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Learn how to drive idiots

golgiaparatus

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_runaway_prius#mwpphu-container

[Snip]I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny... it jumped and it just stuck there," the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes...it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up," Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.[Snip]

If your car is accelerating by itself why not put it in neutral, or turn it off. Do these cars not have transmissions or some way of turning the motor off? I don't get it.
 
4xBoy

4xBoy

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2006
7,042
2,884
Minneapolis
If the geezer just bought a stick version instead of an auto he could have just pulled it out of gear.


I think he was just wanting the attention.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
i agree that people are morons. you have enough time to talk to 911 for 10 minutes, that you cant realize to put the car in neutral and or shut it off?
some people are reporting that putting it in neutral does nothing, but im guessing they didnt try to shut it off
 
eaterofdog

eaterofdog

ass grabber
Sep 8, 2006
8,292
1,535
Central Florida
I was surprised that highway patrolman (the accident that brought this all out) couldn't figure out how to stop the car. I know it was a pushbutton car, but you could still put it in neutral or hit a bunch of signs to slow down or SOMETHING. When you have your whole family in an out of control vehicle, dialing 911 isn't going to help. I guess he was just panicked, but damn dude.
 
golgiaparatus

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
IH8Rice said:
i agree that people are morons. you have enough time to talk to 911 for 10 minutes, that you cant realize to put the car in neutral and or shut it off?
some people are reporting that putting it in neutral does nothing, but im guessing they didnt try to shut it off
Click to expand...
It's almost hard to believe that people are this stupid. There must be no way to take it out of gear or something... but why wait till you slow to 50 before turning it off... I would have turned it off before I ever hit 50.
 
dan-o

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
MMike knows where its at, he just buys vehicles that never run.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,212
4,462
I actually had this same thing happen to me - my dad gave me a car that had been sitting for about 2 years. I get it off the truck after having it shipped from across the country. After the inspection and paper work I jump in and head out of the lot.

1st gear, second gear and step down on the pedal... the pedal goes limp and the rpms redline. This was pretty scary actually. My instinct kicked in and I flipped it in neutral before coming to a stop & turning it off.

Long story short, something about rust on the throttle body jammed the mechanism and kept the gas wide open.

If you were on a busy highway, this would suck. I think the fact that cars are mostly automatic means that people don't really know the mechanics of the car and what to do in situations like this. I can't imagine most people that drive automatic have ever used neutral, whereas when you drive standard, you go into neutral every time you come to a stop.
 
nelsonjm

nelsonjm

Monkey
Feb 16, 2007
708
1
Columbia, MD
You would lose power steering if you turned off the car, right?

So the proper maneuver would be to throw it in neutral, quickly brake (because your car is going to redline and splode) and get off the road then turn the car off?
 
demo 9

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
nelsonjm said:
You would lose power steering if you turned off the car, right?

So the proper maneuver would be to throw it in neutral, quickly brake and get off the road then turn the car off?
Click to expand...
yes

on a side note, i have the tundra (with the toyota recall development package :p) I think that alot of people are just looking for the attention/press for this. At the dealership i go to they havent had a *single* car test for having it, yet 1 out of 3 people come in screaming that they need a brand new 2010 ______ because it does stick, when they are told that it doesnt, they scream that it will and their 5 year old camry needs to be replaced with a 2010 highlander limited, free of course! Stop in at a toyota dealership, its like chickens with their heads cut off.

Not sure about this, but i think toyota has only found 17 cars that *officially* had a problem.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
golgiaparatus said:
but why wait till you slow to 50 before turning it off... I would have turned it off before I ever hit 50.
Click to expand...
or why spend so much time on the phone with 911? can you not figure out how to turn the car off in that time?



nelsonjm said:
You would lose power steering if you turned off the car, right?

So the proper maneuver would be to throw it in neutral, quickly brake (because your car is going to redline and splode) and get off the road then turn the car off?
Click to expand...
yes, you lose power steering when the engine is off. some people were "reporting" though that putting it in neutral doesnt work. even with a push button starter, if you hold the button down, it shuts the car off if its in neutral.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
demo 9 said:
Not sure about this, but i think toyota has only found 17 cars that *officially* had a problem.
Click to expand...
um no. 10 out of 17 models that Toyota makes are affected from this latest recall for the gas pedal....nearly 9million vehicles. i doubt your dealership hasnt had a single car in for a recall fix
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,212
4,462
Let's face it - people generally don't really know what to do in situations like this. This grampa's particular situation sounds pretty ridiculous. He was able to call 911 and maneuver around other cars but couldn't turn off the car?

Next time you're speeding, just do it in a toyota and blame it on the pedal.
 
KavuRider

KavuRider

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2006
2,565
4
CT
I'm wondering if people here in AZ have used this as an excuse to get out of the photo radar tickets on the freeway.

Idiots...
 
boogenman

boogenman

Turbo Monkey
Nov 3, 2004
4,315
987
BUFFALO
Anyone that has a hard time with the acceleration issue should die or at the very least not be allowed to operate a vehicle. It is a pretty simple process to slow down and stop a car with a stuck accelerator.

Boogenman's thoughts on the the people that have died while behind the wheel of a car with a stuck accelerator: Natural selection bitches! It should have come sooner, you were a dumb ass.

It is really exciting watching Toyota go down the ****ter for this too, they really suck a$$ now. When the $hit hit the fan last month I really didn't think this would be anything more than a bump in the road. After all the bad press of cover ups and the admissions to growing to quick and overlooking saftey and quality I think they really hurt themselves for good.
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
boogenman said:
After all the bad press of cover ups and the admissions to growing to quick and overlooking saftey and quality I think they really hurt themselves for good.
Click to expand...
dont think that your North Korean car company that you work fork will take over Toyota's market share anytime soon. Toyota sold nearly 3x the amount of cars that Hyundai did last month even tho Toyota took a 10% sales loss
although this is a huge hurdle for Toyota to overcome, they will rebound and be just as strong, if not stronger after this has all cleared.
news agencies like ABC do nothing to help calm the public's opinion on this situation by releasing doctored test and video on the "unintentional acceleration" test that they showed.
 
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DirtyMike

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
Every Toyota Owner, every repair shop, every fleet shop has received the procedure for how to stop a runaway toyota. Its simple, shift to nuetral, come to stop, hit emergency stop<Hybribds dont have a key anymore, just a start button and a tarnsponder>. Yes if yo ushut off a Hybrid <synergy drive at least> you lose power everything, steering, braking<substantial braking loss, think going from auto brakes to walmart mtn bike brakes on the same vehicle> shifting.... everything, biggest though is the brakes, remember on a synergydrive, the brake pedal does not push directly on the master cylender........ The Master is electroncally controlled because most of the braking is done by way of electrical resistance<regenerative braking> You using the ele motor to slow down most of the time, resistance is from charging the batteries.


I havent tried to shift to neutral in a hybrid at speed, but thats what is being listed as the proper way to get out of the runaway situation with them. Although it would not suprize me if there was some type of fail safe in the electronics that prevent you from shifting to neutral while under power.
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
IH8Rice said:
dont think that your North Korean car company that you work fork will take over Toyota's market share anytime soon.
although this is a huge hurdle for Toyota to overcome, they will rebound and be just as strong, if not stronger after this has all cleared.
Click to expand...
If Toyota goes through their plans to cut parts cost by 1/3 and use even cheaper materials there is no possible way their quality is going to get any better:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3368461&postcount=21
 
boogenman

boogenman

Turbo Monkey
Nov 3, 2004
4,315
987
BUFFALO
IH8Rice said:
dont think that your North Korean car company that you work fork will take over Toyota's market share anytime soon. Toyota sold nearly 3x the amount of cars that Hyundai did last month even tho Toyota took a 10% sales loss
although this is a huge hurdle for Toyota to overcome, they will rebound and be just as strong, if not stronger after this has all cleared.
news agencies like ABC do nothing to help calm the public's opinion on this situation by releasing doctored test and video on the "unintentional acceleration" test that they showed.
Click to expand...
3 weeks ago I thought this wouldn't affect sales at all, today I am not sure about it. I see #'s falling below everyone's expectations with this never ending stream of bad press. I think they are good cars but the average consumer is an idiot and does not look past the media.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,596
7,245
Colorado
I still think this is an organized effort by the govt to push sales to GM and Chrysler...
 
IH8Rice

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
boogenman said:
3 weeks ago I thought this wouldn't affect sales at all, today I am not sure about it. I see #'s falling below everyone's expectations with this never ending stream of bad press. I think they are good cars but the average consumer is an idiot and does not look past the media.
Click to expand...
i absolutely agree that people are morons. people's lives are run by what the media says. granted, there is a legitimate problem, but this issue is only good for consumers IMO. the two Toyota dealerships i went to looking for a Tacoma keep emailing and calling nonstop looking to make a deal and a sale.

even last month, Toyota was selling 3600 cars a day
 
syadasti

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
The Joker said:
The problem exists. The amount of media and govt attention it is getting is suspiciously high.:think:
Click to expand...
This isn't any worse than the Ford Explorer/Firestone situation. Get real, its an on-going systematic problem Toyota never properly addressed and it finally blew up in their face.
 
kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
golgiaparatus said:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_runaway_prius#mwpphu-container

[Snip]I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny... it jumped and it just stuck there," the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes...it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up," Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.[Snip]

If your car is accelerating by itself why not put it in neutral, or turn it off. Do these cars not have transmissions or some way of turning the motor off? I don't get it.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately todays new cars with computer controlled everythings have a lot of safeguards in place to prevent damage to the vehicle, a lot of which based off of throttle position. Situations where if a car is accelerating with throttle open x% and it may not allow the car to be shifted into nutral to protect the engine from a free revving situation, or turning the car off, etc.

Also if you have never been in a runaway car that doesn't respond to any and all efforts you may be surprised how easily you can clam up.

About two years ago I staffed a huge annual project for one of the local braking manufactures, they head up to northern michigan and test their stability control and traction control and abs systems.

Much of it is prototype at the time, and you are on a huge old air force base, I was able to ride along as well as drive for a few of the tests for my customer, I consider myself to be a pretty "skilled" driver. But when a software glitch happens and the car does not react like you expect it to it is a whole new ball game.
 
kickstand

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
SkaredShtles said:
Wurtsmith?
Click to expand...
No, the name currently is escaping me, its on the tip of my tongue.....

Raco. I dunno what the base is actually called, but Raco is where the project was/is. There is another place near by in Brimley used by another supplier.

Anyway my only point is the software failed, and doesn't necessarily make it so easy to just shut the car off as you would think, it's not all mechanical like it was.
 
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