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2000 MERCEDES BENZ E320 — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

crash · 675725 · 2008-06-26

Vehicle

Make
MERCEDES BENZ
Model
E320
Year
2000
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
Miles at failure
130,000
Speed
25 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THE EVENT INVOLVED MY 2000 E320 SEDAN. I HAD DRIVEN TO ALBUQUERQUE AND USED MY CRUISE CONTROL AS USUAL - IT WAS STILL ON BUT NOT ENGAGED. I ENTERED KIRTLAND AFB, WHERE I STOPPED AT THE GUARD SHACK TO PRESENT MY ID AND THEN STARTED DOWN WYOMING STREET AT 25 MPH. SUDDENLY, THE ACCELERATOR WAS DRAWN DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR ACCELERATED LIKE A ROCKET! I GRABBED THE WHEEL WITH BOTH HAND AND STOOD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH BOTH FEET, ALMOST STOPPING BEFORE I OVERTOOK AND HIT A PICKUP TRUCK THAT HAD BEEN THREE BLOCKS AHEAD OF ME. NO INJURIES. ABOUT $5000 DAMAGE TO MY CAR FROM ENGULFING THE HUGE TOWBAR ON THE TRUCK (GRILL, HOOD, RADIATOR, POWER STEERING CONTROL, ETC. - ACTUALLY NO MAJOR DAMAGE). MERCEDES SERVICE PEOPLE STATED THAT THEY COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR TO EXPLAIN THE SPONTANEOUS ACCELERATION. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10232422
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown