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APNewsBreak: Probe questions runaway Prius story

Redress

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APNewsBreak: Probe questions runaway Prius story - Yahoo! News

Sometimes a story just catches my eye, and this one did.


The investigation is far from complete, and there are conflicting reports even within this article.
 
I saw the cop interviewed who was there on the highway with him and he said he could smell the burning brakes. The brake pads also showed a ton of wear upon inspection.

It's alarming how badly Toyota has handled this crisis.

And the man who was driving that Prius has received death threats! This is so crazy.
 

Yeah, the brakes thing is one of the thing where the article linked has conflicting reports. The death threats thing makes no sense to me. Who would, and why?
 
Redress said:
Yeah, the brakes thing is one of the thing where the article linked has conflicting reports.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and since the conflicting report is coming from Toyota I believe the reports by the police and other inspectors.

The death threats thing makes no sense to me. Who would, and why?
Click to expand...

I suppose someone who owned a lot of stock in Toyota.
 
There was a great article that pointed out that 90% of incidents like this are due to human error, not any sort of car malfunction, and criticized the media for being such drama whores by taking every minor incident and turning it into proof of DEATHTOYOTA2010. Can't find it now, but it was great.

edit: not the original, but as usual the Stosselnator handles business.

The Parasite Circuit John Stossel

 

It has been a lot of hype. I would wager that this case is human error or fraud.

Personally I think it is a way of getting back at the non US car industry (with Toyota being the big one) and getting more business for the home grown companies (GM, Ford, Chrysler). Look at Capitol hill.. the biggest critics are those that dont have a Toyota plant in their back yard but often a GM or Ford one.
 
MC.no.spin said:
Yeah, and since the conflicting report is coming from Toyota I believe the reports by the police and other inspectors.



I suppose someone who owned a lot of stock in Toyota.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's not coming from Toyota, who are not answering questions on the investigation. From the linked source(which has been updated a bit):

 
I find it interesting that Car&Driver and other auto sites that have done full throttle brake testing have been able to stop the vehicle demonstrating that brakes can overcome the engine.
How To Deal With Unintended Acceleration - Tech Dept. - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver
It also interesting that the report stated the backup mechanism that shuts off the engine when the brake and gas pedals are floored also worked properly during tests. As far as breaking, the posted news article states that during the incident when the parking brake was applied the vehicle began to slow. I for one don't believe the driver laid on the brakes hard enough. I think he pumped the brakes at first.

Was it a fluke problem on the Prius, or is the driver not telling us everything? I'm leaning towards driver error.
 
The memo did say that investigators found the front brake pads were spent.

"Visually checking the brake pads and rotor it was clearly visible that there was nothing left," it said.
 
What would you rather trust a Toyota or a Pinto?

The cop might have just said what ever made him look like a hero.

The brakes can be checked by anyone who have worked on brakes and verify if they were heating up. Can't you put a car in neutral anymore? Screw the engine if it blows it blows.
 
When I first read the story, something seemed a bit suspicious. I would never claim to know for certain, but...

The guy claims he was afraid to put it into neutral for fear of the car flipping over. He was able to call 911 twice, but apparently couldn't find the time to talk to the dispatcher or follow his directions as he had to put the phone down. The car's speeding at WOT and only hits about 85.
 
The news isn't sounding too good for the guy.

I think he is trying to take advantage of a downed Toyota company.
 
I think it is far too early to jump to that conclusion, but it is definitely time to step back and wait for more details before we jump to conclusions on the whole thing. There are some very real questions now.
 
I have a question about these runaway cars...

Is there no neutral on the gear shift?

Does the ignition not shut off when they're in runaway mode?

I had a '79 Chevy Caprice Station Wagon that would stick from time to time. You usually just shift into neutral, pull over, and shut off the engine.
 


The memo did say that investigators found the front brake pads were spent.

"Visually checking the brake pads and rotor it was clearly visible that there was nothing left," it said.

Toyota or Pinto? 27 deaths from Pintos and 37 from Toyotas.
 
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Redress said:
I think it is far too early to jump to that conclusion, but it is definitely time to step back and wait for more details before we jump to conclusions on the whole thing. There are some very real questions now.
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It's too early to jump to conclusions both ways. Toyota will try to cover their butts and the victim may have another motive. They checked the brakes after the incident and the pads were gone. After a short period with full pressure applied to the brakes they will heat up to the point where they are useless.
Accusations against the guy before all the facts are in will do more harm than good. He would have to be mentally unstable to try a stunt like that.
 
Arch Enemy said:
The news isn't sounding too good for the guy.

I think he is trying to take advantage of a downed Toyota company.
Click to expand...

Could it be possible that Toyota is trying to discredit him to save the company billions of dollars? It very well could have happened the way he said it did.
 

My point is that it was too early to say anything either way, yes. Note though that while the front brake pads where spent, the wear was not consistent with him doing as he claimed.
 
USA-1 said:
Could it be possible that Toyota is trying to discredit him to save the company billions of dollars? It very well could have happened the way he said it did.
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And they got the government, who is doing the tests with them, to back them how?
 
The story is updated, though not a lot of new information, but at least it is official information: Gov't says it cannot explain runaway Toyota - Yahoo! News

The interesting part to me:

 

Thank you.

Years ago, my dad taught me how to drive in snow and ice, taught me how to use the emergency brake, how to turn into the slide, taught me how to pump the brakes (before ABS).....all that.

Just slip it into neutral, pull over, and turn off the car. Duh.
 
Redress said:
My point is that it was too early to say anything either way, yes. Note though that while the front brake pads where spent, the wear was not consistent with him doing as he claimed.
Click to expand...

They were worn down to nothing. How would that not be consistent with what he claimed?
 
MC.no.spin said:
Yeah, and since the conflicting report is coming from Toyota I believe the reports by the police and other inspectors.



I suppose someone who owned a lot of stock in Toyota.
Click to expand...
The problem is not the hydraulic brakes but in the engine braking system.
 
More stuff worth considering:


Man at Wheel of 'Out-of-Control' Prius Has Troubled Financial Past - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com
 
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