Wozniak cites 'scary' 2010 Prius acceleration problem

This is weird. Steve is not someone to panic so I'm wondering what the heck he is talking about? I consistently drive on cruise control and it works well.

Bob Wilson

 

May be unrelated, but I have found that on occasion, when I set the cruise, the dash indicator for the set lights, but when I let up on the pedal the car will slow by around 5 MPH before the cruise actually takes over, really "stomping" on the pedal to get itself back up to the set speed before returning to what I consider normal function. Not sure if this is what he's talking about, but it didn't seem normal to me. Doesn't do this every time, and when I have experienced it, I have been driving at highway speeds up a gradual hill.

 

The iWoz on his prius problems

Steve Wozniak Update on His Prius Problems - Prius - Gizmodo

 

Heck if he can repeat it consistently, then Toyota or other concerned regulatory agencies should beat a path to his door and have him demonstrate the issue. It's not like this guy is unknown or some charlatan who would claim such a thing in order to plug some endeavor he is undertaking (new book, wrinkle removing tonic, etc).

I hope this all works out and allows for an improved and safer product.

 

If all you guys weren't clogging the Toyota Customer Experience Center with complaints about failed HID headlights, maybe that center would pay attention when someone like Wozniak complains...

That could be the straw on the camel's back...

 

it Woz or iWoz....LOL

 

Sheez Steve! You can't ride a bike to work? What'd you do ... swallow the hindenburg?




I wonder if he complains about ultra poor range on his segway ...


.

 

It shouldn't be too hard for a camera crew to record some proof of a such a scary and repeatable problem, if there is one.

 

It seems like an odd set of circumstances came together to create this issue.

1. He experiences a reproducible issue with the GenIII cruise control.
2. He doesn't personally go to the dealer with the issue, instead sends his wife. Unclear from the writeup if his wife ever personally experienced the issue.
3. His wife doesn't get anywhere, he doesn't have time to follow up personally.
4. His calls to Toyota are dropped by his iPhone (ha)
5. He can't figure out a simple web form on the NHTSA site.
6. He can't believe that the level 1 tech at NHTSA didn't immediately call the President.
7. He tells the story informally, it gets reported to CNET, and he is forced to comment on the record.

While I don't deny he has a problem, and don't deny that things might have been handled better, I really do wonder what he expects as a response.

 

5. He thinks he is too important to waste time filling out a form on the NHTSA site.
6. He thinks he is too smart to bother talking to a level 1 tech ... who didn't immediately call the President ...

 

The Prius cruise control has flaws, but none of them are really dangerous as the brake pedal quickly defeats it.

When I pause the CC in my 2004 Prius (either using the brake or the control stick) to slow down and then press the control stick down to reset the speed to the current lower speed, it will often accelerate to it's previous higher speed setting which can be disconcerting.

I tend now to live with this undesirable CC behavior by pressing the control stick down twice to prevent the unwanted acceleration. If I wanted the earlier faster setting I would have pressed the control stick up (Resume).

The problem is either in the CC software but, more likely, is a misreading of the switch contact in the control stick due to contact bounce (which could be corrected in SW as well).

JeffD

 

Interesting. I use exactly this sequence (release CC, let the car slow down by coasting and then re-engage CC) very often in my 2008 Prius and it never did anything undesirable. Perhaps they fixed this bug since 2004?

 

He has the sedentary engineer physique. I have seen it many times. I was working on my own version, but didn't like it so I lost about 30 lbs to get my current gorilla physique. :madgrin:

 

Your contact may not bounce.

JeffD

 

Not all Engineers get large as they age.

JeffD

 

8. He is a big fat blowhard who doesn't really know what he is talking about.

 

I have an 09 and have had a similar issue with cruise control, though I have not been able to reproduce it constantly. What happened was when the cruise was engaged and I braked every once in a while the car would just accelerate back up to the set speed even though I did not re-engage the cruise. I had the car at the dealership this summer and brought it up to the service department - they were not terribly helpful - I made sure that the service manager made a note of this on my record and got a printed copy.

Hopefully with the attention on this they will finally take this seriously as I have not been willing to use cruise control for the last 6+ months.