my scary experience on the highway today!!!
 

So i drove the newly acquired 1983 300sd today to a job interview. I used the cruise all the way there with no prob(first time i ever used it.) then on my way home, I used it, and it worked fine for the first few miles... then when i went to push the lever back to shut it off, I got nothing. So I push on the breaks thinking i just wasnt doing something right with the switch and thats when she went wide open. She took off down the highway as soon as i let off the breaks. When I hit 80mph:eek: in a 55 i shut the key off and pulled it in nuetral and pulled over. Started her back up and no problems but it scared me enough that i wont be testing the cruise again for a while. Just sharing my scary experience with everyone...(well at least scary for a 16 year old:D)

Uh, I'd disable that cruise control ASAP until it is checked out. Something is really wrong there.

yeah thats tommorow mornings project. Im still afraid of it, I drove the truck for the rest of the day:(

In the short term just pop the linkage off the actuator under the hood.. glad you had the presence of mind to just turn the car off. A lot of people try to ride it out.....

well i was passing people like crazy, and was in a place that state highway patrol like to patrol like buzzards, so I had to figure something out.

Sounds like you stayed in control and took the right actions. I don't know your fuse setup, but if one fuse controls the cruise, I would pull that one out for the time being.

im unhooking the linkage in the morning, i feel safe that way. She has some trust to build back up in me as of now.

The linkage is probably in need of cleaning and lubrication and has caused some binding that led to unwanted acceleration.

One of the first things I do when getting a car is to check driving controls (among fluids and deferred maintenance items).

she has had all fluids changed, and is alot peppier than the old 300sd i had. Ive messed with the linkage alittle to make sure its all snug, and not loose and floppy. But never thought about the cruise stuff mainly because i fugured it didnt work until i tried it today.

One good thing about it, if you get the job, you won`t be late for work :D.


Charlie

haha never looked at it that way

Quality VDO electronics :rolleyes:

On my car the cruise will work great for some period of time, until it will suddenly decide you need to go 30 mph faster then you were before. It will floor the go pedal, and hitting cancel on the stalk won't stop it :eek: Taping the brake pedal does shut off the system through.

There is a large connector on the passenger side fender on my car, I think it's 10 pins, which is only for the cruise control. I'd think a 617 equipped car would be similar.

-J

I wonder if 1-800-4TOYOTA could have helped while it was running wide open.....:D



Just kidding........:D



Glad you shut it down properly, with good presence of mind.

The Cruise on my W123 work from time to time and then starts to surge. It doesnt go crazy like those described above. The surging is annoying and starts at random after using the cruise for a while.

Anyone have thoughts on this ?

You could always get a job with Toyota teaching new drivers what to do if the accelerator sticks !!
Things like that are said to be character building. You now know that you dont have a weak heart !!!!