Toyota Prius Speeds Out of Control on SoCal FWY

That article mentions nothing about the brakes being applied. Call me an apologist but I'd bet on pedal error.

 

Don't you know? It's not a "dark cloud". It's the hellmouth. Buffy and Spike closed it but only briefly. It has apparently reopened only this time it isn't under Sunnydale anymore

 

It has one. It's called ... P ... You need to go back to the LA Times newsroom and read up on the subject.

Over and over and over again in these pages it's been stated that the easiest way to separate the wheels from the power is press 'P'.

I am very very convinced that this is a fabrication staged by your employer ( the LA Times ) in order to keep the pot boiling. Don't even think about saying that no such thing could happen, we just saw ABC News do that very thing in the Gilbert case. We know that news-for-profit companies like CBS, NYT and NBC staged these 'events' all the time. I'm very convinced that the LA Times is having its chance to join the gutter crowd.

 

And if it's a hoax that the LA Times staged by having an actor ( helloo Hollywood ) call 911 to involve the CHP and all the news-for-profit groups to pick up on so that the pot keeps boiling....aye??

 

Wish I could get my Prius to accelerate that fast...

 

I know it must be frustrating from your position but aren't you grasping at straws? What do you think Toyota's plan is? I know I am not exactly objective in all of this but this is totally out of control for Toyota.

 

If the story is accurate, don't you think she would have noticed the gas consumption skyrocketing first? And I've found myself going 84 mph instead of 65 mph before I figured out how to drive my Prius.

 

For the record Professor Gilbert has not backed down at all and is planning on meeting with the toyota people including exponent. He has been demonized by toyota but that is totally unfair.
If Toyota does not get this figured out pretty soon and the next runaway toyota ends up in a televised death, what then? Does Toyota ever recover in North America? This may be getting close to that point. Toyota has not even produced the information for congress yet.

If on the 1st of January I would have predicted that by March 9th toyota would be in this kind of trouble I probably would have been banned on Priuschat. This has been incredibly bad handling on toyota's part, incredible.

Toyota is attacking Professor Gilbert and at the same time trying to act contrite. Bad combo. What was Gilbert paid? $1,800 how about Exponent? unlimited. Who's results would be more likely to be tainted? Follow the money.

 

Dr. Gilbert didn't need to be demonized by Toyota. Working with the lawyers group did that for me.

 

Theyare multiplying like rabbits:

kare11.com | Twin Cities, MN | Minnesota doctor says his Toyota Prius nearly killed him

Do you think he is crazy and just after a settlement?

How about this woman?

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpps/news/national/south/woman-crashes-her-lexus-into-a-house-_3264311

 

The good doctor would have us believe that with only the 40 hp electric motor, the Prius reached 35 mph in reverse, glanced off another vehicle, run through the shrubs. If he thinks his insurance is going to believe him and not increase his insurance rate, he is crazy.

She's not crazy. She just doesn't want to hear about it from her spouse and have her insurance rates go up.

 

Read throught this thread started last spring....

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...-investigates-safety-record-toyota-prius.html

 

If the CHPD saw brake linings fly off, aren't the rear brakes sealed drum brakes? Also pressing the brake reverses MG1 - he should have burned up MG1 and/or destroyed the battery pack. Some things just don't seem right.

 

And the point is? Yes, there have been complaints but I'm just as skeptical about these stories as I was about the quality problems with my 6 GM, 1 Ford and 1 AMC vehicles.

 

That's it! I'm done! My next car is going to be an Audi 5000...

 

From the 46th AP story, finally some info about the driver:

San Diego real estate... and he doesn't mind being on TV.

 

Not really. For years Toyota has been telling people who show up at the dealership reporting unintended acceleration that it was just an anomaly and then not taking note of it. They have been packing their offices with NHTSA refugees who use special influence to get investigations dropped. They have been withholding information from regulators and surreptitiously doing mini recalls with lesser Service Bulletins. Meanwhile, they were petitioned by State Farm insurance in 2007 to take note of statistical analyses that proved mathematically beyond question that there was a safety problem with their accelerators. In Japan, workers organized outside the union and sent letters to management about safety lapses they witnessed on the assembly line, and Toyota management ignored them. In 2004, the NHTSA wanted to do a recall on Toyotas for UA issues and somehow the recall was dismissed. Toyota knew of problems and approached them not with concern, safety improvements or even a new look at the situation. They addressed it as a profit and loss statement decision in an attempt to conceal and contain any hint of problems until ... recently when the wall of secrecy deteriorated and spiraled out of control.

 

????

What are you talking about? The battery pack is protected by current limits. And MG1 cannot simply reverse it because the brake was pressed, its speed is determined by ICE and MG2 speeds.

 

First, Toyota doesn't necessarily hear everything their dealers do. As a 32 year fed, I know that any contact with former feds doesn't work that way- it's more the opposite. State Farm did not prove anything or it would have been in the courts already (so SF didn't have to pay some claims). The safety lapses had to do with worker injuries. And there is no evidence that they conspired to conceal anything. Lots of media FUD and lawyer allegations but no proof. I'd rather car manufacturers worked on safety issues that cause 40K deaths a year.

And by the way, my 08 Prius is my first Toyota. If GM or Ford made a car that got over 50 mpg, I'd have bought one.

 

Ah, that explains it. "Long time lottery player" - this guy is a gambler - and I suspect he may be trying to gamble on the current Toyota's woes. Hopefully, at the end of the day, the truth will come out and he'll be exposed for fraud or his own excess stupidity...