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Toyota Recall
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Yeah, I read the story of the State Trooper who was killed along with his family when his Lexus gas pedal stuck and he was going in excess of 120 mph before he crashed. I wonder why he didn't just turn the key off or shift into neutral.
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I saw that also. It makes you think though. The State Troopers are trained in High speed driving. They undergo training for Emergency handling situations. If He could not Handle it, what chance does the average driver have?
It's nice to see that this is being taken care of without Federal intervention.
Dom
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I do indeed!! It gave new meaning to the term "heel & toe". Used to have to pry the clutch and brake pedals back to vertical with my left shoe tip from time-to-time when the slush froze in the footwells, and was stiffer than the return springs were. I recall the indifferent heat output in winter as well, which accounted for the slush accumulation. :roll:
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Toyota is also having issues with "frame rust" on some trucks. The corrosion is causing the spare tire to break loose and fall onto the road.
The spare broke off my Dually (the cable snapped on some very rough sections of highway) a while ago and I never noticed. Can you imagine being behind me when a big old 235/85-16 and rim comes flying at ya?!
The spare broke off my Dually (the cable snapped on some very rough sections of highway) a while ago and I never noticed. Can you imagine being behind me when a big old 235/85-16 and rim comes flying at ya?!
"I do indeed!! It gave new meaning to the term "heel & toe". Used to have to pry the clutch and brake pedals back to vertical with my left shoe tip from time-to-time when the slush froze in the footwells, and was stiffer than the return springs were. I recall the indifferent heat output in winter as well, which accounted for the slush accumulation."
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Ah, Geez the Flintstones are checking in.:lol:
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Well, I suppose that in the moment, he tried for the brake, which didn't have the power to stop the car. If he was travelling at 120 mph, then he was probably trying to aim the car in a non-collision direction. Shutting the key off would have been a bad idea because he would lose all brake and steering power assist. Shifting to neutral would have been a good idea, but if one's trying to keep a car under control at 120 mph, there's not a lot of time for the rational brain to kick in and say, "Hey pal, NEUTRAL!" I imagine it went something like this:
Gas sticks
Driver goes for brakes
Brakes are ineffective
Car crash
That all-important moment that, had there not been an obstacle, driver's brain would have suggested Neutral.
It's a tragedy, and it's good that Toyota's taking steps to fix the issue, even if they had to get one step away from a NHTSA order to do it.
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Here's a link to one of the local stories regarding the incident that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and his family. It contains quotes from the 911 call made by one of the passengers. I have heard the raw recording, and the quotes do not capture the panic that is in the voice of the caller.
http://www.10news.com/news/20831532/detail.html
Toyota/Lexus is doing the right thing, especially by not waiting until a recall is federally mandated.
http://www.10news.com/news/20831532/detail.html
Toyota/Lexus is doing the right thing, especially by not waiting until a recall is federally mandated.
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True, but they would still work. You may have to use both feet on the brake pedal and put some muscle on the steering wheel but you can still stop and steer with the engine off.
Some of us have driven cars without power steering or brakes.;-)
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One would think he would have turned the key off or put it in neutral BEFORE it reached speeds of 120 mph. I know if my gas pedal stuck and I couldn't get it fixed instantly, I would be shutting the engine down instead of making a phone call.
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Yeah, the engine would then act as a braking force as well. Without the spark-plugs firing, the engine compression help would slow it down in a hurry.
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"I suspect the real problem is that there is something wrong with the electronics in the engine," said Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA chief and a consumer activist. Many [experts] believe there may be a malfunction in the electronic engine control systems, a contention Toyota repeatedly disputed. -- LA Times.
It's a shame the real problem isn't being addressed. We're all in danger with these cars still sharing the roads with us. :x
It's a shame the real problem isn't being addressed. We're all in danger with these cars still sharing the roads with us. :x
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I actually had something very similar to this happen when I borrowed my friend's Saturn a few years ago. Turns out that a squirrel had deposited a walnut on top of the throttle linkage and when I put the pedal down to accelerate down an on ramp, the opening allowed the walnut to slip in and stick the throttle open. Not fun at all, but I did have the presence of mind to jam it in neutral and get the hell off the highway at the next ramp. My question is why would someone let the car get up to 120 mph in the first place? As soon as I felt it accelerating when it shouldn't, I tried the brakes then went for neutral. Maybe it's an instinct you pick up when you learn on a stick shift?
