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What is wrong with putting the car into neutral?
The driver had the problem for 10 minutes, certainly this was an option.
What about switching off the ignition? just hold the button in for 8 seconds.
or
just press the Park button and it will go into neutral. No muss no fuss. The parking pawl is only engaged if the the park button is pressed when the speed is less than 7 mph. If pressed at over 6 mph the Prius will go into neutral and stay in neutral regardless of speed.
Planted story.
He had time to call 911 but was unable to do anything described in the comments above.
BTW, did he a get a ticket for talking on the phone while driving?
More info
this video didnt tell the whole story, and your guys’ comments show that. other articles about this story ive read say that the guy did try to put the car in neutral and it continued to accelerate. second, he was doing 95mph on the freeway out of control when he made is call. quick, your car is accelerating out of control, your brakes are burnt up, and nothing stops the car. what would you do?? quickly, you’re doing 95!!…the only way he could stop it was the policeman pulled up beside him and told him over loudspeaker to engage the e-brake. that got him down around 50mph or so, which then the policeman got in front of the car and slowed it to a stop. these prius’s obviously are dangerous and dangerous to others. i cannot believe that toyota has not told drivers NOT to drive them until this issue is resolved. i pray no one gets killed over one of the monster cars. and heck, the greenies said the hummers were the big problem!!! heheheheh….
This is a huge pile of Bravo-Sierra.
This guy should be banished from the roads permanently, for that driving display.
mmmmm – Toyota have created a huge problem for themselves and for the dead drivers and passengers. A simple override on the chip that said – if the driver hits the brakes then stop applying power from either electrics or petrol engine would solve this problem even for ordinary drivers.
the cop didn’t actually stop his car…
he told him to use the f*ing emergency brake.
http://jalopnik.com/5489244/runaway-toyota-prius-driver-had-to-be-told-to-use-emergency-brake
-come on, how stupid do you have to be to not know what a thing called brake (emergency – how conveniently named!) is for braking.
having said that… yes, i’m european. i drive stick. a corrola.
Soiled pants were found at the scene..
I wish I had an emergency brake. All my Toyota comes with is a parking brake.
Its probably a weird electronic ((soundwash where are you when your fetish is relevant?)) harmonic like a freak killer wave. All the different waves in the air combined to issue the circuits in the accelerator a balls to the wall command.
We’ll see more of this as the technology of our society complicates.
this story sounds like it has a lot of holes.
I’m a cynical SOB. I can see some people staging lawsuits, or simply trying to get out a car loan.
Why he managed to take the time to call 911 but could not hold down the start button for three seconds to kill the engine is why people die in auto emergencies like this. Killing the engine would have been the best and safest way to stop the car. Why the CHP did not think of that right away is beyond me. Now, as far as Toyota, I have owned several and currently have two. Why only a few are having this problem is a huge question I am sure everyone wants to solve. But when you inspect a car and find nothing? What is any manufacture to do??
jescott, just so you don’t feel left out here’s a Toyota simulator.
Options according to official Toyota guidelines ( http://huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/09/toyotas-tips-what-to-do-i_n_492569.html ):
a) Press brake pedal hard with both feet. Press hard.
If that does not work
b) Put car in neutral
If that does not work
c) Turn off car by holding down your igniton button for 3 seconds. Be prepared to lose steering and brakes.
==========
The guy tried (a) and (b), but refused to try (c) because it sounds outright stooopid to lose steering and brakes when doing 90 MPH, while steering around traffic.
The trooper states that he saw the brake lights come on repeatedly, and could smell overheated brakes when he caught up.
