Left-foot braking

[h5djr]

I had to have a heart valve and triple by-pass operation at the end of last year. The by-pass op involved removing a length of vein from my left leg to use for the by-passes. Since then my left leg has been a bit of a problem and now I cannot move my foot from the throttle to the brake what I regard as quick enough for driving.

I have an s-tronic so I was wondering has anyone tried using Left-foot braking on their A3. Will it work with the current brake pedal or should I consider having an extension added to move it more to the left.

 

[Georgeinabz]

Sorry to hear that hope you're on the mend, had a test drive of an a3 stronic today , after 33 yrs of manual brain was in autopilot when I came to the roundabout ,left leg went to press the "clutch" almost put myself through the window , good brakes , the guy behind me **** himself watching me do an emergency stop from 50mph , probably thought just another Audi driver


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[AllanG]

As you've got s-tronic, surely your left leg isn't doing anything when driving, as its your right leg operating both the throttle and brake.....or am I mis-reading your post....or, perhaps, you have a left hand drive car?

 

[steeve]

I hope you're doing well other than this relatively minor problem. Dave do you mean right leg? as its the one we use on the accelerator and usually for braking too. In an Stronic left legs are redundant and often waste away on their own!
There's no reason why you shouldn't use left foot braking, it might take some time to be able to modulate the pressure gently enough for braking. But I'm sure it's something that comes with practice.
The other alternative is exercise on the weak leg to build up muscle etc and it may help?

 

[Scottk]

As you've got s-tronic, surely your left leg isn't doing anything when driving, as its your right leg operating both the throttle and brake.....or am I mis-reading your post....or, perhaps, you have a left hand drive car?

Left hand drive cars have the same pedal set up as RHD!

 

[AllanG]

Left hand drive cars have the same pedal set up as RHD!

Whoops, my mistake!!

 

[h5djr]

Sorry, my mistake - it's my right leg that is the problem. If it was the leg leg I would not have any problem.

 

[cuke2u]

I remember driving a automatic that had two throttle pedals either side of the brake. I guess it had been setup that way so that either leg could be used. Having driven manual gearboxes all my life there was a instinctive temptation to push what my leg thought was the clutch pedal which would have been interesting to say the least...

 

[Ignition1]

I don't think it's a question about if it will work or not with S-Tronic - it will work - but will take some getting used to.

Funnily enough I tried right-foot braking and my shoes kept catching on the pedals. You might need adjust the way you sit so you right foot is as centre as possible between the pedals.

 

[S32B]

Have you tried a mobility shop? They may be able to point you in the right direction, I had a boss once that only had one leg and his brake was controlled from the steering wheel with his hand. I'm sure they have much better/discreet things these days.

 

[cuke2u]

Here you go http://www.autochair.co.uk/products/driving-aids/left-foot-accelerators even better because one will fold away...

 

[luke_m87]

When I had my S-tronic I always used my left foot for braking, so much that now whenever I get into an auto it's become natural to only use my left foot. I actually found it quicker then using my right foot.
Just watch out you don't hit the throttle before letting off the brake as it'll cut the power for a couple of seconds.

It does take a bit of getting used to as your left foot will need to learn to feel what pressure is needed so i would recommend trying it in a quite car park for half an hour before going out on the roads and ending up pulling an emergency stop in front of someone.

 

[h5djr]

Here you go http://www.autochair.co.uk/products/driving-aids/left-foot-accelerators even better because one will fold away...

Thanks for the link, but my main problem at the moment is being able to move my right foot from the throttle to the brake and to do so quickly enough to drive. Perhaps it would be easier if the throttle pedal was a little higher or the brake a little lower so that my foot could move across without me having to actually lift it up. Perhaps I will have to see what my dealer recommends.

 

[azibux1]

Thanks for the link, but my main problem at the moment is being able to move my right foot from the throttle to the brake and to do so quickly enough to drive. Perhaps it would be easier if the throttle pedal was a little higher or the brake a little lower so that my foot could move across without me having to actually lift it up. Perhaps I will have to see what my dealer recommends.

I think @cuke2u meant to maybe accelerate with your left and brake with your right with the use of that device? Because the right is used to 'gently' applying the brakes, whereas the left isn't?

May be wrong though

 

[James_TDi]

Here you go http://www.autochair.co.uk/products/driving-aids/left-foot-accelerators even better because one will fold away...

A colleague of mine has an issue with his right leg, so has one of those fitted to his A4 auto. Drives entirely with the left foot.
When it goes in for a service, the left pedal folds up and the right pedal back down so that anyone else driving the car doesn't get confused and hit the wrong one.

 

[Wondering Soul]

I have managed to teach myself since getting the car, probably took a good few months before it was smooth and not jerky or violent. Even in quick reaction circumstances I can rarely notice a difference anymore, will take a lot of getting use to and would recommend a cautious approach!

 

[h5djr]

Does anyone know if it's possible to raise the level of the throttle pedal slightly. My right leg has improved a little and when I tried driving the other day the only problem moving from the throttle to the brake was the difference in height off the floor. The brake pedal is a little higher and sometimes my foot hits the side of the pedal rather go on it to operate the brake. Perhaps a second rubber stuck to the existing might work.

 

[h5djr]

My dealer has today fitted a new set of aluminium pedals to my car. The brake pedal was a straight swap for the existing rubber cover but he has added a block of rubber to the underside of the aluminium accelerator pedal so that it brings the pedal up and makes both pedals the same height. I drove the car back from the garage and it seems to work OK so perhaps I can start driving again and give my wife a rest.