This story is very strange. The Prius is one of the least powerful cars made. (Horsepower costs MPG)

Every car has brakes capable of more braking power than their engines are capable of producing power.

Hard to believe that applying the brakes properly could not have stopped the car. Sounds like the driver was an idiot if he had to wait for the CHP to tell him to try applying the brakes.

Perhaps if all Toyota owners disabled the GPS in their vehicles...yeah, I know it sounds 'spiciously conspeorist...

Sounds like the driver was an idiot...

"Can't be. California has higher SAT scores than Texas"

dullifidian

I wonder if somehow the guy activated his cruise control and didn't know it.

I wonder if somehow the guy activated his cruise control and didn't know it.

If so, that malfunctioned too since the CC disengages when the brake or clutch are hit.

For a virtual ride in a runaway Toyota:

The CHP told him to apply his parking brake, as well as the standard brakes. The officer said he could see his brake lights on, and the driver said he was standing on the brake as the CHP officer pulled alongside.

Why this? Why so all of a sudden? When there were few problems with Toyota say a month ago?

Was Obama able to sell the driver a watermelon?

Turning the key off always works. Sheesh.

"Hard to believe that applying the brakes properly could not have stopped the car"

Brakes fade, if he would have initially jammed on them and performed a panic stop it may have worked. Continued braking overheats the pads and dramatically reduces their stopping power. And no, not all cars have stronger brakes then engines, ever seen someone powerbrake?

yeah, or taking the car out of gear.

"Turning the key off always works"

If you turn the key to far the wheel locks, not fun. Just pop it into neutral, and hope you have a rev limiter.

people are dumb, or opportunistic, or perhaps both.

I just keep wondering as one person mentioned, that I would want to immediately put it into neutral.

Wouldn't that at least stop the acceleration and I could slow and stop the vehicle with the brakes then??

The real news here is that a Prius can even DO 90 mph.

If you're the kind of person who drives a Prius, you probably deserve a screaming death.

So Cal talk radio has been all over this story so I'm getting more tidbits on what happened than may be being reported in the national news.

Did you know this guy had received a letter in the mail from Toyota offering him a "free safety check-up" for his car.

So three weeks ago he takes it in to the Toyota dealership but they refused to run a free safety check on his car telling him he didn't qualify since his Prius "wasn't one of the models which had included in Toyota's recall."

Ahh, can you smell the $$$$ Lawsuit city for Toyota.

had included = was included

sorry, Vernon. lol

If you're the kind of person who drives a Prius, you probably deserve a screaming death.

LOL

I have got to get me one of those! Would really take the bore out of the routine commute!

BUY AMERICAN

Balloon Boy part 2, the runaway ride scam

The guy is probably trying to scam Toyota. MOs likely he was on the gas and riding the brakes.

Just about all of the runaway acceleration cases will be attributed to stuck floor mats or mistaking the gas for the brake pedal.

The throttle control and power brakes are on separate systems. In some cars the brakes can override will throttle but this control is only in one direction. The software in these cars is not nearly as complicated as the browser you are reading this post on for surprise defects like uncontrolled acceleration to pop up. Toyota is being scammed over all of this.

Guess who will be hurt the most by Toyota's declining sales? America auto workers. Most Toyotas sold in the US are built in the South.

I think it's in the computer. Floor mats? Can't be.

Even IF your accelerator pedal got stuck, what would account for sudden acceleration to 90+ MPH? Not floor mats, that's for sure. You'd be stuck at the speed you were going.

Just pop it into neutral

THIS.

See also: e-brake.

Be Well.

"He was reaching speeds over 90 miles per hour," CHP Officer Larry Landeros said of the driver, James Sikes.

Turn the switch off, then back on (so the steering isn't locked)

Put the car in neutral

Don't drive a prius

3 good solutions.

Don't drive a prius

FWIW, the Prius doesn't have an ignition key. It's a pushbutton on the dash that you have to hold for 3 seconds.

pehaps some people are simply over their head operating an automobile . . .

the guy sounded clueless on the 911 tape - -
"sir, put it in neutral"
(paraphrase) "mam, I cna't drive AND fuss with that gear thingy at the same time"

This guy's license should be immediately revoked!

Hmmm let's see -
1. I'm flying down the highway at 90. Throttle wide open.
2. I have time to give the cops a jungle on my cell... AND time to wait for them to show up.
3. I presumably have 45 yrs of driving experience.
4. I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER that shifting my vehicle into NEUTRAL would be a solution. Instead I wait for a James Bond approach.

JM

When there were few problems with Toyota say a month ago?

#8 | Posted by nanc at 2010-03-09 12:29 PM | Reply | Flag

Do some reading. The problems with the acceleration have been going on for years.

Toyota has been covering them up, blaming floor mats.

I just keep wondering as one person mentioned, that I would want to immediately put it into neutral.

On the prius I do beleive the gear selector is a push button, computer controlled mechanism. If the computer is malfunctioning that could not allow the shift.

I read the testimony at the hearing in Washington, one person said they put the car in all gears, reverse and park and it kept going.

It is not like the old days where cables ran from the gear selector to the transmission.

Turning the key off always works. Sheesh.

#10 | Posted by KBM

That little trick locks my steering wheel every time. Pushing in the clutch on a standard transmition or putting the thing in neuteral for an automatic seems to take the power away from the drive wheels on all my cars. Works every time.

Was the Ballon Boy's Father driving it?

That little trick locks my steering wheel every time.

My vehicles (a 2000 chevy truck and '92 Jeep Wrangler) have an intermediate position that will cut the ignition off before it locks the steering wheel. Toyotas (or any other vehicle for that matter) don't do that? I honestly don't know.

Also on mine, the key will not go to the steering wheel lock position if the car is in gear. Well, at least the chevy. The jeep has a manual transmission. Is this another feature that Toyotas don't have?

I guess just taking the car out of gear is way too tough for the general public to do.

How do we realy know this wasn't a 'set-up' for a lawsuit.

I guess just taking the car out of gear is way too tough for the general public to do.

Instinctively, that would be my reaction.

When your car suddenly accelerates to 90+ MPH I'd imagine most people would be panicked and be concentrating on steering as a reflex action.

OK, so let's say you think quickly enough to throw it in neutral; your RPM's shoot through the roof, you turn the key off, but only if you do it just right will you be able to steer. Your power brakes and steering go out, but you're still going 80-90 MPH and need control. You're also trying to figure out how to get out of traffic and to the shoulder.

Doesn't sound so easy now

"When your car suddenly accelerates to 90+ MPH" you know you can't possibly be driving a Prius.

Doesn't sound so easy now

#40 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

Sounds easier than doing 90+ and calling 911 twice on your cell phone.

He was on an open, pretty clear stretch of straight freeway. Wouldn't be so easy if traffic had been heavier.

#40

I agree that the reactions you described would probably apply to a 16 YO novice driver, but I would think that a seasoned driver with a few years of driving under his belt wouldn't panic in the manner you describe. But I could be wrong.

GOAT

It'd definitely be easier during the day in light traffic in sparse traffic. What if you have cars 30' in front of you like you normally would in city traffic on the freeway, or worse yet, on a city road? Beside you? You need to avoid rear ending someone while at the same time thinking about all the next moves.

Sure, you and I might be able to get out of it without a wreck, but someone who can't shouldn't be expected to.

You turn your key off, put it in neutral, you don't have power anymore. You're supposed to coast out of the way going faster than any of the other cars around you and get to the shoulder? Maybe. Maybe not.

It sounds easy. Guess 'til someone's in that situation with their unique circumstances they'll never know what would have happened.

... but someone who can't shouldn't be expected to.

I never suggested that, but now that you bring it up, I disagree. A driver should indeed know what to do in an emergency situation.

Guess 'til someone's in that situation with their unique circumstances they'll never know what would have happened.

I was in a somewhat similiar emergency situation once when I was ~17 YO. I was coming to a stop sign and the brakes failed. I put the car into low gear and applied the emergency brake in a calm manner. Granted it was in a residential street enviornment, but the point is I was a novice driver yet still knew what the logical thing to do was.

