Major Scare Today...4.1 Throttle Jammed Open Whilst Driving

November 7, 2010

I was driving my 1995 auto 4.1 today, went to overtake someone so pushed the pedal to the floor.

To my horror the pedal stayed flat on the floor and the throttle was jammed wide open.

I pushed the the gear lever from drive to N and started to brake.

The engine by then was screaming as the revs were at the top end as the car was in neutral.

I then put my foot under the pedal to pull it up and the throttle sprung back closed.

Has anyone had or heard of this problem as it was seriously dangerous.

With the enginge switched off I tried several times to get it to stick again with the pedal down flat but it wouldn't do it again.

Not happy about this as I have never had this on any other vehicle.

November 7, 2010

I've had this a couple of times with my RAVs and both times it was the carpet or mat fouling the pedal action. Never heard of any problems on this model. Check the smoothness of the pedal operation and whether any of the carpet or soundproofing has dropped down.

November 7, 2010

I was driving my 1995 auto 4.1 today, went to overtake someone so pushed the pedal to the floor.
To my horror the pedal stayed flat on the floor and the throttle was jammed wide open.
I pushed the the gear lever from drive to N and started to brake.
The engine by then was screaming as the revs were at the top end as the car was in neutral.
I then put my foot under the pedal to pull it up and the throttle sprung back closed.
Has anyone had or heard of this problem as it was seriously dangerous.
With the enginge switched off I tried several times to get it to stick again with the pedal down flat but it wouldn't do it again.
Not happy about this as I have never had this on any other vehicle.

Sounds scary.

Presumably it wasn't a loose mat causing the problem?

Have you had a chance to have a close look at the mechanism for signs of wear or obstructions?

Others will have further suggestions no doubt.

November 8, 2010

I had a similar problem many years ago on a Vauxhall Cavalier. It was very frightening and what made it worse was that I was abroad and without help or resources. Engine ran on even with the ignition switched off and could only be stopped by coming to a halt, putting foot hard on brake, putting car into gear, and letting clutch up with a bang. Not nice.

Managed to get a load of strong elastic bands from a service station and hooked these up as a sort of monster auxiliary return spring in the engine bay to enable me to continue my journey.

Once home, we found that the cause of the problem was corroded bronze bushes on the throttle spindle so I ended up replacing the carb. As I said, this happened many years ago so probably the cause of your problem is different from mine, but I thought I'd pass it on, just in case there is a similarity.

November 8, 2010

Ive checked all the obvious, carpets , cable, mechanism etc but so far I have not found anything nor am I able to replicate the fault.

It'w worrying because I have a feeling it will happen again but when and where is anybody's guess.

Wish I could find what caused it but the mechanism is silky smooth and it simply is not catching anywhere. Ive only tried to look for the problem with the engine off as I dont really want to keep revving the engine up to 6k and beyond.

The only other option is to try and replicate it on the road, but I'm not keen at all about this idea.

Its very worrying and to be honest, it has put me off this vehicle.

November 8, 2010

Aye well you can rest assured that it is nothing to do with the "sticky throttle" that made the news recently. That was a drive by wire system and yours is a simple cable. It shouldn't be difficult for a decent mechanic to find and if it sticks wide open it cannot overcome the power of the brakes so just keep a grip of it and switch it off when you get to a position of safety.