Why do gas pedals stick

Here are some tips to safely handle the situation. The first thing to immediately focus on is remaining calm, keeping your hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road. Take a deep breath though your nose and out through your mouth.

This helps you to feel in control. This means you never drive distracted and are always focused on the road. You will only have a few seconds to respond so knowing where other vehicles and pedestrians are will help avoid a possible crash. Keeping your eyes on the road you can try lifting the gas pedal with the toe of your right foot keeping your left foot free for the brake pedal. Be aware that your vehicle may respond differently than normal and may pull to the right or left.

Experts say the sudden acceleration problem that has put the brakes on Toyota sales and production is likely not a single problem but an alignment of complicated interconnected conditions. Nothing illustrates that more than the contradictory statements from the two companies involved.

Toyota Motor Corp. CTS Corp. When Toyota last fall recalled 4. That may have been an issue, but now the company is saying its latest recall of 2. Outside safety experts say possible causes also include the complicated electronic sensors that relay the message from the gas pedal to the engine, the design and location of the sensor system, a lack of a fail-safe override mechanism, and even a certain media-fed awareness that puts more people on the lookout for the problem.

How an accelerator pedal is supposed to operate is anything but complicated. Stepping on the pedal starts a chain of events to open the throttle, sending more gas and air into the engine. The car goes faster. Move it by hand while observing its movement.

Look for any binding of the pedal arm or linkage. Next, open your car's hood and locate where the throttle cable travels through the firewall. Have a helper move the pedal and observe the cable. If there is any movement of the black casing that surrounds the cable, look for a missing or damaged bracket for the cable.

Brakes in good condition will prevail over a racing engine. For a car with a manual transmission , simply engage the clutch pedal quickly and keep it depressed to put the engine in neutral. In all cases , stay calm but act quickly, without taking your eyes off the road. Looking at the pedal increases the risk of accident.

Getting into the habit of keeping an adequate distance between your vehicle and the one ahead of you can make the difference in avoiding an accident. CAA-Quebec also reminds you that it is important to adopt good posture at the wheel to be able to conduct manoeuvres more easily.

Shutting off the engine: a last recourse CAA-Quebec does not recommend this move.