Ya, OK. Toyota's in the clear and everyone wanted to get in a wreck they could have avoided, right?

Gee, next time I have 2 seconds before I rear end a car while I'm being pushed against the seat I'll be sure to put it in neutral and try to swerve into the adjacent lane to keep from rear ending the care in front of me and try not to sideswipe the car in the next lane while I'm doing all that.

Most people live in urban areas.

Brakes failing and sudden acceleration are two entirely different things. You had an emergency brake and were in a residential area. If a car had been crossing where that stop sign or a kid crossing the street it would have been a different story. Yours is an entirely different scenario.

Turn off the key
anyone ever thought of that?

If I haad a prius the first think I wold do is install a big battery knife switch in the drivers area.

My cousins 1969 camaro LT1-350 had his throttle stick in second gear and hit a mountain at 60 MPH

The problem isn't limited to the Prius.

Ya, OK. Toyota's in the clear...

???

AU, you don't have to make it so black and white. Of course they are not in the clear. But just as Toyota is responsible for making safe cars, drivers have a responsibility to know how to react in an emergency situation. IMO, if someone's reaction to a suddenly accelerating vehicle is to pick up the phone, they have no business being behind the wheel.

I'll be sure to put it in neutral and try to swerve into the adjacent lane...

Actually I think that putting the car into neutral and applying the brakes would be a better choice, but that's just me.

Llast line in above post shouldn't be italicized

Kudos #51 for reminding people that personal responsibility should still be present, even int he liberal Mecca of California. Great choice this fool made. Is this indicative of all Prius drivers, or just those in California?

* Distraction from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) extends a driver's reaction as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (University of Utah)
* The No.1 source of driver inattention is use of a wireless device. (Virginia Tech/NHTSA)
* Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (NHTSA, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
* 10 percent of drivers aged 16 to 24 years old are on their phone at any one time.
* Driving while distracted is a factor in 25 percent of police reported crashes.
* Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent (Carnegie Mellon)

So instead of doing something about the acceleration of his car, this fool makes a phone call. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to disengage the engine. Two brakes and a gear shifter aren't enough for this idiot? Must be all that toxic CO2 in the air.

You turn your key off, put it in neutral, you don't have power anymore. You're supposed to coast out of the way going faster than any of the other cars around you and get to the shoulder? Maybe. Maybe not.

It sounds easy. Guess 'til someone's in that situation with their unique circumstances they'll never know what would have happened.

#45 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

Pick only one of the above. Put in neutral would be the easiest of the choices long before you reached 90 mph.

Turning the engine off would take a little more thought so you didn't lock the steering wheel. An adult would be able to steer the car without power steering at highway speeds without any problem.

Still sound like a setup for a lawsuit to me.

Dialing 911 while fucking with the accelorator would seem to be the hardest to do.

Still sound like a setup for a lawsuit to me.

That's what it smelled like to me first time I read the story. Who in their right mind is going to make a phone call when their car is allegedly speeding out of control?

I drive 35,000 miles per year mostly due to work-related demands.

Last Saturday I was passing some geriatric moron doing 30 in a 50 and the floor mat of my wife's car pinned the accelerator to the floor (she drives a Ford Taurus X). For a brief moment I panicked - slamming the brakes did nothing to prevent 265 horsepower from doing its thing. Now, I was able to fix the problem quickly, but I am also far from your every-day novice when it comes to operating a car - I drive a ton and am more adept than your average Joe when it comes to quickly dealing with something like this - YET, in my case we are truly talking about a mis-aligned floor-mat and yet I STILL panicked for a moment. Let's have a little perspective as these car owners start accelerating uncontrollably to 90+ and can't quickly decide how to deal with it - when a car behaves in an unnatural AND DANGEROUS manner drivers aren't prepared to do what would make sense to 'the rest of us operating under hindsight' like utilizing neutral, turning the key, etc.

Tell me, Jeff -- did it ever cross your mind that making a phone call would have been safe at that moment or that it was the proper thing to do?

