Accident in Prius, Engine would not shut off

If you describe the other car, we will keep our eyes open for the perp.

I always thought an inexpensive external camera assembly (similar to back up camera) looking in 4 directions and feeding a few minutes worth of looped storage would be nice for just such an occasion.

 

Thanks for coming back So the rest of us should all know to hold down the power button for 3 second or maybe it's 5 i don't know but in a situation where i need to shut the car off i will press and hold the power button untill it shuts off and the ready light goes out.

To answer your questions we need to ask you some.

1. you asked if the batteries are damaged i don't see how the traction battery would be harmed. i'm not sure about the 12volt battery.

2. You asked if the ICE was damages. If it was running while the car is on it's side did it run the whole time? Did you hear any weird noises/knocking comming from it? Did someone shut it off and how long after? Did you see any warning lights on the dash? i would think the bodyshop could make sure the ICE didn't get harmed. Also if they say it's fine just be sure to check all your fluids when you first get your car back and check them offten for a while, if some parts in the ICE didn't have oil pressure and are worn, i would think the oil level might show something with some driving.

 

As a point of information, my Kawasaki motorcycle has an integrated kill switch. If the bike is not plumb with the world the motor shuts down. Sounds like an inexpensive solution to a potential problem for any vehicle.

I don't think the Prius has a closed sump system so If the ICE was running 45 degrees to vertical for any length of time something was possibly not being lubricated.

The other fluids probably didn't stay contained either; There is reason for concern also.

Ours not being a body-on-frame vehicle I can only imagine the additional clicks, ticks, and rattles, in the future, resulting from the accidental torque.

Best of Luck!

 

If you do get it repaired I would be tempted to get rid soon after.

 

No reason they should be. They don't care about up and down.

 

Yes, modern motorcycles have a tip-over switch that kills the ignition if the bike falls over. I'm astounded that a car with the sophistication of the Prius doesn't have one.

With the ICE running on its side, the engine was most likely not getting an adequate oil supply from the crankcase pickup.

 

Your car is a 2010. Don't count on it being totaled...unless the garage says that your engine is damaged by running with out proper oiling of bearings....it's doubtful that it would cost more to fix then the cars book value.

 

A tip-over kill switch is easier to do on a motorcycle than a car. Motorcycles, by their very nature, must stay mostly in column with apparent g forces, otherwise they tip over. This is why you lean a motorcycle when going around a corner.

Cars, on the other hand, don't lean into a corner, so they experience significant lateral g forces during normal operation. A simple tip-over switch would kill the engine the first time you went around a corner.

Obviously you could make one work. If you set it for 45° it would allow for 1 g turns, which should be plenty for normal street cars. You would also need some transient filtering to remove shock loads. All things considered, it wouldn't be that hard to do, but it would be more complicated than it is for a motorcycle.

Perhaps part of the reason that cars don't have tip-over switches is that they have impact shut-offs for fuel. There may be an assumption that any accident sufficient to tip over a car would also trip the fuel cut-off. Obviously this one didn't.

Tom

 

This is why I believe a Roll-over sensor should be a standard feature on any car. With the roll-over sensor Toyota could allow the car to deploy the side impact airbags and also cut fuel and power to the HSD system.

In this case, if the side curtain and side impact airbags didn't deploy, doest that mean that a Safety connect equiped Prius would not have contacted the Safety connect center automatically. It seems to me that the side impact and side curtain airbags will deploy only in a very narrow set of circumstances. However, having them deploy in a wider array of car accidents may reduce the number, type and severity of injuries. Nissan for example, will deploy the side and curtain airbags even on certain types of frontal collisions. I understand that the cost of replacing these airbags can be high. However, I would rather be alive and with just a few minor injuries than worry about paying a higher premium on my insurance.

Concerning Safety Connect, I am very curious if this type of accident would have triggered an automated call to the emergency center. Without a roll over sensor this prius was unable to determine it was involved in a accident. Had the Prius determined it was involved in an accident, the powertrain woud have been shut down immediately. GM has really excelled in developing accident recognition hardware and software for their vehicles. I think Toyota would be wise to try and incorporate some of GM's and other european manufacturers accident recognition systems.

 

If a tip over switch can be engineered for a generic $8K motorcycle, it can be put on a $30K car. 90 degrees is 90 degrees no matter what the vehicle.

 

i'm sure the air bags go off/not go off to protect people. I highly doubt toyota tries to make them not go off to save the car owner money in an accident. I'm thinking it needs to be a certin g force inpacting the car at around a 90 degree angle from the from rear of the car. Part of the reason air bags take bigger accident to go off is air bags hurt people all the time. And they can cause more harm than good, thats why we have seen the warnings on the visors of cars for the last 12 years saying air bags can/do killl children.

I'm sure Toyota has did their best in setting when and if air bags go off. Just think if someone was in a 10mph collision and the air bags go off killing one child in the car and breaking the neck of another child. The news would be all over it.

 

Air bags are triggered by accelerometers. If your crash is outside certain predetermined parameters, then it's not a crash, and you don't need the airbags.
Nothing new here.
This technology is decades old and is the same for a $10,000 Aveo, as it is for das $33,000USD Wunderkars.
Tip-over sensors have been standard on motorcycles for a while now too. Like I said before...I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised. If I find myself inverted in a Prius, I'll try to remember the 3-5 second rule and hold my mouth juuuuust right.
If you're worried about it...call the NTSB.
I personally think that you should not have to figure out how to shut down a tipped-over car in the post-accident phase, but I'm sure some bed-wetting, skulking, ambulance chasing slimy attorney will fix this 'problem' so I'm not going to loose any sleep over it.
Maybe Mama Yota can fix this when the Government makes them put "Vroom-Vroom" generators aboard so we don't squish any more kids in parking lots.

 

I still have my old Subaru. How would it have handled this incident any better?

 

So, how exactly was your car placed back onto the wheels?
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Is it really that much to ask?

To shut off a Prius hold down the power button for 3-5 seconds.

To power off a Subaru, grab the key in the ignition turn counter clockwise(if you were looking at it from the passanger seat) unitll it reaches the off position, if you want to remove your key you need to put the car in park and the key will go one click farther and then you can remove it.

 

Great, yet another report that they have to chalk up to user error. It's not a matter of thinking clearly; you didn't even know about the 3 second rule as indicated by your OP in which you thought the power button was unresponsive and there was no way to turn off the car.