Here you go: Prius owners blame wild rides on cruise control - CNN.com CNN is becoming really really bad...
Good grief. Nothing works right on any Toyota, let's just get that out of the way. It's amazing all the defective cars they've made for decades and no one ever caught them. The hysteria is amazing...
Chicago Business News: Business News, Money Tips and Stock Updates - chicagotribune.com Please note picture, lawsuits and value downgrades.
OH MY GOD!! I spoke with this woman (Julie Wernau) for twenty minutes on Tuesday about this. She was absolutely clueless about how regen worked, about how hybrids worked and about how the Prius worked. Being my typical self, I stepped her through the process and explained in multiple ways how it's as much the unfamiliarity of new technology as it is human reaction to the unfamiliarity of new technology. I can see that Wayne expressed basically the same sentiments and he gets one paragraph. The bulk of the article highlights those who will sensationalize the whole thing. Wow. Just, wow. And I don't believe that this is Wayne. If it is, who's the woman with him because if his wife sees this she'll be pissed! And I know as a fact that's not a 2010. Here's a perfect example of researched and accurate journalism. Wayne Mitchell with his 2010 Toyota Prius. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
A very poorly written article. Of course interest and values are down now in the midst of all the hoopla, but give it a little time. Not a lot of facts in the article, and let's see how the lawsuits turn out. Time will tell...
I tried to post a comment at that CNN article pointing to: Is Woz's Prius Acceleration Just Toyota's Wacky Adaptive Cruise? - Green Car Reports and said that owners should RTFM (used letters, not words). The moderator never allowed it to be seen.
I have been driving for 6 months now with the cruise control, twice a day for 5 days per week, plus weekend trips. I have bumped it up and down, have released it and reset it, and everything else that I have ever done with prior vehicles. Never the first issue. I have CNN.com for my internet home page but it is being removed after their postings.
Interesting how they not only discuss the issue but diagnose it, too. For all of you who are upset about this, it would be sheer luck if the problem was narrowed to a cruise control glitch. That actually would be good news for Toyota.
My Mercedes GL450 cruise system works exactly the same way..... what is needed by everyone is an understanding of HOW these systems work on their cars! Owner's manuals are probably the least read documents...... cars and other devices as well
I saw a Mercedes commercial yesterday touting their lane assist and adaptive cruise. I turned to my wife: "those will get recalled soon." It's horrifying that people will spend $30,000USD for a highly technological Prius and NOT read the manual. They will say that they bought it because they love the tech but will NOT read the manual. They will boast about how cool all the technology is but will NOT read the manual. Now that the Mercedes does the same thing, you will have wealthier and potentially older and less techie people interacting with this new technology, having NOT read the manual, and they will FREAK!
Why is everyone so quick to slam CNN and these folks? You are so blinded by your loyalties to Toyota that you are quick to pounce on anyone that would paint them in a negative light. Have I ever experienced this cruise control problem? No. But that is not to say that there is a possibility that maybe this was a real problem with that persons vehicle. At least consider it before quickly dismissing it as hysteria and nonsense. I say this because of my own personal experiences regarding the brake issues in the 2010 Prius. The moment I posted about my problems here on this forum, I was slammed and accused of not knowing how to drive and that there was no problem with my brakes. The justification: "Well, my Prius doesn't do it so therefor there is no problem." Yeah, that is wonderful reasoning right there[/sarcasm]. So in regards to this situation, like I said, my Prius has never had this cruise control problem, but just because it doesn't do that doesn't mean that there are people who may still have a real problem on their hands.
Without someone who has the problem or can reproduce it, we can waste a lot of time in idle speculation. Otherwise, it is what we call 'ancedotal' ... curious but not worth spending time on ... either for or against. The third state is we lack facts and data to draw any conclusion. Bob Wilson
It's one thing to recognise potential problems, and another to recognise CNN's recent excessive negative coverage of Toyota. The 2 are not mutually exclusive. If you want to do a comparison, look at how many articles they've posted on Prius' brake "issue" vs. Ford Fusion recall. They've been running asinine editorials almost daily on the "Toyota situation". Just look at yesterday's "editorial"... "Not simply because Prius sounds like pious. Think how often we use those first three letters "pri" for qualities we detest. For instance, prim, prissy, priggish, prickly, privileged, prima donna..." seriously? this is what CNN passes as good editorials nowadays?
This part is interesting: I gave TonyPSchaefer a "thanks" because I agree 100% with him that if you spend $30K to buy something that is loaded with technology, you should definitely read the instruction manual (it's not the same car you worked on in your garage in the 1960s). I also gave El Gato a "thanks" because I agree with him that just because it hasn't happened to you does NOT automatically mean it didn't happen to the other person. If we look to computers in general, can you say that you have never had a computer freeze while you were using it? It doesn't happen every day - in fact, it's rare - but different computers freeze at different steps and different software programs while other computers are fine in those steps but freeze in different spots. An iPhone is a perfect example: My friend's iPhone freezes about three times a day but mine only freezes about once a month (while using the same software apps when this occurs). Online iphone forums report iphones freezing frequency to be VERY random from phone to phone. Sometimes your desktop computer freezes and sometimes it does not. Now consider this... It's very possible that this is the culprit in many situations: But it does not make sense in the millions of non-Prius recalls. Also, considering the quote at the top where the dealer said the employee was not qualified to operate the vehicle, it seems to make sense - until you consider the dealer then said it was a floor mat problem.
