Oliver Enterprises

Guys - I'm just remembering this. A couple weeks ago I took a run up to Chattanooga, as my mother has just been diagnosed with cancer, and went up to support her and my dad when she was to undergo an ERCP. I slept 2 nights in the hospital with her. Anywho - Forget that part, that's just life, can't live forever.

A week later on my way back, when on I-75 heading south, and cruising about 75 mph I set the cruise. Cruising along on flat level, no problems. But after any incline, be it big or small, the LS would begin to slowly accelerate until I would cancel the cruise. This annoyed the hell out of me. At one time I decided to just let it continue to accelerate. When it had reached 90 mph I decided to cancel it. It didn't accelerate briskly, it was a very gentle increase.

Several times I shut off the system, turned it on, and set it again. Only to have the same issue. I normally run Normal cruise. I even tried it on Radar Cruise, same thing.

I decided to (attempt to) kill 2 birds with 1 stone. 1) To see if turning the car ON/OFF would reset the cruise. And, 2) I have been curious as to shutting the car off while in motion. So ... at 70 mph with a slight slope down, I put the car in N (neutral), and held my finger on the START/STOP button. After about 5 seconds it shut off. Then I realized I am supposed to put my foot on the brake to crank. I should have tried it without pushing the brake first, but while rolling 70 mph in a vehicle so fully electronic laden / dependent, I decided experimentation may not be the best course at this time. So I put my foot on the brake (slightly) and was in the far right hand lane with no one trailing me, and pushed the START/STOP button again and it fired back up. I idled the engine speed (in neutral still) up to about 1,500 rpm and put it in to Drive. It was pretty smooth, and everything worked out just fine.

Then I turned the cruise back on and it worked as it should. No gentle acceleration after pulling an incline. I've not had this issue since. I use cruise continuously.

The best I can figure is that something that I did, or something took place prior to setting the cruise that day, that sort of threw off the vehicle's "balance." Meaning, it seemed as if the accelerometers in the car must of calibrated or "zeroed" themselves when the car had the nose down. So, on level ground the inputs from the accelerometers indicated that it was very slightly going uphill. And when using the cruise, it tended to accelerate gently on flat ground. However, that doesn't make sense either because the cruise control system tries to hold the same speed. And that sucker would just keep gaining speed. Not sure when it would have let off. And the smokie's (GSP) would not likely believe me that it was the cruise doing it and I was only trying to see how fast it would go before it would quit accelerating. "Yessir, I realize I was going 130 mph, but I was only trying to diagnose a problem with the cruise control."

Anyone else had this happen?


Jason

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Just for the benefit of other LS460 owners, its probably not a good idea to turn off the car while travelling at 70mph(?) Yes, I know it had electronic PS and mostly drive-by-wire controls but what about those we don't know about?

Oliver Enterprises

The car has less than 35,000 miles. Nothing was touching or applying pressure to the accelerator pedal. It was something within the cruise control. For example, when I first set it, on level ground it would hold the speed perfect. Up the first incline, perfect. But after leveling out after the first incline, the slow creep up of speed would begin. Until I reset the whole thing.

Just for the benefit of other LS 460 owners, it is a GREAT idea to KNOW how to shut off your vehicle in case there were a need. Push the button, hold it for 5 seconds. There was a Californian policeman, or California State Highway Patrolman who, he and his whole family lost their lives because they didn't know how to shut off the car. This was at the beginning of the whole "unintended acceleration" fiasco. I was either employed by Toyota at this time, or shortly thereafter (at Hyundai). The LEO dropped his (I think it was an) ES 350 off at the dealer for something. And they gave him a loaner car. As I recall, the loaner car was I believe an LS, or a GS. I think it was an LS.

He had his whole family in the vehicle, and as I understand was sporting around in it, as one may tend to do when driving an LS after daily driving an ES. Well the dealer had put a heavy rubber type mud floor mat over the carpet floor mats. This was before the current shape of the LS pedal being attached from the floor. Back then (could have been an LS 430), the pedal dangled from above. The accelerator pedal got pushed to the floor and the bottom edge caught the leading edge of the rubber floor mat and got hung under it. Wide Open Throttle.

The LEO, who was a well trained driver didn't know that the cause of the acceleration was a hung up pedal. And even if he did, I'm not sure he could bend over down in there to free it up. He was on the interstate. He had gotten the car down to maybe 15 to 20 mph at one point in the beginning, but then first gear overpowered the brakes ... as well as the brakes glazed, and lost power. Other people on the interstate later reported seeing flames coming from all 4 wheels as the car passed them at like 100 mph.

The LEO even called 911 as he was flying down the interstate and was frantically explaining what was going on (I got to hear the 911 recording, it may be searchable). They pushed the hell out of the START/STOP button. But NEVER held it down. In the end of this ordeal, the end of the Interstate was coming, barricaded by mounds of dirt. He knew this as it was his patrol area. He took the last exit ramp, managed not to hit anyone, but of course could not make a turn at the end of it. The report said he went airborne and landed on the other side of the road that was exited to, in a field. The car flipped, rolled several times and caught fire. He and his whole family died.

HOLD THE BUTTON DOWN, if you need to.

Oliver Enterprises

I don't know how to be any clearer on this. It wasn't going downhill. It was fine on level ground. It was fine going downhill. But after the first upward slope and a return to flat ground, it would gently accelerate. And if I crested a hill and went down the other side, yes, it would pick up speed down the hill. But once it leveled off, it would continue to gain. The one time until 90 mph ... on flat ground. And would have just kept speeding up, but I cancelled the cruise at that point. It was annoying. But after turning the car off and back on it immediately went away and acted 100% normal.

jmcraney

I understand I am not being helpful - my apology.