Tried to stop before a red sign on a city street, the car accelerated on its own, passed the red light and run at about 60 mph on a 35 mph street for about half a mile and then stopped by itself. pressing the brakes and even putting it on park did not help. i am lucky to be alive with my two passengers, and lucky not to kill anybody or cause property damage.
The car had been parked in an unheated garage for more than 24 hours. i started it, put my foot on the brake pedal, and put it in gear (r). the car lunged back at a high rate of speed. my foot was still on the brake. to avoid hitting a vehicle behind it in the driveway, i shifted to drive (d) and the car immediately started forward still at a high rate of speed. the brakes did not slow the car down. i bumped the front wall of the garage and again shifted into r. the car started moving back again and the brakes did not work. i turned the engine off and the car began slowing and came to a stop after bumping the vehicle about 20 feet behind it. my foot was on the brake pedal the whole time. i checked for obstructions around the brake pedal and found none. afterward, when i started the car again, it drove normally without trouble. there was no apparent damage to the car as a result of either collision but the garage wall suffered some minor damage.