Tonight when I put my foot on the accelerator it got stuck and kept reving. The only way I could stop was pushing down hard on the brake and apply the hand brake. When I turned it off it wouldn't start for a bit. The 4wd lever wasn't fully in position. Could this be the problem? It's a auto V6 petrol. Thanks.

 

What year Jeep? If it is still under warranty take it back to the dealer ASAP. Have you checked around the gas pedal to see if anything was holding it down, like the floor mat? Have you checked the eng bay to see if the throttle plate was stuck?

 

Stretched or broken throttle cable? I have never heard of this happening on a JK before.

 

I'm guessing a floor mat, a small branch or something physically pushed the accelerator. We have drive by wire in all jks...maybe not the crd cause I've never seen one. but any of the gas engines have drive by wire(no throttle cable) the throttle position sensor has two voltages it reads, one sensor reads increasing voltage, and the other decreases as you push the gas, there is a small margin for error but ultimately if the computer detected a difference it would hand killed the motor even if something jammed the the throttle body...my guess is something inside the Jeep pushed it

 

It's a 2009. I'm getting it serviced next week. I'll check around the pedal thanks. I googled it and recons that the accelerator cable could be missing a nut. I don't know a whole lot about engines so I'll see my mechanic.

 

^^^This. I've had mine get stuck on the slush mats (the mopar ones are very thick). If you have them, scoot them towards the door. That way it wont catch on them. If it's not that, definitely take it to the stealership for warranty work.

 

Aren't Jeep gas pedals drive-by-wire? My Toyota Sequoia had to have the pedal spring replaced due to a recall (the infamous unintended acceleration), and all it is is a variable resistor and spring, with a wire running to the computer - no cable at all. I haven't looked at my Jeep's pedal that closely yet...

 

Yes, the gas pedal is drive-by-wire; no cable from pedal to throttle body.

 

As I get older, I realize that a lot of younger drivers have probably never had the pleasure of driving vehicles with physical throttle linkages to a carburetor, and sometimes not even cable-driven throttle systems. Makes me feel old. I don't know if the OP is old or young or has much mechanical knowledge....the first time it happens is always scary though.

As a result, I'm quite good at getting a toe under an accelerator to pull it back up, I'm fantastic at yanking back a floormat while holding a soda AND driving (yes, before cars had "cupholders", and if the throttle body or carb is stuck open, I just shift to neutral and cut the engine.

OP-- you might (with the vehicle OFF), try to see if you can duplicate the issue to save you a trip to the dealer. Maybe the return spring needs to be replaced, or maybe the floormat got wedged in there.

Brakes can usually overpower a runaway vehicle, but your first defense is always to cut power to the wheels. Shift to neutral!! --and then figure out how to safely pull off the road and fix the issue.

 

ha! makes me feel old too! Remember having to floor it a couple times before starting it to set the choke?! And then blipping the throttle to bring it back to regular idle?! I had An old Chevy wagon with a 305 and a 4 barrel, my friends would be amazed how we could get up to about 40mph on high idle and we drove home a few times with out ever hitting the gas peddle!