RacerTodd
Veteran Member
How to give yourself a TDI heart attack!
So it's a decent January day here in Seattle - dry and 50 degrees. I decide to wash my TDI as she's quite dirty. Clean cars are happy cars, you know.
I complete my wash job, put away the hose, wash bucket and towels.
I get in my car to start her up and move her off the driveway. She cranks a second or two longer than normal then starts...and immediately beings revving up. Crrraaaaaaappp! I shut her off quickly and the engine stops. Adrenaline is hitting me, my heart rate is skyrocketing. All I can think is: runaway. Runaway means $$$$. The car has 230K so a turbo issue wouldn't be completely unexpected but I just don't need this right now.
I pop the hood to check things out. I did check the oil prior to washing, other than that I didn't touch anything under the hood. Nothing is amiss that I can see. No sign of water from the washing that might have gotten in an electrical connector and shorted something out.
Maybe it's just a fluke - she got a bit more fuel due to the slightly longer cranking or something like that. I'll try starting her again, this time with clutch in and first gear selected ready to stall the engine if needed.
Same thing, cranked for a second, caught then immediately being revving up. Shut her down, engine stopped right away.
So at this point I'm totally freaking. It's definitely a runaway. A runaway likely means I'm out a $1000 turbo. Something I can't really afford to do right now as the sucky economy has hit my business and income hard.
My heart is racing with adrenaline. I'm pacing around my driveway alternately cussing and cursing my bad luck. I'm picturing a whole Sunday now spent pulling exhaust and intake tubing and doing a myriad of tests trying to determine if the turbo has blown or not or if it's some other issue. And getting a new turbo in ASAP. And having to drive my other car for work for a week. And how to pay for all this right now without dumping it all on the credit cards. And... And...
Oh...
I then notice that when I put my Husky Liner floor mat back in the car after cleaning it that I had slid it under the brake and clutch pedals but the right side had slid on top of the gas pedal instead of under it. Thus when I started the car with my foot on the brake, the liner was pressing on the gas pedal. Sure enough, I properly repositioned the liner under the gas pedal and she started as normal.
So in the end it was something to laugh about. Although my poor heart really didn't need the adrenaline shock at my age. And I'll never as long as I live and own a car with Husky Liners ever put one in the drivers side without triple- or quadruple-checking that the dang thing is UNDER the gas pedal.
Jeez, I need a nap now...
So it's a decent January day here in Seattle - dry and 50 degrees. I decide to wash my TDI as she's quite dirty. Clean cars are happy cars, you know.
I complete my wash job, put away the hose, wash bucket and towels.
I get in my car to start her up and move her off the driveway. She cranks a second or two longer than normal then starts...and immediately beings revving up. Crrraaaaaaappp! I shut her off quickly and the engine stops. Adrenaline is hitting me, my heart rate is skyrocketing. All I can think is: runaway. Runaway means $$$$. The car has 230K so a turbo issue wouldn't be completely unexpected but I just don't need this right now.
I pop the hood to check things out. I did check the oil prior to washing, other than that I didn't touch anything under the hood. Nothing is amiss that I can see. No sign of water from the washing that might have gotten in an electrical connector and shorted something out.
Maybe it's just a fluke - she got a bit more fuel due to the slightly longer cranking or something like that. I'll try starting her again, this time with clutch in and first gear selected ready to stall the engine if needed.
Same thing, cranked for a second, caught then immediately being revving up. Shut her down, engine stopped right away.
So at this point I'm totally freaking. It's definitely a runaway. A runaway likely means I'm out a $1000 turbo. Something I can't really afford to do right now as the sucky economy has hit my business and income hard.
My heart is racing with adrenaline. I'm pacing around my driveway alternately cussing and cursing my bad luck. I'm picturing a whole Sunday now spent pulling exhaust and intake tubing and doing a myriad of tests trying to determine if the turbo has blown or not or if it's some other issue. And getting a new turbo in ASAP. And having to drive my other car for work for a week. And how to pay for all this right now without dumping it all on the credit cards. And... And...
Oh...
I then notice that when I put my Husky Liner floor mat back in the car after cleaning it that I had slid it under the brake and clutch pedals but the right side had slid on top of the gas pedal instead of under it. Thus when I started the car with my foot on the brake, the liner was pressing on the gas pedal. Sure enough, I properly repositioned the liner under the gas pedal and she started as normal.
So in the end it was something to laugh about. Although my poor heart really didn't need the adrenaline shock at my age. And I'll never as long as I live and own a car with Husky Liners ever put one in the drivers side without triple- or quadruple-checking that the dang thing is UNDER the gas pedal.
Jeez, I need a nap now...
but it's commonly called a "go" pedal.