Estranged Reality Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Long story short, yesterday upon a cold start my vehicle (Mazda SUV) tried to accelerate when in drive without my foot touching the gas pedal. Was very weird. When I came to a full stop it would lurch forward a bit, which made me really scared to come to a full stop behind any other vehicles. As soon as I took my foot off the break it would accelerate to about 10mph. After 5 minutes or so, after the engine warmed up, it stopped. I thought maybe it was a fluke, but then this morning it did the exact same thing. Every car mechanic in my area closes at 12 on Saturdays and is closed all day Sundays except for Pep Boys, and I don't trust them after a past experience. So I'm kind of stuck like this all weekend and possibly all next week since my work schedule prevents me from being able to get into a mechanic (they all close around 5:30 on week days in my area, and I work til 6 -- I didn't know mechanics had such nice hours?!).Right now I'm looking at taking it into a local mechanic next Saturday morning, but in the meantime I'm a little scared to drive it, and wondering if it could get worse. I'm just picturing myself driving and it suddenly speeds up and I lose control.Anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Could the frigid cold weather just be fucking with the engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunsguy Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Not sure whats up but a couple points of advise.- Do not drive it like that- If you do drive it and it does accelerate put it in neutral, A vehicle in neutral no matter how much the engine revs will slow down or at least give you some control.- Get it looked at immediately even if that means taking a day off if you are going to keep driving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndaRose Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Sometimes the idle air control valve will stick. It's a $50 part that takes about 5 minutes to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drakestar Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Sometimes the idle air control valve will stick. It's a $50 part that takes about 5 minutes to replace.I had this issue except it would stall. I just used some cleaner (carb cleaner?) and wiped off this thin layer of black (grease? soot?). It worked like a charm.Hope it is a simple fix for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estranged Reality Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Sometimes the idle air control valve will stick. It's a $50 part that takes about 5 minutes to replace.I hope it's something that easy. I'm hoping I didn't overfill the gas tank -- like many people I sometimes "top off" to even the price out, and at my last fill-up I remember putting a little more in than I normally would have, but now that I'm Googling it, I realized it can damage the vehicle quite badly. I don't THINK it's that but who knows.Not sure whats up but a couple points of advise.- Do not drive it like that- If you do drive it and it does accelerate put it in neutral, A vehicle in neutral no matter how much the engine revs will slow down or at least give you some control.- Get it looked at immediately even if that means taking a day off if you are going to keep driving it.Thanks. Unfortunately, I just used a sick day on Friday so it would look bad if I tried to call off again, even for a valid reason. I might have a family member loan me a vehicle or something, and they could drop mine off while I'm at work. I dunno...big headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spunko12345 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Have a look on this website underneath, the person is describing something very similar to you and the advice they give seems to be that it's likely to be an air control valve and the good news is that's about $50 and a simple enough job. My first thought was it could be your clutch is wearing out as that causes the engine to race and lurch forward as you get stuck between gears but if it stopped when it warmed up it can't be that. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cars/msg062017082536.html?23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShannonHoon Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) Long story short, yesterday upon a cold start my vehicle (Mazda SUV) tried to accelerate when in drive without my foot touching the gas pedal. Was very weird. When I came to a full stop it would lurch forward a bit, which made me really scared to come to a full stop behind any other vehicles. As soon as I took my foot off the break it would accelerate to about 10mph. After 5 minutes or so, after the engine warmed up, it stopped. I thought maybe it was a fluke, but then this morning it did the exact same thing. Every car mechanic in my area closes at 12 on Saturdays and is closed all day Sundays except for Pep Boys, and I don't trust them after a past experience. So I'm kind of stuck like this all weekend and possibly all next week since my work schedule prevents me from being able to get into a mechanic (they all close around 5:30 on week days in my area, and I work til 6 -- I didn't know mechanics had such nice hours?!).Right now I'm looking at taking it into a local mechanic next Saturday morning, but in the meantime I'm a little scared to drive it, and wondering if it could get worse. I'm just picturing myself driving and it suddenly speeds up and I lose control.Anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Could the frigid cold weather just be fucking with the engine?I might be able to help you a bit, i worked as a mechanic.......but can you give some more info, because from what i understand from what you wrote then it is a normal thing, every automatic car will go forward when it is in D and you do not put your foot on the break ? Do you feel things that are not normal for your car ? Like the gas not going as smooth, you feel some resistance while accelerating? When you turn off the engine and take out the key, then you put your foot on the gas and push it down fully and let it come back up, does this feel smooth, without resistance?About the air control, if it is not working good anymore you should have more symptoms, like having problems with starting the engine, or the idle