Tests fail to duplicate acceleration problem in Prius

[sbergman27]

Originally Posted by tk-421

And people keep dying over this,

Show me a single case of unintended acceleration where there is actual evidence to back up the claim that it was the car and not the driver in error, which doesn't have notably suspicious aspects to it calling into question the claim's validity.

Regarding Sikes... I'd love for the NHTSA to do an intensive investigation into just how and when Sikes front brakes... and only the front brakes... got worn. (Remember, the rears were fine.) The most likely scenario is that he removed the lining material himself before making his fateful drive. That way he could stomp the brake pedal (theatrically lifting his buttocks off the seat for the officers to see) while simultaneously generating the burning brake odor claimed to have been smelled by the police, without that actually stopping the car, which would have ruined the drama of it all.

Now... if someone could just find direct evidence of it.

-Steve

Edit: Of course, stomping on the brake would have brought the engine back to idle, in any case, via the override provision. So probably just continuous moderate braking over a long period. Enough to get the rear brakes hot enough to smell: http://tinyurl.com/yb7okc8

"Buttock pumping", then, was likely on the accelerator pedal.