Should there be a sticky thread of what to do in case of sudden acceleration?

1) Turn off ignition, but not so far as to lock the wheel.
2) Shift into neutral.
3) Pull off onto shoulder.

If you shift into neutral before you turn the ignition off, then your engine will free-rev and go kaboom.

 

I don't think the Prius would over-rev and most new cars have repm limiters, I believe. Think the best solution in the case of a Prius would be to just hit it into neutral. Anybody else have any other suggestions?

And has anybody here ever had a case of engine run away with a Prius?

 

Shift into neutral? I really don't like that answer because it's not an automatic, that is customary, use of the shifter. I rarely shift the car into neutral, at a stop I may put it into gear, Drive or Reverse or hit the Park button. In a panic situation I want to do the obvious, something that doesn't require any extra thinking about the special gear shift arrangement only the prius uses.

I would slam on the brake, and if that doesn't control the car, hit the power button. The park mechanism doesn't engage above a certain speed, and I don't believe the car locks the steering wheel at all ( I am not sure about this last one). Will the car power off at speed?
answer in another thread
If I ever experience the reported acceleration problem, I'm just going to stand on the brake pedal and push the start button the required 3 seconds to turn off the car. __________________
Marty
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...ius-gas-pedals-give-new-all-weather-mats.html

P.S. I am not gonna let them saw off my accelerator pedal because someone in a panic didn't stop their (nonprius) runaway car. Gez.

 

Toyota sent out a letter with instructions on what to do:

First, if it is possible and safe to do so, pull back the floor mat and dislodge it from the accelerator pedal. Then pull over and stop the vehicle.

If the floor mat cannot be disloged, then firmly and steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet. DO NOT pump the brake pedal.
Shift the gear selector to the Neutral position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop.

If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF, or to ACC. This will not cause the loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.

 

Please just go to Carolyn's videos here:

Luscious Garage | Blog | Floor mat anxiety? LG TV investigates…

She covers it pretty thoroughly.

Also, read this new post:

Luscious Garage | Blog | Prius Gas/Accelerator Pedal: Replacement, How It Works

 

Modern cars do indeed have computer controlled rev limiters and in most cases you will not blow up the engine by "bouncing" off of it. I've had it happen many times when a tranny would let go in my 2000 Trans Am. If you have a GM pushrod engine you may bend a few pushrods though.

The Prius does not have a typical ignition that requires a key you insert and turn so "turning the ignition off" does not apply here. You can however, press and hold the Power button for 3 seconds to turn the engine off in an emergency situation.

The Prius will not bounce off the rev limiter if put into "neutral" because when you do so the engine turns off and there is no sound and no response from the gas pedal but the brakes and steering remain perfectly controlable. If the brakes do not work and the engine is stuck at WOT then your best option is to put the car in neutral by holding the gear selector knob in the neutral position for approx. 1-2 seconds or until you feel the engine cut off.

I've enacted a run away WOT (wide open throttle) situation in my 2005 Prius a couple weeks ago. I entered a local freeway onramp at 70mph and when I determined it was safe to do so I proceeded to simulate a WOT situation and when I reached 100mph I moved the gear slector knob to the neutral position and in approx. 1 second the engine shut down despite my foot firmly planting the accelerator to the floor. The car remained smooth as silk and began slowing down. I then steered the car into the far right lane and began using the brakes to slow down. Once I reached the normal speed limit I put the car back in gear (Drive) and the engine came back on nice and smooth and I continued my commute to work.

It really is that simple.

 

And yes, I agree that a sticky on this subject could be useful for Prius owners.

 

A very good sticky could be patched together from a few select posts in past threads.

My GenIII wheel does not lock. I suspect OP's GenII is the same.

For many of us accustomed to manual transmissions, throwing the shifter into Neutral is a normal action. This 'saved' me in my single engine surge, which was a pedal misapplication. The Prius shift pattern is essentially half of an old 3-speed H pattern, so the only gotchas are the lack of a clutch, and the one second delay.

I was recently dumbfounded by the Consumer Reports video about run-a-aways, stating that most drivers today have never used Neutral. It is time for them to give it a try.

 

Three of the 4 vehicles we own have safety recalls against them - the Prius, my Ford Explorer, and my GF's Ford powered Class A motorhome. The Fords are recalled because the SCDS (secondary cruise control disconnect switch) has a nasty problem where it spontaneously will catch on fire (what is it about Fords and fire?). The recall notice for the Explorer says not to park it to close to any structures in case of fire (no joke).


My GF's 2001 Avalon is the only safe vehicle we own. :madgrin:

 

I was wondering if this affected the Prius. Guess so.

And there is a sound clip from a 911 call of a driver of a Lexus that came to a T-intersection doing 120 mph because his accelerator pedal got stuck. Serious stuff. Glad they are doing a recall.

 

Seriousness aside for a moment, but isn't "sudden acceleration" in a Prius an oxymoron? I'm not sure I would be able to detect it.:evil:

 

Here's my concern (other than the obvious having to do with uncontrolled acceleration): putting my 2008 Prius into Neutral isn't always simple. Move your hand slightly and the shift goes to Reverse -- now what would happen if such a situation occurred at 70 mph?

I don't want to sound stupid, but it does seem to be a possibility. Couple of times when I've been to the carwash (which isn't often), and I've gone to N, it doesn't 'catch' the first time, instead goes to R and the car wash guy looks at me like I'm some sort of idiot.

So, my first choice probably would be to hold down the brake and try to cut off the engine via Power switch.

 

Its not going to go into R if you are moving at any kind of speed. It will beep and go into N.

 

I saw this before back in the 80's with Audi. Most if not all is media hype and driver stupidity. Properly installed floor mats with clips wont cause it either. In the case with Audi some people were actually pressing on the accelerator instead of the brakes. In an emergency some people panic and do the wrong thing and then swear it was the cars fault.

One thing for sure if we keep beating it to death in the media the value of our toyota's will drop like a rock.

 

Try this.....

We have an '06 and after reading many a response to the runaway acceleration and what happens when one pushes on the brake and the gas at the same time found that by pushing on the brake with the gas floored, the brake application disables the gas and the car slows as if the gas was not floored.

The solution is built into the car.

Of course when one lets up on the brake the accelerator takes over again. There is no problem in our '06 anyway. The acceleration is stopped when the brake pedal is pushed. It appears to be electronically controlled. NO struggle at all.

It seems strange that Toyota doesn't point out this feature in it's defense.

Thats what I've found.