Before signing contract, question about unexpected acceleration

HELLO. i have had my prius for about 3 months now and ZERO of those problems you're talking about. matter of fact, i do NOT remember hearing any of this ever mentioned here.

what i think your mom is talking about is the sudden STARTING OF THE ICE. the engine can start at any time it deems necessary to charge the batteries or assist in the acceleration of the vehicle. HOWEVER, when the engine starts, it does not cause the vehicle to lunge forward, no more than if you simply lifted your foot off the brake to begin with.

NO PROBLEMS. relax the prius is almost worry free, it's sold 1,000,000 models. On consumer reports, it's a solid "10 out of 10" in reliability, performance and customer satisfaction.

what more would you like?????

cheers.

 

Ask your mother what web site, then post a link.

I like reading it myself rather than get the "information" as third, forth, fifth, etc. hand news.

Who knows, maybe it said, "The Prius has unexpectedly strong acceleration while passing at freeway speeds, thanks to massive torque provided by the electric motors."

 

Good for you to set an example in your community. I have not heard one credible concern like that of your mothers. We have driven ours 16k in the last year from high mountain snow to dessert heat to coastal winter rains. Not one complaint. (Except we can't get the mileage to stay above 54.2!)

Go for it while you can!

Icarus

 

Here is a link to a thread on the same topic a while back. http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/43744-introduction.html

Bottom Line -- unintended acceleration is not a problem.

 

Make sure the driver's floor mat is correctly hooked in at
the back, with two little black plastic hooks coming up through
physical holes in the carpeting.
.
_H*

 

I'm not sure about the Prius but the newer Tacoma's are a drive by wire system. bascially the gas pedal is all electronic. NHTSA is investigating several incidents with an all of a sudden WOT situation.

 

The other cause of unintended acceleration is drivers who confuse the brake pedal with the accelerator. To be plain, in the majority of reported cases the driver is elderly. For some years now cars carry data recorders ("black boxes") which reveal just what was happening in the minutes before a crash. I have not read of any cases of a Prius accelerating because of a mechanical fault in the car.

The website your mom cited is operated by a law firm. It has been speculated that they are fishing for class-action business.

Note that in any car the brakes will overpower the engine. Unless the brakes just happen to be faulty at the same time the accelerator decides to go nuts you can always stop the car.

 

Hmm, interesting. Esp, all the responses dealing with experiences in really cold weather and snow. Living in the mountains, I'm esp. interested to hear the responses from long time Prius owners on the fora here.

 

I don't live in snow or mountains, but the experiences reported here indicates that the OEM tires are fairly poor snow tires and that things improve considerably using snow tires.

 

Thanks!

I didn't need to click on the link to "know" what would be there . . . just as I thought, consumeraffairs.com .

As has been stated before, check Consumer REPORT, not that highly discredited fishing site.

Welcome to PriusChat GreenJean.

Oh, and by the way, I too have never experienced any unexpected acceleration . . . and after 45 months and 48,000 miles, [other than the early 2nd generation warranty steering recall, computer flash, and gas tank replacement] the list of repairs on my not 100% reliable Prius consists of replacing a brake light and side marker bulb. :cheer2:

 

Also, check the date stated for the complaints in the consumeraffairs article. Notice that there are no such complaints years after the date listed.

 

Consumeraffairs.com is a site created by ambulance chasing lawyers. I'd take anything from them with a huge grain of salt... also, like Jack66 said, the complaints there are for older model Prius, no recent complaints. Do what Sufferin Prius Envy said and read Consumer Reports (ConsumerReports.org - Find Product Reviews and Ratings from Consumer Reports) and see what they have to say about the Prius.

 

Still can't figure out why people "check things" with the car in the ready mode.

 

I'll add our two Prius to the 'never had that happen' group.
2007 and 2008 running for a couple of years combined. The engine will kick in when needed, but I have never had the car move or try to move if it was in park.

 

You've pretty much stated the 3 points I was going to illuminate. Your final point that the accelerator can NEVER win a battle against the brake is really the proof that this type of thing can never technically happen.

I remember when Audi went throught the same thing in the 80s/90s (I think). The lawyers were out for blood. However, it was found that these drivers were pressing on the gas instead of the brake.

... Brad

 

It may have been possible he had stopped at a gas station to quickly check tire air pressure. I've left the engine running while doing this for more years than some people are old on this board.
But....
I religiously use the parking brake and ensure the vehicle is in park before I exit.
In the Prius case I will be sure to shut down the car first.

(Although these last two days, I'm detailing the Prius in my garage with the car in Ready and in Park, the brakes fully applied and the stereo cranking. Evey now and again it automatically starts up to recharge the batteries and shuts down. Oh...and I have chockblocks in front of the tires.....just in case.)

ZC1

 

Can't you just hit the start button twice (do not press the brake!) to go into accessory mode? Then the car would never start, but all your electrical stuff (stereo/windows) would work.

... Brad

 

I worked for Audi in the 80's and fixed a few actual conditions that could have caused "unintended acceleration". The actual problem was caused (on the 4000 model) by battery acid leaking on a section of the engine harness and causing the idle air bypass to go into the wide open position giving enough air for around 3500 rpm. The brakes would easily hold back that power. The 5000 models that were the target of the investigation were absolutely driver error. Shorter persons turned around while backing and pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. The owner of our primary body repair shop was pinned to a wall by his own wife while backing his personal 5k turbo. A rather large pipe running up the wall stopped the car from crushing his legs.
He was limping around on crutches for several weeks.