Toyota says no evidence 'runaway' Prius happened
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From: C. E. White on 16 Mar 2010 12:00 "JoeSpareBedroom" <newstrash(a)frontiernet.net> wrote in message news:LFKnn.40001$_v6.22173(a)newsfe08.iad... >> If you're using the power button, they've programmed it with a 3 >> second >> delay. You'd know that if (a) you owned one, and (b) you bothered >> to >> read the owner's manual of your shiny new $25,000 toy. Of course, >> arrogant asses who claim they know everything about driving never >> bother >> even to open or keep track of their owner's manual, let alone read >> it, >> so they wouldn't know how their specific car operates. Even when >> they >> get in and see that there's no key like in their '67 Buick, they >> never >> bother to investigate how that power button works. > > > So, when they arrive at their destination, they leave their Prius > running? The power button actc differently when the vehicle is at reat. If the car is stopped, pushing it once turns off the vehicle (you don't need to hold it for three seconds). You only have to hold if for three seconds if the car is moving. Ed
From: Obveeus on 16 Mar 2010 12:37 "Nasty" <nasty(a)tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message news:4b9f977a$0$4975$9a6e19ea(a)unlimited.newshosting.com... > Obveeus wrote: >> "Justbob30" <NoThank(a)you.com> wrote in message >> news:hno406$9el$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >>> >>> "JoeSpareBedroom" <newstrash(a)frontiernet.net> wrote in message >>>> So, when they arrive at their destination, they leave their Prius >>>> running? >>> Since the car doe NOT run when stopped (most of the time) yes it has >>> been known to happen...again maybe if you had ever driven one. >> >> Won't the car shut off when you open the door? > > No. I have one. It WILL shift into neutral at any speed. It WILL turn off > by pressing the power button without shifting to park. It WILL operate at > or below the speed limit and can be operated without having a wreck so I > don't have to make up stories about it "running away on its own". So if a person drive into their driveway, presses the brake until they stop, then gets out of the car without shutting the car off (or pressing park), what stops it from 'running away'? If what you say is true and it is still on (and no one is pressing the brake anymore) what keep the car from moving? Are you simply hoping the driveway is flat enough that the car doesn't roll away or does it take a significant amount of gas pedal to provide any forward momentem? I thought one of the safety features for the Prius was that getting out of the car (opening the door or moving the wireless key away from the vehicle at all) would shut it off. Is that only the 2010 model? > IMHO almost all runaway cars are caused by a defect in the central > processor of the driver. Agreed. Most of this issue is with old people (or other problem drivers). Similiarly, it is silly to expect Prius drivers to know how to avoid an accident even if the car (say the brake system) fails since drivers in pretty much any type of car get into accidents (more often than not) when such a system fails.
From: laurie on 16 Mar 2010 13:22 Some people drive (stupidly) with their left foot on the brake and right on the accelerator. I wonder if the investigators thought of that. On Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:29:21 -0700, jim beam <me(a)privacy.net> wrote: >On 03/16/2010 05:08 AM, C. E. White wrote: >> "jim beam"<me(a)privacy.net> wrote in message >> news:coOdnZrYStFZmQLWnZ2dnUVZ_o4AAAAA(a)speakeasy.net... >>> On 03/15/2010 03:12 PM, Ed White wrote: >>>> http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100315/OEM/100319941/1143 >>>> >>>> Here is the most interesting paragraph: >>>> >>>> "Toyota said an examination of Sikes' Prius showed that the car was >>>> being driven with the brakes lightly and repeatedly applied -- some >>>> 250 times over a 30-mile stretch of highway." >>>> >>>> So now we know why the brakes were worn and smoking....deliberate >>>> abuse. Toyota said it takes "moderate" pressure to activate the >>>> throttle shutdown. >>>> >>>> Ed >>> >>> sorry ed - you may try to pass yourself off as "one of us", but >>> you're failing. but failure is why you're on the astroturf circuit, >>> not inside the beltway. >> >> Why would I want to be part of the "us" that you and Mike Hunter >> belong to? >> >>> nomina rutrum rutrum >> >> I know you think that tag line says call a spade a spade...have you >> actually checked it out? The lady that wrote the column you got it >> from apparently didn't bother to actually verify that it is correct. >> >> I am not a latin scholar, but based on the online Latin dictionaries I >> think what you are really saying is: >> >> nomina - this is a noun roughtly equivalent to "by name" It is a noun, >> not a verb >> rutrum is also a noun that roughly means a lesser shovel but I think >> it is not commonly used >> >> So the english version of what your little tag line says is something >> like >> >> by name little shovel little shovel >> >> Very impressive. >> >> I think what you really should say is >> >> dico - name /call; this is a verb >> rutila - a spade, shovel; this is a noun >> >> dico rutila rutila >> >> I can't gaurantee that this is correct, but I think it is at least as >> correct as your translation. >> >> Ed >> >> > >this is why you're on the astroturf circuit ed - you're too dumb for the >real deal.
