"Runaway" Toyotas (was: Droid Nation)
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From: Elmer on 10 Mar 2010 13:45 On Mar 10, 5:17 am, John Lansford <jlnsf...(a)bellsouth.net> wrote: > Larry Sheldon <lfshel...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >On 3/9/2010 10:36 PM, Daniel W. Rouse Jr. wrote: > > >> Reports are that he did try to brake and his brakes were getting hot. > >> Possibly deficient brake pads on those calipers, easily glazed when they do > >> get hot? > > >Reports, demonstrations, and my own experiences all say that if you put > >both feet on the brake pedal and push as hard as you can, the carw Will > >stop. > > >(I would add "...unless the brakes are in such poor condition that the > >car should not be on the road in the first place.") > > The Prius and other modern Toyotas are "drive by wire". The brake, > gear shift selector, and accelerator pedal don't have mechanical > connections to anything, they are sensors that send data to a central > computer. The latest incident of the Prius driver who the policeman > witnessed standing on his brakes trying to stop it indicate that there > may be a problem with the computer accepting certain data input. > Maybe I'm too skeptical, but I'm having a hard time believing all of the so-called "runaway" Toyota reports. Seems like it's becoming an all too convenient excuse. Regarding Mr. Sikes' episode, how exactly did the policeman witness him standing on his brakes? I'm not sayin' he did, but if someone were to stage this sort of drama, it would make sense for them to do it on a wide open stretch of road, and by all means, call the Highway Patrol. Though, unless they have some magic way of seeing his feet, it's still only the driver's word vs. what any mechanic says is physically impossible. I simply don't believe Mrs. Rhonda Smith's story (told before Congress) of her Lexus that was "possessed". She claimed putting the transmission in neutral, reverse, using the footbrake and emergency brake had no effect on slowing down the car. With "tears" streaming down her face, she said that only when God intervened did her car start to slow down. (so if the whole thing was an act of God, then why is she holding Toyota responsible?) Now, every time someone causes an accident by hitting their gas pedal instead of the brake, they're going to blame Toyota. Insurance fraud had been a problem for years, this makes it much easier for the perpetrators! After her little "joyride", Mrs. Smith sold her Lexus, but for years, the subsequent owners had absolutely no problems with it. I read that NHTSA recently purchased the vehicle for analysis. It would be very interesting if they find evidence that proves or disproves her wild accusations. Elmer
From: Otto Yamamoto on 10 Mar 2010 22:44 On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:40:08 -0800, Scott in SoCal wrote: > You're not the first person to propose this hypothesis. > > One cynic went so far as to suggest that Sikes may have been upside-down > in terms of equity in his Prius. Unable to sell the car, he decided to > stage this little incident in order to rid himself of the albatross. > Hence the visit to the stealership, the 911 call, and the involvement of > the CHP - all in careful preparation for either an insurance claim or a > lawsuit. Lawsuit Lotto. It's all the rage. -- Otto Yamamoto
From: Mike Hunter on 11 Mar 2010 09:33 If he did I'll bet it was because everyday we are hearing about yet another Toyota that was running our of control. But we all know that's not true. The only reason Toyota is recalling 9,500,000 cars around the world is to prove there is nothing wrong with the cars, it is all driver error. Isn't that what Toyota said was the reason they had to extend the warranty on all of their cars that were getting all sludged up? "Otto Yamamoto" <otto(a)yamamoto.cc> wrote in message news:4b98670c$0$4978$607ed4bc(a)cv.net... > On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:40:08 -0800, Scott in SoCal wrote: > >> You're not the first person to propose this hypothesis. >> >> One cynic went so far as to suggest that Sikes may have been upside-down >> in terms of equity in his Prius. Unable to sell the car, he decided to >> stage this little incident in order to rid himself of the albatross. >> Hence the visit to the stealership, the 911 call, and the involvement of >> the CHP - all in careful preparation for either an insurance claim or a >> lawsuit. > > Lawsuit Lotto. It's all the rage. > > > > -- > Otto Yamamoto
From: Hachiroku ハチロク on 11 Mar 2010 19:35 On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:58:40 -0800, Scott in SoCal wrote: > 10News uncovered files from Sikes' 2008 Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and > criminologist Suzanne Goodney Lea said anyone who reports problems with > Toyotas is likely to come under additional scrutiny. > > "Seems like an easy way to cash in and make a lot of money," said Lea. Like I said, some of them just want to cash in...
From: Nick Naim on 13 Mar 2010 21:31 "Scott in SoCal" <scottenaztlan(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:i7pgp5p06eo9rp4blo50ong3kotqaol73k(a)4ax.com... > Last time on rec.autos.driving, Elmer <elmercat(a)gmail.com> said: > >>I'm not sayin' >>he did, but if someone were to stage this sort of drama, it would make >>sense for them to do it on a wide open stretch of road, and by all >>means, call the Highway Patrol. > > You're not the first person to propose this hypothesis. > > One cynic went so far as to suggest that Sikes may have been > upside-down in terms of equity in his Prius. Unable to sell the car, > he decided to stage this little incident in order to rid himself of > the albatross. Hence the visit to the stealership, the 911 call, and > the involvement of the CHP - all in careful preparation for either an > insurance claim or a lawsuit. bullseye > -- > The MFFY Litmus Test: > If your maneuver forces another driver WHO HAS THE RIGHT-OF-WAY > to alter course or speed, what you did was probably MFFY.
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