2022 Mazda CX-5

Unexpected acceleration ___ While stopped on a slight downgrade, RPM suddenly increased and vehicle lurched forward. Applying more pressure to brake stopped movement. I forced transmission into park. Took foot off brake, RPM still high. Tapped accelerator, RPM dropped to normal idle. Fortunately, there were no vehicles in front of mine and cross traffic was not present. Vehicle did not enter intersection. I drive single footed and shoe did not overlap brake and accelerator. The day was clear 37F, dry. Vehicle had made 3 short trips prior so engine was up to temperature, 35 miles total over 2 hours. Cruise control was not engaged and had not been used in two days. This issue has not been reported to dealer. There were no warning lights or other indications of problems. The vehicle has driven normally since. I have not been able to reproduce the issue. ____ A similar issue happened two months prior. Circumstances were not the same. Intersection was flat, engine was not up to temperature, removing pressure from brake pedal was enough to stop high RPM. Attributed instance to the shoes I was wearing. The running shoes were thicker and wider than I normally wear while driving. I believed I may have pressed both brake and accelerator without realizing it since reducing pressure corrected the problem.

When coming to a stop, car accelerated and went over curb. From a search of the internet I found examples with this and other cars where people with larger shoes had the same problem of pressing the brake and unintentionally pressing the accelerator pedal at the same time. I read of one manufacturer that programed the car to brake if both pedals are pressed at the same time and ignore the accelerator. The same thing happened in my 2015 Mazda CX5. In that case I had it checked at the dealer. The technician found nothing wrong but was able to reproduce the problem when his boot pressed both the brake pedal and accelerator because both pedals were so close together. Since this would probably be an inexpensive software change, it would be prudent for a safety recall by manufacturers that have pedals that are close to one another.