Hi,

Just wondering if anyone can help me understand what happened to me today. My gears have been sticking a little bit for the last two weeks, particularly when i change into first.

I was going into the supermarket car park today, I changed into 2nd as I turned into carpark, or so I thought, then turned left, the car was travelling too fast I mounted the curb, then realised I had no control, the car careered towards to wall getting faster as it went and then slam.

I instinctively pushed down on the brake and nothing... I have been over this million times today in my head. Even if i hit the accelorator by mistake, I surely would have heard a rev???

I am lucky to alive, I am lucky my child was not strapped in the car seat in the back, and very lucky that no-one was in front of me in the carpark loading up with shopping..

The car is a right off, I had to climb out through a back door, because the front doors had buckled and stuck.

I am a careful driver, no speeding, corners all taken in 2nd,....has this happened to anyone..

The car is a 1996 brava, the clutch was replaced two years ago, and it passed its nct/mot 2 months ago ?

sticking gears is a sign the slave cylinder was leaking, which is a very common problem and a cheap easy fix. did you notice the clutch pedal getting easier to press? in future please do not ignore symptoms, they are a warning something is wrong. next time you ignore something it could kill you.

the brakes are related to the slave cylinder because they both share the same fluid reservoir, however a leak in the slave cylinder should not affect the brakes because the reservoir is divided into seperate chambers lower down. this is a safety feature so a failure in one system does not affect the other. it seems in this case the problem was ignored for so long that air was able to enter the braking system as well as the clutch, resulting in a loss of braking effort.

Did you notice a light on the dash prior to the accident?
Like the handbrake warning light?

Thank you very much jugs and bridges for your response. With the greatest respect Jugs, I realise your words come from concern not admonishment.
But the gears were sticking only very slightly, I have rheumathoid arthritis in my hands so I counld'nt be sure if the stiffness was me or my car.. its only in hindsight that it is apparent that is what happened. I have my baby in the car seat most of the time and take no chances. I not mechanical and my husband didn't think it was a problem at the time, and we feel badly enough about it... so lesson learnt the hard way.. I just want to figure out what happened. But thank you again, I am very grateful for the information. I was just in shock last night. I could have killed myself and more importantly I could have killed someone in the carpark. Its a miracle I didn't. I am going to get an automatic transmission as soon as we can afford a car again.

mrsr said:

Thank you very much jugs and bridges for your response. With the greatest respect Jugs, I realise your words come from concern not admonishment.
But the gears were sticking only very slightly, I have rheumathoid arthritis in my hands so I counld'nt be sure if the stiffness was me or my car.. its only in hindsight that it is apparent that is what happened. I have my baby in the car seat most of the time and take no chances. I not mechanical and my husband didn't think it was a problem at the time, and we feel badly enough about it... so lesson learnt the hard way.. I just want to figure out what happened. But thank you again, I am very grateful for the information. I was just in shock last night. I could have killed myself and more importantly I could have killed someone in the carpark. Its a miracle I didn't. I am going to get an automatic transmission as soon as we can afford a car again.

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nasty glad your ok