How I protect my CRD from a Run Away Prius

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:31 am

flman · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:33 am

http://www.playtruckgames.net/game/180/Kamikaze.html Try this simulator.

AZ CRD · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:24 am

What am I missing in this latest story from California? This guy accelerates to pass someone and the accelerator sticks. Full brake allegedly only slows him to 90 mph. He calls 911 on his cell and it reportedly takes 20 minutes to get him stopped.

Why wouldn't you simply slip the thing into neutral, pull to the side of the road, and turn the engine off?

flman · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:31 am

AZ CRD wrote:

What am I missing in this latest story from California? This guy accelerates to pass someone and the accelerator sticks. Full brake allegedly only slows him to 90 mph. He calls 911 on his cell and it reportedly takes 20 minutes to get him stopped.

Why wouldn't you simply slip the thing into neutral, pull to the side of the road, and turn the engine off?

Mentality of a Prius driver I guess? I am sure most of those "smug douches" don't know how to open the hood or change a flat tire, let alone know how to control a car beyond standard operation.

linewarbr · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:38 am

I watched the video in the link Yellocoyote posted in the "Off Topic" section, and they reported that he could NOT shift into neutral. Love those electronically-controlled transmissions.

I guess he still could have turned the key off.

Now, whenever I see a Prius on the road, I give them a WIDE berth. . . .

liberty2.8 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:26 pm

Quote:

I guess he still could have turned the key off.

That's what I would have thought too until listening to the news report. They mentioned something about a push-button ignition that uses no key. Must be something like a proximity reading thing and the key stays in your pocket. So much for the advancement of technology.

haulin5 · **Joined:** Tue Sep 29, 2009 2:53 pm **Posts:** 116

Regardless of the weight or size of the car, isn't it hard to weave in & out of traffic on the freeway at 90mph with no power steering?

BVCRD · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:41 pm

haulin5 wrote:

Regardless of the weight or size of the car, isn't it hard to weave in & out of traffic on the freeway at 90mph with no power steering?

The thing was a true runaway. All conventional means of shutting it down were not available. At 90 mph, I have been in jeopardy of being run over out there.

Snowy · **Joined:** Sat Jan 16, 2010 3:00 am **Posts:** 42

Remember, everything on that car is "drive-by-wire." There is no cable to the tranny, no cable to the throttle, no cable to the brake. It's all wired to the computer. Even the ignition is accomplished by the car's "sensing" the key on the owner's person. If the computer has a "freak-out," there is no overriding it, like on a more traditional vehicle.

Acceleration and braking is made to "feel" conventional, by feedback loops and solenoids.

I had a hybrid Mariner. Great vehicle, but impotent and a bit freaky on the gas and brake sides.

flman · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:38 pm

Maybe it ought to have one of those low tech kill switches that they put on snowmobiles and dirt bikes to compliment all the high technology that don't work :ROTFL:

AZ CRD · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:03 pm

One thing I liked about the Jeep before buying it was that you pulled a lever to engage 4WD, not push a button. I'm sure there is still some electronic interface, but the feel of manually meshing gears together gives me more confidence.

painemann · **Joined:** Sat Dec 20, 2008 7:02 pm **Posts:** 607

flman wrote:

AZ CRD wrote:

What am I missing in this latest story from California? This guy accelerates to pass someone and the accelerator sticks. Full brake allegedly only slows him to 90 mph. He calls 911 on his cell and it reportedly takes 20 minutes to get him stopped.

Why wouldn't you simply slip the thing into neutral, pull to the side of the road, and turn the engine off?

Mentality of a Prius driver I guess? I am sure most of those "smug douches" don't know how to open the hood or change a flat tire, let alone know how to control a car beyond standard operation.

exactly... sad people are allowed to drive cars but have no idea how they work or what to do in situations like this....

Snowy wrote:

Remember, everything on that car is "drive-by-wire." There is no cable to the tranny, no cable to the throttle, no cable to the brake. It's all wired to the computer. Even the ignition is accomplished by the car's "sensing" the key on the owner's person. If the computer has a "freak-out," there is no overriding it, like on a more traditional vehicle.

Acceleration and braking is made to "feel" conventional, by feedback loops and solenoids.

I had a hybrid Mariner. Great vehicle, but impotent and a bit freaky on the gas and brake sides.

