Why the "Out of Control" Prius Driver Is Full of It

Really? Well I'm not on Bozo's side, but he followed Toyota's directions to a tee. Toyota explicitly states that it may "result in a loss of vehicle control" to attempt to put the vehicle in neutral, reverse or park while moving. So, perhaps he read that part of the owner's manual that others did not.

Sikes seems clueless about cars and just a driver. Why would you expect him or anyone else to disobey Toyota's directives based on someone he just met on the phone? It makes sense to me.

 

It's no less a hoax than NHTSA's inquiry this matter is an investigation. NHTSA left the car in the hands of dealership service technicians unsupervised for days. Then their study involved consultation with the implicated at fault party, Toyota. What a farce that NHTSA can't even do their job without the most basic help from the implicated party. Also, they apparently have no precedent for chain of custody in suspected at fault vehicles and zero common sense.

The tests were a farce, based on replacing most of the braking system parts beforehand. Who did the work? Not the NHTSA. And, nothing prevented the dealership from installing a nice firmware update or resetting the car computer before they arrived.

This is no investigation, it's a study, and a bad study at that. At this point, no ability or inability to reproduce Sikes issues will ever be able to convince me that NHTSA has gotten to the bottom of this issue. It's been too sloppy, too stupid and too wrapped in impropriety to come to any credible result.

 

This is exactly why I said there is nothing Toyota can do to make some of its detractors happy. Obama was born in Kenya and prays facing Mecca. JFK was shot by the CIA. The Arctic Ocean becoming ice free does not mean the world is getting warmer. There is an alien cadaver in Roswell.

Never mind the multiple systems that would have to fail simultaneously, the unique (until last week) disappearing accelerator pedal, the car restarting itself after being powered down causing the guy to bump the CHP car, two bankruptcies, questionable insurance claims, his stated interest in a new car from Toyota, his failing real estate business, his reputation for unethical behavior with neighbors and former coworkers... Toyota fixed the car before NTSA got there. And then they killed the mechanics.

 

This is technically possible, though extremely unlikely.

In either case, it's still irrelevant. One would assume that the recall notice sent out in November supersedes the manual. Mr. Sikes has claimed to receive a recall notice.

 

I agree with most of this, but NHTSA has the 2 ecus. If software was changed then there will be evidence of this. I do doubt there ability to find out if the software works correctly.

Since there was no crash, it is being handled like a study. Let's wait for the report. I would think the brakes and mg units would tell a story about what really happened, and it should be believable based on that evidence. The leaks point to the driver being able to stop, but he did not press the brakes hard enough. I do not know if they found any evidence that he hit the accellerator instead of a possible bug or electronic issue causing unintended acceleration. I would not be surprised if there was evidence against the unintended acceleration also.

 

The audacity of hoax.

Bob Wilson

 

Has his interviews betrayed any evidence that he has ever read that party of the manual? I've heard nothing to suggest that he did. His several stated reasons for not shifting are rooted outside the manual.

 

"Rooted" may be too strong a word for his reasons??

 

After the story came out and I saw Sike's "press conferences", I tried to put myself into his shoes:
-A supposed terrifying ride in a vehicle not responding to your input.
-A 30 mile+ drive at speeds over 90MPH, veering around other vehicles only able to control steering.
-Connecting to 911 but unable to properly communicate as I'm attempting to keep this uncontrollable car on the road.
-At the mercy of other drivers, obstacles in the road, and other unknowns just ahead.
-Nothing will slow or stop this vehicle and I could die and/or cause other deaths in a matter of moments.
-What is wrong with this vehicle? I'm doing everything possible to control this car - why aren't the brakes working? I'm going to die.

Then the Highway Patrol get me out of this mess. Finally able to bring it to a stop. OMG! I cheated death. No harm to other drivers. How could this possibly of happened? Toyota.... The dealer.... Or both. I cannot believe what they put me through in the last hour.
I must try to compose myself and relate everything that happened to the police, the government agencies responsible, and Toyota. No one else should go through why I just did. And MY Prius is defective! The suffering and mental anguish I went through. So I must make sure the authorities know exactly what happened - this problem MUST be resolved by Toyota. And for what they put me through with this defective car, I will find legal counsel and sue. It's my right and duty.