From: Nasty on 16 Mar 2010 15:14 Tegger wrote: > Nasty <nasty(a)tampabay.rr.com> wrote in > news:4b9f977a$0$4975$9a6e19ea(a)unlimited.newshosting.com: > > >> No. I have one. It WILL shift into neutral at any speed. It WILL turn >> off by pressing the power button without shifting to park. It WILL >> operate at or below the speed limit and can be operated without having >> a wreck so I don't have to make up stories about it "running away on >> its own". > > > > I've never driven a Prius. Under what exact conditions does the thing > actually run under battery power alone? > > It has a system by which it monitors the battery charge level. It will run on the battery only at idle and up to about 25 mph with 'normal' acceleration. When the battery charge is reduced to a pre-set level the gas engine starts up automatically to charge it, or if you do a jack rabbit start from a stop it will start also. The thing apparently doesn't have a traditional starter. The gas motor just starts running when needed almost like an old fashioned jump start from a push and popping the clutch. It's kinda wild. Ours is an '07 and is exempt, so far anyway, from the problems making the rounds. It still causes me to look when it shuts the gas motor down while, for instance, at a red light. It just goes against all my experience for the motor to suddenly stop. With a strictly gas motor this is a pretty not good thing. All systems will function normally while on battery only. The thing has a display that shows the status of the system, battery level, gas engine running and charging the battery, gas engine running and delivering drive power, power recovery from the brakes to the battery. It can be distracting because it's fun to watch.
From: Nasty on 16 Mar 2010 15:18
Obveeus wrote: > "Nasty" <nasty(a)tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message > news:4b9f977a$0$4975$9a6e19ea(a)unlimited.newshosting.com... >> Obveeus wrote: >>> "Justbob30" <NoThank(a)you.com> wrote in message >>> news:hno406$9el$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... >>>> "JoeSpareBedroom" <newstrash(a)frontiernet.net> wrote in message >>>>> So, when they arrive at their destination, they leave their Prius >>>>> running? >>>> Since the car doe NOT run when stopped (most of the time) yes it has >>>> been known to happen...again maybe if you had ever driven one. >>> Won't the car shut off when you open the door? >> No. I have one. It WILL shift into neutral at any speed. It WILL turn off >> by pressing the power button without shifting to park. It WILL operate at >> or below the speed limit and can be operated without having a wreck so I >> don't have to make up stories about it "running away on its own". > > So if a person drive into their driveway, presses the brake until they stop, > then gets out of the car without shutting the car off (or pressing park), > what stops it from 'running away'? If what you say is true and it is still > on (and no one is pressing the brake anymore) what keep the car from moving? > Are you simply hoping the driveway is flat enough that the car doesn't roll > away or does it take a significant amount of gas pedal to provide any > forward momentem? Nothing, just like getting out of any car. If you get out and the car is running and in drive it will go forward. > > I thought one of the safety features for the Prius was that getting out of > the car (opening the door or moving the wireless key away from the vehicle > at all) would shut it off. Is that only the 2010 model? Can't say. Ours will stay 'on' if you get out without the 'key' once it's sensed the key and started. Haven't tried to drive away without the key though. I'll run a little test and report back on that. > > >> IMHO almost all runaway cars are caused by a defect in the central >> processor of the driver. > > Agreed. Most of this issue is with old people (or other problem drivers). > Similiarly, it is silly to expect Prius drivers to know how to avoid an > accident even if the car (say the brake system) fails since drivers in > pretty much any type of car get into accidents (more often than not) when > such a system fails. > > |