At the bottom of the page, take the following map along with you while you drive, so you'll know if your in a kid/braking-friendly state: http://nschdata.org/Viewdocument.aspx?item=208 That's another defect! Toyotas ought to have this map hanging from the sun visors! .
Sadly it was lights out for the bovine-but all was not lost-my freezer has a nice selection of meats.
i think if smart brake technology becomes the next REQUIRED safety feature, all in all, it will be a good thing. Toyota will recover since our memories of bad things are simply too short and its not like any other car company is sooo much better that many people will bail.
My situation was quite odd. The car accelerated, and I noticed that every traffic light I approached was green. My high-beams did nothing to illuminate the road ahead, and I could not see anyone behind me. Speed-of-light issues, of course.
I also have an opposite problem: unintended acceleration when I'm going DOWN long inclines, even with my foot off the accelerator. The Prius is so good at rolling that sometimes I'm forced to engage the brakes before I rear-end the nearest SUV. There should be a TSB to put big knobby tires on this thing to slow it down on hills...
Unintended deceleration I have been having the exact opposite problem. Whenever I am going, say, 60 mph, and I start texting to my girlfriend, the car slows way down. It's only when I look up and push on the gas pedal that it goes fast again. John
No Donner/Dahlmer party here-just the best slices from the cow, dats all. (Although my anthropology professor once commented that human meat is supposed to be very succulent.)
And he/she knew that how? :madgrin: Rumor is it tastes like Spam. The Straight Dope: What's really in Spam?
And really, it's not the unintended acceleration that's the real problem -- it's the unintended deceleration at the other end that stings a little. Like flying a plane and realizing that you have to eventually land again. . _H*
For me, I've learned a trick or two from Microsoft: a "problem" for some is a potential "feature" for some of us clever enough to realize it. I just spent a weekend rewiring a few things so that my keyless entry not only opens doors, but starts the car and - by utilizing Toyota's stealth acceleration feature - the car starts moving on it's own. I tell you, when you lead a busy New York life like I do, you don't have time to actually walk to the car. So, now the car comes to me (most of the time...if I set up the steering just right the night before) and when I'm in the car I don't even have to press the gas down. I drive with my knees which frees up my hands for more important things like texting and calling! (or trading certain gestures with my "neighbors" who don't like my feature packed car...)
When I was just a kid, my friend's stepfather demonstrated steering his Plymouth Fury on the freeway using his knee(s). He learned it so he would have one hand free to hold his cigarette and the other to hold his can of Coors. :madgrin: Everyone survived, but I never rode with him again.
