solutions if car accelerates

[miles]

I drive an '08 Prius and the news has me nervous. I'd like to have access to the reports that have been made by drivers who experienced unwanted acceleration. What were the situations when it happened? Could throwing the keys out the window make any difference in the situation? Ideas????

[humanoid]

NSFW due to language:

edit by Admin: Please be warned the above link cotains very strong language.

[Leighcm]

I drive an '08 Prius and the news has me nervous. I'd like to have access to the reports that have been made by drivers who experienced unwanted acceleration. What were the situations when it happened? Could throwing the keys out the window make any difference in the situation? Ideas????

Why would you throw the keys out the window? What would that do?

If your car starts to accelerate and you don't want it to, push the brake!! You should first apply the brake firmly, and could also try the emergency brake. You can also shift the car into neutral, or even turn the car off by holding the start/stop button for a few seconds.

[Leighcm]

Just watched the video...pretty brutal, but I loved it!! :lol:

[Leighcm]

This is interesting:

From US News & World Report, Automotive Section

http://usnews.rankin...ve-Been-Faked-/

Could Runaway Prius Have Been Faked?

Posted: Mar. 12, 2010 10:03 a.m.

Yesterday we told you about doubts Edmunds Inside Line raised about a California man who claimed his Prius had raced out of control. Today, more people are looking into the story.

Jalopnik thinks James Sikes, the man in the incident, may have had a motive: "James Sikes, the San Diego runaway Toyota Prius driver, filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and now has over $700,000 in debt. According to one anonymous tipster, we're also told he hasn't been making payments on his Prius," they write, adding, "it's potential motivation for wanting to find an out — any out — on paying for the vehicle."

Jalopnik's questions about Sikes' motives add to questions Inside Line raised about the story. Inside Line pointed out that it's relatively easy to shift the Prius into neutral, even at highway speeds. They also found it odd that though he claimed to be doing well over 90, Sikes managed to avoid an accident on a California highway for over 20 minutes -- while panicking.

The Associated Press says the runaway Prius story may be reinforcing itself. "Experts on consumer psychology say the relentless negative media attention Toyota has received since the fall makes it much more likely that drivers will mistake anything unexpected — or even a misplaced foot — for actual danger." AP adds, "In just the first 10 weeks of this year, 272 complaints have been filed nationwide for speed control problems with the Prius, according to an Associated Press analysis of unverified complaints received by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. By comparison, only 74 complaints were filed in all of last year, and just eight the year before that."

Autoblog Green comments, "We'll let the authorities investigate these latest cases and determine as best they can what happened there, but we also want the madness to calm down. Problems should be fixed, sure, but just because some people have problems doesn't mean everyone does."

The day after the Prius incident in California, according to reports, a Prius accelerated suddenly in New York. In that incident, a woman was pulling out of her driveway when she says the accelerator stuck, causing the Prius to surge forward into a stonewall. No one was hurt in the incident.

However, Richard Schmidt, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, writes in the New York Times that the kind of driveway scenario the woman describes is a prime example of driver error being mistaken for a mechanical problem. Shchmidt has spent much of his career investigating cases of unintended acceleration for automakers. His work has found that reports of unintended acceleration "typically happened when the driver first got into the car and started it. After turning on the ignition, the driver would intend to press lightly on the brake pedal while shifting from park to drive (or reverse), and suddenly the car would leap forward (or backward). Drivers said that continued pressing on the brake would not stop the car; it would keep going until it crashed." Schmidt adds, "Drivers believed that something had gone wrong in the acceleration system, and that the brakes had failed."

When engineers would examine the cars, they'd find nothing was wrong. Schmidt writes, "Several researchers hypothesized how a driver, intending to apply the brake pedal to keep the car from creeping, would occasionally press the accelerator instead. Then, surprised that the car moved so much, he would try pressing harder. Of course, if his right foot was actually on the accelerator, the throttle would open and the car would move faster." The result? "This would then lead the driver to press the 'brake' harder still, and to bring about even more acceleration. Eventually, the car would be at full throttle, until it crashed. The driver's foot would be all the way to the floor, giving him the impression that the brakes had failed."

Of course, Schmidt's reasoning doesn't explain the reports of the runaway Prius in California, and it doesn't prove that nothing was wrong with the Prius in New York. But, driver error plus increased publicity may explain some of the spike in reports of problems with Toyota.

