Runaway Prius driver: Brakes were 'almost burned' [But he wouldn't shift into neutral!]

Yahoo News ^ | 2010-03-10 | ELLIOT SPAGAT

[justlurking]

Before he called 911, James Sikes says he reached down with his hand to loosen the "stuck" accelerator on his 2008 Toyota Prius, his other hand on the steering wheel. The pedal didn't move.

"My car can't slow down," he began when a California Highway Patrol dispatcher answered his call.

[...]

During the two 911 calls, Sikes ignored many of the dispatcher's questions, saying later that he had to put his phone on the seat to keep his hands on the wheel.

Leighann Parks, a 24-year-old dispatcher, repeatedly told him to throw the car into neutral but got no answers.

"He was very emotional, you could tell on the line he was panicked," Parks told reporters outside the CHP's El Cajon office. "I could only imagine being in his shoes and being that stressed."

Neibert told Sikes after the CHP caught up with him to shift to neutral but the driver shook his head no. Sikes told reporters he didn't go into neutral because he worried the car would flip.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I have a friend who keeps an old (70’s era) pickup truck around, just so if there is an EMP he’ll still have a car that works.

[ichabod1]

I think that Southpark is going to have to revisit the concept of The Pius^tm before this season is finished.

[ichabod1]

I agree. They might be better off to just pull out of America. Too much trouble here. I wonder if any of this crap has happened in any other countries.

[Axelsrd]

Little green whinney babies drive Prius’s. This guy was probably wetting his panties. Wish I could have been there to see it.

[Charles Martel]

There’s something very “HAL” about having a computer control the gas pedal of a car, frankly.

Indeed. "I'm sorry, Dave..."

On board computers *can* be a good thing. I recently drove a car that would flash a reminder at you if you left your turn signal on for too long. That's a perfectly acceptable function. On the other hand...

The Mercedes E-Class that makes coffee break suggestions is juust a bit creepy. Way too much driver monitoring going on there, IMO.

Either way, I want a mechanical throttle linkage. I'll keep my old beater running forever to prevent riding with Big Brother, if need be.

[ichabod1]

If you had Onstar there would be a governor so they could shutchoo dayown.

[my right]

I'll have to say I have never seen both disk and drum brakes on the same wheel. Usually the emergency brake is controlled by a cable and the brakes are activated by hydraulics, but both are activating the same shoe or pad.

[RobRoy]

>>Either way, I want a mechanical throttle linkage.<<

On one of the earlier threads about Toyota, one freeer talked of the mechanical throttle getting stuck on his 1960’s car. The motor mount had broken, shifting the engine and forcing the throttle open.

I suppose that is why they went to cables.

I don’t mind electronic as long as it is as well tested against “one in a million” events. And even if this guys is telling the truth (I doubt he is), if only one in a million Toyotas have this problem, it means several people may die.

Sometimes it can’t be helped. After all, over 40,000 people die on our highways every year. We still drive. It’s all about percentages, not raw numbers. Would anyone fly if that many people were killed in the US alone in plane crashes?

[steve86]

I've had throttles stick on a few things

I had the throttle stick wide open on a top fuel Bonneville land speed record rocket car doing over 550 mph. When I finally got it into neutral it had broken the sound barrier over three times. The power steering went out around 683 MPH but I was able to steer it with Body English. Then the parachutes malfunctioned but I was out of salt flat anyway. Lived to tell about it.

[Born to Conserve]

“Popping into neutral would cause the engine to over RPM, and potentially destroy the engine”

There is a limiter that protects the engine. Turning off the engine turns off the power steering and power brakes.

[murron]

What if this was a hoax so that he could get in on the lawsuits against Toyota?

[RobRoy]

I noticed it when I did my own brake job. Inside the hub (about 8" diameter) was a "mini" drum brake operated by the emergency brake.

From here: http://www.justanswer.com/questions/1g9ge-why-would-my-rear-rim-be-hot-to-touch-after-driving-2-hrs-on

The picture doesn't seem to work. Go to the link. They have a picture of exactly what I was talking about.

[IYAS9YAS]

I had the throttle stick wide open on a top fuel Bonneville land speed record rocket car doing over 550 mph. When I finally got it into neutral it had broken the sound barrier over three times. The power steering went out around 683 MPH but I was able to steer it with Body English. Then the parachutes malfunctioned but I was out of salt flat anyway. Lived to tell about it.

Yeah, but did you save the car?!? LOL.

[DJ MacWoW]

I have a friend who keeps an old (70’s era) pickup truck around, just so if there is an EMP he’ll still have a car that works.

Oh yeah. That will work. :-)

[Deo volente]

Will a Prius even DO 80/90 mph?

My brother wanted to see how fast his brand new Prius could go, so he got it up to over 100mph on I-5 through the San Joaquin Valley in Calif. Unfortunately, he was just hitting 100 when he blew by a CHP cruiser parked at the side of the highway. Very expensive ticket! He said, though, that the officer was impressed.

[steve86]

It was actually bad enough when my outboard throttle stuck headed toward the dock at 5 or 6 mph. Got it into neutral but didn’t risk crunching the gears by trying for reverse. Hard to port and ended up with just a slight scrape. Would be worse on a jetski where you completely lose the steering.

[Marylander]

“..GM after its clunker-humiliation.” I'm no fan of the way GM handled its financial affairs, but in all fairness, most of their vehicles were good; not clunkers.

I should have said "cash-for-clunkers" humiliation. Actually, I have driven GM cars for years. My favorite ever was a Pontiac Station wagon (around 1970). I had a 1998 Buick Regal for 10 years and I actually loved it but had to admit there were a lot of part failures & replacements, on that factor comparing unfavorably to my previous Geo Prizm. Last December I switched to Ford, traded the Buick in for a Mercury Milan, a really great car.

[justlurking]

I have a friend who keeps an old (70’s era) pickup truck around, just so if there is an EMP he’ll still have a car that works.

Read One Second After. It's in the bookstores, now.

After reading that, he might might decide he doesn't want to be here if it happens.

[CharlesWayneCT]

THe care is limited to between 101 and 104 mph. THe speed of the car is entirely controlled by the electric motor, which is attached directly to the wheels (through a fixed gearset). The motor has a rotation limit that cannot be exceeded, which matches the 100mph max speed.

The gas engine can provide power, but does not control the speed of the car.

[anymouse]

94 mph in a Prius?!! Did this guy have a pit crew? ;)