Posted on 03/08/2010 6:42:10 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
California Highway Patrol officers say their patrol car acted as a brake for a Toyota Prius with a stuck accelerator Monday.
The car, headed eastbound on Interstate 8, was going at a high rate of speed because the accelerator was stuck, according to CHP spokesperson Brian Pennings.
The patrol car moved in front of the Prius and engaged its brakes to bring the Prius to a stop, according to CHP.
The car eventually stopped on the highway near the La Posta Bridge in the area of the Golden Acorn Casino.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcsandiego.com ...
A 50lb car at 50mph. Shouldn’t be hard. On a serious note, can they not be put in neutral? The rev limiter should keep the engine from blowing up.
See my post...
Or not..
A blown motor is a lot better than dead people.
You’re right. Toyotas are like appliances. Yeah, mt fridge is fun! /s
They do. But it's not like the old days, when the gas pedal was linked to an actual throttle valve which would shut by spring tension when one took their foot off the pedal.
I've never dug into one, or looked at a manual for one, but it's sort-of like "fly by wire", in that control inputs are picked up by sensors, which send signals to a computer, which then (I'm assuming) sends electric impulse to variable servos?
When sensors send bad outputs, either due to localized mechanical sticking or bad erroneous output, computers get confused, or undesirable feedback loops result? Something along those lines, if it's not simply a stuck sensor or control module --- or even computer error, alone?
I'm getting the impression that even Toyota is wondering "what the... hey?"
I hate computers in cars, though they can do wonders for performance, and/or fuel economy.
Well if you see one with a Vietnam Service decal and an American Flag on the rear window don’t honk.
Nothing is mechanical on these new cars, including the transmission/gear shift. Basically they are computers with wheels. If the software is bad, there’s nothing you can do. In once case a Highway Patrolman and his whole family were killed when the car accelerated to 130 MPH and nothing he did would stop it. I heard his 911 call played on a talk show, and clearly the guy was calm, collected, and knew he and his whole family were about to die. His last word was “Pray”.
Don’t believe the BS about floor mats and stuck pedals. It’s the microchips.
BTW if you turn the ignition off, the steering wheel locks.
The Prius has a "power" button, which is enabled by inserting the key fob in a slot below the button. I don't know what happens if you press the power button while on the road or remove the key fob, but I would expect it to turn off the ignition.
In any event, the Prius also has a transmission that can be shifted into neutral, or at least into "park". I doubt that those changes would also be ignored by the throttle.
This is simply another case where the driver panic'ed.
Now why can't I believe that? Accelerating on it's own???
If he was hitting the foot feed in order to try to disengage, at some point before 90 MPH, I think I would get a clue.
The Prius doesn’t really have a “key”. The computer will prevent it from being shut off by simply depressing the “on off button” while driving. I think you need to hold it down to convince it to shut off while in motion.
Also, the “shifter” doesn’t really have neutral. Well, it HAS it, but getting to it is a challenge. All of this done with the usual motorist talents / mentality isn’t something I would expect.
As anyone here who rides a motorcycle can tell you, 99.9% of people have NO BUSINESS or even brain function to be on the road.
I believe it only locks if you turn the key all the way back. Most cars have a detente position right before the lock position (thought it might not be something that occurs to you at 100mph)
This can also be done with Harleys.
“BTW if you turn the ignition off, the steering wheel locks.”
Not on my Ford.
Do you really want your steering wheel locking while in a moving car?!?
(even if the engine is shut off, the car is still moving, ya know)
Well, the Prius has this tricked-up brake system that runs everything through a flywheel to recharge it's stupid little batteries.
If you drive it like the lefties want you to, the engine isn't running anyway, which means no vacuum boost.
The ignition buttons on the Yotas don’t always shut the engine off at once. This prevents engine shutdown from an accidental bump against the button, but if the car is veering wildly it is a challenge to hold and keep the button down. Nissans and some others will respond at once to a pressed shutoff button. Toyota looks like it’s got a real issue here.
“foot feed”
That’s what my Dad called it.
Thanks for the memory!
There is a better way, less destructive on the mufflers...
behind the headers rig an electrical conduit box in-line between header & muffler. Preferably near to the header. The conduit box is the pipe, or semi-round kind, that has one flat side-plate that can be opened. This side opening plate is held shut with two screws.
Shorten one of the screws, so that when inserted it just barely bites, the less thread, the better, leaving just enough to hold the pressure under normal conditions. Leave the other screw less than fully tight.
Floor it, running through the gears, maybe to third, pulling a grade. When reaching the top of the hill, let off the gas suddenly--- ka-POW! Blows the headers wide open, dumping through the now open conduit box. Loud as all git-out...
Add quarts of Coors, a few doobies, then go sliding sideways through intersections.
Texas. Mid '70's. How did we live through it?
Dunno...the Prius has a strange transmission.
For example:
“Reverse gear: There is no reverse gear as in a conventional gearbox: the computer feeds negative voltage to MG2, applying negative torque to the wheels. Early models did not supply enough torque for some situations: there have been reports of early Prius owners not being able to back the car up steep hills in San Francisco. The problem has been fixed in recent models. If the battery is low, the system can simultaneously run the engine and draw power from MG1, although this will reduce available reverse torque at the wheels.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Synergy_Drive
Very weird.
Which is why I have a Jeep with a manual transmission and no power anything.
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