BUT - what does he do? Hold news conferences - very little if any emotion or relief. No outward anger at the car or Toyota. Not offering to do anything to assist in the investigation so other vehicles or drivers not encounter this same problem - a ticking timebomb in every Prius???? And not to ensure that Toyota knows one of their products almost took his life, and others - and they must pay for that.
He goes into hiding - will not file a suit, and does not want further involvement.

OK.........this all makes sense????

 

I got a recall notice too, but when I took it to my local dealer, Feb 17, I was told that it was not for my car, even though it clearly stated it was for mine. Barely 2 days later, the dealership called back and said that I have to come in for the recall. Mine is a 2008 Prius Pkg-4.

 

Please scan your recall notice.

 

Well, you seem to forget the Toyota side of the equation, where they lobbied NHTSA using improper influence to drop investigations and potential recalls; utterly disregarded mathematical analyses presented by major insurance carriers that pointed definitively to safety problems; implemented shadow recall policies through their internal Technical Service Bulletin system on issues denied in other channels; disregarded safety petitions by floor workes in their factories; gloated about saving millions of dollars by quashing safety investigations in internal memos; pissed off their own internal safety defense counsel so badly that the guy is reporting them to Congress; and generally implemented a policy of ignoring and not documenting customer safety reports at dealerships across the country.

Their stellar safety and quality reputation appears to be -- on some level -- a well-crafted sham. Given the short and brief history above there is no reason to assume they will do the right thing at this point any more than any other juncture in the past. Serving them the option to continue their charades is a little more than naivety, it speaks to the lack of NHTSA aptitude.

One more thing, the disappearance of Arctic ice is direct empirical evidence that the Earth on the whole is getting warmer (and one of the few tangible and clearly verifiable ramifications). Not your backyard, maybe, but the Earth as a whole is getting warmer.

 

Ignoring the inaccuracies in your post.. your theory is that since Toyota has screwed up in the past, there is no reason to think they won't keep screwing up.

If you're going to think like that, what's the point of living?

 

If the recall notice was addressed to you and lists the correct VIN number for your car, why would just accept the dealer's word with no written verification? Obviously, they were confused and mistaken unless they had written documentation excluding your car.

 

Web1b
I guess I didn't say it all. My fault. My "Recall Notice" was really an "Interim Notice". But due to the fact that I got it in January (don't recall the exact date), I figured that they would have had a fix in by then.

 

Ok, that makes more sense.

 

According to the Toyota presser that's what Sikes got.

 

I feel like a villain for questioning what hobbit said, because in my mind, him along with a few others such as Patrick are extremely knowledgeable. But, if the guy attempted to do this, yes, the smell would be evident. However, this is what is baffling me.

....Toyota said in a statement that the accelerator pedal was tested and found to be working normally and a backup safety system worked properly. The automaker said the front brakes showed severe wear and damage from overheating, but the rear brakes and parking brake were in good condition....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100315/ap_on_bi_ge/us_runaway_prius

Assuming that the front brakes are favored more when the brake pedal is depressed, and the power to the wheels is turned off (because the brake pedal is depressed), how would the front brakes show severe wear and tear, while the rears are okay? Or am I missing something? Unless his front brakes were pretty bad to begin with.

Is it possible to shred the front brakes that bad in 20 minutes of accelerating and braking? Can a driver maintain sustained speeds of over 60 miles per hour driving a Prius with this driving pattern?

From a programming point of view, I feel that just because there were no DTC codes, doesn't mean that there isn't anything wrong. It could possibly mean that the error/event-handling is inadequate.

Just my $0.02 and I still drive my Prius happily. I have also instructed my wife as to what she can do if and when her Sienna starts accelerating and she is comfortable with that. Other than this baffling scenario, we are both happy with our vehicles, including the 94 Corolla.

 

Yes, you can destroy the brakes in one trip down Pike's Peak. It doesn't take long to wreck them once they get hot. Twenty minutes is plenty of time.

On a U.S. Gen II model, the front brakes are disc brakes while the rear brakes are drums. The front brakes get much more use due to the physics of braking while going forward. Also, with the drum brakes, it is possible that they may have burned back a bit, but not adjusted enough to keep burning. The front disc brakes don't need the same adjustments as the rear drums.

There were codes logged. According to the press conference, the brakes were cycled at least 250 times, based on diagnostic codes in the ECU.

Tom