Friend drove truck, sped out of control. wth??

I have had it happen to me once. I have a 6 speed. I was coming up on a red light, pressed the clutch in and the rpms jumped up to 2500-2800. Once i came to a stop the rpms came back down after 10-15 seconds. My wife was with me too, so she is my witness. And, no i dont have the factory floor mats.

 

of course, we're all adults ('ish?). I'm no troll, and I've been on the doubt side and am now on the "Hey, when I chicken out, it takes me to the next level!" mindset. ;-)

 

The throttle can not "fall" away. That was possible when there were MECHANICAL throttle connections and MECHANICAL cruise controls. The cruise could malfunction and the pedal would actually depress. Rare, but possible.

With the Tacoma pedal assembly it. Is. Not. Possible. The pedal can not fall away from your foot unless the assembly has fallen to pieces in the process.

 

I think that is a totally different issue, do a search I think it has been discussed. Don't worry that's definitely not SUA.

 

While I'm open to all types of feedback, why can it not fall? Doesn't the pedal go to where the sensors assume the throttle is at (if they malfunction, which is also rare, as there are 2 of them)?

I do believe the college professor was able to duplicate this event by shorting out the electronics. Toyota states that exact method is not possible, however, the end result was the same - pedal goes to the floor, vehicle speeds up, with no force on the pedal.

Is the pedal free standing with no physical way to move up or down without human assistance? If so, the cruise control wouldn't control the pedal placement, would it?

Just some thoughts.

 

At least he's not pushing that "software glitch" theory.

 

If you could actually get video of it that might be a big help not only to you but to Toyota. I say 95%+ of SUA complaints are crap but I believe it does really happen, there's just not enough evidence to pin it down. I troubleshoot highly intermittent crap for a living and know what it can be like trying to narrow things down for months on end.

• In your recollection does it only happen immediately after brisk acceleration or do you have to accelerate for a short while before it sticks?
• How far do you estimate the pedal was depressed when it happened? To the floor? 75% of the way down?
• Do you often have the pedal down this far? I saw in previous posts you said stomping on the gas typically made it happen. Did it stick 100% of the time you tromped on the accelerator? 50% of the time? 25%? If you have anywhere near that much ability to recreate the problem then get a camera mounted and capture it on video.

Probably questions you've asked yourself before and sorry if I missed the answers in the other posts. These reports have me intrigued and I've wanted for a while now to be able to talk through it with someone who's actually experienced the issue.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNbCV4FewsQ

 

The rpm jump due to emissions is not what happened. I know the difference. The rpm jump i had was far more than the 300-400 rpm jump due to the emission. I was almost at a stop and the engine racing at close to 3g

 

Happy to help, glad you're interested.
1- Normal speeding, sudden throttle press with a quick release of pressure from the pedal. The pedal would not come back up.
2- Typically it felt stuck to the floor, 100%. I know this because I tried to tap the pedal and noticed it would not depress further
3- I don't often slam on the gas, no. I'll start and see if I can actively re-create the situation. If I can, I'll invest in a mountable camera, and mount it to record the pedal. This could be fun.

I don't mind excessive gas use, so I'll romp on that thing every possible change to see if I can get it to stick. Time to start playing!

 

Just do it in an out of the way area with lots of flat ground... no sense taking yourself or someone else out while doing it.

And if you can recreate it then I think Toyota would be glad to front you a camera or a tech to watch it.

 

This I gotta see , because if you actually re-create the situation , that video will be worth big $$$ ,

( I can just see the news .. " Tonight , video that Proves Toyota lied to congress .. , video at 11 " )

OZ

 

The cruise control does not control pedal placement. The pedal does not move.

There is no mechanism for moving the pedal on its own other than the pedal return spring, which can only do one thing--return the pedal to the un-depressed position. It can't go the other way on its own. If it moves down it is because a person is depressing the pedal.

It isn't just that it is unlikely. It is that it can not happen.

 

SUA only affects autos, you have a different problem. Your RPMs going up while your on the clutch is NOT SUA.

 

But it let off on it's own at like 108...

 

Hmm, I've never actually watched/felt the pedal when I have cruise control on. I know in some of my older cars the pedal would actually move but they had mechanical linkages. I assume the Tacoma was the same... I'll have to tinker with this tomorrow, setting cruise then pushing the stalk to speed up. It makes sense with a DBW system that the pedal wouldn't move, I just never though about it.

 

I'll be back in 10, going to go drive the vehicle, put on cruise, and see if the pedal placement moves at all. I'll also visually inspect it.

What are other options to having it compressed with no pressure? Any binding parts that can keep it down?

 

You didnt know your friend had what without the mats?

 

SUA,

oz

 

If it were to bind, it would stay at a pedal position you pushed it to. That is mechanically possible.

See the pedal assemblies internal components for yourself here.