Lincoln LS: rapid acceleration problems????

Cheap gas will gum up the throttle body and cause the butterfly to stick. That has happened to me with other cars, but never with my 135K mile 2000 V6 LS.

#11 of 38 Re: rapid acceleration problems???? [heyjewel] by djfromdc

Jan 19, 2007 (6:05 am)

Replying to: heyjewel (Jan 17, 2007 8:56 am)

OK so I had a typo....I meant 3K. I'm just a dumb blond.

#12 of 38 Uncontrolled Rapid Acceleration by snevets23

Feb 03, 2007 (9:06 am)

On 1/31/07 while slowly reversing up a sloped driveway, my 1992 Lexus 400SC suddenly accelerated rapidly and uncontrollably. It felt as if I was in a rocket ship! Although I slammed on the brakes, I could not stop in time to avoid a car parked in the driveway. Luckily, there were no injuries (grandson was in car). This is my first accident in 42 years. While I hear that some conclude that I mistook the accelerator for the brake, I KNOW that's not true. My foot was on the accelerator to begin with since I was slowing giving the car gas to climb the incline. Weather conditions were clear, no obstacles on the floor, and I was wearing normal shoes... no boots or heels. This accident was NOT my fault, but I don't know how to prove this since the problem is intermittent. I have filed an incident report with both the police department and NHTSA and have sent a certified letter to Lexus in CA. However, there is strength in numbers and need to hear from others who have experienced this frightening experience. If you research this further on the web, you will find that many drivers have experienced this throughout the years, not only with Lexus and Toyota, but with other manufacturers, as well. Some "experts" refer to the problem as a defective electronic throttle control system. However, I don't know what caused my particular problem. Unfortunately, car manufacturers are not upfront with this situation.

Replies to this message:

bcleveland (Mar 24, 2007 6:48 am)
- snevets23 (Mar 24, 2007 8:41 am)
fbassi (Dec 11, 2007 6:23 am)

#13 of 38 Re: Uncontrolled Rapid Acceleration [snevets23] by bcleveland

Mar 24, 2007 (6:48 am)

Replying to: snevets23 (Feb 03, 2007 9:06 am)

snevets23,
I've just experienced a similar problem with my 1994 Lexus. Dropping off my child, I put the car in Park, only to have the engine start accelerating and decelerating repeatedly. On the drive home - fortunately in the neighborhood - the car accelerated by itself with me "riding the brake" to keep it slowed down, while at the same time the dash went completely dark - no lights, radio - the windows moving very slowly.
At home when I turned the ignition on and off again, the lights worked though the ignition continued to race, then off and not on again. It was completely dead. Then a few minutes later it once again cranked.
The next day I had my ex drive it to the shop, where we were told there was a severe electircal problem and in fact smoke coming from the dash during their diagnostic. we were advised to tow - not drive - it to the dealer an hour away.
I've decided instead to junk the car. It was to go to my 17 year old daughter and I'm not taking any chances. I paid 4K for it 2 yrs ago and its just not worth an expensive timely repair - especially when I've read all over the net regarding similar problems - and as a single Mom I can't afford to be without a dependable car.
This was a great car until this happened. had over 150K on it with no other problems while I owned it.
Hope this helps.

Replies to this message:

snevets23 (Mar 24, 2007 8:41 am)

#14 of 38 Re: Lexus Uncontrolled Rapid Acceleration [bcleveland] by snevets23

Mar 24, 2007 (8:41 am)

Replying to: bcleveland (Mar 24, 2007 6:48 am)

Dear "BCleveland",

Thank you SO much for your input concerning your 1994 Lexus
acceleration problem. Although this was a frightening and now costly experience for you, I'm glad to hear that no injuries or property damage occurred. I'm still on my own private "campaign" to find a resolution to my Lexus uncontrolled acceleration problem. The car came back from the body shop just last week (almost two months), but it "sits" in my driveway as I'm afraid to drive it again. At my request, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent me copies of similar reports throughout the years of the same problem involving the Lexus SC 400 model.... imagine how many other reports there must be concerning OTHER Lexus models....and other car manufacturers, we well! Imagine also, how many people just NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO FILE A REPORT! At first, my calls and certified letter to the Lexus Corporation in California requesting a specialized diagnostic inspection resulted in a reply that they were sorry but "we must decline any assistance in this matter". However, more persistence has resulted in a scheduled inspection next week by the Lexus' traveling diagnostic technicians at my closest dealer. At this point, I'm grateful for this latest development and hope that this team will find and replace the problem part. I suspect a computer/electronic malfunction (throttle?); however, the problem is intermittent. However, I'm certain that no one from Lexus would want their wife or mom driving MY car after KNOWING its history and, hopefully, will be considerate of my well-being also. Before you junk your Lexus, perhaps, you should pursue this also although I realize that working, single moms don't have the luxury of extra time to devote to such time-consuming matters. Anyway, thank you again for sharing your experience on this website.

#15 of 38 Re: Uncontrolled Rapid Acceleration [snevets23] by fbassi

Dec 11, 2007 (6:23 am)

Replying to: snevets23 (Feb 03, 2007 9:06 am)

this has just happend to me with a 2008 tacoma in a drive thru out of control with rubber burnibg tires and in the end i hit some one this is not human error because my foot was already on the brake at the time and stopped ready to place my order toyota said nothing showed on the computer i think i am in for a fight this tacoma has 1000 miles on it and i will not drive this auto would you not knowing when you will take off

#16 of 38 Re: rapid acceleration problems???? [emontgomery] by vtjones

Dec 12, 2007 (7:54 pm)

Replying to: emontgomery (Jun 28, 2006 6:44 pm)

My 2000 Lincoln LS V8 is having what may be the same acceleration problem. It occurs intermittently and without warning. When it occurs, I can take my foot off the gas and it will accelerate on it's own and when I put in park or neutral, the RPM rises to 3K. It stops after it's been off for a little while.

No one seems to know what the problem could be. My Lincoln dealer has attempted to repair it 3 times and another mechanic couldn't figure it out. The challenge is that they can't duplicate the behavior. The dealer was only able to do it once. My other mechanic suspects a computer may be causing it.

They changed the air bypass valve and it stopped for a few weeks. Second, they changed the O2 sensor which had no affect. Lastly, they changed the same valve and it worked for a week or so.

It's been doing this for months, but now it's causing the temperature gauge to red-line. (But, my mechanic told me that it wasn't over heating.)

I like my car, but I don't know what to do about this problem.

Replies to this message:

akirby (Dec 13, 2007 7:13 am)
- fbassi (Dec 13, 2007 10:16 am)

#17 of 38 Re: rapid acceleration problems???? [vtjones] by akirby

Dec 13, 2007 (7:13 am)

Replying to: vtjones (Dec 12, 2007 7:54 pm)

Did they check the accelerator cable or the throttle body? I can't think of a failure that would cause you to redline at 3000 RPM (the computer limits the revs in Park to 3000 to avoid damaging the tranny if you drop it into gear at high rpm) outside of the throttle cable or the throttle body itself (or possibly the cruise control).

Replies to this message:

fbassi (Dec 13, 2007 10:16 am)

#18 of 38 Re: rapid acceleration problems???? [akirby] by fbassi

Dec 13, 2007 (10:16 am)

Replying to: akirby (Dec 13, 2007 7:13 am)

thanks for the info toyota is looking into the problem but when this happend the truck was in drive and i had my foot down on the brake as hard as possible and then i put the truck in park and shut it off but by then i hit the car in front of me but the truck tires were burning rubber and smoking any ideas would help thanks again

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