Table 1 shows three common vehicle speed control related problems of the 2001 Mazda Millenia.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Car Accelerates On Its Own problems | |
| Vehicle Speed Control problems | |
| Speed Control Linkage problems |
While parked and idling, vehicle suddenly accelerated and inadvertently jumped out of gear and forced vehicle forward into a palm tree before stopping. Vehicle at body shop for repairs. The consumer stated that the dealer refused to do a computer check to determine the reason why the vehicle took off while it was in park with the engine running.
I was driving on bypass and the traction control light and traction control off light came on and the car didn't want to go. It was trying to stall and an 18 wheeler was behind me. The driver of the 18 wheeler almost hit me and he honked his horn at me. I guess he thought I was playing some sort of game with him.
The vehicle was stationary on a city street. Started the vehicle, foot on the brake and shifted into drive. Vehicle was idling at normal rpm. When the foot was removed from the brake petal, the car lurched forward at full throttle. My foot never touched the gas pedal. It traveled about 10 feet striking a vehicle. I was able to stop the car by pushing on the brake pedal and came to a stop. The engine speed returned to normal rpm. I started to lift my foot off the break pedal and the car resumed full throttle forward. It pushed the first vehicle I hit into the car parked in front of it and pushed it into another vehicle before I could get it stopped. The engine returned to normal rpm. I put the car in park and turned off the engine. Police were called and a report filed. An ase certified mechanic checked the car immediately after the crash and found the throttle linkage was free, was not able to reproduce the high rpm, and could not read any error codes on the computer. This was within 20 minutes of the crash while the police were present. Both vehicles I hit were totaled. No serious injuries or deaths in the accident.