Update on LR3 Sudden Acceleration
Hi again,
I promised an update since my 9/15 post.
Well, I've done everything I could to alert the proper authorities to the frightening experience regarding the sudden and unexpected acceleration of my 2006 LR3 while stopped and attempting to put into park last September.
Once my insurance company Liberty Mutual decided to total the car, and we took the payout, I decided to take an additional step to save a life. I asked my insurance company to hold onto the car pending an accident investigation. Despite numerous tries by me and insurance, Land Rover/Jaguar of North America was uninterested in viewing the car (which was stored in secure lot at LM's expense for four months!!!) to determine the cause of mechanical failure. Last response from Land Rover was that their lawyers advised against any action.
The good folks at my insurance company told me that Land Rover took this course because any potential lawsuit would be thrown out of court given the age of the car, and the fact that it would be impossible to tell who would be liable in the case of real mechanical failure.
I followed up with NHTSA by phone and mail (spent $32 to send a packet of background info). Received form letter saying that their engineers cannot look into every case because of the large number of complaints they receive. Given that Land Rovers are not a huge market, I am doubtful that my case (which I'm occasionally following online) will go any further.
On a positive note, I was able to get a signed letter form the body shop recently stating that their mechanic experienced what I did. I'm going to send this to my insurance company and NHTSA. Today, I'm mailing an appeal to my state Division of Insurance regarding the removal of the surcharge now placed on my record. Despite my being stopped, the car damaged the building I hit in the amount of $52,000. I'm hoping the body shop's letter and the filing of my case with NHTSA will demonstrate that I'm not responsible for the crash.
For those who think that I may have had my foot on the accelerator rather than the brake, I want to state for the record that this was not the case. First off, the pedals are spread way far apart, with the acceleration on a different plane from the very large brake pedal. And I had driven that car for over 8.5 years and had made three previous stops immediately prior to the accident. After having 30 years of accident-free driving, I can assure you that it was not "driver" negligence.
I wish everyone the best with their Land Rovers. I miss mine, and wish the accident had never occurred. However, given that I live and park near open water, I am truly grateful that my brakes did not give out when I was trying to park down by our town's pier. I would have died in that car had it jumped the curb, and the thought that I was spared that very real possibility, gives me tremendous comfort.