Question from wrecked Alaskan Prius owner

Hello,

I am new here and am not sure where to post to ask my question, if somebody could be kind and tell me. Or can a moderator move it? I apologize in advance.

First, I am NOT trying to sue anybody, but my Prius was in an accident that cost over $10K to repair - I was making a left turn (have photos of myself over the arrows) and was behind a commercial delivery van which was also turning left. FWIW, this was BEFORE all the recall publicity (late last summer).

I was almost at walking speed when the thing just took off and hit the truck (Ford Econoline van, big enough to hold my prius inside) - twice. It hit it hard enough to bounce back and hit it again. I should probably be grateful for that because at least it stopped me and I didn't go hurtling off into a 4 lane road at high speed.

BuI now have a car I can't sell because of its history, I had to pay a high insurance deductible, and I am afraid of the car. The dealer changed the clips on the floor mat, but insists the 2007's don't have electrical or braking problems. I'm also a little disturbed that the air bags didn't deploy, but if the computer is messed up - I worry about this happening at a higher speed and killing me. Luckily, since I was going so slow and the delivery van stopped me before I could build up too much speed, no injuries. The dealer took over a month to fix it and I got no explanation when I brought it in for the floor mats after the recall.

I've also had the dash lights not work when it is parked outside, but they are always fine in my garage in the morning (Alaska is cold). They usually come back on after I've driven about 20 minutes or so, or the next morning after a night inside my heated garage.

I bought this as a certified Toyota used vehicle just over a year ago, the accident happened 7 months after I bought it, and I did get a safety recall for floor mats. The dealer is insisting nothing else is wrong but I have finally nagged them into looking later this week. Toyota ignores me. This is my third Toyota and I absolutely loved it until this happened. Now I just want them to undo my trade-in, give me back something equivalent to my old vehicle, and I believe they have been stalling until the 1 year was up because my state has a lemon law.

MY QUESTION: How credible are the reports about it being either a braking or a "black box" problem? Even the police officer said he couldn't see how floor mats could cause an accident like I had. I wish the insurance had just totalled the thing because I am afraid of it. I was standing on the brakes when it happened and the car would NOT stop. Before anybody asks, I didn't think to step on the emergency brake because it happened so fast I didn't believe it was happening until impact. I was almost at a standstill because I was turning and I try to keep a healthy distance from vehicles like the van in front of me at the time because of the laws of physics. So the accident happened very quickly.

My best hope is that the dealer (a) checks out the car and will tell me IN WRITING on their letterhead that it has no defects, so I can either keep it or get rid of it with a clean conscience or (b) rescinds the purchase so I can get another car - preferably one old enough not to be "fly-by-wire". I've had an older Corolla and a Toy truck, so I am not a Toyota hater. I am just really scared of this particular car.

Sorry this is so long, I hope it has all the relevant facts. I wish I'd discovered this forum before I bought the Prius.

 

Spiderman,

Thank you for the sympathy. I didn't know there WAS a class action suit coming - I think the lawyers are the only ones who will profit from that. I'm more concerned with having a car that won't kill me.

 

Tumbleweed,

Thanks for the info about no objective evidence. That is why I have been nagging the dealer to look at MY car, in particular.

Nobody can be 100% certain of anything, but my pictures combined with the police officers', and the fact that as I said, both of us were making left turns into the same driveway got me a "not guilty" in court. I also took pictures from the rear which show that there were two impacts - the front bumper was behind my car (it fell off after I hit it the first time) and you can see rubber tread marks on the road.

I am 99.9% sure I was standing on the brake and not the gas. The pedals don't feel the same, I was inching my way forward until he turned and the pedals do feel different. But it is a reasonable question. Also, I slightly sprained one ankle (better next day no doctor) and I think it was because I was leaning towards the window as I would have been with my foot on the brake. The officer saw me limping, but I didn't need medical help -- I just think it indicates my foot likely to have been on the correct pedal.

The dimmer was my first thought and that is an intermittent problem that only happens when it's around zero outside. Thank you for the air bag info; I didn't know that. I feel slightly safer. But I've gotten to the point where I rarely listen to the stereo any more because I am so focussed on engine noises. It hasn't happened again, and I hope you are right about it being safe to drive. Thank you for the information.

 

Bob64,

1. I was making a left turn into the same driveway as the delivery van, so I was hanging back alternately feathering the gas and brake and inching my way up. Was not tailgating because I am paranoid about how little my car is. What I remember is all of a sudden, the car took off and I braked and my only really clear memory is "oh, #&^%". See above for whether I was on the right pedal. Plus, if I was switching pedals anyway awaiting my turn to make the left turn, I don't think it makes sense that I would have mixed them up. I had just given it a little gas to move up a little, but it moved up a LOT so I switched to the brake but it didn't stop the car.
2. No - level ground.
3. It happened before first snowfall on a sunny day with clean, dry pavement.