Yes, you may have panicked, but you did the right thing in the end. That was my point when I said that drivers have a responsibility to know how to react in an emergency. What you did was right. Picking up the phone and initiating a conversation is not.

Goat,

My point was that:

1. I am a very experienced driver and my reaction is probably not indicative of soccer-mom.

2. The source of my problem was easily fixed - I moved the floor mat 3 inches with my foot and the vehicle stopped accelerating.

3. I was on a back-road and, for that moment, my excessive speed wasn't overly dangerous (kinda like doing 120 on the Autobahn).

Looking back on it, I am surprised at how inept I was at dealing with the problem. I truly panicked and it took me longer than it should have to correct a correctible problem.

I saw a lot of news replays of when the driver got out of his car. He was genuinely shaken up and looked like the last type of guy who'd pull a scam of this type.

The only thing which probably saved his life was he was driving near some Indian reservation road and the traffic was lighter. If he'd been on the freeway, I doubt he'd be around to tell his story. The cop who pulled along side of him saw his face, could smell the brakes burning, and knew it was for real.

Toyota will only admit to maybe it was a floor mat getting caught on but this guy had been trying to pass a car when his accelerator jammed. I say it's in the car's mechanism.

Come on, there've been 56 deaths since 2004 due to Toyotas having stuck accelerators. And those are only stats given when someone had gotten killed. How many other times might this have happened but there was no accident and the jammned accelerate never got reported. I was going to buy a Toyota soon too as I'd always had a lot of faith in Toyota and found them to be a good cars. But I'm having strong reservations about buying one now after this story. Don't like the way Toyota knew about these problems and tried to hide them.

jammned accelerate = jammed accelerator

My cousins 1969 camaro LT1-350 had his throttle stick in second gear and hit a mountain at 60 MPH

#49 | Posted by richardrhine

Hope he was ok after that?

The problem with the new vehicles is that they don't have a throttle any more.

They have a computer--and it's name is Hal 9000....

This has been on the news constantly.

Yesterday Issa wanted to have his congressional aide present when Toyota and NITSA did their inspection.

It turned into a big brouhaha until Issa got a hold of LaHood who agreed to 'congressional oversight' and told the NITSA guys to let in the aide.

I guess that is what happens when you let the COMPUTER drive your car. You become a passenger that can't do anything. Progress my ass.

It sounds to me like a lot of you are overlooking the obvious. The car is computer controlled, including the ignition switch. If a chip goes out or a cockroach lays an egg on a critical spot on a circuit board all bets are off on what a computer chip will do. It is true that the fool didn't turn off the ignition until he had slowed down to 50, but that doesn't mean it's not possible to have a situation when even the ignition switch could fail too. I suspect that we will see more and more of these kinds of freak chance failures as these newer cars age. Ask yourself this, would you buy a car that depended on Microsoft to get you there safely?

BTW, a neighbor of mine had a rat get into his new Nissan Xterra and chewed up a wiring harness. When he went to start it it smoked out the entire electrical system. The repair bill estimate was over $15,000 so he just had to total the stupid foreign piece of junk.

Why didn't the guy just put it into neutral, turn on his flashers and coast to a stop?

Man, I wish I had that old Rambler with that slant-6 engine. I could stand inside the engine well and work on it.

The guy with the prius is a fraud---the guy went right away to one of our honorable lawyers but said he wasn't going to sue. Those cars have a brake override system which prevents overloading the electronic system. Plus he recently declared bankruptcy---this whole thing smells.

How convenient that this guy was driving a stretch of road hardly occupied---notice on this thread all the lefties right away believe the BS before any facts are in (probably because they're anti-truth, facts, and the evil corporations---probably why they believe in other BS theories like AGW and are so easily hyped by people like Obummer, Gore etc.) The obvious always escapes these individuals--there's got to be a glitch in their brains.

My cousins 1969 camaro LT1-350 had his throttle stick in second gear and hit a mountain at 60 MPH

#49 | Posted by richardrhine

Man I'll bet he wishes he still owned that car!

Highly collectible ride these days.

Latest news seems to put "Fraud" in this guy's resume: