Something is just not right with my 4runner. Last night (dry weather but cold) I went to go stop before a turn and the ESP kicked in and the truck accelerated violently. This was at a straight stop from medium speed. Today my wife is driving it and its snowy out, the vehile shudders at acceleration like the ESP is engaging but it shouldn't be. Also she goes to stop today and had to press hard on the brakes to get them to do anything (the pedal felt like it was resisting pressure (same thing happened after it randomly accelerated when i was driving last night. Any ideas???
Something is just not right
- Thread starter nh00gts
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Northof49
New member
If the roads are slippery, you're probably feeling the ABS and traction/skid control systems acting more aggressively than you're used to.
The truck should definetly not accelerate without you touching the gas. If you haven't felt the ABS work hard on very slippery roads before....it might seem like the truck "accelerates" when the system lets off the brakes to prevent lockup. Also, the harder the ABS is working, the harder the pedal.
The truck should definetly not accelerate without you touching the gas. If you haven't felt the ABS work hard on very slippery roads before....it might seem like the truck "accelerates" when the system lets off the brakes to prevent lockup. Also, the harder the ABS is working, the harder the pedal.
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ToolmanJohn
New member
What is ESP?
I really don't know what that acronym stands for.
I really don't know what that acronym stands for.
wilsoncwil
New member
Sounds like your truck is possessed by a spirit.
Koz
New member
It sounds like the anti-lock braking kicked in on you and the traction control kicked in on your wife. I would suggest you and the wife find an empty parking lot when it snows and get acquainted with these systems. At first they will seem to be not working right but after you experiment with them you will see that they work very well.
Koz
Koz
Koz said:
i know what the system is supposed to feel like I have been driving this thing for 8 months in all sorts of weather plus I have driven numerous Dodge vehicles equipped with the system. What this vehicle did is not normal. Normal braking in dry conditions should not activate the ABS nor should it make the engine rev and accelerate. I can understand the traction kicking in from a stop in the snow but on dry conditions at minimal speeds the ESP should not hinder my braking. i would agree with the statement that the ABS was kicking in whenI was driving it (on the dry day) but the vehicle did not want to stop as in no brake application by the system. I had to stand on the brakes to prevent it from accelerating and to actually bring it to a stop.
savagebeast
New member
The only thing I can think is that maybe you caught the gas pedal with the side of your foot while braking.At least I know this has happened to me before..nh00gts said:
Northof49
New member
This is 10000X's more likely than the vehicle actually trying to accelerate on it's own. I have done it here and there by accident in various vehicles....savagebeast said:
Not saying it didn't happen.....just that it's *highly* un-likely. If you're certain enough it did happen by fault of the truck, it should be at a dealership right now getting checked out.
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sesegal99
New member
ha! I did that recently in my G35 coupe, hit the break, but the side of my foot also caught the accelerator, scared the living #$%#^ out of me, it reved,,,not knowing I pushed harder and it reved more, I had to release break and then hit it hard again to avoid hitting the guy in front of me.... funny though, when I look back on it.
Fro-Runner
New member
Be advise that if the road has hidden black ice or leaves on top of slippery hwy conditions.......then the ABS system will not allow the vehicle to stop with normal brake pressure in the same distance as on a dry road. Your wife may have waited too late to apply the brakes to stop in the distance she wanted in the adverse conditions that she was driving in. This action may have caused some excitement because the 4Runner was NOT stopping before she got to the stop sign/light. ***REMEMBER*** with an ABS brake system that works properly; a driver can "STAND" on the brakes and the vehicle wheels are NOT suppose to lock up and skid. This causes the vehicle to require a LONGER stopping distance as the wheels are pulsating to prevent a lockup skid. All vehicle manuals (car, pickup, buses, big rigs) WARN the driver about this action.
Next, if you are pressing the gas pedal under normal driving conditions and hit a slick spot-----especially one that causes both wheels on one axle to slip at the same time---then you will experience an engine speed up (racing) but the VSC/ESC will be actively pulsating the brakes on each wheel to control wheel spin! There is an mechanism inside the engine (controlled by the ECM) that is suppose to IMMEDIATELY retard the engine speed when this happens. There could have been a delay in that info being relayed from the ECM to the speed/throttle controller.....which will cause the engine to feel as if it is still accelerating while the truck is actually slowing down due to VSC/ESC taking over the controls.
This is a really "SMART" truck that Toyota has built......so smart that every other mfgr is mandating these vehicle safety features on all of thier SUV's including the "Hill descent" feature. The V-6 engine accelerator pedal is electronically control. I believe the V-8 is still controlled by wire......perhaps this changed with the addition of VVT-i to the 05-06 V8 models. If you still feel uncomfortable....then I'd take it to the dealer and have them pull any fault codes under "warranty"! I hope the above information helped you and/or others on this forum.
Next, if you are pressing the gas pedal under normal driving conditions and hit a slick spot-----especially one that causes both wheels on one axle to slip at the same time---then you will experience an engine speed up (racing) but the VSC/ESC will be actively pulsating the brakes on each wheel to control wheel spin! There is an mechanism inside the engine (controlled by the ECM) that is suppose to IMMEDIATELY retard the engine speed when this happens. There could have been a delay in that info being relayed from the ECM to the speed/throttle controller.....which will cause the engine to feel as if it is still accelerating while the truck is actually slowing down due to VSC/ESC taking over the controls.
This is a really "SMART" truck that Toyota has built......so smart that every other mfgr is mandating these vehicle safety features on all of thier SUV's including the "Hill descent" feature. The V-6 engine accelerator pedal is electronically control. I believe the V-8 is still controlled by wire......perhaps this changed with the addition of VVT-i to the 05-06 V8 models. If you still feel uncomfortable....then I'd take it to the dealer and have them pull any fault codes under "warranty"! I hope the above information helped you and/or others on this forum.
Koz
New member
fo'runner said:
If I'm not mistaken electronic and controlled by wire are the same thing.
What's happening sometimes is; the "Brake Assist", "Brake Force Distribution", "Anti-lock Braking", and sometimes "VSC" may be working together and causing conflicts while doing there job. Think about it; you hit the brake quickly while passing a bumpy low traction road surface, with the wheel turned a little. Ok, who goes first; one causes the other to do different things and then counter reacts. That's why sometimes depending on the right condition and reactions, weird things happen.
Koz
