Consumer Affairs is at it again.

So what happens if you push the accelarator and brake at the same time, does the brake overide the accelerate signal? In any other car you would do a burnout, but a computer controls the prius, so does the car go or stop? I would guess it would stop, and this is all driver error, driver lies in order to get out of rear ending the guy infront of them. I will test it out when I drive home.

 

Hmmm. At first I discounted these reports as "User Error" as I like to tell my computer users (99% of the time it is). But this is starting to sound like there really could be a cruise control problem. The article is very poorly written, combining traction control problems with uncontrolled acceleration problems.

I've done just a little experimentation with the traction control, seems to me there is a direct correlation between tire pressure and TC kicking in. I did not know what the TC problem was until I increased my TP to 40/38, I notice it now, and it can be unsettling when you are trying to stop and it kicks in with rough road or a bump. Might seem like acceleration I suppose, but it's not. If it were the rug interfering with the go pedal, it would probably keep doing it until the rug was rearranged.

The experts here would know if the go-pedal electonics or potentiometers could get dirt in them and flake out... like the scratchy sound out of a dirty old potentiometer. There may not be a pot involved, I'm a Prius newbie but trying to learn, it's going to take a very long time to figure out all the incredible technology in this car. But as we all know... intermitant problems are the ones that are the toughest to figure out.

 

Consmer Affairs is run by a bunch of lawyers who are trying to drum up business. They're searching for ambulances to chase. The lowest of the low.

I've reported them to themselves several times, but I've not read of anything coming of it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(abq sfr @ Aug 15 2007, 10:26 AM) [snapback]496236[/snapback]</div>

Most of the reports that I've seen involve using the cruise control during wet, slippery conditions, a know, unsafe thing to do, inherent to all cruise control, not related to the Prius.

 

How many remember the Audi "uncontrollable acceleration" hysteria from many years ago? It looks like "recycling" in some legal firms does not apply only to the soda cans.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mad Hatter @ Aug 15 2007, 04:32 PM) [snapback]496488[/snapback]</div>

I wonder if some of these drivers might be bumping the Resume lever for Cruse Control without knowing it.

At any rate, People, It is not the Consumer Afairs Department of the US Government!!
It is a bunch of Sleezy Lawyer's Yellow Journalism with writing skills that Really Suck!!

 

I experience this problem on a daily basis when my car hits a pot hole on the exit ramp I take to my job. Just like described in the article, the car seems to speed up. The only difference is that I remember being able to brake and control the car. What helps is that I'm not usually accelerating when this occurs so I don't have to do all that much to slow the car down.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rg3design.com @ Aug 15 2007, 09:40 PM) [snapback]496674[/snapback]</div>

If it bothers you or you feel unsafe, check your tire pressure and lower it if high (if you have the OEM Goodyears) to the Toyota recommended 35 front 33 rear. Oh... and try to miss the pothole! :blink:

 

If you press the go-pedal and the brake at the same time, you do
something called force-charging. A well-known and harmless state,
although all you're doing is putting charge into the battery and
then taking it back out again to drive which causes a bit of an
MPG hit.
.
The "braking sag" when a bump causes the regenerative system to give
up for a little while is a well known phenomenon, and simply being
used to it and prepared for it is part of owning the car.
.
The Classic ['01-03] Prius had sporadic accelerator-pedal problems,
referred to as "big hand syndrome". The symptom was a slowdown, not
a speedup. The current generation Priuses use a non-contact Hall
effect device which doesn't have that issue.
.
The usual cause of the go-pedal getting stuck is the floor mat
bunching up under the driver's foot, usually stemming from failure
to hook it over the two little plastic hooks under the seat front.
The cruise "resume" theory is also an interesting possibility.
.
Someone needs to hand these assclowns at CA a similar barrage of
hard facts.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NoMoShocks @ Aug 15 2007, 08:31 PM) [snapback]496664[/snapback]</div>

:huh: :blink:
You know, it never occured to me that people might be that stupid. That really is the best explanation for what the CA-tards are describing.... What was I thinking? Of course people are that stupid!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(deh2k @ Aug 15 2007, 04:20 PM) [snapback]496476[/snapback]</div>

Doh! You beat me to it! I just read their little blurb at the end of the article:

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

... and was considering filing a report about my bad experience with Consumer Affairs. Then again, if I just thought of it, they've probably been receiving complaints for years!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rg3design.com @ Aug 15 2007, 11:40 PM) [snapback]496674[/snapback]</div>

Ditto - this happens to me all the time when I am slowing down to enter my subdivision. There is a crease across the entire street and when the Prius hits the bump when I am slowing down it is like the braking gives out for a split second. Nothing major - but I always think 'did that just happen?'

 

This is a legitimate problem. I was going around 25 mph, accelerated, and the car continued to accelerate despite taking my foot off the pedal, despite braking. Took it in and Toyota said it was the floor mat. Although I doubted it, they replaced the hooks and rehooked the matt, which admittedly was unhooked. That was 3 weeks ago.

Saturday morning, going moderate speeds (30-4- mph), no potholes, it happened to my wife. THe brakes were smoking by the time she got the car stopped. We had it towed to Toyota. Have yet to hear what they will say, but I am sure they will say nothing is wrong.

Cruise control was not involved. I love the Prius, but if Toyota does not get to the bottom of this soon, I feel that is maybe a DANGEROUS car, especially if Toyotal simply shrugs this off, like Ford did with the Pinto. :scared:

 

I sympathize, but I will bet you a dollar that her situation involves one or more of the following:

- the floor mat was bunched up under the accelerator again
- she rode the brake pedal
- she did not completely release the parking brake

 

PEBKAC is usually a likely cause.

 

1) The floor mat was not involved. that had been hooked by Toyota 3 weeks before, and had not moved.
2) Yes, she rode the brake in an effort to try to stop the car.
3) I experienced the same thing twice before. Pulled over, turned the car off, started it again, and again it was going full throttle immediately. Turned it off, left the car for an hour or so, and it was fine.

I do think though that Toyota is starting to take this seriously, since the brakes were obviously stressed trying to stop the car.

I have no interest in law suits, I think the Prius is a technological marvel. I just want to drive a safe car. And my particular car is unsafe.

 

This behavior is not limited to only the Prius. The Civic Hybrid that I owned for almost 5 years before buying the Prius did exactly the same thing. Took me by surprise the first couple of times. After that it was no big deal.

 

There should be trouble codes reported by the car which the dealer can easily diagnose. Take it to a different dealer.

"Rode the brake in an effort to stop it" suggests that she wasn't pressing hard enough. You were able to stop the car using the brakes, yes?

In your wife's case was the car actually accelerating, or was the engine merely racing without the car gaining speed?

 

I appreciate your cool head. Many people would run around screaming. (Not that this isn't serious, of course.)

It's possible your car has a defect in a wire, a connector, or part of the myriad electronic packages that control the car and the braking. It may take a smart mechanic some time to sort out the symptoms and find the solution.