I'm not sure I like the push button start thing, lots of new cars are going with it and I hope it will go away. Think about it, did you hear about the latest scam about how people have scanners that can 'catch' your remote keyless entry signal and use it? Why can't they do that with the fob used to start the car, now they can get in it and start it.. just like they had the real key, ha. I hope no one else gets hurt but I'm not sad to see Toyota hurting!

AZ CRD wrote:

One thing I liked about the Jeep before buying it was that you pulled a lever to engage 4WD, not push a button. I'm sure there is still some electronic interface, but the feel of manually meshing gears together gives me more confidence.

Yeah, I like that mechanical feeling also, did you see the new Liberty 4x4 shifter? It's a real crappy switch like thing, not cool in my opinion!

007husky · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:20 pm

Is sad that a company that produces relatively good cars, surfers by the inability and stupidity of drivers to understand how their vehicle works...

If the car decides not to go in neutral, to shutdown the push button while car in motion, you have to press and hold it... like you do with your computer when it crashes.

Apparently this is to complicated for toyota users, so toyota is considering having this setting change to tap it 3 times instead of holding it. You know, like when on a computer something doesnt work, what do you do? you press the keys or mouse non stop till it fixes itself ! (sarcasm)

If someone saw the movie idiocracy, you know this is just the beginning of the end !

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 3:49 pm

What if when shutting down the engine the steering wheel locks too :dead:

VMKJCRD · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 1:37 am

http://toyotasimulator.com/
:banghead:

http://article.wn.com/view/2010/03/10/P ... Findex.txt

Whats really sad about this is that the owner took his prius to the dealer and they said that he wasn't on the recall list. :shock:

Drewd · **Joined:** Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:24 pm **Posts:** 902

He didn't put it in neutral because he was afraid the car would flip if he accidentally put it in reverse. Toyota may just be the answer to natural selection.

From news site:

The dramatic ordeal unfolded Monday as Sikes drove his blue 2008 Prius along a freeway near San Diego.

He called 911 and reported that his gas pedal had become stuck, and spoke to dispatchers in two calls that spanned 23 minutes. The 911 dispatcher repeatedly told Sikes to throw the car into neutral and turn off the ignition. Sikes often didn't respond to her instructions, but he later said he had put down the phone to keep both hands on the wheel.

A California Highway Patrol officer eventually pulled alongside the car and told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.

The patrol said the braking coincided with a steep incline on the freeway that helped slow the car to 50 mph — at which point Sikes shut off the engine.

When asked why he didn't simply put the car in neutral, Sikes responded: "You had to be there. I might go into reverse. I didn't know if the car would flip. I had no idea how it would react."

Big Ugly · **Joined:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 12:13 am **Posts:** 52

While he may have not tried to put his car into N others that have experienced the run away Toyota issue have tried to put their cars into N as well as shut them off and nothing would work. Therefore if it is an electronic issue trying to put it into N may have not worked anyway. Bottom line is that these cars should not be experiencing these issues. Toyota has big problems and they have no idea what is going on or how to fix it.

Drewd · **Joined:** Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:24 pm **Posts:** 902

The Prius guy has $700,000 in debt, declared bankruptcy in 2008, and has a history that dimishes his credibility even further.

http://jalopnik.com/5491101/did-bankrup ... celeration

I

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:11 pm

Drewd wrote:

The Prius guy has $700,000 in debt, declared bankruptcy in 2008, and has a history that dimishes his credibility even further.

http://jalopnik.com/5491101/did-bankrup ... celeration

I

Sounds like a Prius owner to me :ROTFL:

AZ CRD · **Posted:** Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:32 am

Drewd wrote:

The Prius guy has $700,000 in debt, declared bankruptcy in 2008, and has a history that dimishes his credibility even further.

http://jalopnik.com/5491101/did-bankrup ... celeration

I

The guy's a fraud and should be held criminally liable.

"It does not appear to be feasibly possible, both electronically and mechanically that his gas pedal was stuck to the floor and he was slamming on the brake at the same time," the memo stated.

The brakes on the Prius also did not show wear consistent with having been applied at full force at high speeds for a long period, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing three people familiar with the probe, whom it did not name. The newspaper said the brakes may have been applied intermittently.

Toyota Corp. spokesman Mike Michels declined to confirm the Journal's report. He said the investigation was continuing and the company planned to release technical findings soon.

Michels said the hybrid braking system in the Prius would make the engine lose power if the brakes and accelerator were pressed at the same time.

So much for the sympathy he originally garnered in this thread.

How I protect my CRD from a Run Away Prius

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