Runaway Prius - Why did the brakes not work? - Page 3

island911 · 03-09-2010, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VINMAN

....

Once again I ask the magical question.. NEUTRAL??????

You mean when you put in a request, to the computer, that you would now like to try having the transmission actuator engage the neutral position?

Yeah, may as well start yelling "Open the pod bay doors!"

.

dd74 · 03-09-2010, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGTIW

Ok, but in this situation the brakes did work, and once the driver was under 50mph he did turn the car off. So the highly trained officer really did nothing more than get tailgated by someone on the highway.

So I guess any Joe Schmoe can stop a car with his own at 50 mph...

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGTIW

But it does point to the bigger picture, and like most situations where we as the American public like to dramatize things and paint someone or something as the evil villain,

The "evil villain" was documented as laughing about the years they got away with selling faulty product to the world, not just the American public.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGTIW

it's more complicated than that. Toyota has a electromechanical issue, where the chief reporters of the problem are arguable the least informed on the subject. That would be the American public and operating an automobile.

It doesn't matter if anyone is less or more informed. The cars are faulty, and the driving public, American or otherwise, has the ultimate power over Toyota.

cgarr · cgarr's Garage

I always thought that with most cars the braking capacity is like 500 times what the power is? You can stop from 60mph in a hundred feet, can you accelerate to 60 in a hundred feet?

Rikao4 · 11:14 AM

is this happening elsewhere like dd74 asked..
as for Germany..the TUV would be all over Toyota..

checked the german papers..
seems to be an American problem..

Rika

TGTIW · 03-09-2010, 10:46 AM

Quote:

So I guess any Joe Schmoe can stop a car with his own at 50 mph...

Quote:

The officer drove in front of Sikes' Prius to block the car if necessary. But the two cars never touched, Landeros said.

But my point is more to that fact that the officer had to use his loudspeaker to tell Sikes' to apply the brakes.

cashflyer · 03-09-2010, 10:49 AM

The whole report is suspect, IMO.... they said the Prius was doing 90 mph.

dd74 · 03-09-2010, 10:52 AM

One more little tidbit of a problem: from the video, the Prius in question looks like a 2nd generation Prius. Didn't Toyota say the acceleration problems affected only the newer 3rd generation Prius?

Oh, and to TGTIW: supposedly Toyota released a statement yesterday saying it was not an electromechanical issue, but back once again to a floor mat issue.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd74

More or less, yes. So we're left to older cars. But...

1) Who will fix them (if one is not mechanically inclined)?
2) Where do you get parts?
3) As has been shown in Cali, the govt isn't too keen on older cars - last I heard, nothing older than 1974 can't be registered.

Plus driving -- at least in L.A. -- is not conducive to older cars. I'd probably ruin my 911 with the awful stop n' go traffic in L.A.

The Blarney is strong in this one...

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd74

One more little tidbit of a problem: from the video, the Prius in question looks like a 2nd generation Prius. Didn't Toyota say the acceleration problems affected only the newer 3rd generation Prius?

Oh, and to TGTIW: supposedly Toyota released a statement yesterday saying it was not an electromechanical issue, but back once again to a floor mat issue.

It was a 2008, and not subject to the recalls.

HarryD · 03-09-2010, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by island911

You mean when you put in a request, to the computer, that you would now like to try having the transmission actuator engage the neutral position?

Yeah, may as well start yelling "Open the pod bay doors!"

.

To which you will hear: http://www.palantir.net/2001/tma1/wav/cantdo.wav

island911 · 03-09-2010, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashflyer

The whole report is suspect, IMO.... they said the Prius was doing 90 mph.

Down hill? ...they are heavy, with little drag.

dd74 · 03-09-2010, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGTIW

But my point is more to that fact that the officer had to use his loudspeaker to tell Sikes' to apply the brakes.

I heard when the CHP officer came across the driver, he said the driver was nearly "standing up" in his car to apply the brakes. The officer told him to apply the "emergency" brake, which only then slowed the Prius down to a speed (from 90 to 50 mph) where the officer could get in front of the car to stop it only while the driver was able to put the transmission into neutral.

dd74 · 03-09-2010, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red-beard

The Blarney is strong in this one...

Care to explain...if you can...

pwd72s · 03-09-2010, 10:57 AM

My question as well...Cindy & I discussing this...why not just pop the damned thing in Neutral & let the engine blow?

dd74 · 03-09-2010, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red-beard

It was a 2008, and not subject to the recalls.

As I said, a tidbit more trouble for Toyota...

dd74 · 03-09-2010, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rikao4

is this happening elsewhere like dd74 asked..
as for Germany..the TUV would be all over Toyota..

checked the german papers..
seems to an American problem..

Rika

American...interesting. I heard all Prius are made in Japan. Wonder why an American problem?

pwd72s · 03-09-2010, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boba

The Toyota ECU is nicknamed HAL.

Not so sure the young folks here get that one..

legion · 03-09-2010, 11:07 AM

Was the driver named Dave?

boba · 03-09-2010, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by legion

Was the driver named Dave?

Yes.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Wall Street Journal is reporting this:

Quote:

News Alert
from The Wall Street Journal

Toyota said the Prius involved in a well-publicized acceleration incident in California will be the subject of a future recall to prevent floor mats from pinning the gas pedal down.

On Monday, James Sikes, 61 years old, called 911 for help after his 2008 Prius accelerated on a highway near San Diego and he couldn't slow it down. A California Highway Patrol officer caught up to the Prius and advised the driver to apply both the brake pedal and emergency brake to slow the vehicle.

Toyota has recalled the Toyota Camry and Avalon sedans and the Lexus ES sedan to reshape the floor and gas pedals to prevent unsecured or ill-fitting floor mats from entrapping the pedal in an open position.

Brian Lyons, a Toyota spokesman, said Toyota is planning on issuing a recall for Prius hybrids from the 2004 to 2009 model years to address the same issue.

Toyota to Recall Prius Models Including One in Runaway Incident - WSJ.com