The guy applied the parking brake full force, which slowed him down to about 55 MPH, at which time the trooper pulled up in front of him and helped him stop with his car (the Prius eventually stalled abd rolled to a stop)
============
Some interesting issues.
a) The computer in Toyotas is currently programmed to give priority to the accelerator over the brakes. Yes, the computer decides how hard the brakes will apply, regardless of how hard you push. They are changing that in future models. (DUH!)
b) The computer in Toyotas will not allow you to shift into neutral if the accelerator is past a certain point to avoid damaging the engine by over-revving. They are officially changing that ‘policy’
c) If your vehicle is in gear, and you are moving above a few MPH, the computer will avoid turning off the engine to protect you from losing steering and brakes. Many cars do not even have a key, they just have a ‘press to start/stop button. The button is under control of the computer. If you have a ‘real’ key, the only way to override the computer is to physically remove the key, which LOCKS your steering wheel into it’s current position. Assuming you can even override the key removal lockout when the car is moving… what kingd of idiot would lock the steering wheel hard, knowing that there will be virtually no brakes available at the same time.
Add all these issues together and you have runaway cars with nothing you can do about it. The car will go as fast as possible because the computer says so, and will override all your attempts to make it do differently.
The Toyota design team seems to have been heavily influenced by the movie Christine!
( http://youtube.com/watch?v=wNS5WBRBkoQ )
Just my two cents, but i believe the man made the comment that he was concerned that shutting off the vehicle may have led to the loss of steering creating a larger problem an no control.
in related news Toyota has changed its name to Banzai Motors.
This is all BS and an attempted scam on Toyota.
It was a matter of time before someone enacted some stunt to draw publicity or scam money from Toyota.
Awake…this is why I’m not an early-adopter.
I agree with #3, I call Bullshit! In an ABC News story the driver said he reached down to pull up the accelerator pedal with his hand while the car was doing 80-90MPH
#8 is correct, I only saw it once, but there is video of the driver slowing the car down without any assistance of the police car. The pictures make it look like the police car slowed the Prius down.
My car won’t stop, so who do I call? 911. Maybe they know how to stop a Prius with acceleration problems.
What has happened to the real “investigative” reporters? The ones with the common sense to say, this is BULLSHIT!
Has anyone else in the world had this problem or is it just in the US, where the Government and the Unions control the car companies that are trying to get Toymotor’s market share. This guy is either the new Balloon Boy or it’s government scam. It’s a Trap
Hey pilgrim, I think you’re onto something. It’s a plot by GM to drive domestic auto purchases. That, or Toyota contracted programming out to the same folks used by Sony and HP.
FWIW, Steve Wozniak was recently complaining about his Prius and some repeatable cruise control madness.
Here’s a better article about Woz and this recent runaway Prius.
News report is a bit off as #4 explained it correctly. #1 and #2 are expecting way too much from your average driver to apply common sense such as using the e-brake. Seriously, it’s too much to ask for.
Personally, I think this is a scam myself. I live here, in San Diego; and as I’ve mentioned many times before I see AT LEAST
I will assume it is the gas engine of this Prius that was racing out of control. Wouldn’t you still have steering if the gas engine quit because the electric part could still be functional?
As with pilgrim, I haven’t heard of these problems happening elsewhere in the world. If Toyotas in the rest of the world have not shown this problem then it might be just Toyotas manufactured in the US.
O.o holy cow, wtf just happened there…the comment submitted itself without me doing anything!
…AT LEAST one Prius driver going 90MPH or more, according to my speedometer. How do I know, I speed up to see how fast they are going then slow back down.
So with this fool saying his car is accelerating and he can’t brake…at 95MPH, I call that total BS. Don’t believe me, rent one and test it yourself. If you don’t/can’t go over 95MPH I’ll fcking pay you $1000.
hmmm, where did this happen? he must have been doing 90 for a good 5 minutes min…. no traffic? no other cars hit? he is like keanu reeves in speed!
Has anyone checked with the SEC to see if he has a huge short position or a lot of puts in TM?
Awake, I do not accept your explaination, any of it. Do you have official Toyota reports to back up your claim?
Modern engines can not over-rev, the spark will be interrupted after red line. Don’t believe me, try it (I have).