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Johnnyroons

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?New Jersey
I had an accident in New Jersey due to a malfunction with the engine causing the car to accelerate and crash into a building. I backed out of a parking space and put the car in drive and the car abnormally accelerated and crashed into the front doors of a retail store. No one was hurt but I was quite shaken by this experience thinking that someone very easily could have been severely injured or killed. The store manager is a witness to this happening and couldn’t believe what she had seen and heard, the car revving. I reported this to your corporate office on 6/9/04 and Honda did nothing as a follow up. I then contacted Honda again on 6/14/04 and several times thereafter and had to initiate an investigation. The bodywork of the Accord is now repaired and I have since brought it to a Honda dealership and they looked at it and said nothing is wrong. What could I do?
 


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blameshifting

Guest
Most cases of unintended acceleration involve drivers who think they are pressing on the brake and actually are pressing on the accelerator.

The brakes on any modern car (with brakes in good working order) will stop a vehicle even when the accelerator is pushed all the way to the floor.
 

Johnnyroons

Junior Member
That was not the case because the car was in reverse and I had my foot on the brake and the car accelerated forward without putting a foot on the gas pedal. After the car was accelerating out of control I tried using the brake but that did not work because of the speed the car was traveling.
 

divgradcurl

Senior Member
How can the car accelerate forward if the transmission was in reverse?

I agree with blameshifting -- there isn't ANY car made in the last 20 years that could accelerate from a stop with the brakes firmly depressed.
 
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blameshifting

Guest
Johnnyroons said:
That was not the case because the car was in reverse and I had my foot on the brake and the car accelerated forward without putting a foot on the gas pedal. After the car was accelerating out of control I tried using the brake but that did not work because of the speed the car was traveling.
Brakes are designed to work at all speeds and they are fully capable of stopping a car even if that car has it's accelerator fully depressed.

That's the nature of the physics of your automobile.

Human error is the cause of your accident, not a car which while in reverse accelerates forward while at the same time the brakes fail.
 

Johnnyroons

Junior Member
I’ll try to be a little clearer than before. I had the car in reverse and put my foot on the brakes and shifted into drive. The car then accelerated out of control and I tried using the brakes however, the brakes did not work. It is my wife’s car and she said she has had the same acceleration problems before but not at this magnitude. The car has 16,000 miles and she has had problems with the brakes grinding before this accident as well. This was real and not a human error and I do not want this to happen again with my wife in the car. Someone could have been seriously hurt so she has not driven this car since and I would not let her drive it again. What recourse do I have?
 
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blameshifting

Guest
The brakes worked when you attempted to stop your backup procedure and the car didn't accelerate out of control backwards.

The brakes worked when you parked your car and when you drove to the parking lot and the car didn't accelerate out of control.

A Honda mechanic inspected your vehicle and found nothing wrong.

You are attempting to claim that simultaneously your brakes failed mysteriously (with no evidence before or afterwards of how or why they failed) AND your car mysteriously accelerated.

There isn't any mystery to it, you hit the accelerator instead of the brake. That's what makes engines rev. Hitting the brakes doesn't rev your engine. You made a mistake.
 
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blameshifting

Guest
I had a case of unintended acceleration on a motorcycle when I was a kid. First time on a motorcycle, was used to riding a bicycle with dual handbrakes.

Let off the clutch, bike started moving, I wanted to slow a bit so I depressed the brake. Whoops, I depressed the clutch and the engine started revving. I was startled so I let go of the clutch and the bike tore across the parking lot into the back of a pickup truck.

Entirely my fault. Unintended to be sure but simply driver error.

Brakes are fully capable of stopping a car under full acceleration and anyone who says their car simultaneous accelerated at a rapid pace AND says their brakes didn't work was hitting the accelerator instead of the brakes.
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
And if your brakes weren't stopping you :rolleyes: what happened when you pulled the emergency brake, put the car into neutral and turned the motor off by the key? Wait, let me guess, you did none of the above...


Might as well face it. You, like every other "unintended acceleration" idiot out there, needs to learn how to drive. But if it will make you feel better, go sue Honda and let us know how much money you spend before the case gets dismissed.
 

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