speed is too low. You also have these symptoms ? Edited January 31, 2015 by ShannonHoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estranged Reality Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Long story short, yesterday upon a cold start my vehicle (Mazda SUV) tried to accelerate when in drive without my foot touching the gas pedal. Was very weird. When I came to a full stop it would lurch forward a bit, which made me really scared to come to a full stop behind any other vehicles. As soon as I took my foot off the break it would accelerate to about 10mph. After 5 minutes or so, after the engine warmed up, it stopped. I thought maybe it was a fluke, but then this morning it did the exact same thing. Every car mechanic in my area closes at 12 on Saturdays and is closed all day Sundays except for Pep Boys, and I don't trust them after a past experience. So I'm kind of stuck like this all weekend and possibly all next week since my work schedule prevents me from being able to get into a mechanic (they all close around 5:30 on week days in my area, and I work til 6 -- I didn't know mechanics had such nice hours?!).Right now I'm looking at taking it into a local mechanic next Saturday morning, but in the meantime I'm a little scared to drive it, and wondering if it could get worse. I'm just picturing myself driving and it suddenly speeds up and I lose control.Anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Could the frigid cold weather just be fucking with the engine?I might be able to help you a bit, i worked as a mechanic.......but can you give some more info, because from what i understand from what you wrote then it is a normal thing, every automatic car will go forward when it is in D and you do not put your foot on the break ? Do you feel things that are not normal for your car ? Like the gas not going as smooth, you feel some resistance while accelerating? When you turn off the engine and take out the key, then you put your foot on the gas and push it down fully and let it come back up, does this feel smooth, without resistance?About the air control, if it is not working good anymore you should have more symptoms, like having problems with starting the engine, or the idle speed is too low. You also have these symptoms ?the thing about it accelerating when my foot isn't on the gas... usually it will move forward slowly, but the last couple days it almost lurches forward in excess of 10mph. much faster than usual. and when i come to a full stop, it hesitates for a moment and surges forward as well. these things all stop happening after a couple minutes when the vehicle has warmed up.i don't notice any other symptoms or issues you mentioned, everything feels smooth... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Cnut Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Ask streak when he comes on, he knows loads about motors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShannonHoon Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Long story short, yesterday upon a cold start my vehicle (Mazda SUV) tried to accelerate when in drive without my foot touching the gas pedal. Was very weird. When I came to a full stop it would lurch forward a bit, which made me really scared to come to a full stop behind any other vehicles. As soon as I took my foot off the break it would accelerate to about 10mph. After 5 minutes or so, after the engine warmed up, it stopped. I thought maybe it was a fluke, but then this morning it did the exact same thing. Every car mechanic in my area closes at 12 on Saturdays and is closed all day Sundays except for Pep Boys, and I don't trust them after a past experience. So I'm kind of stuck like this all weekend and possibly all next week since my work schedule prevents me from being able to get into a mechanic (they all close around 5:30 on week days in my area, and I work til 6 -- I didn't know mechanics had such nice hours?!).Right now I'm looking at taking it into a local mechanic next Saturday morning, but in the meantime I'm a little scared to drive it, and wondering if it could get worse. I'm just picturing myself driving and it suddenly speeds up and I lose control.Anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Could the frigid cold weather just be fucking with the engine?I might be able to help you a bit, i worked as a mechanic.......but can you give some more info, because from what i understand from what you wrote then it is a normal thing, every automatic car will go forward when it is in D and you do not put your foot on the break ? Do you feel things that are not normal for your car ? Like the gas not going as smooth, you feel some resistance while accelerating? When you turn off the engine and take out the key, then you put your foot on the gas and push it down fully and let it come back up, does this feel smooth, without resistance?About the air control, if it is not working good anymore you should have more symptoms, like having problems with starting the engine, or the idle speed is too low. You also have these symptoms ?the thing about it accelerating when my foot isn't on the gas... usually it will move forward slowly, but the last couple days it almost lurches forward in excess of 10mph. much faster than usual. and when i come to a full stop, it hesitates for a moment and surges forward as well. these things all stop happening after a couple minutes when the vehicle has warmed up.i don't notice any other symptoms or issues you mentioned, everything feels smooth... Do you know how high your rpm is when the engine is cold and how high when warm ?How about your oil level, is it at the correct level, motor oil as well as automatic gearbox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santana Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I would check the idle air control valve, throttle position sensor, or your brake booster. It may even be a problem with your transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estranged Reality Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 thank you all for the recommendations. i think i'm going to take it in next weekend and see if they can figure out what's going on...i'll just let it warm up before i get on the roads until then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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