Toyota Corolla Moving When Stopped in Traffic

G

Gloyd

New Member
#1
#1
I had the scariest thing happen to me the other day. I own a 2008 Toyota Corolla. I was stopped at the stop light, so I was pressing/holding my foot on the brake pedal like normal. Suddenly, I felt the car inching forward so I pressed a bit harder on the brake pedal, but it still inched forward. There were 3 other people in the car and a pedestrian crossing the sidewalk and she was so close to my car. I panicked and just turned the engine off right away until she finished crossing.

This is the one time it happened. It has been 2 days since this incident and everything seems fine so far. But I was just wondering... Has anyone had this happen? Might anyone know what might be happening with my car? Everyone else in the car said the car DEFINITELY was moving when we were there. :/ Thank you so, so much.

EDIT: And more info. My family was the first and only owner of the Corolla. My dad gave me the car when he upgraded. It has 110,000 miles on it and I NEVER had this happen before.
 
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Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#2
#2
Check your brake system, diagnose for a leak, either in the calipers or the master cylinder.

That's really the only thing that can cause what you are describing. If it happens again, pump your pedal, kill the engine.

And get it looked at quick, I had a brake master cylinder go out on my '82 Mustang while doing 85 on the freeway and didn't notice until traffic came up out of nowhere, killed the engine, used the e-brake, and downshifted to let the motor slow me down. Was probably one of the scariest things I've had happen to me in a car.
 
Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#4
#4
Gloyd - It's been close to three weeks and we haven't heard back from you. Did you have an automotive technician diagnose the problem you described? Could you give us an update? Did your brakes fail and you're no long with us anymore? We hope you are okay!
 
Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#5
#5
Killing the engine allows for maximum engine braking and usually vacuum reserviors give you three to four pumps of the brake pedal.

It's an ugly scenario either way, having a brake system fail, but letting the dead ending slow me down helped immensely.
 
G

Gloyd

New Member
#6
#6
Thank you all for your help! And thank you Scott for your check-up! It is really appreciated.

I did not depart the land of the living, haha. But my tires did blow out on the freeway in the Corolla... It was VERY scary. None of the people who came to look at the scene knew what happened. Just that the tires were destroyed! I am not sure what happened either, because I didn't feel myself running over anything... But the Corolla has been a great car for me so far... No problems until now.

Unfortunately, I did not get the brakes checked. It might have to wait until next payday. I already had to borrow money to get the tires replaced, so if the checks cost anything, I cannot afford to do it now. Unless it might be covered by my insurance? In which case, I should probably call the insurance company myself LOL.

Again, thank you all for the help. I really don't know ANYTHING about cars other than I can drive one. I kind of wish I knew about cars because it would be easier for me to talk to people in daily conversations since they keep talking about cars haha. And it would make it easier to identify a hit and run or some other thing. But right now, I don't even know which model cars there are and such. Ugh.
 
Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#7
#7
Gloyd - Are you saying that all four tires blew out at the same time? If so, the only way that could happen is if the tires ran over something that punctured them. By all means contact your insurance company as quickly as possible!
 
Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#8
#8
Gloyd - As for learning about cars, just come to this forum and you will learn a lot. There are many interesting topics of discussion and a lot of videos on a wide range of topics that you can learn from.

As for affording vehicle repairs, that can be a problem for most people as vehicle repairs usually can't be planned for, or predicted and always seem to happen at the worst times.

Firestone Auto Service Centers can help you out with this problem as they have a credit card you can get that provides you with the option of six months interest free financing on any purchases over $299. All you do is make monthly on time payments and pay off the balance before six months has transpired and there is no interest charged to your account. This is really great and can help finance needed vehicle repairs and maintenance, (before it becomes an expensive repair).

Here is the link to the Firestone credit card and it will provide you more information -

http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/credit-card/?int_cmp=ccard_hero

Here is the Firestone store locator so you can locate a store near you -

http://www.firestonecompleteautocare.com/locate/display-map/?p=1&events=event1&navZip=95758

I hope this helps you out and by all means whenever you need some advice/tips with your Corolla, please feel free to come here and ask for help. There are many really great people here that are more than willing to help you out. :thumbsup: :) Myself, I've been in the automotive repair, maintenance and synthetic oil industry for close to 30 years and it's my pleasure to help you out.
 
Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#10
#10
Donabed Kopoian said:
Killing the engine allows for maximum engine braking and usually vacuum reserviors give you three to four pumps of the brake pedal.

