Owners of Toyota Cars in Rebellion Over Series of Accidents

[supmet]

What does everyone keeps recommending turning the ignition off?? You lose power steering and power brakes... Your car can redline for 10 seconds, its not gonna explode...

Again - neutral, brakes, stop, engine off.

[captainm27]

Have you guys seen this? ::GULP:: !!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8990979

[Goose]

Be skeptical of this story and others like it.

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, Toyota is not going to get unbiased coverage from the likes of ABC. I didn't watch the story, but I assume it mentions the Darwin Award winners out in California a while back. Toyota has been the subject of these kinds of attacks in the past, such as when the gen II Prius came out. Media outlets claimed that the Prius suffered unintended acceleration; that hatchet-job died from lack of evidence also.

[roxy1]

it will be interesting to see how this plays out. it would also be interesting to see what the real data is in comparison to all other manufacturers.

in the meantime, be ready to do what it appears many of these people didnt think to do...brake hard and shift into neutral.

[slothman86]

Some notes:

lol, 911 dispatcher said you don't have the ability to turn it off or anything?

why did he pronounce Toyoda..Toyada?

Prius...Shooting to 90 mph!...They go 90? That's like saying the Yaris shot to 90 mph...LOL...Well except for those select few...

There's her problem, her foot was pressing on the BAKE...

Gas pedal never sent gas to the engine directly...at least not with any car I've worked on...It pulls a cable...? Right?

2002...that's not ten years...hmmm, maybe more people started talking on cell phones and get distracted easier...

tiny computer toyota uses? It's no smaller than any other ECU...

Something happens on our PC's we don't know why...because your Caps Lock is on that's why...

6 investigations...No defect? Clean Bill of Health? Is Toyota Sick?

The driver might be put in a situation in which they would need to act fast....That NEVER happens when driving a car..

Oh She tried to put it in neutral...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg8QC...layer_embedded

[RacerFreakXXX]

Even at the dealership I work at every person says it's just stupidity. Yes the floor mats do get caught and you literally have to have the pedal to the floor to cause it, as my manager found out. I'm assuming most of these people were doing 80mph+ and then the car dropped gear and of course it would go faster instantly but people think there is just 1 gear in automatics for some reason. Also I think you have to be pretty retarded to get a mat stuck on top of a gas pedal and not be able to just pull it off.

[yaris-me]

If true, this could affect the Yaris.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/report-e...ion-cases.html

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

Originally Posted by yaris-me

If true, this could affect the Yaris.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/report-e...ion-cases.html

i laugh EVERYTIME i see something related to this whole floor mat issue. this has NOTHING to do with the yaris or its drive by wire system.....

[tomato]

Originally Posted by camelll

I went to pass a car and the accelerator pedal got stuck to the floor. I was shocked when I let off and the car kept accelerating. I did not panic and just turned the car off and pulled over and sure as shit the floor mat was holding the accelerator to the floor.

I can see how this could create a very dangerous situation, especially to someone who panics and does not know how to respond or overreacts. To just say the drivers are idiots is stupid.

+1

People do panic.

So, should Toyota investigate? Yes. You should always investigate reports of malfunctions, even if the malfunction is later determined to come from user error.

By the way, I had an auto tranny "jump" when I was idle, and throw the vehicle forward on me once, a long time ago, almost threw me into the wall of the post-office. (No, it was not user error, yes, it really did happened, and yes vehicles can and will surprise you at times). I still remember it like it was yesterday, all these people walking, baby strollers and stuff, and the jeep just jumping forward. I thank God I didn't hit anyone and slammed on the brakes as fast as I did and that nobody was right in front of it at the time. Pfewww

[slothman86]

Originally Posted by camelll

Well when the car is a runaway because of a stuck throttle or what not, nothing is gonna happen by mashing the gas pedal. Trying to stop the car with the brakes is okay but you still have an engine that is revving to the max, the best thing you can do is kill the ignition and if you cannot do that fast enough then throw it in neutral, but if you do that you take the chance of blowing the motor, small price to pay to save a life though.

Your brakes may be way more powerful than its engine stock, but not if you have extensive modifications to add hp, forced induction comes to mind.

I heard that the prius and camry are the most turbo'ed cars out there.

You know cause the Prius can just shoot to 90 mph...with the turbo...

[Yaris Hilton]

I doubt seriously that your turboed Yaris can spin its wheels as you stand on the brake pedal.

[Yaris Hilton]

I may be wrong, but I doubt they can do that with the brakes fully applied, the driver pushing as hard as (s)he can on the brake pedal. Rear brakes, however, only have about 30% of the total stopping power on most cars.

Anyway, the point has been made in this thread that noone should ever drive a car without considering things like what you'll do if the throttle sticks. Several good options have been mentioned. Those who plan ahead don't panic and die.