1970judge

lol so you would throw your car in a gear that would almost certainly cause a wheel lock up and possibly send you into another direction killing yourself anyway; over the easy solution to just rolling back the key one time? That seems not only illogical but irresponsible to the ones around you.

Oh and P.S. you cant roll the key all the way back until it is in park, which you can't put it in unless the brake is applied while holding the lever. There are plenty of safety/overrides in these cars, you just have to be smart about it. And for what it is worth, I HAVE been stuck in a WOT situation in a carburated vehicle, it is possible to think on your feet.

Greybeard999

I've had a WOT moment on a carburated vehicle too, long time ago, Thinking of this brought up a technical question........ In these newer cars with electronic controlled throttle, if there was a power failure to the servo (there is a servo or similar I would imagine) but everything else was still powered would the engine go wide open like a carb? Or would it close, stay where it last had power??? I'm not a noob, I was a mechanic back in the 70's-80's and worked on my own cars since but know nothing about the new systems.


Should be able to stop just about anything street legal with brakes and tranny action though........ I have a hard time believing these news stories these days.

Funny about throwing it into reverse to slow down, that's how I used to drive back roads in the snow with my '69 Pontiac.

1970judge

The design of the drive by wire, is essentially like an pneumatic valve at a refinery. They are built to be fail closed.

donbrew

At least in Virginia that is a 4 point (reckless driving) ticket! I don't know about Texas, but I would not video & post!

Greybeard999

Thanks, I was hoping that was the answer.

Don06

If everything is functioning properly, you can shut it off. GM has steering column issues which prevent you from shutting the engine off. Just talked to a guy today who had it happen to his Buick. As I said, there is a thread here about it.

Vehicles aren't designed to malfunction, but if they do, systems need to be in place to overcome it. Yes, engine revs are limited by the computer, but if the computer malfunctions, it could put the engine in a full throttle condition with no rev limiter.

I haven't looked on my HHR to see what type of throttle body they use but it doesn't really matter. Even a unit that is designed to close if connection to the actuator is lost, can stick due to carbon build up or other mechanical failure. Still, there would have to be multiple failures at once. As vehicles are designed to let the computer control more and more functions, as Toyota has done, it becomes the one component that can fail and cause a multitude of problems.

Don06

But I've changed many pneumatic valves, that are designed to fail closed, because they stuck open. Just a month ago, on a sorting bar with 154 valves on a Steinert ISS system, I changed 9 valves, 5 of which were stuck open.

1970judge

Ok and these are all what if's and could be's. Your normal everyday car will shut off. And how is shutting my car off and idling down a road reckless driving? Again, when I shut my car off I am still in full control.

twistrman

it is considered reckless driving (free wheeling) in a lot of states. Mostly because you really don't have full control of your car. Lets say someone is coming from your side and is going to hit you, if you brake, good chance you are still going to get hit, if you floor it, you might be able to miss it. You are not going to have time to turn your vehicle back on and safely maneuver.

Most places it is even illegal to cost in neutral. Again, you are NOT in full control of your car.

just one i could find, not going to go through all the states, can't find a comprehensive list.

illinois
7 Sec. 11-1410. Coasting prohibited

Edit: Added Texas for your state.

TAC Section15.89(b) Coasting : Driver Responsibilty Points, Yes

rubics_cube

E) Never post the experience here unsuspectingly.