I’m trying to figure out why the people that say they experienced this sudden acceleration did not do one of the following:
1. Put the transmission in neutral.
2. Turn off the ignition key.
Now it may be asking a bit much for someone to ditch that car as it is running away in speed but that would certainl be a very quick consideration if it happened to me.
There may not have been available options for the “ditch it” approach, nowwhere to turn it off the road and into a softer landing, but any option at 50 mph is better than delaying until your speed is at 100 mph.
I am not a car expert in any way, but many have said some of the newer cars will not allow you to shift into neutral or turn off the key when in drive and in motion. I would like to know if that is true, if so that design would seem to be a malfunction itself to me.
If you ever have “runaway acceleration”, all you need to do is apply the brakes fully. For instance, the brakes on any of the Toyota vehicles involved in this scam can easily override the power of the engine, even at full throttle. Your automatic transmission will likely be damaged — but, you won’t have any trouble stopping.