I had no idea things like this were even happening until all the publicity and the recall notice months after my accident. But the hitting him twice is what leaves me baffled - either I was standing on the gas or the car took off. And I'm reasonably sure I wasn't standing on the gas. I'm also glad it didn't happen close to home because little kids play in the streets and we have speed bumps in my subdivision.

Just want to know if I have a safe car. It was still under warranty when I bought it and I thought it was a little strange that there were no maintenance records available when I asked to see them, because the car had been trucked up from Oregon and had been used in a rental fleet. Looking back, that should have set off some red flags in my mind and I wonder if that info is obtainable at this point, or if it's been shredded.

 

miscrms,

I didn't know that about the traction control system. There were no bumps on the road but there was grit. Plus, we'd had a volcano erupting off and on last year.

I was keeping up with the other vehicle, both slowly, but I was not close to him - see above. I'm a cowardly driver.

And I am almost absolutely sure I wasn't on the wrong pedal, although I concede your point about adrenaline, memory, etc. and trauma. But I'm trying to find out if it WAS my own fault (the judge didn't think so after my trial and almost nobody gets a not guilty verdict up here) or the car's fault. The officer even asked me if I was speeding and I said "no - it was a nice sunny day and I wasn't late for anything" - and he probably has a lot more experience with accident investigation than I do"

Bottom line -- like I said in my OP -- I just want to know if I need to get rid of this car, or if I can get the dealer/Toyota to guarantee me there is nothing wrong with it. Don't want to die. I will ask the dealer about the TC/VSC though because I've never even heard of that.

 

miscrms,

If I do that, will it conclusively prove my car safe? I just want to make sure I understand you: Floor the accelerator, get up to highway speed, then jam on the brake AT THE SAME TIME. The snow is melting now and there are some places I can safely do that on dry pavement.

Will that damage the car? What is my plan B if it doesn't work? I don't want to end up on TV for the world to laugh at or kill myself.

I used to manage contracts for military avionics and the hardest things to deal with were the pilots who reported problems and then the mechanics came back with RTOK & CND (retest OK and Can Not Duplicate). I am not a mechanic, but was the one who had to decide whether to pay the contractor or not. Learned a lot of new swear words when I had to go back and tell the pilot he had a perfectly good airplane because the intermittent failures were the hardest to track down. Maybe that is part of why I am so scared of my car.

 

Thanks again. I think before I do that though, I'll find somebody to follow me so they can call 911 if need be.

 

usbseawolf2000 - That is a good idea about low speed. Maybe I should try it slowing and turning too. However, we sand the roads up here vs salting them and we use steel studded tires, so I think I might wait until I put my summer tires back on if the friction thing is an issue. I actually don't feel comfortable doing it at highway speeds anyway.

After the *second* hit, I really don't remember clearly enough what I was doing. After it bounced and I saw that it was going to do it again, the front end was already crumpled,the hood smashed, (not trying to be melodramatic) but I figured I was just going to die anyway, so just prayed and waited. Sorry, but I don't know if I let go of the brakes. I stood on them before the first impact and fought with the car, then my brain just shut down like "what's the use?" when I realized it would hit again no matter what I did.

That impact did stop me and once I realized I was still alive, I vaguely remember somebody shouting at me to shut off the engine because all the fluids were draining out and that's all I remember. Plus this was last summer too, and it's not really a cherished memory because I really did think I'd just killed myself.

Some maybe good news - Toyota has completely blown me off by phone and email, but the local dealer was nicer and finally agreed to take the car in for a complete safety check - maybe just to get rid of me, but at least it's being done. They gave me a loaner instead of a rental because they are so busy they didn't know how long it would take, so that was kind hearted of them.

I just want to know. If it's something intermittent,don't know if they'll ever find it. But if they feel comfortable telling me in writing I have a safe car, I will work on getting over it.

 

Yes, I did. The accident was last summer before I knew anything about the problems. If I had, I would have probably insisted that the insurance company total it for safety reasons. So . . . I drive it and pray.

A friend of mine sent me an interesting YouTube though about how to use a Prius as an emergency generator in a blizzard or extended power failure to keep your refrigerator and furnace running (although not the whole house). He's more mechanical than I am, but I guess there is a bright side to everything.

I am also going to ask the dealer to look at everything that has been mentioned here, so thank you to everybody who responded. Now, I get to just wait, which is OK because I would rather have them be thorough than fast.