I hit the brakes while accelerator was depressed...

Of course it did. And it would do it from a lot higher speed too. But, having said that, if (when) I do some dumass thing that causes an accident I will be the next person to try to divert blame to someone (anyone) else. The target du jour right now is obviously Toyota.

 

Noticed how most of the accidents are from old people. Also how many complains after the media blitz and before

 

Was the Runaway Prius a GenII? If so will the brake also deactivate the gas pedal on that model?

 

Yes and yes. Also putting it in neutral deactivates power.

 

Aren't you all assuming that everything is working correctly, as intended?

What would happen in your "tests" if there is a random or systematic fault?

 

In the "every dark cloud has a silver lining" category (learned this from videos posted here lately):

Bad boy fun: find a deserted road, or big parking lot. Stop with lots of clear road/space ahead. Put Prius in Power mode. Step on brake. Floor accelerator, rev engine for a few seconds 'till maxed out. Let up brake quickly.

Wheee! Doesn't chirp the front tires (boo traction control) but fun anyway.

 

A far more likely fault at this point would be someone hitting the wrong pedal.

 

That's what I am afraid of, a computer glitch that needs 10-12 factors to become a problem. Part of me thinks that it's idiots blaming the car and the other part of me thinks it's a hard to replicate software issue that needs many factors to become active.

 

"Old" is certainly a 'state of mind'. Guess my reaction is about me, also '61' (how did that happen?!). I don't believe that being '61' means you have lost all of your senses and can no longer function. Basically I take offense at cossie1600's remark!

I drive 40,000 miles a year in my 2008 blue Prius. I would certainly know to put the car in neutral, that would be my immediate reaction, the brakes, the emergency brake, in that order.....calling 911 would be on my mind only if all else failed (but then what can they do?)....

I somehow don't think that this guys age has much to do with what happened, although, as I said 'age is a state of mind'.
Just another judgment call, his reactions seemed suspect, and his demeanor seemed odd, but again, who's to say, I don't know the guy.
I am hoping his reaction and car problems are all about him and not the Prius, and am anxiously awaiting explanations from Toyota and NHTSA....hope it's a good one.

 

What I am assuming is that the accelerator was as open as it could get. Whether it got there by a fault of the system or by a dumb driver pushing it down to the floor (which I guess could be a systematic fault) or by a crazy floor mat getting a hold of the pedal and refusing to let go AND that the brake is fully depressed too. In none of the accidents that I have read about has there been even a hint of a brake problem other than the claim that they couldn't slow the car down.

Wasn't it Car & Driver that tested several cars at different speeds and none of them was able to overpower the brakes, even if they started at quite a high speed and floored both the brakes and accelerator. The only car that didn't come to a complete stop was one of the high powered mustangs when it was started at 120 mph and even it brought the car down to about 20 mph before the brakes faded to uselessness. I have to say that if I got down to 20 mph I would jump out of the car.

The point is that if full throttle and full brakes are used, the brakes will almost ALWAYS overcome the throttle unless you are at high speed in a vehicle which is far more powerful than a Prius. I guess if you just rode the brakes mildly you might burn them out eventually, but I don't think that is the fault of the car.

 

My first reaction to the story was to think to myself "He'd have to have the slowest reaction time in the history of the universe or a brain the size of a walnut not to be able to figure something out in the 10 minutes it must have taken to get to 90". :lol:

 

Perhaps his 2008 was in "Power Mode"

 

James Sikes, the San Diego runaway Toyota Prius driver, filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and now has over $700,000 in debt. According to one anonymous tipster, we're also told he hasn't been making payments on his Prius. UPDATE!
We received an email earlier today from an anonymous tipster who claims James (Jim) Sikes, the driver of the runaway Toyota Prius, was in financial trouble and even behind by five months on his payments for the Prius. If that's true, it's potential motivation for wanting to find an out — any out — on paying for the vehicle.
We did some public records searches (thanks to the help of Gawker's John Cook) and found Sikes and his wife Patty found themselves, like many in the California real estate business, on the bursting side of the real estate bubble last year. The two declared bankruptcy in June of 2008 and have a combined liability of over $700,000 dollars in debt.
Among the list of creditors holding secured claims is none other than Toyota Financial Services for a lease on a 2008 Toyota Prius with 7,200 miles on the odometer. Total value of the lease at the time of bankruptcy was $20,494.

 

According to a recent NY Times article, about 99% of unintended acceleration incidents are due to the driver mistakenly hitting the gas pedal instead of the brake. They are usually not lying; they really think they hit the brake. The other 1% probably are lying.

 

Attack, attack the messenger. The merits of the event are not winnable on their own, so move to character assassination. This is the best way to deflect attention from actual fault.

 

Anyway, this thread is not right. I tested my brakes in multiple situations. The engine continued to roar with my foot down whether I slammed on the brakes, pressed them lightly or held them firmly. Where is the brake override in that? Right!

 

Take your dealer tech for a ride. Many other people have tested their cars and the brake worked fine. Of course, the brake override doesn't stop the engine from roaring, it's to make the car stop moving...

 

Brake override removes engine power from the drive wheels; it doesn't necessarily stop the engine. In a Prius, the engine is not directly coupled to the drive wheels, and can spin independently.

This same information has been posted multiple times in relation to this event, but for some reason you seem determined to ignore the physical facts if they don't fit your agenda.

Tom

 

I got my GenII 2006 prius up to 80 mph and with the gas pedal floored I stepped on the brakes. End result? I stopped, thats it enough said, oh almost forgot it probably took me an extra 20-30 feet to stop but overall it did what it was supposed to do and that was stop the car.