Sudden Acceleration in 2000 T&C

Hi All,
The other day I was the passenger in my 2000 T&C as a friend was
driving me to an appointment. While at a gas station, my friend put
the van in reverse and claims to have touched the gas pedal lightly
but when he did the van lunged backwards as if he had stomped the
pedal to the floor. He almost immediately hit the brakes and thank
goodness we'd only traveled a few feet and nobody was behind us.

My friend says he barely touched the gas but he's an older gentleman
and I think he didn't realize the amount of pressure he'd applied. The
pedal on my van is on the tight side and does require a bit more
pressure than usual to get it moving but then gets a little looser in
travel. Are all T&Cs like this? Is there some history w/these models
having a prob w/sudden acceleration? I plan on having the van checked
to be on the safe side, I'm assuming the mechanics can make some
adjustment to the accelerator so that it's not quite as stiff? Thanks!

Dan G.

 

No history of problems, and no adjustments can be made. Tell the your friend
to be more careful.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Keep in mind that in reverse, any pressure you put on the gas pedal
results in positive feedback - i.e., the vehicle moves back and your
body's inertia wants it to stay put, so the foot will add more pressure
than intended. This is not true in forward gear - so he may not have
anticipated the positive feedback if he pushed slightly harder than he
intended.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')