Eeek! Sounds like a good reason to stay with manual transmissions. If all else fails, you can still push in the clutch.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

I once had the throttle linkage stick wide open on my CD. Full brakes and parking brake stopped the car just fine, and since it wasn't actually "running away" (burning oil) I used the normal vacuum (key) shutoff while it was in Drive, popped the hood, greased the linkage, and proceeded on my 200 mile drive problem free.

If you encounter an actual diesel runaway, apply full brakes (this should stop the car if your brakes are in order on a MB diesel) to stop the car and then use whatever combination of uphill/driving against a curb you can to keep the car stopped. Just make sure you don't drive into a ditch or something that gets the drive wheels off the ground, or the engine will rev past the red. If you can get it stopped with revs controlled, block the air intake with a block of wood, your shirt, a CO2 fire extinguisher. If you can't get the revs under control, get out and run like your life depends on it. Because it might.

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1992 300D 2.5T 249k - Parked with a bad transmission
1981 300SD 142k - Daily driver

First turn off the key to make sure you actually have a runaway. If turning the key off doesn't work, then I would:

Manual transmission-stand on brake. Car will stop and engine will stall. Unless the engine overpowers and begins to overheat the brakes, which I think is unlikely. But if it does, follow the procedure for automatics.

Automatic transmission-shift to neutral. Pull over rapidly and exit the vehicle with a quickness, since the engine is likely to explode.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

I disagree. When my SDL started to run away turning off the key with the car in D and the service brakes applied was enough to drag it down to a hault.

-Jason

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

Yeah to like 4krpm or less on a lot of them.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

He panicked and killed himself and the other passengers of the vehicle. Standing on the brake pedle with both feet WILL stop any stock passenger vehicle.
Shifting into neutral would have been possible also.

Pulling up on the gas pedal may have caused the issue to correct itself.

Applying the parking brake would have been a HELL of a ride, but it would have changed the impact speeds, bleeding off steam as the brakes lockup and drag, and possibly send the car into a spin... Just like a nascar crash that looks cool and has a happy ending, it's all about impact speed...

Removing the key, even if the steering would have locked, would have allowed the driver to brake normally (even though the booster would loose it's vaccume assist after a few brake cycles) Again, changing the impact speed.

There needs to be more drivers training in that department. If he didnt know it, others dont know it either, and that raises my suspicion to the rest of the drivers training that is taken... Some basic automotive and mechanical knowledge would have saved 4 people.
~Nate

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95 Honda Shadow ACE 1100.
1999 Plymouth Neon Expresso. 2.4 swap, 10.5 to 1 comp, big cams. Autocross time attack vehicle!
2012 Escape, 'hunter" (5 sp 4cyl)

Wtf? Well, im not that surprised since I'd guess that the vast majority of people who drive automatics don't realize what the other gear selections are for (besides Drive and Park). This happened to me and my friend when I went along with him to drive an old Trans Am, I think the floor mat got caught, or the accelerator linkage needed lubing. All we did was put it in neutral and somehow use the extremely marginal brakes to slow the thing down before we hit a guardrail.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

I hope 60 minutes does an episode on this and drives Lexus prices into the basement. (After I sell mine )

I need a cheap, cushy SUV. My mom would like an SC430.

I've been considering an Audi quattro, but their resale value isn't as bad as it used to be. Then there's the sudden acceleration issue with the Audi.

You know, back when people said their Audi's were doing things like this, they only had, IIRC 77Hp to 120 or so on their Turbo models. Yet people claimed their cars took off like a bat out of hell, and could not be stopped no matter what they tried!

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

bottom line: the operator failed to understand the procedure for turning the car OFF. the dealership should have walked him through some basic operating procedures prior to allowing him and his family to drive off. AND, he should have asked the dealership for some basic information on operational procedures.

cars are not toys and require our full and complete undivided attention while behind the wheel. turn off the cell phone, kill the radio, crack the windows and DRIVE. pay attention to all six "defense" zones, constantly monitoring the mirrors for psycho idiot drivers who are NOT paying attention.

Anything that needs that much fuss just to get in and drive sounds way to over engineered to me.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Thats because of idiots pressing the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

The invisible hand of Darwin at work.
A: Pop it in neutral
B: Turn off the ignition
C: Stick his foot under the gas pedal

I was able to put a newer 7 series bmw in neutral with an electronic shifter at 70mph... by mistake.

one word.....AUDI

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Ben
1987 190d 2.5Turbo

Fristly.... an Audi 5000 couldn't accelerate suddenly even if it wanted too. Have you ever driven one? But in all seriousness that was just a case of the gas and brake being too close together and people slamming on the wrong pedal. It only happened on automatic cars, even though manual trans cars have the same engine, engine management, and the same pedal cluster (w/ the extra pedal for the clutch, of course). I have a feeling this whole Toyota floor mat fiasco is the same thing. People too numb in the head to realize their floor mat has shifted, reach down, and fix it.

Now, I am surprised Toyota doesn't have a failsafe system on their drive by wire cars where when the brake is pressed it kills the throttle. VW / Audi have had this for a long time (all TDIs have this feature... press both at once and the engine will fail safe to 1200 rpm. Same thing happens if a problem with the go pedal sensor is detected...).

-J

I'm sure Toyota does have a failsafe. Maybe it was a murder/suicide.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200