIDDEN because in this case, the steering wheel will lock and the car will become completely uncontrollable. If the engine is fuel-injected, then when it reaches the maximum possible speed, the fuel supply to the engine will stop because the control system will work. In this case, we turn off the motor only after it has completely stopped. On the contrary, turn off a carburetor engine while driving CAN because Excessive speed of a carburetor engine can lead to its breakdown; such an engine is not equipped with protection against excessive speed.

We wish you good luck on the roads! Take care of yourself and your loved ones!

REMEMBER: You can always contact our car service center, where your car will be happy to receive professional technical assistance. You can also make an appointment with us for a scheduled technical inspection! Please familiarize yourself with our car repair and diagnostic services.