Unintended acceleration

[Whereitis]

Just happened to me today Brakes failed Car accelerated until it crashed

I'd like to hear more details about your incident. How did the brakes fail? Was it a sudden leak that led to no response to pedal pressure? Was it a jammed caliper? Was it something else? Where were you and what were you doing at the moment the crisis started? How fast were you going at the time? Did you try to stop it, and if so what did you do?

 

[808Pants]

... but my understanding is that the family called the cops for help.

Leave it to Fox to omit that vital detail.

 

[DuploCar]

Are everybody ok?

 

[Whereitis]

You may find this one an interesting exception to that!

It brings up a very valid concern about 100% drive by wire controls. If the throttle input sticks, and the car won't shut off, options are very limited with no physical disconnect at hand.

This news report was about a 2022 Honda Pilot, so its relevance to BMW i3 issues is tenuous at best. Things not mentioned in the Fox News report include did he turn off the ignition, and if that didn't work did he try putting the transmission in neutral? That might have blown the motor but so what, at least he would have coasted to a safe stop. I once had a 73 Corolla and while driving it down a long hill with 2 passengers in it, an insufficiently tightened stud (my bad there) rattled loose from the air cleaner (bad design, Toyota), dropped into the carburetor and jammed the throttle wide open. Even as a relatively new driver, I knew to immediately put the clutch in, and when that made the engine race I turned off the ignition. Once the engine turned off I put the transmission in neutral and turned the key back on, thereby unlocking the wheel so I could steer. This entire process happened in under 2 seconds, and I braked the car to a safe stop on the shoulder. In hindsight (since I was 18 at the time and had only had a driver's license for about a year), the things I needed to try to get the car to stop accelerating were instantly clear and obvious, so I have very little respect for the kid who was unable to think clearly enough to try any of these things during the several minutes he was flying down the highway.

 

[eNate]

I encourage any i3 driver reading this to try the following experiment: on an appropriately vacant road, drive at a suitable rate of speed and while maintaining that speed with the accelerator pedal, use your left foot to lightly brake, then moderately brake, then heavily brake.

You'll easily identify the braking force (possibly pedal position) threshold where power is cut to the motor, no matter how hard you stomp on the accelerator pedal.

I don't know what level of system failure would be necessary for an unintended acceleration event to occur simultaneously to the motor cut-off function also failing, but that's a basic level of prevention that is designed to prevent this from happening. Definitely a step up from a stuck throttle condition in an ICE vehicle

 

[ksnax]

This news report was about a 2022 Honda Pilot, so its relevance to BMW i3 issues is tenuous at best. Things not mentioned in the Fox News report include did he turn off the ignition, and if that didn't work did he try putting the transmission in neutral? That might have blown the motor but so what, at least he would have coasted to a safe stop. I once had a 73 Corolla and while driving it down a long hill with 2 passengers in it, an insufficiently tightened stud (my bad there) rattled loose from the air cleaner (bad design, Toyota), dropped into the carburetor and jammed the throttle wide open. Even as a relatively new driver, I knew to immediately put the clutch in, and when that made the engine race I turned off the ignition. Once the engine turned off I put the transmission in neutral and turned the key back on, thereby unlocking the wheel so I could steer. This entire process happened in under 2 seconds, and I braked the car to a safe stop on the shoulder. In hindsight (since I was 18 at the time and had only had a driver's license for about a year), the things I needed to try to get the car to stop accelerating were instantly clear and obvious, so I have very little respect for the kid who was unable to think clearly enough to try any of these things during the several minutes he was flying down the highway.

The point was that engine and transmission operation are 100% drive by wire in that car, and that a computer failure would prevent disengaging the engine and drivetrain. I.e., there was no turning it off and no taking it out of gear option.

 

[Whereitis]

You may find this one an interesting exception to that!

It brings up a very valid concern about 100% drive by wire controls. If the throttle input sticks, and the car won't shut off, options are very limited with no physical disconnect at hand.

The point was that engine and transmission operation are 100% drive by wire in that car, and that a computer failure would prevent disengaging the engine and drivetrain. I.e., there was no turning it off and no taking it out of gear option.

I was not aware that the 22 Pilot was 100% drive by wire. There needs to always be a backup option in case of computer failure. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[eNate]

Here's some interesting context to add to the Honda Pilot incident. Take it with a grain of salt as it's just another auto forum, but worth a read:

https://www.ridgelineownersclub.com...ing-into-the-back-of-a-police-car-cnn.244856/

No defects found (news story):

https://www.valleynewslive.com/2025...-runaway-car-closed-no-vehicle-defects-found/

My main thing is that this kid's story has all kinds of holes in it, but with sensational footage to make it compelling and sharable, there's no holding it back. Based on what we've got, I wouldn't cite the incident as an example, but I also wouldn't cite the news story of Honda's "no fault" findings as 100% ironclad. However, I do think it's indisputable that multiple safeguards would have had to fail or have been bypassed for this to happen as described.