Runaway Prius

Thats the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it on the news this morning. I dont see why you couldn't pop the car into neutral and let it coast or even shut the engine off after its in neutral. But I guess if your that panicked, you don't think clearly.
 
+1 for popping it into neutral... well at least this guy just set himself up for retirement
 
I guess the story is he took his Prius and his recall papers to a dealership but was turned away. And this happened after that. Kinda fishy. Also, why didn't the officer suggest popping it in neutral?
 
So he was able to accurately diagnose the smell of burning brakes and was able to call 911 while doing 94mph on the freeway (without incident) for several minutes, but he didn't know to turn off his car or shift it into neutral? I don't buy it.
I also doubt a Prius is able to overdrive it's brakes in 1st gear, let alone at 90+mph.
 
Next time your out on the highway get up to 90 mph, turn the car off, try to steer and brake.

*Not responsible for outcome*

:tongue:

Actually steering at that speed should be easy without power steering, since I've done it, but braking will be much harder.
 
StuLax18 said:
Next time your out on the highway get up to 90 mph, turn the car off, try to steer and brake.

*Not responsible for outcome*

:tongue:

Actually steering at that speed should be easy without power steering, since I've done it, but braking will be much harder.
Click to expand...

You may not believe this Stu, but way back before you were born some cars didn't have power steering OR power brakes! Crazy I know, but somehow humanity managed... (sarcasm) :laugh:
Seriously though, I've driven/owned several of these cars and while I agree it's more difficult to operate power brakes without the "power" it's hardly impossible. Given the choice between bombing down the highway at an uncontrollable speed and having to press the brake pedal down really hard, I'll shut it down every time. I'd suggest the same to anyone whose legs are strong enough to support their own weight.
 
I've had a car without power brakes and with power steering and I currently drive a car with power brakes and no power steering.

Steering at speeds >20mph is a BREEZE without power steering

Braking without being in an emergency requiring ABS is a BREEZE without power brakes


I also do not buy that garbage that the guy was "standing" on the brake pedal doing 90+ mph... I also think it's very fishy that he couldn't put it in neutral or just turn it off "I pushed the button to turn it off and it didn't turn off, so I tried a few more times and it finally turned off" <---big time BS. Nice fabricated story there senile guy :wub:
 
many high end sports cars that have power steering actually reduce the amount of 'power' when they get up to speed so its not so twitchy. its really only hard to park without power and eventually you get used to that as well
 
eh, so many "fishy" stories nowadays. This one guy in north Houston put it in reverse and backed up into his neighbor's dining room. Blamed it on his Toyota. It was like a 97 Corolla. lol waaaaaay before the model years included in the recall.
 
Ok so now he says the PEDAL was stuck... so it definitely wasn't an electrical issue. He also says he was afraid to drop it in neutral because... ah hem... he thought the car would flip.

Jee Suss.
 
Wow... popping into neutral would be like a reflex action for better drivers.
The "runaway" accident in Santee seemed odd, too... He could have used the concrete divider to slow the Lexus down and I don't recall that he tried neutral or the parking brake? ...Wouldn't you try anything other than flying straight off a dead-end highway?
 
There was a mythbusters episode that described many of the options to stop the car while it's operating at high speed. It was a older crown victoria or similar. But i believe they were unsuccessful at shutting it off(safety feature), dropping it in reverse, and also using the emergency brake. I don't think it's as easy as it sounds with all the ssafety features nowadays. I'm at work so i can't pop the youtube link for mythbusters.

Anyhow, this sucks for toyota big time. It's hurting their credibilty. My dad has a 07 camry that he refuses to drive until there is a absolute fix for it. I'm sure there are alot of people trying to expolit toyota, and make money thru settlements. Or maybe it's a conspiracy, and other motor companies are expoiting it also. :wub:
 
That guy in San Diego drove for twenty minutes?!?

At wide open throttle? I call BS. He wanted out of the contract with some money tossed in and decided to bury the throttle.

Alot of people looking to captalize right now. Good chance for 5 minutes of fame and/or money
 
myl168 said:
There was a mythbusters episode that described many of the options to stop the car while it's operating at high speed. It was a older crown victoria or similar. But i believe they were unsuccessful at shutting it off(safety feature), dropping it in reverse, and also using the emergency brake. I don't think it's as easy as it sounds with all the safety features nowadays. I'm at work so i can't pop the youtube link for mythbusters.

Anyhow, this sucks for toyota big time. It's hurting their credibility. My dad has a 07 camry that he refuses to drive until there is a absolute fix for it. I'm sure there are alot of people trying to exploit toyota, and make money thru settlements. Or maybe it's a conspiracy, and other motor companies are exploiting it also. :wub:
Click to expand...

I don't know of any car that prevents shifting into neutral at speed. That would be step one, turning off the ignition is step two.
I remember that mythbusters episode, I think they were testing whether or not shifting into reverse is MORE effective than the E-brake. If I remember correctly it was assuming a "no brakes" condition. I could be wrong...

EDIT: Here it is. They were testing whether or not you can stop a car by shifting into reverse/park...

YouTube- MythBuster - Car Stoping in different ways
 
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