Accident in Prius, Engine would not shut off

I understand. An engine tear down would be prohibitively expensive. There is a procedure called borescoping that is easy and relatively cheap. A spark plug is removed and a tiny TV camera is inserted in the cylinder and it can be inspected for damage called scoring. There is no way to check the bearings easily. Low oil pressure can ensue from severe bearing damage. Minor damage will probably be tolerated by the engine and may only show up long term. Cylinders and bearings are very durable these days so you may be alright. Make sure the adjuster knows all this and maybe you can get it totaled.

 

Given the right lawsuits and engineering recommendations, I hope Toyota will come up with a safety system to prevent this from happening in the future.

But I don't really see them going back to a key ignition. The key has had its place, but it is not the end-all for starting and stopping an engine. We simply need to adapt to technology as it evolves. Kind of like how electric windows have taken the place of the old mechanical crank windows. Could a person's life be jeopardized because they couldn't mechanically open a window in, say, a submerged vehicle? But I don't think there are people demanding mechanical cranks for their windows.

Vic

 

There's already a safety system in place to prevent this from happening. It's called holding the power button for 3 seconds.

 

Glad you're alright. Feel like Toyota may have to put Prius on the drawing board again.

 

More like the owners need to be put on the drawing board because way too many of them don't know or forget about the 3 second rule.

 

I think he was talking about engine running with upside up car (or sideways or whatever).

 

Either way, there's a system in place to turn it off and it's not necessarily smart or safe to have the engine automatically turn off lest you flip and land right back up onto oncoming traffic.

 

Agree. The engine wasn't running while it was flipped on it's side because it was a Prius. It's not like this has never happened to another make of car/truck before. If people would have naturally reached for the key to turn it off, then a Prius driver would have reached for Power Button just as naturally too.

 

Re: Final Chapter: Car totalled

Good luck with the new car!
I hope that you don't have to replace your Subaru under similar circumstances!
There's probably an "Outback Forum" out there that you can visit to learn about your new ride, although I'm sure that the learning curve on that car isn't going to be as daunting.

Visit back every now and again!

 

Re: Final Chapter: Car totalled

Good to hear that the totaled you Prius. I know what it feels waiting for them to do the appraisal and worry about having to drive a repaired Prius from accident. I was rear ended on the 19th and my insurance company declared it a total loss Monday. I am still waiting for the estimate. What insurance company are you with? I am also looking into a Subaru Outback.