Does anyone think the Toyota drivers losing control are idiots?

Abrielle

Have we forgot the days when power stearing and breaking was optional? These people drive cars that do the thinking for them and then are shocked and ill prepared to handle an emergency situation. I've been without brakes before. Not fun. But I didn't call 911. This idiot in the Prius didn't even think of shifting into Nuetral. He could call 911 but not shift or turn off the car. HMMMM. I know what the problem for Toyota is. And I'm sure a few of you have heard it. The gas pedal is just a guide. And the chip has a memory problem with the foot and the chip. So you press on the gas, maybe warming it up or at a gas pump. Stationary position. Then the chip catches up and goes crazy when you're on the highway. Whatever. I think anyone driving should know how to stop a car or truck. Not panic and call 911. 911 can't stop your vehicle.

Cal

The true idiots are the people who deny, against all evidence to the contrary, that Toyota vehicles are seriously flawed, and who obsess instead about what these victims 'should have done' when their vehicles suddenly accelerated to over 150 km /hr. Maybe your Toyota wil be the next to run away, and we'll see how well you respond in that life-or-death situation.

Mustanger

The Prius has "Drive by Wire" which means that when you push the gas pedal, turn the steering wheel or depress the brake pedal it's merely an input to the computer and the computer decides how much gas to give the engine how much steering correction to make and how much braking action you'll get. There is no "Ignition Key" as we once knew it. There's a start/stop button that has to be depressed for three seconds to shut down the engine but it also shuts down the computer. Without the computer you have absolutely no steering and damn little braking. Now what was that crack about Idiocy?

Third of Five

You are thinking of older cars. These new Toyotas, especially the Prius are so computer operated and controlled that simple things such as shutting off the engine requires holding in a small button on the dash for around 5 seconds. Now that could be tricky when going down a freeway out of control at 90mph and trying to avoid other cars. Shifting into neutral-these cars also have a fully computer controlled transmission. When you move the gearshift it sends a signal to the transmission to go into neutral-if the computer system is screwing up there is a slight chance that the car might not actually be in neutral.

don r

I know this. And I just tried it; With the engine off, turning the steering wheel on my 2010 Corolla DOES turn the wheels, though it is hard because the electric power steering is POWER ASSIST. It would be easier with the car moving.































Nobody would ever build a car with a steering wheel that is completely unrelated to the wheels except through a servo motor. The Prius guy will be proved to be a purveyor of hoax, in my opinion, since all that saved him, allegedly, was the highway patrol officer's counsel to apply the parking brake- I guess the Prius' computer obeyed the officer's order. Good car!

JerryJ

You're going 90+, you're in debt $600,000 plus. You see a cop and think "I can't get a fine, I know, a runaway Toyota--no one will even question it". Seriously, there are no confirmed reports of a runaway Prius that don't involve the floor mat. There is "speculation", ratings/attention grabbing media coverage, faulty accelerator pedals on Toyotas, Fords, and GMs made in North America, and confusion about what incident is what. (The CHP officer and his family were in a non-hybrid rental Lexus, not a Prius).































1. In the Prius the gas pedal is drive by wire--just like in Ford diesels and other "American" cars.































2. Steering is not drive by wire, the steering wheel is mechanically attached to a rack and pinion. I don't know where the poster got that idea. The power assist is electric.































3. The brakes have a hydraulic override and a number of safety features. Check out the Prius New Car Features manual to get the full details.































There are four braking systems on the Prius:































1. Regenerative brakes















2. Friction brakes















3. Engine brakes















4. Parking brakes































Generally braking is done with regenerative braking (the motors are used as brakes rather than the friction pads). The friction brakes are used:































A. When more braking force is required than the motors can provide.















B. When any of the safety devices (TC, ABS, VSC, etc.) are activated.















C. When the vehicle speed is under 7 mph.















D. When a fault is detected in the regenerative braking system.















E. When the battery has reached the maximum allowed SOC.































You have to really work at it to not be able to stop a Prius and should you be in an emergency situation:































The first thing to do is to stomp and hold the brakes. Brake-override with stop the engine from revving and a "panic mode" will kick in to put extra force on the brakes.































Second is to put the Prius in Neutral.































Third is to press and hold the power button.















































You can put the Prius in Neutral by:































1. Pressing Park.















2. Shifting to Reverse.















3. Shifting from B to anything other than D.















All the above act instantly.















4. Holding the shift lever in the N position for three seconds.















5. Holding the Power button down for several seconds will put the Prius in ACC mode, shift to Neutral, disconnect the traction battery, and shut off the gas engine.































Stomping and holding the brakes will engage a panic mode that will give the brakes extra boost and stop engine acceleration (the engine will be running at idle speed). This will occur even if the accelerator pedal is floored (A Yahoo Prius group member just tried several different ways to get the Prius to accelerate when it shouldn't, and the only way he was able to achieve it was to just press the brakes enough so that they rubbed and hold the accelerator down--it's also theorized that pumping the brakes would do the same thing--pumping the brakes is a bad idea in any car).

Diverging Point

No, I think you're an idiot. And you don't know nearly as much about cars as you think.































You try to be clever and say sarcastically "why didn't he just shift into neutral?" Well, the fact is it might NOT be that simple. Do some research.































In a lot of new cars, the shift lever is NOT mechanically linked to the transmission. It's electronic. The transmission is actually controlled by the ECU, and the shift lever is basically just a switch. I've read and I have been told by several people that in some new cars, if the engine is over a certain RPM, the computer will NOT let you shift into neutral. Even if you put the shift lever in neutral, the transmission could still be in gear. It might be some kind of electronic lockout which prevents the transmission from being shifted into neutral if the engine is over a certain RPM (supposedly to prevent "damage" to the engine and transmission)...or it could also be another electronic defect or malfunction. But I have read about this in several places, including an auto repair forum. Also, someone posted a link to an article recently explaining how the actuators on the transmission are controlled by the ECU.































So, theoretically you could be speeding down the road out of control with the engine at full throttle and when you try to pop the transmission in neutral, it may not work. The shift lever is in "neutral" but the transmission is actually still in gear. Do you understand that now, Einstein?































One lady who had an accident with a runaway car said specifically that she did try to shift into neutral, but the car was still accelerating.































So...do you still feel smart? "Just shift into neutral!" As if you're so clever and you're the only person on the planet who has ever thought of that. Do you REALLY believe that all the people who got into these accidents didn't think of shifting into neutral?!































Do some research...cars are electronically controlled and much more complex. You sound like an old guy and you need to get with the times. What you learned back in the 70's or whatever doesn't apply anymore.































And yes, you can shut off the engine...but a lot of new cars don't have an ignition switch and just have a button. You have to press and hold the button for several seconds to shut off the engine. That's not so easy to do when you're speeding down the freeway at 90 MPH.

blanderswake

Don r, I'm not stalking you and picking on all your answers, but once again I have to disagree. There are engineers stupid enough to have completely electronic steering. At the Chicago Auto Show, I saw the hideous Hyundai Blue Will hybrid concept. Drive-by-wire steering. It's just an experiment now, but we, as citizens, are going to need to start screaming at our members of Congress, lawyers, whatever it takes to get these idiotic abortions off of the streets. Electronics can barely make a VCR work. I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit still for electronic steering.































http://www.asphaltasylum.com/The-Mus...able-Taste.php

Love The Beast Falcon XB GT

Yes and No. The newer the car, the less control the driver has anymore. Lord knows the headlight's on my '01 Town Car turn on whenever they f'n want. Atleast my foot is directly connected to the throttle with a steel cable.















And to think that all these brainiac's knock Nascar for being old school. There old school by design. Nothing is more reliable than a lever. The only computer box they have is for the ignition and they have 2 of them onboard with a 'flip' switch to switch to the 2nd box incase the 1st one fails! What does that tell you?!































Street car's have gone a little too far. I never liked it and still don't.

pbleek

Take a look at this link. The guy is a fraud, another "balloon boy" media story, the guy was $700,000 in debt and needed a lawsuit to bail him out.































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