Toyota Runaway Cause: Electronic Throttle/Cruise Control?
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From: Al Falfa on 12 Nov 2009 22:21 "hls" <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote in message news:Z86dnVJONdcOMmHXnZ2dnUVZ_sOdnZ2d(a)giganews.com... > > "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote in message > news:4afc9f67(a)newsgate.x-privat.org... >> > >> >> The engine wasn't running. You know nothing of this accident. Why >> pretend that you do? > > > How did the car back over the guy if the engine were not running? Please > enlighten > us. She parallel parked on a hill in front of a Laundromat. As she was unloading her laundry from the trunk the car rolled back, crushing her into another parked car. A broken bone pierced an artery and she bleed to death. The indicator pointed at Park but the car was not in Park. It was a 70's vintage Ford sedan, probably seven to ten years old at the time.
From: hls on 13 Nov 2009 09:43 "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote in message news:4afcd102(a)newsgate.x-privat.org... > She parallel parked on a hill in front of a Laundromat. As she was > unloading her laundry from the trunk the car rolled back, crushing her > into another parked car. A broken bone pierced an artery and she bleed > to death. The indicator pointed at Park but the car was not in Park. It > was a 70's vintage Ford sedan, probably seven to ten years old at the > time. > That is a real shame, and I am sorry that this happened to your friend. It is hard to guess exactly what may have happened. I was taught to park with the wheels oriented so that the curb (if any) would provide secondary restraint for the car, to use Park, and to set the parking brake as well. The parking brake is really not much of a restraint on some cars. The transmission Park should be a lot stronger, but the indicator could have been off, the pawl could have snapped, or maybe the transmission jumped out of park as you say. Did her survivors sue Ford?
From: Al Falfa on 13 Nov 2009 12:20 "hls" <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote in message news:EuadnVWhEPYX7WDXnZ2dnUVZ_rWdnZ2d(a)giganews.com... > > "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote in message > news:4afcd102(a)newsgate.x-privat.org... > >> She parallel parked on a hill in front of a Laundromat. As she was >> unloading her laundry from the trunk the car rolled back, crushing her >> into another parked car. A broken bone pierced an artery and she bleed >> to death. The indicator pointed at Park but the car was not in Park. It >> was a 70's vintage Ford sedan, probably seven to ten years old at the >> time. >> > > That is a real shame, and I am sorry that this happened to your friend. > It is hard to guess exactly what may have happened. > I was taught to park with the wheels oriented so that the curb (if any) > would provide secondary restraint for the car, to use Park, and to set > the parking brake as well. > > The parking brake is really not much of a restraint on some cars. The > transmission Park should be a lot stronger, but the indicator could have > been off, the pawl could have snapped, or maybe the transmission > jumped out of park as you say. > > Did her survivors sue Ford? Yes. The orphaned children received a modest settlement.
From: Steve on 13 Nov 2009 13:35 hls wrote: > > "Steve" <no(a)spam.thanks> wrote in message >> >> I know that a properly engaged parking brake will hold a vehicle >> against the force of the engine at idle with an automatic transmission >> in gear. > ********** > A properly functioning and engaged parking brake has reasonable > restraining force. (My old 428 Cobrajet would, however, laugh > at parking brakes). > > A transmission in Park will probably hold more. Actually the ultimate holding force of a parking pawl is relatively low. At least on all the automatic transmissions I've had apart. Generally, the pawl is constructed in such a way (usually with a spring on the wedge that presses into gaps between a rotating cog and the case) that it will momentarily disengage when a certain force is exceeded- presumably to prevent damage from someone accidentally engaging park while moving. > I have never had a Ford > slip out of Park, I have. The stories aren't fabrications- some Ford shift detents on some models of a certain era were very sloppy and wouldn't hold well. The weight of the column shift lever could drop them into gear when you slammed the door, for example.
From: Steve on 13 Nov 2009 13:42
Al Falfa wrote: > > "hls" <hls(a)nospam.nix> wrote in message > news:Z86dnVJONdcOMmHXnZ2dnUVZ_sOdnZ2d(a)giganews.com... >> >> "Al Falfa" <crop(a)eastforty.fld> wrote in message >> news:4afc9f67(a)newsgate.x-privat.org... >>> >> >>> >>> The engine wasn't running. You know nothing of this accident. Why >>> pretend that you do? >> >> >> How did the car back over the guy if the engine were not running? >> Please enlighten >> us. > > She parallel parked on a hill in front of a Laundromat. As she was > unloading her laundry from the trunk the car rolled back, crushing her > into another parked car. A broken bone pierced an artery and she bleed > to death. The indicator pointed at Park but the car was not in Park. > It was a 70's vintage Ford sedan, probably seven to ten years old at the > time. I'm certainly not trying to minimize a horrible loss. But if the brake had been properly set, and a front wheel had been properly cramped against the curb (as is REQUIRED by law in some cities - San Diego comes to mind) this might not have happened even without the vehicle being in "park." When parking on a steep hill, I personally don't trust any ONE mechanism ("park," the parking brake, or cramping the wheel, leaving a manual trans in 1st or reverse, etc) to protect me. I use all of them combined. |