I tried it twice this week on two different vehicles, a 2008 Highlander ICE 4WD and a 2007 Prius. In both cases the vehicles went into Neutral in ~1 second. The Highlander was doing 65 mph and the Prius was doing 55 mph. Both were done in normal traffic on the normal routes I take. Both vehicles began 'free-coasting' and slowing slightly right away. However I did estimate that without brakes that they would roll freely for a long long time due to the momentum of the vehicle.
I'm still alive? Then why am I hovering several feet in the air above the keyboard while typing this? :flypig: Excuse, me...I'm being instructed to go toward the light now... :rapture:
Ok just tested it at high speed (I've done it at low speeds under 50mph) and it worked just like expected. At 100mph and full throttle I shifted the gear selector to neutral and the car took approx. 1 second and it shifted to neutral and the engine stopped reving despite my foot still being planted on the throttle. I really think this is just a case of people who don't know how to drive a car properly in an emergency situation.
Thanks Tom, a nice concise explanation of the Prius drive control setup. Strictly OT, but when do you plan to reach the top of that rock-face?!!
I seem to be stuck at one of those "can't go up, can't go down" spots. I may be there for the rest of my life. Tom
Well, I already voted in the "never tried it". Now I HAVE tried it multiple times. Like others it basically stops the engine at "one missi". After a few times of that, I lifted my left arm up to the top of the steering wheel so I could see my watch. The second hand wasn't even to one "tick" by the time neutral kicked in, so by that it's just less than one second. (Gen III, model IV)
Thanks to all of you who are testing this procedure out and kudos to you for knowing what to do in the extremely rare unintended acceleration event!
Luscious Garage | Blog | Floor mat anxiety? LG TV investigates… [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II_03lbr-Jw]YouTube - Prius "runaway" unintended acceleration? Shift into neutral[/ame]
Just tried it a few times. Always approximately 1 second. Pressing the Parking switch takes about 1.5 second for same results.
The vast majority are seeing ~1 second. Many are seeing a little over 1 second. Off hand, "neutral" appears to be fairly quick. I hope some who have not 'tried it' do. You'll notice many of us have practiced and 'we didn't blow up and die.' Any new technique is going to be a little anxious the first time so give yourself plenty of outs ... neighborhood street without traffic and 20-25 mph. You don't have to try it flying down the highway ... but practice it at least once in a safe place so you know it is OK. The life you save ... is your own. Bob Wilson
It was actually really fun after the first initial anxiety! That's why I tried it a few times. The fun part was flipping back into "D" and taking off!!
