Gas pedal stuck?

[Bitsyncmaster]

I would not think freezing is a problem when your driving the car. The engine heat will keep the back from freezing and the inside heat keeps the front from freezing. Think the most important thing with the recall is that little sealing nipple over the end of the cable near the throttle spool.

[David T]

I would not think freezing is a problem when your driving the car. The engine heat will keep the back from freezing and the inside heat keeps the front from freezing. Think the most important thing with the recall is that little sealing nipple over the end of the cable near the throttle spool.

If it is cold enough it certainly could be a problem. That tiny sealing nipple isn't going to do much once it wears. The big things are the cover plate to keep water from getting in and the anti-freeze to prevent any that does get in from freezing. Or don't drive the car in freezing temperatures. This does point out the real problem of not doing all of the recalls. Those old problems don't just go away. They MUST be corrected by doing the recalls. For the government to issue the recalls they had to be really serious problems that clearly impacted on safety (and STILL do). You can't just go on the PO saying that they were all done.

[refugeefromcalif]

You can't just go on the PO saying that they were all done.

I'd agree with that if I bought 6599 from a private individual but, I got it from a Respected DMC vendor/dealer and they stated that All updated work had been done.
The car also included a 12 month/12,000 mile powertrain warranty for the Premium price that I paid for it.

(Of course I did forget that DMCF is also a USED car dealer)...

George

[Cory W]

Do you have the throttle shield on your car? Im wondering if it didn't get done because "This is Florida".

[refugeefromcalif]

Do you have the throttle shield on your car? Im wondering if it didn't get done because "This is Florida".

Nope, No shield. Here's a pic of my engine, (Prior to my buying the car).



Although, I'd think a Safety Recall wouldn't matter what region the car is in.?
Nowadays, the DMC vendors/dealers sell cars that end up all over the country/(World).

George

[micmak]

I had this too a couple of Winters ago. As I don’t drive the car in the off season, it wasn’t a problem. I just turned it off and the next time I tried it, it was a few degrees warmer and there was no problem. But I always wondered about putting antifreeze down into the cable. Isn’t antifreeze corrosive? I would think that over time, it would corrode the inside of the cable jacket at it’s lowest point and cause possibly more trouble that just ice. I mean if both the cable and the jacket are corroded, how can the cable move freely inside there? I am not trying to be an alarmist; I am just asking if antifreeze is corrosive enough to cause a problem over time.

......Mike.....

[DMCMW Dave]

I had this too a couple of Winters ago. As I don’t drive the car in the off season, it wasn’t a problem. I just turned it off and the next time I tried it, it was a few degrees warmer and there was no problem. But I always wondered about putting antifreeze down into the cable. Isn’t antifreeze corrosive? I would think that over time, it would corrode the inside of the cable jacket at it’s lowest point and cause possibly more trouble that just ice. I mean if both the cable and the jacket are corroded, how can the cable move freely inside there? I am not trying to be an alarmist; I am just asking if antifreeze is corrosive enough to cause a problem over time.

......Mike.....

Use a light machine oil. The factory bulletin says antifreeze but I don't think they cared about the long term effect, they just wanted it to thaw out. I don't like the antifreeze idea either.

[Cory W]

Do you have the throttle shield on your car? Im wondering if it didn't get done because "This is Florida".

The first year I had my car (2008 ), we picked it up in Montana and drove it home. We stopped at DMC Midwest along the way and bought a bunch of things. This recall was one of them, as my car didn't have one either (it originated in Oklahoma, and spent time in the Southern states for the most part).

The car sat outside for the first summer, while we prepared the old garage it now resides for winter storage. It wound up spending two nights outside in the snow, and a bunch of rainy nights. I never thought much of that, until I had to move it once in the winter...

I put the battery in place, started the car, put it in gear, and tried to move forward....nothing. The pedal went nowhere, and I quickly put two and two together. After the car sat for about half an hour with the heat on full, vents in the heater position, the throttle cable thawed enough to let me move the car.

In the spring, I pulled the (frayed) cable from its sheathing and replaced it with a new one. I was surprised at how much water came out with it. Haven't had a problem since. I don't recall exactly WHAT I put in there to try to prevent it again, but I know my car has the shield now.

One thing I had to do after the fact was adjust my throttle pedal. I always wondered why it had such little travel, and could always put my foot to the floor during that first year. While the throttle pedal should have been at the same level as the brake, it was much further down. Apparently over the years, people tried to force the throttle open when the cable had frozen, gradually bending the pedal downwards. The car suddenly felt a lot peppier after that; I could put my foot to the floor and engage the microswitch! I had to do that with the other car in my city too, but it was one of the earlier projects during his ownership.

[Jonathan]

It might be worth noting that some of these safety recall kits come with more than just the obvious. The deice shield is there of course, but there are some other fittings and washers and clips that play an important part in the overall recall. Same goes for the front end recall kit that is more than just the strengthening brackets (also important in that one are the suspension castle nuts and cotter pins.)

I can think of a couple cars (mine being one of them) where not everything in the recall kit/bulletin was completed, even though a quick photo of the engine bay or front frame extension might try to tell you so.

[DMC5180]

One thing I had to do after the fact was adjust my throttle pedal. I always wondered why it had such little travel, and could always put my foot to the floor during that first year. While the throttle pedal should have been at the same level as the brake, it was much further down. Apparently over the years, people tried to force the throttle open when the cable had frozen, gradually bending the pedal downwards. The car suddenly felt a lot peppier after that; I could put my foot to the floor and engage the microswitch! I had to do that with the other car in my city too, but it was one of the earlier projects during his ownership.

This happened to Ron W. (Screaming yellow D)

He was trying figure out why his car was so sluggish in keeping of with another group of Deloreans during a drive up to a spring tech day at Dave's (pre DMCMW) days. He said, had it floored and could barely keep up with the group. I had him step on the peddle (floored) and I noticed he was only getting 2/3 rds travel on the throttle spool. I looked at his Gas Pedal then compared it's position to my car. The difference was quite noticeable in height off the floor. After closer examination I could see his was bent downward. I grabbed hold of it and pulled it back to the position similar to my car. We reconfirmed he could now achieve full throttle then took it for test drive. He came back grinning from ear to ear and said what difference that made.