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The driver of the Lexus that crashed and killed him and his family didn't let the car go to 120; the electronic defect in the throttle did it. The car suddenly took off at full throttle. Toyota's system doesn't allow the brake to override so the car didn't even slow down even though he mashed down on the brake! You can do that in other cars but Toyota's system doesn't have that safety overide feature.
He was unable to shut the engine down because he didn't realize he had to hold the stop/start button down continuously for 3 seconds to do that. (He just kept pressing it in vain). It's believed he wasn't familiar with the gated shifter so he was unable to put it in neutral before it crashed.
Very sad.
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Seriously, it runs on an ATX power supply? :lol: :lol:
(sorry, bad computer joke...)
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THAT makes a lot of sense, actually.
The money quote I gleaned from the announcements of Toyota's recall was that they were installing a brake-override system in SOME of the affected cars. A) They should be doing it in ALL of the cars, and B) That just screams "Electronics issue" to me.
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I am watching a show on automated highway systems, that will eventually drive your cars for you.
They say cars already do so much for you, with their electronics, it's just a matter of time when we just become passengers. After reading this, and seeing how a family met a horrible death because the operator did not understand the electronics in his own car, I can see how it would be safer to just allow the car and highway to do it----but with tons of backup safety systems!:twisted:
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Here's a link to a recording of the 911 call:
http://consumerist.com/2009/10/toyo...rash-due-to-gas-pedal-stuck-on-floormats.html
And more detail on the crash. The officer had an administrative job conducting safety inspections.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/03/bn03funeral-for-trooper/
The four were killed Friday when their loaned Lexus, driven by Saylor, crashed into a Ford Explorer on northbound state Route 125 at Mission Gorge Road in Santee. The car plowed over a curb and through a fence before hitting an embankment and becoming airborne. It rolled several times before stopping and bursting into flames in the nearby San Diego River basin.
Just moments earlier, someone in the Lexus had called 911 to report a stuck accelerator. Witnesses reported seeing the car traveling at more than 100 mph prior to the crash.
Investigators are still working to determine if the accelerator was stuck.
The 2009 Lexus ES 350 came from Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon, where Saylor had dropped off his vehicle for servicing.
Toyota, which makes Lexus cars, had recalled the “all-weather” floor mats in its 2008 version of that car model because of complaints about them sliding forward and jamming the accelerator.
A sales manager at Bob Baker Lexus said he wasn't sure which mats were in the Lexus loaned to Saylor.
Saylor, who lived with his wife and daughter in Chula Vista, was a 19-year veteran of the CHP. He began his career in 1989 at the West Valley station in Los Angeles. He later worked at the El Cajon station before his last post at the San Diego area field office on Pacific Highway.
As part of his administrative job, Saylor conducted safety inspections for armored trucks, tow trucks and ambulances.
http://consumerist.com/2009/10/toyo...rash-due-to-gas-pedal-stuck-on-floormats.html
And more detail on the crash. The officer had an administrative job conducting safety inspections.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/03/bn03funeral-for-trooper/
The four were killed Friday when their loaned Lexus, driven by Saylor, crashed into a Ford Explorer on northbound state Route 125 at Mission Gorge Road in Santee. The car plowed over a curb and through a fence before hitting an embankment and becoming airborne. It rolled several times before stopping and bursting into flames in the nearby San Diego River basin.
Just moments earlier, someone in the Lexus had called 911 to report a stuck accelerator. Witnesses reported seeing the car traveling at more than 100 mph prior to the crash.
Investigators are still working to determine if the accelerator was stuck.
The 2009 Lexus ES 350 came from Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon, where Saylor had dropped off his vehicle for servicing.
Toyota, which makes Lexus cars, had recalled the “all-weather” floor mats in its 2008 version of that car model because of complaints about them sliding forward and jamming the accelerator.
A sales manager at Bob Baker Lexus said he wasn't sure which mats were in the Lexus loaned to Saylor.
Saylor, who lived with his wife and daughter in Chula Vista, was a 19-year veteran of the CHP. He began his career in 1989 at the West Valley station in Los Angeles. He later worked at the El Cajon station before his last post at the San Diego area field office on Pacific Highway.
As part of his administrative job, Saylor conducted safety inspections for armored trucks, tow trucks and ambulances.
Looks like N is in the same place it is on every other AT mode selector (do a google image search), just above drive. All you have to do is push the selector up and it'll stop moving at the neutral position.
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