Check out the latest Toyota recall news and information, including how the company's recent troubles affect our rankings. If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.

[humanoid]

Leigh, read the article you posted and we're also doing a story about him here at work today. I betcha the guy just wants publicity. He didn't want to put the car into neutral because "he was controlling the vehicle" at the time. I hope he gets what's due him, whether it was indeed unintended acceleration or hoax. If it was a hoax, may he burn in hell for eternity.

[Leighcm]

The more I hear about him, the more I'm convinced it was staged. I was listening to NPR this morning, and they were talking about this incident, and how the Federal investigation couldn't find anything wrong with the car...hmm...go figure. I'd love to see your story on this guy when it's put together. What a jerk!

[humanoid]

Well, the story we ran was that the guy had filed bankruptcy a couple years back and he runs some online swingers site and that's just part of it. The jerk seems like a lowlife scum having his 15 minutes of fame. I think in the next few weeks he's going to admit that it was a hoax afterall, trying to get money from Toyota. I really hope this guy fries in hell some day.

[humanoid]

Even more news about the Prius in question:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/toyota/toyota-offers-preliminary-findings-155268.aspx

Toyota Offers Preliminary Findings From Technical Field Examination of Alleged 'Runaway Prius' in San Diego

• Toyota Engineers Conclude Two Days of Investigation

• Driver’s Account Of Event Inconsistent With Initial Findings

SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 15, 2010---At a press conference today, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. offered key preliminary findings of technical field examination and testing that were performed on March 10 and 11 regarding an alleged “runaway Prius” event dramatically covered by national news media.

Toyota engineers completed an investigation of the 2008 Prius driven by Mr. James Sikes that was the subject of a 911 emergency call on Monday, March 8. The driver reported that the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, the accelerator pedal was stuck, and that the vehicle was out of control and could not be stopped. The emergency operator repeatedly instructed the driver to shift the car into neutral and turn off the power button.

A California Highway Patrol officer intercepted the vehicle and instructed the driver to press firmly on the brakes, apply the emergency brake and turn off the car, at which time the Prius came to a safe stop.

While a final report is not yet complete, there are strong indications that the driver's account of the event is inconsistent with the findings of the preliminary analysis.

Toyota engineers employed data download/analysis, static and dynamic testing as well as thorough inspections of all relative components. In addition, they retraced the reported driving route taking into account driving time and accounts from the 911 recording.

The investigation revealed the following initial findings:

• The accelerator pedal was tested and found to be working normally with no mechanical binding or friction. It should be noted that the Prius is not subject to a recall for sticking accelerator pedals and the Prius component is made by a different supplier than the one recalled.

• The front brakes showed severe wear and damage from overheating. The rear brakes and parking brake were in good condition and functional.

• A Toyota carpeted floor mat of the correct type for the vehicle was installed but not secured to the retention hooks. It was not found to be interfering or even touching the accelerator pedal.

• The pushbutton power switch worked normally and shut the vehicle off when depressed for 3 seconds as the 911 operator advised Mr. Sikes to do.

• The shift lever also worked normally and neutral could be selected. The neutral position is clearly marked and can be easily engaged by moving the lever left to the “N” marking.

• There were no diagnostic trouble codes found in the power management computer, nor was the dashboard malfunction indicator light activated. The hybrid self-diagnostic system did show evidence of numerous, rapidly repeated on-and- off applications of both the accelerator and the brake pedals.

• After examination of individual components, the front brakes were replaced and the vehicle was test driven, during which the vehicle was observed to be functioning normally.

• During testing, the brakes were purposely abused by continuous light application in order to overheat them. The vehicle could be safely stopped by means of the brake pedal, even when overheated.

The Prius braking system uses both conventional hydraulic friction brakes and a regenerative braking system which switches the electric drive motors into brakes to generate electricity.

The system features a sophisticated self- protection function which cuts engine power if moderate brake pedal pressure is applied and the accelerator pedal is depressed more than approximately 50 percent, in effect providing a form of “brake override.”

This function, which is intended to protect the system from overload and possible damage, was found to be functioning normally during the preliminary field examination.

