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acceleration problem

19K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  tcwagner1 
#1 ·
Anyone ever have the van just accelerate on its own. Scared the **** out of me.
 
#2 ·
well the van has direct throttle right? check the throttle cables to see if somethings interfering with it or it could be because of the cruse control, it could be malfunctioning and make sure cruse control is off.
 
#3 ·
Yea i checked the throttle cable but it wasnt like it jammed open i was slowly accelerating and then the peddle just mashed down on its own.
 
#4 ·
This is extremely odd, actually never heard of this happening in a cable design. Its not the cruise control either if it did it at a speed under 25or 30 ,i forget which but its inoperable under a certain speed. Whatever it is, hope you get it fixed before you or someone else gets hurt.
 
#5 ·
Very serious stuff there - have you contacted a dealer about this yet? Normally for any other type of problem, a dealer would my absolute last resort and only if all else failed. But, for THIS particular problem, I would start with your local dealer, and push it up the line as far as you can. And don't let them give you any baloney about floor mats, like another outfit (I think it was T something or other) did a few years ago. I think this one allows you to become an obnoxious customer if necessary :angrya:
 
#7 ·
Yea i know it wasnt the floor mat and i had the dealership check it out and they found nothing.
 
#8 ·
just wait and see if it happens again and if it does go to neutral ASAP, but in the meantime do more investigating to see if the cable could of gotten hooked on anything when accelerating or could have breaks/bulges , check for a sticky gas pedal / dirty throttle body, and how fast were you going before it happened? as if you were going over 30 or something like that it could mean cruse was a factor...good luck and keep us updated.
 
#13 ·
2011 Dodge Caravan

So this has happened to me twice.... Scared the **** out of me as well... and NO THE FLOOR MAT was not in the way. Threw it in neutral and hit brake. It acted as if cruise was on and I had hit resume and it went boy did it revive high. It has done it twice. I will be dropping it off and telling them to deal with it... this is not safe... I have had problem after problem with this van. HVAC system has gone 2 times... and counting... radio changes on its own... Camshaft replaced and all under 28000 kms... Come on ... when is it enough to say I have bought a Mango tango lemon????
 
#14 ·
Sounds like a cruise control issue. Disconnect and plug the vacuum line going the the cruse control actuator and see if it happens again.
 
#16 ·
Buddy has already recommended you check your brake boost vac line for leakage. This sounds like the most likely cause to me also or somewhere in the primary vac system.
 
#17 ·
Disconnect your cruise control. This is a computer controlled electronic system, which the computer can turn on by itself.

It is the only thing that can actually pull your throttle pedal down. Is the throttle pedal being pulled down?

Also, get a grip, as people are trying to help you. We're not telling you it is the cruise control, but it is important to eliminate a possible cause.
 
#18 ·
This is probably a cruise control issue...and don't think that just because your CC is not supose to work below a certain speed that it can't pull the throttle open. Back in the 90's I had a Ford Explorer that had a malfuncting brake switch, and when I pressed on the brakes the CC release (as it should)...but as soon as my foot went off the brake pedal, the CC immediately started to resume...and at very low speed, with traffic in front of me, with a red light ahead. Scared the crap out of me too.

So yes, cruise control is designed to pull open the throttle, and if something goes haywire, then you could have an unexpected acceleration.
 
#21 ·
Go to 5th gen part of the forum and look around/post. Your generation had an electronic throttle body/drive-by-wire system that is much more complex than the 4th gen. You'll receive better help there. :)
 
#20 ·
Hello Yousi V,
Welcome,

You may want to start a new thread on your own experience and malfunction. This one is from 2014 and I only have seen a few of those guys here in the last month or so.

Cheers!
 
#23 ·
The brakes will easily overpower the engine. Ignition switch will kill it, but also kill the power steering and power brakes. Moving to neutral would normally work.
 
#24 ·
WLooks like you covered my thought already. I had mine stick wide open twice, turned out it was wrong floor mats, pedal would get underneath the mat on full acceleration. If it accelerates on its own, cruise is all all think of. At one point on my new Buick, I had this happen Twice, got a ticket once because of it. tFinally figured out, they Changed the placement of the buttons on the wheel and I was hitting the resume button inadvertently just moving my hands from high to low position on the wheel. Took me a few months to figure that out because it happened so rarely
 
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