Toyota just isn't being completely honest about this gas pedal issue.

[AndyA]

A sticking gas pedal is just that: a stuck pedal. That would mean the engine continues to rev at more or less the same rate, since the pedal is stuck in one spot. This would not allow the car to accelerate out of control.

There was a post this morning on a mailing list I'm on from a guy who said a co-worker's Mother started up her Toyota and when she put it in gear, it accelerated quickly and slammed into a brick wall. The Mother was OK, but the car was totaled. A stuck gas pedal can't do that, especially since she hadn't stepped on the gas pedal yet! The car was idling when she put it into gear.

This just shows how gullible people are. They believe what they are told, even if it doesn't make sense. A stuck gas pedal doesn't move, which means it can't accelerate the car out of control the way people are reporting.

And now, Toyota reports problems with Prius brakes. Apparently the two braking systems on the Prius don't get along with each other sometimes. Nice. What was wrong with the 100% mechanical brake system that was used for decades without problems? Electronics like this will ensure these cars never get to classic status, as none of them will be operable when they get old.

Another post on that same mailing list came from a guy who said he has a bumper sticker on his old car that says: "When your newer car has been recycled, this one will still be on the road." So much for being green. We use more natural resources to make a new car than we do keeping an old one on the road.

[Kokonoe]

1. k&R Sometimes the truth is hard to fit in. eom

[Atman]

2. It's not as simple as that. But you're correct in that it ain't the freakin pedal!

Check out this post. I raised the identical point about the "stuck" pedal and got some very good answers.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7616362

[Cass]

3. Very interesting point. My neighbor said his Toyota accelerated from an idling position also.

He was idling at a stop light with his foot on the brake when the car accelerated into the intersection. Thankfully he was able to control the car somehow and stop it. The toyota dealer told him it was due to the gas pedal mechanism rubbing against the carpet (not the floor mats) which resulted in threads from the carpet separating and getting wrapped around the gas pedal mechanism. My neighbor seemed to accept that explanation at the time but I don't know if he still does now that more information has come out about the problem.

[madokie]

4. My neighbor has a corolla and he said he checked the pedal on it and found it has drive by wire

but what got me was what he wrote following that. 'I own it and I have enough sense to shut the engine down', well he may have enough sense but he only drives it part time his wife drives it mostly and I can tell you that from what I know she doesn't have enough presence of mind to do anything except freak out if that car starts taking off. You couldn't give me one of the toyotas now if you tried.

bad car, bad bad car, in the tone of talking to ones dog when it does something wrong, to you. :-)

[vadawg]

5. rofl i sometimes speak to my toyota that way as well when the door hits me or something

i think you nailed a big part of the problem, people sont understand their car they just put it in drive and off they go, my wife who hardly drives my truck can move through the auto gearbox without looking at it due to having to engage the 4 whell drive systems and locking differentials etc when she does the school run, i think this has made her a much more competent driver but she still dosent want a manual :shrug:

[madokie]

6. I just drive fords

I'm a smart ass too, huh. :rofl:

Don't hit me i promise to do better:hi:

[vadawg]

7. lol i only had one ford, an old transit van i hated it with a passion

my old man laughed at me for getting it, he did warn me it was a heap of shit but no i went ahead and gave my uncle the money for it, both of them laughed their asses off at me..

[Uben]

8. Quit driving cars

I have never owned a car. I walk everywhere. I had to go to Cincinatti last August. I'll should get there tomorrow!


/sarcasm

[Odin2005]

9. It's a computer issue, I'm syre of it.

[HopeHoops]

10. Ya think? Why would you expect Toyota to be honest about ANYTHING?

They shipped out a bunch of cheap shims that take less than half an hour to insert to prevent friction from causing the pedal to depress itself - yeah, right. This "fix" is just a pacifier. The problem is almost certainly software. They just can't figure it out.

By the way, WTF do you mean by using "classic" in the same sentence with "Toyota" - that's just not going to happen.