NHTSA Complaint #10496522 — 2010 AUDI A4

DURING AN ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE THE GAS PEDAL WAS PUSHED TO THE FLOOR (AUDI A4 '10) AND REMAINED STUCK TO THE FLOOR EVEN AFTER THE FOOT WAS REMOVED. THE CAR HAS A MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND WAS SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AT THIS TIME. THE TACHOMETER INDICATED THE ENGINE WAS REDLINING IN NEUTRAL WHILE THE FOOT WAS STILL OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THIS ENGINE SPEED LASTED FOR APPROXIMATELY 5 SECONDS THEN THE ACCELERATOR APPEARED TO BECOME UNSTUCK AND CAR OPERATION RETURNED TO NORMAL. AN AFTERMARKET FLOOR MAT WAS IN PLACE AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. HOWEVER, THE MAT WAS "ZIP TIED" BACK TO THE DRIVER'S SEAT MOUNT SO IT WOULD NOT SHIFT FORWARD AND POSSIBLY INTERFERE IN CLUTCH, BRAKE OR ACCELERATOR OPERATION. AFTER THIS INCIDENT, THE SAME DAY, THE DRIVER CHECKED TO MAKE SURE THE FLOOR MAT WAS PROPERLY PLACED AND STILL ZIP TIED AND IT WAS. THE FLOOR MAT WAS ZIP TIED TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE THERE WAS ONE OTHER EPISODE OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION APPROXIMATELY 1 YEAR AGO THAT THE DRIVER THOUGH MAY HAVE BEEN DUE TO SLIPPAGE OF THE FLOOR MAT. OBVIOUSLY THIS INITIAL EVENT A YEAR AGO COULD HAVE BEEN DUE TO CAUSES OTHER THAN THE FLOOR MAT. *TR