2nd gen Toyota Prius pedal sticks even after servicing, guy survives

[Clev]

Apparently everybody is jumping on the "not me!" bandwagon:

'I'm innocent', says man jailed for Toyota crash

The 1996 Camry in this article is neither throttle-by-wire or brake-by-wire. It cannot overpower the brakes (and I'm interested to see if there are skidmarks--in a FWD car, the rear brakes should leave skidmarks even in a runaway situation.)

One of the major car magazines took several cars to 100 mph and did "runaway car" braking tests--emergency braking with the accelerator firmly planted. In every case, they were able to "easily" bring the cars to a halt--some only a hundred feet further than a normal panic stop. Even a 500+ hp Roush Mustang was brought to a halt--though it took over 900 feet.

The cop who crashed his Toyota was damning evidence in the media's eyes. After all, they're trained to handle these situations, right? But recently a highway patrol officer in Orange County swerved to miss a stove in lanes and planted his cruiser under the trailer of the big rig in the next lane. Both vehicles then slid into the wall and burst into flame, killing the cop. People are dumb, panicky animals, even if they're "trained" not to be, and there's no telling whether he panicked.

[cfg83]

NeilBlanchard -

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I think this is either an attempt to extort some money from Toyota, or he was speeding and had to come up with an excuse. The Prius is one of the few cars on the road with a full brake throttle override -- push the brakes and the throttle will automatically cut.

...

A 2008 Prius like he has will immediately reduce the throttle to zero if you do any of these actions. So this requires a cascade of multiple failures, or a scam, or speeding excuse.

And since he took it into the dealer and found out the recall didn't apply to his car, I think it is a scam to try to force Toyota to settle out of court.

Looks like you nailed it. He's definitely sounding fishier every day :

Did Toyota Prius Driver Fake Unintended Acceleration?

Did the driver of a runaway Toyota Prius in San Diego tell the truth when he said his accelerator pedal stuck earlier this week? New evidence is calling the driver's credibility into question, although the real answer will not be entirely clear until Toyota and the NHTSA announce the results of their investigation. Details about the driver, James Sikes, leave many wondering if he had ulterior motives for his claims.

...

The reports indicate that prior to his unintended acceleration incident, James Sikes and his wife -- both realtors -- found themselves grappling with California's notorious housing bubble and filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Reports show they have $700,000 in debt to their names. He already had a motor home, Mercedes-Benz automobile and Dodge Truck repossessed in the proceedings with creditors.

Among the creditors to whom he owes payments is Toyota Financial Services. Various reports indicate that Sikes is either current with his payments or behind by five months on the 2008 Toyota Prius involved in this week's incident, which has 7,200 miles on it and is valued at $20,494.

...

Skeptics of Sikes also cite the 911 tape that was released shortly after the incident. During the tape, the dispatcher repeatedly told Sikes to put the car in neutral in order to stop it from accelerating. Sikes did not comply with her instructions or the instructions of the officer on the scene who told him to do the same thing via his public address system as they tore down the highway.

...

CarloSW2

[Clev]

Yeah, I'm glad that he was finally outed on this. He claims that he tried to reach down and pull up the pedal, but that it wouldn't release. In that case, if it's really a physically stuck pedal and not electronic, then either putting it in neutral or tapping the brake would have killed the throttle, and holding the power button for a few seconds would kill the engine completely. He refused to comply with the dispatcher and said that he would "flip the car" if he put it in neutral. His 911 call also was published, and he didn't sound like a man in an out-of-control car.

BTW, in an "unintended acceleration per vehicles made" context, other automakers have far more problems than Toyota, even in the past two years (look at the yellow bars):

Fourtitude Forums: Unintended Acceleration: Not Limited to Toyotas

I'd like to see how many complaints were lodged against Toyota before the floormat recall. That would at least give us more realistic "not out to get my share of the pot o' gold" numbers. I'll bet it's far less than many other manufacturers that aren't even being looked at by NTSB right now.

[Frank Lee]

Saw a news article recently re: consumer psych that there were something like 72 reports for all of the year prior to this, and now all of a sudden 272??? LOL

[Clev]

BTW, my wife had an unintended acceleration incident in the Ranger a few months ago. I believe the aftermarket floormat (which has become stiff over the years and no longer conforms to the shape of the floor) slipped under the brake and over the accelerator. The harder she stepped on the brake, the harder it also pressed on the gas. She finally stopped the truck by putting it in park (fortunately she was only moving a few mph, so no permanent damage to the parking pawl.)

