Sudden Acceleration - It Happened To Us Today

Ever heard of trail braking in sport motorcycle riding? It's braking, sometimes deep into corners.

Can use braking whenever needed, no matter where, straight, in a turn, etc.. the key is to do it right. Have to be easy with brakes, not jab them.

Something ya learn with backroads riding.



Yeah, I'm the albatross on the little Red bike. Good times.



Guy standing behind me outruns everyone on this Ninja 250. 20yrs. racing helps.

But at pace I drive the Prius, I brake just a bit before corners.

ooops back to topic

 

Hello Chrysotile,
Sorry for some of the insensitive posts. I do fully believe this. I also have done much research into the San Diego incident and after ready the police report I believe that the Prius did accelerate in that incident.

I do feel fully safe in both of my Prius's. Also I feel that I have a good explanation of what may be happening.

In a post on the Yahoo Prius site a person did have this problem several times and it all went away when he replaced the 12v battery.

Have you had any problems with the car not going "ready" because of a low 12v battery? Before this drive did the car have anything that may have caused or allowed the 12v battery to be a little low?

What happened in the case of the battery is that as the car is booting up the many computers, they do not sync into each other properly. The car may "go ready" and run just fine until an communication between the computers is not understood correctly and then one of the computers takes an action that is not correct.

In your case the hard turn triggers the computers to communicate something that they had not done since the car booted up. This is the trigger for the event. But the real problem is the boot up did not happen correctly.

Thanks,
Dan

 

As I understand, most of us only got the notice this week. Someone who works in a service department got info about it 3 weeks ago. Are you sure your pedal was modified?

 

I have an 01 Chevy Blazer with ABS that I have taken on some pretty rugged 4WD roads over the years. The loss of traction which occurs when the tire loses contact with the ground leads to a scary feeling. It can happen on a rough road or with just a little bit of sand on the road. I've driven on ice and hydroplaned a couple of times and it is scary. The feeling is amplified with the Prius (not that it goes off road but Colorado roads are not getting any better) as discussed by others.

The "nice" part of this scenario is that gravity is going to reconnect tire to ground and you will regain control. If the pavement is dry and clear, keep braking. Even if your Prius has developed a mind of its own, the brakes should keep you from going too far. I know that is opposite what you do on ice or snow.

Even better is that Toyota is working on it. Even the service guys you talked to the phone are just human... you might have caught them right after a really nasty customer, or just before their lunch break, or well, you know.

 

That's an interesting theory. I find it "funny" that is basicly what Steve Wozniak said, just re-boot the automobile. That's an interesting enough theory that Toyota should investigate it. If true they need to boost the 12v power, change the guidelines for maintenance and/or provide a warning system if the 12v should fall into a range that would allow this anomaly to occur.

It's an interesting theory, but at this point it's just a theory.

 

Ok that's very interesting. The reason I asked is because most people seemed to think that it was just the momentary reduction in braking effort that you can get when the car switches from regenerative braking to ABS friction braking (when the road is suddenly bumpy or slippery). However I didn't think that could cause anything as dramtic as what you described and I think the engine revving proves that it was real acceleration and not just a reduction in braking effort. Very strange, I hope they can figure out what caused it.

 

Try this braking experiment to duplicate the "issue".
Find some ROUGH railroad tracks that cross a road.
Approach the tracks at a moderate speed.
Way before the tracks, apply a steady light-moderate brake pedal force, EVENLY.
Try to cross the tracks about 15-25 mph, do not alter the brake pedal pressure.
Feel what happens when you cross the tracks!
It "feels" like acceleration, because you are not DE cellerating as fast.

 

If the engine was warmed up wouldn't the engine have been off approaching and braking into the turn? In either case she heard the engine rev up during the acceleration surge which cancels out the braking theories.

 

Pat & Ann, what is your tp (tire pressure)? I suspect it is very low if you chewed through a set of tires in 26000 miles. While you are looking at your new tires read the max sidewall pressure then inflate the tires to that number. A coworker replaced the Integrities on his 2007 at 70000 miles & he still had some tread left.

If the intersection is close to the dealership take one of the guys through it. The 2nd easiest way to piss me off in the Service Dept is to tell me "can't replicate the problem".

As long as they have the car, ask the dealer for the 3 voltage readings in writing for the 12v. If there is some problem with this show them how to get into Maintenance Mode & get 2 of them. For the 3rd you'll need a gauge plugged in the OBDC port under the steering wheel.

Something is wrong since you are burning out a light. Get the problem fixed while the car is under warranty. After 3 years/36000 miles & 1 year on the replacement part you'll be paying for the light.

Your description of the car has not helped your credibility and is the hallmark of a troll.

I wouldn't trust the dealer or Toyota to report your situation to anyone. File your own complaint at: Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), File A Safety Complaint

Take the AAA driving course to improve your DMV record & get an insurance discount.

Best wishes for getting a satisfactory answer & your electrical problem fixed.

 

i agree

 

my sister in law has an accord, my brother in law has a camry. one time, after all the u/a stuff started, she had to use his car. when she got home, she told him that it took off on her suddenly for a few seconds. he rolled his eyes when he told me, he has put 80,000 miles on it without incident.

 

...keeping in mind that Mr. Wozniak has told the world that his complaint was entirely a hoax...

 

Yes influence of the news hysteria over the whole u/a thing cant be ignored here. It's made people way more inclined to jump to conclusions of "computer/electronics glitch" instead of more mundane explanations like pressing the brake but having the side of the shoe contact the accelerator as well for example.

 

Very bad to drive with both feet! You will not pass your drivers test in most states.

 

Except if you have a manual transmission, I suppose.

 

That's actually not a bad thing. Just like defensive driving, something like this keeps us on our toes. Having this "edge" prepares us for any event, whether caused by the car, other drivers, or road conditions.

As for the engine revving, it's very possible to mash both pedals when slamming the brake hard. So the revving could be the result of sudden, hard application of the brake in a panic situation---and not something that preceded the event.

The road condition may be different than you think because we've just come out of winter. Even a handful of loose gravel on the road can cause enough of a skid to trigger the traction control and affect braking.

 

I would also recommend you report it to the Federal government agency concerned with car safety, Home | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and file an on line report.