It's an ugly scenario either way, having a brake system fail, but letting the dead ending slow me down helped immensely.
Click to expand...
Donabed, this is not a flame or a criticism, so please don't misunderstand. I have to strongly disagree in shutting off the engine in a situation where the braking performance of a vehicle has been compromised in one way or another, i.e. brake failure. If a new or less experienced driver were to ever do this, it could very likely lead to a crash that will put them in the hospital, or worse, six feet under ground.

Shutting off the engine immediately removes all power assist to the steering which can make it very difficult to turn the steering wheel, if not impossible for a lady who doesn't have the strength of a gorilla. This by itself can lead to a crash.

Also, with the engine shut off the power brakes lose power assist and if the brakes are already a problem, losing the power assist can quickly make things become much worse and also lead to a crash.

The engines compression ratio is what provides engine braking and whether the engine is running or not that compression ratio remains the same. With the engine off, yes that will provide a mild boost in engine braking, but to disable the power steering and power braking systems to do this is not a good tradeoff and in my opinion is very, very dangerous. I've never heard of any professional driving instructor that would recommend such a thing.

Also, with many newer vehicles that are equipped with automatic transmissions there is precious little engine braking provided by downshifting to a lower gear. I learned this first hand and let me tell you, it led to white knuckles on the steering wheel! :eek: :blink:

If when a vehicles brakes are not functioning properly and the driver is having difficulty slowing the vehicle down and bringing it to a stop, the proper thing to do is use the emergency/parking brake which provides for the operation of the rear brakes, which also isn't dependent on the brakes hydraulic system, (which can fail from a blown brake line, which is not uncommon), but on a much more reliable cable connecting the rear brakes to the emergency/parking brake.

Be safe and keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down. :thumbsup: :no:
 
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G

Gloyd

New Member
#11
#11
Thanks so much for all the links! I am looking through them right now. I have honestly never bothered to learn about cars, but now that all this happened, I will take a bit more time to educate myself. xD

I have Firestones near me... but if that card requires a credit check... I'm afraid I won't be approved. I got declined for new cards because I just bought me a house and already opened some cards before, so my credit dropped to heck. (Mortgage and insurance... I hate you! LOL!) It will be a while before it goes back up. :(

2 of the tires blew out on the passenger side when I was just traveling with myself and my dog. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere. I left the car and carried my dog and walked miles to find houses because I forgot my cell at home. It was about 3 hours before the someone called the cops on me because they thought I was a robber LOL. So the cops found me when I walked back to my car. When the tow person and cop car looked, the tires were all gone. Just the rims (I think that's what it is? The metal part of the wheel) was the only thing left. The rubber from the tires were almost all gone. It's a whole 'noter crazy matter, but the tow guy couldn't find my policy from AAA even though I had the card and everything with the policy number! They did a name and address lookup and still nada. I could not believe it. So the only option was for me to pay out of pocket. I am scheduling some time off to go to AAA to ask why this is happening and if I can get reimbursed for this. Probably not... but at least I'll try.
 
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Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#12
#12
You oughta get reimbursed. Sucks about the tire blowouts. Those are never fun, especially multiple blowouts.

Might have hit something on the road that caused it if it was both passenger tires blowing out simultaneously.
 
fishycomics

fishycomics

Super Moderator
#14
#14
Gloyd said:
I had the scariest thing happen to me the other day. I own a 2008 Toyota Corolla. I was stopped at the stop light, so I was pressing/holding my foot on the brake pedal like normal. Suddenly, I felt the car inching forward so I pressed a bit harder on the brake pedal, but it still inched forward. There were 3 other people in the car and a pedestrian crossing the sidewalk and she was so close to my car. I panicked and just turned the engine off right away until she finished crossing.

This is the one time it happened. It has been 2 days since this incident and everything seems fine so far. But I was just wondering... Has anyone had this happen? Might anyone know what might be happening with my car? Everyone else in the car said the car DEFINITELY was moving when we were there. :/ Thank you so, so much.

EDIT: And more info. My family was the first and only owner of the Corolla. My dad gave me the car when he upgraded. It has 110,000 miles on it and I NEVER had this happen before.
Click to expand...

The first thing you should have done was put to "N" if then the hand brake, then Park, and have the hazards on. and not to drive the car till inspected. Once you felt that the problem was not serious, you proceed with caution, and not drive her at normal speeds.


Since you mention tires blew, that may have been your problem, having bald tires, on the car and most likely having the Traction system off as well. you probably need to inspect your ABS first, then the brake system second. I doubt you got air. or a leak, but problem solved with a set of newer tires.
 
0

06CorollaXRS

New Member
#18
#18
There are many options for shops that offer a 100% free diagnosis of your brake system. Try a Monro, Mr Tire, Meineke.. You can get a diagnosis and a written estimate quickly (these places make a killing off brakes, they will look at it ASAP).
 
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