Brakes, Gas Pedals, Re-calls, Facts and Myth's

You brought up some great points!

 

Something you never see didn't mean they are not exist. I agree its only happen in rare situation, but the brake problem do exist. I don't know how many different cars your have owned, I never have that problem on any of the 7 car I own over my driving life and all of them have antilock brake.

 

Geo thanks for your post. I appreciate you taking the time to present this.

However, when people site "facts", it's always nice to make reference the source(s).

If I understand what you wrote the "fact is" there have never been any accidents caused by the brakes and stopping distance is not affected (under any circumstance?), but Toyota is very concerned. Then why is Toyota very concerned?

Could the real story be that Toyota has identified a software issue with the brake software, however the data does not (yet) show any evidence indicating a highly unusual or alarming condition?

But if there is no problem with the brake system (as your facts show) then why has Toyota upgraded the software on the GEN III models?

I do agree with you that rumors and myths grow quickly when the news media starts reporting. And allegations (as mentioned below) may, or may not, turn out to be true.

“ Feb. 4: NHTSA today announced it is opening a formal investigation of the Toyota Prius Hybrid model year 2010 to look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over an uneven road surface, pothole or bump. The agency received 124 reports from consumers, including four alleging that crashes occurred. Investigators have spoken with consumers and conducted pre-investigatory field work. “Safety is our top priority,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “That is why in recent weeks NHTSA has also issued a consumer advisory on the recall of several models of Toyota vehicles and the Pontiac Vibe involving pedal entrapment and sticky accelerator pedals. We will continue to monitor these issues closely.”

Source: http://www.nhtsa.gov/

I love my Prius too, but life safety is very close to my heart.

 

OP: Do you have any connection financially with Toyota? Do you receive any perks from Toyota or any sponsorship of any kind? I am suspicious.

 

We have not experienced any issues with our 2010 Prius. I rarely drive it, it's the wife's commuter car. I do intend to find a section of bumpy road and see if I can recreate what others are experiencing.

I believe Ford may have done a recent voluntary recall or TSB on some of its hybrid vehicles to do a software upgrade to the braking system, but I could not find info on their website.

 

GeoDesign,

Again, I respectfully ask you, do you derive any financial benefit from any association with Toyota? Do you receive perks from them in any way in the way of incentives, passes to events, higher priority to test drive vehicles, discounts, etc. etc.? Here's why I'm asking. It seems to me that this is essentially the same line of thought I'm beginnning to see creep through PriusChat from the top or near top down and is VERY noticeable in Russell Frost's recent editorial. I also couldn't help but notice the Toyota sponsorship logo atop Russell's page atop the list of sponsors...and it dawned on me, perhaps incorrectly, that perhaps those in the top positions at PriusChat and PriusOwnersGroup have an incentive to defend Toyota's products even to the extent of blaming drivers themselves for this situation. I'm getting sick of hearing it's not a defect, that it's just the way the car works and drivers need to adjust to it and leave more room in front of them than they would while driving other types of vehicles.

Here's a fact for you. I've had this problem happen to me twice now. Each instance was in the exact same situation, performing the exact same procedure, and even in the same location. Now, I've also done the same thing hundreds of times without an incident- so it's not easily repeatable. And, here's another fact, the first time it happened my car stopped about 3.6 feet BEYOND where I would normally stop it. In fact, I thought for certain when it happened that I was going to take out my mailbox in front of my house. Fortunately I stopped just inches in front of it, but I normally would have been about 3.6 feet plus those inches away from it.

Fact: It happens, it's real and it DOES extend stopping distances. So, I have no doubt that this condition can cause accidents when people in critical braking situations, like intersections or in traffic, don't have the stopping distance they think they do in front of them.

Fact: Apparently Toyota's engineers also agree it's a safety issue. Do you really think they would issue a fix and now recall all 2010 in Japan if it were not? That's an awfully expensive way to get PR when they could do it more cheaply in advertisement campaigns...which, I'm starting to feel they may in fact be doing but from a real ground-up internet forum based method.

It's not just a feeling, it's real. Quit blaming drivers. Which reminds me, didn't Toyota once have an ad campaign slogan "Oh, what a feeling!" I guess they were talking about that first time when your brakes drop out on you.

So, back to my question about you and any connection to Toyota...is there any?

 

Re: Oh, what a feeling!" I guess they were talking about that first time when your brakes drop out on you.

Like Larry the Cable guy would say; "I don't care who your are...that there is funny!"

 

It's:

-the brakes
-the regen brakes
-the drive by wire (computer)
-the gas pedal
-the floor mats
-your tin hat obsured the view

STOP! For those of us with even a hint of logic (that does narrow the filed quite a bit) - USE YOUR BRAIN FOR JUST A SECOND!

Think Audi. Think of how their reputation and company was crushed by what was later found to be NOTHING.

Toyota knows that there is NO DEFECT in ANY of their cars. They are in full blown damage control mode given the bullshit hysteria the media and the COMPETITION has caused with this silly, silly stuff.

Again, for those in which this applies, just try to use your logical brain for just a second. You'll figure it out.

-Brad

 

GeoDesign,
You'll get no disgreement from me on that! Without hesitation I will tell you that you do have the right to your own opinion. I respect YOU and I respect almost anyone. About the only way a person can lose my repsect is when they intentionally mistreat others. I'm not a belittler in any way. However, I think there's a difference between showing respect to one as a person and disagreeing with their position on a matter. I will always tell you that you have the right to your opinion. I recognize my opinion as just that too. Others will disagree with me. I'm fine with that. However, time is usually the arbiter of such matters and we will know later this week more about the braking situation on the Prius. Afterward we can all say "I told you so" because, in reality, none of us really knows enough about the extent of the issue or have the ability or equipment or resources to fully document the problem; I suspect we will all be partially right. We'll have to wait for the results from testing from Toyota and other agencies for that...but, I've a hunch Toyota has already done their testing and that's why there's been a fix in place on the assembly lines for a month now. I doubt they would make a change to a product based on a "feeling"...so we'll see soon enough more about what's really going on.

 

Geo make the video regardless. What the heck.

 

hahahahahah!

 

Fact- I have had my Prius for one year and I have had zero problems. Fact- so far this year I have spent $20.00 for gas. Fact- the car is smarter than me sometimes. One time the display lit up and I am sitting there cussing this POS machine. Then I notice the icon for drivers door not completely closed. Duh! Closed the door. Problem resolved. My opinion is that this is an excellent car for some people. There are also other excellent cars out there. That's what makes a market. Drive safely.