by Mike Webb

Created on: June 01, 2010   Last Updated: November 28, 2010

The simplest, safest and quickest thing to do when your car accelerates out of control is to immediately apply the brake and put the transmission in neutral.  Most vehicles with center console shifters will allow you to easily slide the lever forward into neutral without pushing the release mechanism.  With column shifters you may need to lift the lever towards you and then move to neutral.  Either way, in my opinion, this is the safest way to bring your car under control.  Your engine will no longer be able to transfer power to the wheels due to the transmission being in neutral.

You can then coast down to a stop, apply the brake as needed, and pull off to the side of the road.  By selecting neutral you will still have power to all accessories such as steering and brakes so you can control the car much easier.  This will allow you to easily make any turns that may be coming up in the midst of your unexpected problem.

Your engine may still be racing but with the transmission in neutral you won’t have any power to the wheels.  You most likely will try to apply the brakes as soon as the problem arises and this may help the situation but if the engine continues to stay at a high rate of RPMs or keeps climbing you will soon run out of braking ability if you don't put the transmission in neutral.

Once you get your vehicle stopped and in a safe area, shut the car off.  Then put the vehicle in park after the engine has completely shut down.  Back in the days of the carburetor, your engine would chug, spit and sputter before it shuts off.  With fuel injection you most likely will not have this problem.

One thing you do not want to do while the car is accelerating, is to apply the parking brake.  The parking brake mechanism only actuates the rear brakes.  By doing this you may make the problem even worse as your rear wheels may lock up and cause the vehicle to start to drift or even go into an uncontrollable spin.

Do not try to shift into a lower gear.  This too may cause the rear wheels to go out of control, unless you have front wheel drive, and will most likely damage your transmission and or engine.  Some electronically controlled transmissions may not allow a downshift, even if you manually move the lever to the lower gear.

It’s best to wait until you get completely stopped if you want to call 911.  You need to put all your focus and energy

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