Owners of Toyota Cars in Rebellion Over Series of Accidents

[RedRide]

A throttle by wire or a traditional mechanical cable conection throttle both teminate to a mechanical butterfly valve which can conceivably get stuck.

There have always been incidents where the driver claime a throttle got suck so, this is nothing new.

[JBougie]

I absolutely think this is a problem that Toyota needs to address, if it is THAT frequent of an issue - there is something they need to correct.

However - anyone who lost their lives becuase of not thinking "OK - the pedal is stuck ... what do I do now?" and throwing the ebrake/neutral/taking the key out are REALLY dumb. How in the hell are you going to be smart enough to make a big enough salary to afford a Lexus in the first place, but not enough smarts about you to shut the car off?! (Or, take one hand and pull back the damn floor mat)

While any life lost over something so dumb as this is extremely sad, it was something that could have been easily prevented.

People need to think about things - cars aren't perfect. They are going to fail at one point or another and you never know in what way they will - it is up to us to be prepared and handle the situation to the best of our ability when it happens. IMO, calling 911 and freaking out wasn't the answer. And, if the 911 operator couldn't think quickly enough to tell them to remove the keys or put it in neutral - that's sad so many people involved couldn't brainstorm that simple solution. It is the first thing I would ... I would willingly blow my tranny/engine/brakes/wheels in order to stop the car and keep my life.

[Yaris Hilton]

A car's brakes are always far more powerful than its engine. Stomp on them and hold the pedal down. A plaintiff attorney who handles these cases (which are common against every car manufacturer) points out that if someone in the stuck throttle situation pumps the pedal they lose vacuum in the power brake assist, because the throttle's wide open and manifold vacuum is low, and then few are strong enough to stop the car against the running engine. He also pointed out that pushbutton starts won't let you turn it off without holding the pushbutton in for something like 1.5 seconds.

What usually happens with "runaway car" scenarios is that the police on the scene find the brakes and everything else working fine. The driver has panicked, pushing on the gas pedal thinking it's the brake. Happens all the time. Watch TRU TV for lots of video examples.

[talnlnky]

is it an auto only problem, or does it happen to manuals as well.... I'd think a wierd issue like this might be more likely to happen in a DBW system with an auto than a manual... but maybe not.

Amen for ignition off.... wait 1 second, then ignition to acc to restory power to steering and brakes.

Funny to think... hypermiler techniques might save lives in this instance... usually people say hypermiler techniques put lives in danger.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by talnlnky

is it an auto only problem, or does it happen to manuals as well.... I'd think a wierd issue like this might be more likely to happen in a DBW system with an auto than a manual... but maybe not.

Amen for ignition off.... wait 1 second, then ignition to acc to restory power to steering and brakes.

Funny to think... hypermiler techniques might save lives in this instance... usually people say hypermiler techniques put lives in danger.

It would be much easier with a MT, as stepping on the clutch would disconnect the engine from the drive train, and MT drivers are used to doing that while the vehicle is in motion.

AT drivers aren't used to doing anything with the shift lever, while the vehicle is cruising, so I can see how the average one wouldn't have a clue as to what to do to quickly separate the engine from the drive train.

[JBougie]

Side note of humor: My husband just said he calls bullshit becuase he wants to know what Toyota can even go 120mph.


...I glared at him.

lol

[slothman86]

Originally Posted by JBougie

Side note of humor: My husband just said he calls bullshit becuase he wants to know what Toyota can even go 120mph.


...I glared at him.

lol

lol




anyway, seriously if the car won't slow down then apply the brake...if that doesn't work, shut the car off...Seriously there needs to be a common sense law...

are there are cars, besides Toyotas, that have been doing this? or is it just GM robot saboteurs in the shape of floor mats attacking Toyotas...

[slothman86]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...in_chinat.html


hmmm, none of those were Toyotas...so it must have been drivers error, if it is a Toyota, it must be Toyota's fault

[tomato]

By the way, I read the article and noticed that the Yaris wasn't mentioned?

[why?]

lol Camry's get supercharged quite a bit. TRD sells a supercharger for the v6 engine. Sweet thing.

[Bob Dog]

It would be funny if it wasn't true

[Darb]

Well, Toyota could offer me a big break kit in lieu of a recall...

(Rims and rear disc swap included, of course.)

[CTScott]

This is what they are actually going to give you:



and:

[tk-421]

OMG that was priceless right there...

[supmet]

Holy crap you guys..

First, If your car's accelerator gets stuck, ignore everything you've read, and

1) put it into neutral, your car will be just fine bouncing off the rev limiter
2) slowly apply the brakes and pull of the road
3) turn the car off AFTER you come to a stop.

If you just turn the car off you lose your power brakes and steering...

Second, you know this whole story is bull shit when you read this-

She was driving her Toyota Prius outside Denver, CO when she says it suddenly shot up to 90 miles an hour, even though her foot was on the brake and not the gas pedal.

A prius can NOT "suddenly" shoot up to 90. Its just not gonna happen. There is no failure besides the floormat, that will prevent the brakes from working.


I agree, the whole story more propaganda from the US media and carmakers... Every foreign recall is a top story on the news for weeks, while domestic recalls are ignored across the board.

[why?]

lol, shift the thing into reverse. On almost all modern auto trannied cars this will shut the thing down so fast you won't know what happened. I did it once on a car I owned and I thought I killed it.

[PlaidBear]

I'm of the opinion that there are plenty of dumb people in the world and mother nature has to find new and interesting ways of weeding them out of existence. I mean maybe I'm just being selfish but Interstate 55 here in St. Louis gets pretty crowded and it could stand a couple hundred more deaths by floor mat. Especially considering the fact that these are probably the same idiots that cut you off, tailgate or merge without signaling.

Rock on Mother Nature...

[Lafiro]

Very easy trick if something like this ever happens.

Put the tranny in N..

Then turn the ignition to off, then back to on, and turn the car back on if you want. But atleast use the e-brake to stop or slow down!

Yes you are right, people just dont think quick enough or are too dumb to think at all but to wait for the inevitable(in their mind)