Remember those "runaway" Toyotas and the recall?

bassrique · #1 02-08-2011, 06:40 PM

It seems the problem was driver error and media hype. A couple of years ago, my neighbor drove through his garage door, hitting the gas instead of the brake. That was obviously GM's fault.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/bu..._r=1&src=twrhp

"Sticky pedals" and floormat interference are also mentioned. As for the former, wouldn't NASA have discovered a "sticky pedal" in the runaway Toyotas they examined?

MakiSupaStar · #2 02-08-2011, 06:47 PM

Yeah I saw that too. Audi went through the same trouble in the late 80's. Turned out to be driver error for Audi too.

Meyatch · #3 02-08-2011, 06:52 PM

There was a YouTube video of a guy that induced the problem and then proceeded to make fun of people that couldn't figure out to put it in neutral, or hit the brakes. So it's not just driver error. It wouldn't take much driving ability to handle the problem, but some people are just simply awful drivers.

My name is Mudd · #4 02-08-2011, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meyatch

...people that couldn't figure out to put it in neutral, or hit the brakes...

I wondered about this from the beginning...both of my Toyotas will go into neutral at any speed (then again, one of them is a manual trans, so maybe that part doesn't count).

burk48237 · #5 02-08-2011, 10:14 PM

I'd love to see just once, one of these companies take the news media and in this case the government officials who spoke out on this load of crap to court and recover some real damages.

I'm no fan of Toyota, especially the Prius, but what happened here was total irresponsibility. And if a company official was to misrepresent the truth in the same way to a board of directors or stockholders they'd be hauled off to jail. When are the irresponsible @$$ responsible for this going to answer for their crimes of spreading unconfirmed rumors and costing thousands of people their livelihoods?

Meyatch · #6 02-08-2011, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burk48237

I'd love to see just once, one of these companies take the news media and in this case the government officials who spoke out on this load of crap to court and recover some real damages.

I'm no fan of Toyota, especially the Prius, but what happened here was total irresponsibility. And if a company official was to misrepresent the truth in the same way to a board of directors or stockholders they'd be hauled off to jail. When are the irresponsible @$$ responsible for this going to answer for their crimes of spreading unconfirmed rumors and costing thousands of people their livelihoods?

They weren't rumors. The things really did accelerate on their own.

The linked article says there are no ELECTRICAL problems. Not that there are no problems.

Joe Gress · #7 02-08-2011, 10:22 PM

Heh, they want sticky throttles? They should have drove my truck before I fixed the air cleaner that the throttle would get caught on. Dumbass before me bought the wrong one and it was too big for the barrel, so the throttle would get stuck in a full on position until I manually moved it back.

Deluge Of Sound · #8 02-08-2011, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meyatch

The linked article says there are no ELECTRICAL problems. Not that there are no problems.

+1.

And Joe, you're driving again?

Because, if you are, you should cruise yourself down to the library and get a book on grammar.
Its too, man, not to.

Joe Gress · #9 02-08-2011, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

And Joe, you're driving again?

Till yesterday, when the clutch died. I'm done for a while, can't afford to fix it. Plus I'm way too frustrated and pissed off to even start.

Selta · #10 02-08-2011, 10:39 PM

People always look for something else to blame, and it just so happened to be Toyota last time around. I really think that a LOT of people don't know what to do in emergency situations with their vehicles. Car running away from you? Put it in neutral or turn the ignition off, eh?
As much as I dislike Toyota and the Prius, I do feel that they got taken and thrown under the bus over this, and un-rightfully so. But that's the way things are now a days... when something goes wrong, don't take blame for your own stupidity, look for someone else to blame, and often sue.

Meyatch · #11 02-08-2011, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

People always look for something else to blame, and it just so happened to be Toyota last time around. I really think that a LOT of people don't know what to do in emergency situations with their vehicles. Car running away from you? Put it in neutral or turn the ignition off, eh?
As much as I dislike Toyota and the Prius, I do feel that they got taken and thrown under the bus over this, and un-rightfully so. But that's the way things are now a days... when something goes wrong, don't take blame for your own stupidity, look for someone else to blame, and often sue.

don't get me wrong, I think the Toyota driver's that couldn't figure out what to do when their gas pedal got stuck are idiots and shouldn't be allowed to drive.
However if my brand new car did that, you can bet I'd be taking it right back to the dealer as well. That is not an acceptable thing for a car to do.

warwick.hoy · #12 02-08-2011, 10:45 PM

So out of ignorance,...are they saying that people were stomping on the accelerator pedal and it was getting stuck on the floor mat? I'm no more enlightened now then I was before I read the article.

Selta · #13 02-08-2011, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

So out of ignorance,...are they saying that people were stomping on the accelerator pedal and it was getting stuck on the floor mat? I'm no more enlightened now then I was before I read the article.

That's what I made of it.

DUC1098 · #14 02-08-2011, 11:11 PM

They said that is the most likely causes, though they only found one confirmed case of a "stuck pedal".

I remember a story about the co-founder of Apple (Wozniac (sp?)) who has had a Prius for years being able to "trick" the car into accelerating. But he said as soon as he pressed and held the brake the car stopped.

I wonder how much of this is actually bad driving skills? Honestly, many of the drivers I see today can barely keep their cars in the designated lane. Never mind solve a "if my car went out of control what would I do" problem while driving, talking on their cell, drinking a coffee, changing the radio station, shaving/putting on makeup and eating a muffin.

You know, the older I get, the more I realize the statement "if you try to idiot proof the world, the world will design a better idiot" is true.

Selta · #15 02-08-2011, 11:27 PM

It's like they say; you can't fix stupid.

Number27 · #16 02-08-2011, 11:29 PM

Of course it was all media hype.. although frankly i wish there had been even more, and for that matter why not make up some more stories like how Hondas wheels are prone to falling off at highway speeds and how Mazdas won't start below freezing..

hover · #17 02-09-2011, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Number27

Of course it was all media hype.. although frankly i wish there had been even more, and for that matter why not make up some more stories like how Hondas wheels are prone to falling off at highway speeds and how Mazdas won't start below freezing..

yeah, and how Chevys are engineered to explode and Fords are a mechanic's nightmare...

oh, wait.

Number27 · #18 02-09-2011, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hover

yeah, and how Chevys are engineered to explode and Fords are a mechanic's nightmare...

oh, wait.

No no no no, don't bad mouth the american cars.. they already have a bad reputation from the 90s that they've been trying to shed.

Smokin' Toaster · #19 02-09-2011, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meyatch

They weren't rumors. The things really did accelerate on their own.

The linked article says there are no ELECTRICAL problems. Not that there are no problems.

Don't pay any attention to a meticulous study run by NASA scientists. Toyota is an evil rich company run by evil rich people and they need to have that money taken away from them and redistributed the those less fortunate people, Comrade!

If you or someone you know has been hurt by a (insert product/service here) you may be entitled to a large cash award. Call now, time is running out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DUC1098

You know, the older I get, the more I realize the statement "if you try to idiot proof the world, the world will design a better idiot" is true.

Or... If you want to idiot-proof something, keep it away from idiots.

L-A · #20 02-09-2011, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by My name is Mudd

I wondered about this from the beginning...both of my Toyotas will go into neutral at any speed [...]

It's almost mandatory for automatic cars to do that nowadays. There's hardly a better and faster way to gain traction in an emergency situation than throwing the car back into neutral.

L-A, icy road driver