Hello all. I am new to the forum. I typically work on full size trucks so this is rather new to me.

I have a Traxxas Rustler VXL, had it for a few years and we don't use it much. It seems to have developed a glitch. The motor controller when turned on flashes green signalling a throttle trim adjustment is wrong, but it is not. After it sits for a few seconds it just goes....full throttle. I have to hold reverse for the tires to stop spinning. As I mentioned it didn't always do this. I have programmed the motor controller countless times also with no help.

Does that sound like a transmitter or receiver problem?

Next question, can I upgrade to a 2.4gh traxxas controls, if so which one, there are a few and I need something basic.

Right now it has old TQ transmitter 27mhz, 2019 reciever and a 2070 steering servo..

Any advice you can give would be great as my son just can't use it like this.

I had this happen on my son's Stampede. It ended up being the transmitter/receiver. I'm not sure exactly which it was because I swapped the whole radio system out and it fixed it. I had a KO Propo system laying around.

The problem is likely something wrong in the transmitter that's causing it to send inconsistent outputs. There's a chance someone is operating an amateur radio near you but it's not as likely as it was 20 years ago lol. If the problem just appeared out of nowhere I'd bet though that it's something wrong in the transmitter. It probably glitches internally just enough to let the ESC arm and you really see it freak out once it does.

For the 2.4GHz upgrade, if you have a local hobby shop that's really your best bet to shop for them since you can hold the radios in your hand and feel the quality. The Traxxas 2.4GHz systems are available with a trade-in from your current system whether it's functional or not. They do work pretty well but are a pain to program. They don't have an LCD display so you have to watch lights flash and move knobs rather than changing numerical values.

Personally, I like the Airtronics and Futaba systems but Spektrum has a couple lower-end entry level models now as well. Airtronics and Futaba are likely to have the best reception range where Spektrum doesn't go quite as far. I've only been able to run Spektrum out of range a couple times though and I was actually trying so it's not a big deal.

-Eric