Toyota engineers believe that it would be extremely difficult for the Prius to be driven at a continuous high speed with more than light brake-pedal pressure, and that the assertion that the vehicle could not be stopped with the brakes is fundamentally inconsistent with basic vehicle design and the investigation observations.

These findings suggest that there should be further examination of Mr. Sikes account of the events of March 8.

NHTSA investigators were present during Toyota’s examination, and are conducting their own investigation of the vehicle and its performance. Toyota’s examination was also observed by a congressional staff member.

###

Source: Toyota Motor Sales, Corporate Communications

Media Lines 310-468-5297, 310-468-7359

News media web site: www.pressroom.toyota.com

Just adding fuel to the fire. If I ever see this guy, someone better stop me or I'll have his ass kicked!!!

[Leighcm]

Let me know...I'll give you a hand. He's just a jerk.

[Leighcm]

Oh, just noticed this one too: " Toyota’s examination was also observed by a congressional staff member." Like those morons would have a clue. Did you see the witch trials on CNN with those guys and Akio Toyoda? Especially that idiot woman that was running the hearings...

[Leighcm]

Gotta love this:

http://gawker.com/54...ured-death-ride

Toyota Demands Retraction and Apology From ABC News Over Manufactured Death Ride

Toyota's general counsel is calling on ABC News president David Westin to retract and apologize for a cocked-up story by America's Wrongest Reporter, Brian Ross. UPDATE: ABC News' response is below.

Last month, Ross filed a report featuring a test conducted by David Gilbert, an Illinois professor who claimed to have found a way to induce unintended acceleration in Toyotas without triggering an error code that would allow mechanics to diagnose the problem. The exercise was supposed to prove that it's theoretically possible for Toyotas to accelerate without command and then show no sign of having done so later on.

Ross himself took a little on-camera death ride. And to make it seem even scarier, he took a staged shot of a surging tachometer taken while the car was parked and stitched it in to the piece to make it look like it was happening while he was driving. ABC News later changed the online version of the story after we asked them about the fakery.

The story had other problems, according to Toyota: As the company demonstrated in a lengthy online rebuttal, Gilbert's test almost certainly can't be replicated under real-world conditions. He essentially rewired a Toyota to do what he wanted it to do—accelerate without command and without generating an error code—which is kind of like leaving the gas on a stove on for a few hours and lighting a match to prove that America's kitchens are littered with millions of ticking timebombs. Engineers from Stanford working on Toyota's behalf were able to rewire a Subarus, Honda, Chevrolet, and Ford in the same manner.

And Ross didn't disclose in his report that Gilbert had previously been paid as a consultant by Sean Kane, an investigator working for plaintiff's lawyers in lawsuits against Toyota, and has an agreement with Kane paying him $150 an hour for work "going forward." In the March 11 letter, a copy of which was provided to Gawker by a source close to Toyota, the company says Ross "singularly failed in his basic duty as a journalist to disclose material information about Professor Gilbert that would have directly influenced his credibility with the audience." It also accuses him of "rush[ing] out his report on the eve of important congressional hearings concerning Toyota" and failing to offer the company an opportunity to examine Gilbert's test before responding. Indeed, on February 23, the day after Ross' story aired, Gilbert testified before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the death-ride came up.

Read the full letter, which ends with the veiled boilerplate threat that "Toyota reserves the right to take any and every appropriate step to protect and defend the reputation of our company and its products from irresponsible and inaccurate claims," below. A good reporter knows when he gets letters like this that he's doing his job. Unfortunately, Brian Ross is not a good reporter. And he's been off the radar at a particularly sensitive time—Ross hasn't covered Toyota since the furor over his report erupted. An ABC News spokesman says he's in the midst of a "long-planned vacation," and that ABC is "in receipt of Toyota's letter. Our lawyers are looking at it, and we will respond." UPDATE: We've obtained ABC News' response. It's posted below Toyota's letter.

And here's the response, which repeats the news organization's prior acknowledgment that the faked tachometer shot was an "editorial error" but declines to retract or apologize. ABC News says Gilbert's test was "legitimate and newsworthy" whether it was flawed or not, and that it pointed out Gilbert's work for consultants hired by plaintiff's attorneys on the day after Ross' broadcast, which begs the question as to whether Ross was aware of it on the day of the broadcast

.