OT- truck accelerated on its' own - Page 3

msvictoria · ‎11-20-2012

So horrible - I'm glad you're ok. My Mom had a 2005 Toyota that went into sudden acceleration for close to 3 miles before ripping the right side of the car off on a tree, which landed the right front tire inside the car in the passenger's seat and continued until the engine quit from the impact. She came to rest in the middle of a busy intersection. She was badly hurt, but alive and it was simply a miracle no one else was hurt or killed.

My reason for telling you this - the police cited her for reckless driving, speeding to endanger, etc. and had to go to court. She kept trying to tell them she wasn't speeding, plus she's never even had a speeding ticket. However, one witness testified that her backup lights were on, which indicated malfunction. Too technical and involved to get into all of it, but my reason for responding is to please be very careful. Try researching online and stay after Ford. We wouldn't give up until we cleared her name. She ended up in a class action suit against Toyota, thinking she would never be able to win, but wasn't going to let them lie anymore. It took 5 years, and when a court date was scheduled, Toyota didn't want any more press, so they offered to settle. My Mother was among the lucky ones - one person in the suit went to jail for 7 years for something he never did, missing out on years with his children.All the money in the world means nothing. Please, please do not trust that all is well with your vehicle. If there is a bigger issue with many vehicles, I think you'll be able to easily research and find other instances. Best of luck to you...

quadmimi · ‎12-27-2010

Happydaze, I don't have anything extra to add to all the good advice, except I would for sure get extra opinions from other mechanic's, first to hopefully keep you both safe if they could find something, & then of course if someone can locate the issue you can go straight back to Ford with it...Thankful your Husband is safe & keep us all posted...

HSB1204 · ‎12-29-2014

Wow. That sounds really scary. I'm glad your husband is okay but I would definitely be afraid to drive the truck again if it randomly does this!

HappyDaze · ‎06-13-2012

@msvictoria wrote:
So horrible - I'm glad you're ok. My Mom had a 2005 Toyota that went into sudden acceleration for close to 3 miles before ripping the right side of the car off on a tree, which landed the right front tire inside the car in the passenger's seat and continued until the engine quit from the impact. She came to rest in the middle of a busy intersection. She was badly hurt, but alive and it was simply a miracle no one else was hurt or killed.
My reason for telling you this - the police cited her for reckless driving, speeding to endanger, etc. and had to go to court. She kept trying to tell them she wasn't speeding, plus she's never even had a speeding ticket. However, one witness testified that her backup lights were on, which indicated malfunction. Too technical and involved to get into all of it, but my reason for responding is to please be very careful. Try researching online and stay after Ford. We wouldn't give up until we cleared her name. She ended up in a class action suit against Toyota, thinking she would never be able to win, but wasn't going to let them lie anymore. It took 5 years, and when a court date was scheduled, Toyota didn't want any more press, so they offered to settle. My Mother was among the lucky ones - one person in the suit went to jail for 7 years for something he never did, missing out on years with his children.All the money in the world means nothing. Please, please do not trust that all is well with your vehicle. If there is a bigger issue with many vehicles, I think you'll be able to easily research and find other instances. Best of luck to you...

@msvictoria oh gosh how scary and horrible for your mom! I am glad she ultimately was okay but I know something that scay never really leaves you- and then to have to fight to clear your name and fight to let people know that it was THE CAR not the person that was at fault. Thank you for sharing the experience and I definitely will not be letting this go.

HappyDaze · ‎06-13-2012

@lrmuffin wrote:
HappyDaze, I am so relieved your husband is ok. It had to have been a terrifying experience for your husband and you. I have a 2010 ford fusion. Every so often, intermittently, when I braked, it felt like I lost power on the brake. I had to push it hard all the way to the floor but the car did stop. Then the brakes would work perfectly for a week or two. I brought it to a local mechanic who couldn't fix it. It was towed to the dealership. Because I have a auto repair plan with Geico, they replaced one part at a time. They ended up replacing the whole system from the brakes to the thing that powers the brakes. I don't have a lot of mileage on the car. The dealership said this has happenned a few times when my dad asked. I would call the dealership manager and Ford again, take names and inform them that you have a dangerous situation. Ask for that person's supervisor and go up the chain of command. These are not old cars. I suspect we will hear a recall soon. I love my car, but Ford needs to correct these problems and keep us safe.

@lrmuffin ugh seem it seems like something is definitely wrong with their electrical systems for certain years! I am glad you got yours fixed. And trust me, I spoke with the actual service manager at the dealership, got his card, spoke to him about all our concerns. We spent a good hour in there talking with him. He actually seems very conccerned about it as well but apparently not concerned enough to talk to Ford directly and try to see what we can do about it. The only advice he said at this point is to do away with our car mat so we can at least rule that out 100% if it happens again. Gee, thanks. we have a lawyer service so we will be speaking to a lawyer about this as well. I think a letter from a lawyer may push them a little bit more than just my complaints but we will see. At least I have the information notated on all our records, including the issue at the car dealership and with a case number with Ford directly. But more needs to be done, I know.

lrmuffin · ‎09-06-2011

I hope Ford fixes the problem ASAP for you. It's sad that you have to work so hard to get them to do the right thing.

bonnielu · ‎03-11-2010

Our 1999 Camry did that to my hubby four times. It was not a known problem at the time. We complained to the dealer and they would not believe us. We complained to our State and they said they had not heard of that before but took our information. And then it started happening to others ... made news. The Toyota got lots of bad press. Some of it was real, some of it was made up. (Guy was caught lying about it) In any case a very dangerous situation. No longer happening, of course we bought a 2007 Camry to replace it and it has been a real gem for 9 years.

77yangya · ‎06-21-2011

Hey, don't worry about being OT. I had that happen to me and I was terrified. I was sat at a red light and all of a sudden the car lurched forward. Good thing I don't tail gate. They could find nothing amiss. It was in the 70's. I was driving a Dodge Dart. Was my ex's car. It stayed with me all this time so I know how awful that can be. Hope you're okay. It was the weirdest thing ever happend to me as far as that goes.

yisbuff2 · ‎07-18-2015

@HappyDaze oh my goodness! I am so sorry that happened and SO GLAD you and your husband are ok!! I haven't read all of the replies, so you may have found the cause by now, but if not I hope you find it soon. Sending you love and motor safety.

Side grouse/question: are cars riskier in terms of sudden, unexplained issues like this now that they are computerized? A crotchety part of me thinks they are, but I'm probably wrong.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@yisbuff2 - Yes, I think vehicles are more prone to these types of issues since they've become so computerized. I spent 25 years as an analyst/programmer and I cringe sometimes at the mere thought of computer software controlling my vehicle!

That's because I know all too well that the software is only as good as the human programmer behind it. I saw too many instances of sloppy work in my career. I only hope that those producing the software for cars are more thorough and detail-oriented than some I worked with! It's one thing, when it's a computer program producing a bank statement or similar thing - if there's an error it's a pain, but not life-threatening. When it's a car or other machinery....