Posted on 03/08/2010 6:42:10 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
California Highway Patrol officers say their patrol car acted as a brake for a Toyota Prius with a stuck accelerator Monday.
The car, headed eastbound on Interstate 8, was going at a high rate of speed because the accelerator was stuck, according to CHP spokesperson Brian Pennings.
The patrol car moved in front of the Prius and engaged its brakes to bring the Prius to a stop, according to CHP.
The car eventually stopped on the highway near the La Posta Bridge in the area of the Golden Acorn Casino.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcsandiego.com ...
bump
I’ve read some other articles regarding new control systems in cars.
Emergency Brake is another oddball function, which varies widely from new controls to the next.
Some apply the emergency brake upon a double tap on the brakes. Of course, when driving a new rental down the freeway at 70 mph and one suspects the emergency brake is on, slightly double taps the brakes and the car slamms down to a 2mph roll in the fast lane, it’s easy to form some strong opinions regarding newer car controls.
Personally, I’d go back to more conventional controls until the society can adapt, but then again I still tune my carburetor, turn on my headlights and open my door locks with the key. I’m scared to get into a car newer than 2000.
Destroying the brakes on a Prius to get out of a ticket would not sound like an attractive option to me.
I my Ford, any key works in the ignition. But, to start it you have to step on the brake an pump the cluth twice, holding the clutch to the floor on the second pump while turning the key.
I'd fix the key but there is no need since no one can figure out out to start it.
Where do dogs bark?
In a barking lot.
Back-up?
I don’t think the Prius is bought by very smart people...
Apple Founder Wozniak: Prius SOFTWARE Also Causing Out-of-Control Acceleration
“In today’s Silicon Alley Insider, the legendary Apple founder, Steve Wozniak, says “his new Toyota Prius occasionally goes insane on the highway—and that it’s a software problem, not a hardware problem. He has tried to tell Toyota and the US government, but they won’t listen.”
Scary. Wozniak’s says his 2010 Toyota Prius will “unintentionally accelerate to as much as 97 miles (156 kilometers) per hour when he uses cruise control to increase his speed”.
Let me know when you get an answer to that one.
Me either! What the heck is “B” on the shifter?
Welcome to the "No can do wrong Toyota Gods". Payback is a bitch, ain't it?
Sincerely,
The (out of work)Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler Boys. Enjoy your "American made Toyota"?!.
hahahahaha, sorry, showed my age. Now I have to go to the icebox to get a cold drink.
That can affect your steering and brakes. Best to wait until stopped to kill the ignition.
Jam on the brakes, and put the thing in neutral first.
Darn! He must think he’s indestructible or sumfin, playing around with that thing if it has proven treacherous like that. (The car may also hate him because it runs Windows.)
Thanks, I was driving down a hill when it happend. It took a few seconds to figure out what was going on. I was able to get my boot under the pedal and pull it back.
Park, yes. Neutral, no. It is a basic safety mechanism to be able to shift to neutral, unimpeded, from drive or reverse.
;-)
Toyota is just the one caught in the spot light, this is nothing new.
Some of it has to do with vehicle emissions which electronics help reduce.
They’re cheaper than traditional mechanical connection between the pedal and the throttle, such as a cable and linkage.
http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040327/news_lz1d27throttl.html
Number of complaints to NHTSA about unintended acceleration
YEAR COMPLAINTS
1987 2,284
1988 2,930
1989 2,442
1990 2,382
1991 1,939
1992 1,526
1993 1,315
1994 1,321
1995 1,016
1996 912
1997 783
1998 756
1999 1,647
2000 1,382
Source: A mid-2001 analysis of NHTSA records for Sudden Acceleration: The Myth of Driver Error, by J. Castelli, C. Nash, C. Ditlow, M. Pecht
In the 1980s, Audi of America was nearly driven out of the United States by claims that its Audi 5000 sedan was prone to accelerate suddenly and uncontrollably.
Claims dropped after Audi installed shift-lock mechanisms, which require a motorist to step on the brake before shifting into drive or reverse. All vehicles with automatic transmissions, including those with electronic throttles, now have shift locks.
http://www.autosafety.org/again-nhtsa-probes-sudden-acceleration-march-22-2004
http://www.forthepeople.com/sudden_acceleration.htm
Neutral.
Key.
Brakes.
Swap the last two, otherwise you may cut power to your brakes and make it harder to stop.
There is a lockout that prevents you from putting it into neutral without decreasing speed a certain percentage within so many seconds.
You forgot one thing...the Prius is a hybrid with different plumbing altogether!
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