Owners of Toyota Cars in Rebellion Over Series of Accidents

[tk-421]

Scary stuff...

Refusing to accept the explanation of Toyota and the federal government, hundreds Toyota owners are in rebellion after a series of accidents caused by what they call "runaway cars."
Safety analysts found an estimated 2000 cases in which owners of Toyota cars including Camry, Prius and Lexus, reported that their cars surged without warning up to speeds of 100 miles per hour.

Link to full article...

[CTScott]

I watched a news story about it the other night. They interviewed a guy who had it happen on a Prius and he survived. He swore that he didn't even have floor mats in the car, so it definitely wasn't the jammed floor mat.

I think it is very possible that there is a software bug that can somehow surface with the DBW throttle.

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

ive been with toyota for 6 years now and HAVEN"T seen nor heard of any problems with the drive by wire system....

[Altitude]

It's time to start installing black boxes into cars now. While it's possible there is some obscure problem, I tend to think these people just screwed up. And like PK said there are other ways to stop a car.

Then again there's always SkyNet...

[Darb]

I'm also chalking it up to stupidity induced by too much technology.

For example, it used to be quite hilly on my commute to work. One day, it snowed and I find myself stuck behind an SUV that is struggling to get up hill, tires spinning and everything. What to I do? Pop my car into L and go around. In my SATURN. COUPE. The look on her face was priceless.

[SilverBack]

I heard about a guy in a Lexus calling 911 as he was hitting 120 approaching an intersection with his wife in the car. They went through and got killed on impact.

Long story short, there was no throttle problem. The real issue was the floormat getting jammed over the gas pedal. It's such a common problem among many makes that it shouldn't even be considered a recall. Have to agree that this is just a bunch of haters stirring up shit because Toyota's doing better than them.

And I have to agree with PK. Throwing it in Neutral and shutting off the engine solves the stuck throttle issue and keeps you safe as long as you steer and brake towards the side of the road. It's just common sense. The guy in the Lexus was an idiot, so it cost him and his wife their lives

[why?]

Now an old school throttle can get jammed open, I did it on my Saab once. Pushed the pedal too far down and broke whatever stops it, and the car always revved. Not to something stupid, but always too about 3000 rpm's. But Drive by wire doing that? Maybe the wire broke?

[1NZYaris1]

Originally Posted by Altitude

It's time to start installing black boxes into cars now. While it's possible there is some obscure problem, I tend to think these people just screwed up. And like PK said there are other ways to stop a car.

Then again there's always SkyNet...

Beleave it or not most Toyota's already have them

[2+2]

Originally Posted by PK198105

god sometimes i wish euthanasia was legal for reasons of stupidity. you dumb lazy person instead of bitching at Toyota why don't they take proper driving lessons and stop expecting the cars to do everything for them. there is more than one way to stop a car , turn the ignition off , apply the E-Brake (its called an emergency brake for a reason you dumb SOB). I'm sorry but people stupidity is getting to me. I apologize for my outburst

I agree with you except for one thing (and this is assuming that the claims are true - big assumption).

If you win the game of life you're sharp as a tack at 99 and die suddenly without pain when you're 100. For the rest of us becoming a stumbling old folk is the best we can hope for. Brand loyalty is a fine thing but a car shouldn't treat somebody's grandfather like that. Hell I don't even want my car treating me like that!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by why?

Now an old school throttle can get jammed open, I did it on my Saab once. Pushed the pedal too far down and broke whatever stops it, and the car always revved. Not to something stupid, but always too about 3000 rpm's. But Drive by wire doing that? Maybe the wire broke?

The DBW system has two separate accelerator position sensors for redundancy. If either sensor fails (or the wire to it becomes a short or open) it uses the other (and throws a DTC) if both fail it brings the engine down to idle.

With millions of these cars on the road running for zillions of miles and 2000 "possible" cases, it is a fairly low risk of occurrence issue. Reading the service manual about how the DBW works and the built in safety checks, in theory it should be as or more safe than a mechanical throttle linkage.

[DandiDani]

some people dont do well in situations like that and they panic. i can see how it could happen especially if it happens very quickly which it usually does...im pretty sure i would know what to do but not everyone can react that fast

[Darb]

Originally Posted by DandiDani

some people dont do well in situations like that and they panic. i can see how it could happen especially if it happens very quickly which it usually does...im pretty sure i would know what to do but not everyone can react that fast

True, but if you've drilled a plan and options into your head beforehand then you're at an advantage. These others I'm sure never even considered that this could happen, nor had the opportunity to do so like we do.

[DandiDani]

yeah i know. they prolly havent really thought about it before. kind of reminds me of when people have no game plan for disasters like tornados,fires,etc; and end up badly hurt or killed...

[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.

[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