When I found out about it, I threw out the floormat. Had it been a Toyota (and had I been less rational about it--I knew the floormat could be an issue), I could see how somebody could call NHTSA instead of just readjusting or replacing the floormat.

[Bicycle Bob]

It isn't just Toyotas. Just over a year ago, the first Airbus 380-600, the world's biggest and most advanced airliner got her first run-up under the control of the delivery crew. They accidentally released the brakes, didn't throttle back, and went right into the wall. There were so many confusing factors that the obvious solution seemed to be overridden.
I've heard that the Titanic could have been saved by steaming in reverse, using the pressure difference familiar to most everyone here. Captain Smith had gotten there by the luck of never having dealt with an emergency, and the naval architects on board were mezmerized by the buoyancy calculations.

[cfg83]

Bicycle Bob -

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

It isn't just Toyotas. Just over a year ago, the first Airbus 380-600, the world's biggest and most advanced airliner got her first run-up under the control of the delivery crew. They accidentally released the brakes, didn't throttle back, and went right into the wall. There were so many confusing factors that the obvious solution seemed to be overridden.
I've heard that the Titanic could have been saved by steaming in reverse, using the pressure difference familiar to most everyone here. Captain Smith had gotten there by the luck of never having dealt with an emergency, and the naval architects on board were mezmerized by the buoyancy calculations.

This is very similar to my list of ifs I did in a junior(?) high book report for "A Night To Remember" :

- What if they had paid attention to the ice berg warning? This was from the SS Californian.
- What if the ship wasn’t moving at such a high speed?
- What if they would have sighted the ice berg sooner?
- What if the nearby ship would have paid attention to their distress S.O.S? This was also the SS Californian, 19 miles away.
- What if there had been enough life boats aboard?
- What if it had been daylight and the ice berg would have been seen sooner?
- What if the gash in the ship had been smaller and they could have closed off all necessary doors?
- What if the rudder design had been modern instead of being patterned after an 18th century sailing ship?
- What if it took longer for the Titanic to sink allowing time for rescue?

I still have the report *somewhere*. Now I want to find it.

Also, I heard (on the radio) that the majority of "sudden acceleration" crashes ultimately come down to human error. Heck, last week I chirped the tires and stalled the car in the driveway when I accidentally let up on the clutch pedal. My fault. Thank goodness I didn't rear end my wife's car.

CarloSW2

[NeilBlanchard]

Jalopnik has some original reporting on this:

Did Bankrupt Runaway Prius Driver Fake "Unintended Acceleration?" - Toyota Recall - Jalopnik

http://jalopnik.com/5492096/is-jim-s...ew-balloon-boy

The guy is a scammer. And I hope he goes to jail.

[cfg83]

Neil -

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Jalopnik has some original reporting on this:

Did Bankrupt Runaway Prius Driver Fake "Unintended Acceleration?" - Toyota Recall - Jalopnik

Is Jim Sikes The New "Balloon Boy?" - Toyota Recall - Jalopnik

The guy is a scammer. And I hope he goes to jail.

Yeah, I read some more. Jim Sikes will be the best thing that has ever happened to Toyota.

CarloSW2

[cfg83]

Hello -

Ok, now I know what's really going on! It turns out that John Gomez is mixed up in all of this :

Toyota was asked in 2007 to consider installing software to prevent sudden acceleration - latimes.com

...
E-mails and a company memorandum obtained by Congress show that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigators discussed brake override with Toyota officials in August 2007, and that in 2008, a year before the San Diego crash, the automaker ordered an internal feasibility study of the technology.
...
Attorney John Gomez, who is representing Saylor's family in a lawsuit filed against the automaker, contends the crash was avoidable.

"If there was brake override on that vehicle, then for sure those deaths would not have happened," Gomez said. "This is something that was clearly feasible long ago."
...

Now, any Blue Blazer Irregular will know that John Gomez is a Red Lectroid from Planet 10 :


(John Gomez is on the left)

Where's Buckaroo Banzai when you need him?!?!?!

CarloSW2