Owners of Toyota Cars in Rebellion Over Series of Accidents Caused by Sudden Acceleration

[DainBramaged]

Refusing to accept the explanation of Toyota and the federal government, hundreds of Toyota owners are in rebellion after a series of accidents caused by what they call "runaway cars."

Toyota says the incidents are caused by floor mats becoming stuck under gas pedals, but owners say that's not what happened to them.

"I'm absolutely certain that in my situation, it was not the floor mats," Elizabeth James told ABC News. She was driving her Toyota Prius outside Denver, CO when she says it suddenly shot up to 90 miles an hour, even though her foot was on the brake and not the gas pedal.

I kept going faster and faster," James said. "And all of a sudden… my foot was pressing on the brake super, super hard and I wasn't slowing down."

James and some other Toyota owners suspect the accidents have been caused by some kind of glitch in the electronic computer system used in Toyotas that controls the throttle.

Complex article with many links to videos and commentary.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/RunawayToyotas/sudden-acceleration-toyota-cars-owners-rebel-accidents/story?id=8980479

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8980024

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/RunawayToyotas

Audi went through this in the 80's, way before cars were completely computer controlled.

[Brickbat]

1. Hmmm.

I thought the combination of loving, beneficial corporate masters; workers that sang and hugged each other during their shifts; and cars that ran on unicorn farts made it impossible for Toyota to fuck up. Huh.

[DainBramaged]

8. Notice how the thread is being avoided by the 'Yoda nation here....

[Brickbat]

10. That's because

no matter what happens with Toyota that's bad, some American car company did it worse and first, and so should be punished for all eternity.

[DainBramaged]

13. I know we were just told that in reply #11

Stupid American cars, it's all their fault.


:rofl: :patriot:

[Atman]

2. Toyota should learn from Ford's mistake with the Pinto...don't cover it up.

Just face it down and fix it, dammit. Japan is going the way of the American car makers of the past. Instead of addressing the issue, they're trying to hide it and make excuses. And they'll pay dearly for it in the long run. On our trip to D.C. a couple of weekends ago our Pontiac G6 rental turned out to be a Toyota Corolla. My wife refused to drive in it, not because of the size downgrade, but because she was afraid of Toyotas, even though the Corolla wasn't one of the models affected. How far Toyota has falllen.

.

[Kokonoe]

3. If all those Toyota owners would just get their 'free surprise' oil change,

It could be quietly taken care of, and everyone is happy.

But NO there is always some rebellious and ungrateful Americans.

[dana_b]

4. that happened with my Jeep too

and the company had to fix a large numer of people's cars as a result. Like Toyota they tried to blame it on the consumer but of course that wasn't the case.

some scary stuff!! Hopefully the Toyota owners get their repairs done quickly and without any more of this "blame the dumb motorist" routine

[seabeyond]

5. i have had my lincoln accelerate on me at very low speed, non existent speeds, but stopped

with break. this was when foot was OFF the gas

[uncle ray]

6. i've never been crazy about drive-by-wire.

whether it's in a toyota or GM product for that matter.

i find it interesting, that any industrial machine has emergency stop buttons anywhere an operator may be, yet automobiles, operated by every kind of layperson, can have extensive electronic controls, yet have no clear foolproof way to disable them in the case of malfunction. funy how manufacturers think a big red START button is cool, but the corresponding button to stop the damn thing just wouldn't fit into the design.

[TheMadMonk]

7. Even if Toyota's expalnation is 100% on the mark I still find something fundamentally wrong...

...with a design where something flat on the floor (I presume most folks would notice a mat on TOP of the pedal) can interfere with the linkages in such a way as to cause the vehicle to accelerate out of control.

My bet would be on bad code and (probably) a sensor which can fail in such a way as to return a "low revs" result. Computer tries to "correct" this condition by accelerating, checks the sensor, gets the same result and accelerates a bit more. Rinse and repeat until external braking force (wall, cliff, etc.) is applied.

[Taitertots]

9. I get the feeling it is something related to the engine tells the

computer it has downshifted when it hasn't and the computer responds by drastically increasing engine RPMs.

[Greyhound]

11. I've had the same thing happen with a 1968 Montego, a 1974 Nova,

and a 1994 Caravan.

Design flaws know no national or corporate boundaries.

[EnviroBat]

12. My WRX always shoots up to 90 mph!

I can't figure it out at first, and then I remember, my foot is mashing the accelerator to the floor, and I'm grinning like a pig in shit.

[OneBlueSky]

14. is there a list of models and years on which this has happened? . . .

I drive a 2002 Camry, and fortunately have had no problems of any kind in the three years I've owned it . . . still, the possibility of uncontrolled acceleration is scary, so I'd like to know if anyone has compiled such a list . . .

I just watched a Consumer Reports video on what to do if this ever happens to you . . . they recommend shifting the car into neutral and then braking to a stop, which makes sense to me . . . just need to keep your head and remember this if your car ever starts running away on you . . .

[DainBramaged]

15. Kick for importance

[DainBramaged]

16. Kick again