What to do if your accelerator gets stuck. PSA

codex57 said:

It's not just the NHTSA either. FDA, EPA, pretty much all the gov't "protection" agencies have less than optimal practices. If you freaked out about all the shady stuff going on like the public is doing with Toyota, you'd never eat anything (including local organic due to chemicals leaching into the water supply) or take another medicine (FDA approved or not) or buy any toys for your kids, etc. The systems in the US are better than in many other countries, but they're hardly infallible.

Overall, I think Toyota makes good products. I'd rather the hysteria die down to a reasonable level so they have a shot at surviving. All the car companies do stuff just like Toyota, and I wish they'd all survive so we have the jobs and vehicle choices that we do.

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I don't think anyone wants to see any company go belly up but yes it makes me very wary about their lack of safety of their customers. They have known for years of this issue dating back to '02 and haven't corrected the problem. I am not saying no other manufacture is perfect I am just saying this whole thing could have been prevented back in '02 and saved a lot of lives. Same thing with Ford back in the '90 with the roll over/tire issue. Ford could have made changes to their body to help reduce the chance of a roll over when a tire blew out. That was the time they redesigned the Explorer (late 90's) but not all fault is on them. Also once they started getting reports they started investigating and it sure as heck didn't take them 8yrs to fix the problem.

So yes their image is greatly tarnished as it should be. They need to prove they are worthy of our business and by showing that they need to step up to the plate.

CPSDarren said:

Toyota got caught in a storm of bad publicity. The problems may be real, they may be widespread and they may deserve the attention they are getting. But if you think it's just Toyota, you are fooling yourself. The other car companies are no different. The bottom line comes first, and many have had awful bottom lines and that doesn't help. There are hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits for mechanical issues that cause serious injury or death every year, most of them sealed so they never reach the public. Complaints for every type of car are reported all the time. Some generate investigations, some are ignored for who knows what reason.

Yeah, Toyota got caught. They should have known better. But, whatever make or model you are driving, you should be just as wary, because obviously the safeguards in place with the NHTSA are easily bypassed.

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Your 100% correct no manufacture is perfect. They all make mistakes it how they go about righting the wrong that shows true character. Unfortunately Toyota has shown their true character one to many times in the past few years. Their total lack of safety and lack of care in breaking US auto regulations.

Yes, We lose citizens due to accidents frequently in other automobiles but not at the rate (total deaths/injuries and frequency) that this one is occurring. Everyone driving a Toyota should be concerned even if your vehicle currently isn't part of the recall. Go do a search on the net because you will be shocked that this current recall affects a whole lot more models then Toyota is currently stating.

A gentleman I work with his brother had his Camary take off on his wife about 3mths ago. They vehicle was less then 6mths old and had less ten 7,000 miles on it. She was on her way to meet her mom to register for her baby shower. She was 6mths pg at the time. She called 911 and they tried to talk her through on how to get the vehicle stopped to no avail. Then just all of the sudden it started slowing down on it own. She had 2 police officers right there as this was occurring getting traffic moved. The car raced down a major highway for over 10miles. She was lucky higher powers where on her side that day. They no longer own the vehicle or any Toyota for that matter.

I have spoken to another dad that had his Toyota Camary accelerate on him for no reason. He too traded in his vehicle for another manufacture.

codex57 said:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/15/autos/toyota_prius_presser/index.htm?hpt=T2

If true, this kind of story is what worries me most about the Toyota problem. The fact that they couldn't replicate the problem doesn't bother me. Lots of legit problems can't be replicated all the time by the factory techs. It's the inconsistencies to the driver's story. Refusing to shift to neutral, possibly lightly riding the brakes to get the rear lights to turn on, but not fully braking to engage the engine cutoff software, etc.

This is starting to sound a lot like a made up incident, and that's the sort of thing that can really muddy up the search for the true problem. Plus, it really hurts a company that actually employs a lot more Americans than many realize.

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You know, the day before this came out, I was telling my husband that I had a feeling (not sure why, but I did) that this was a hoax. It just seemed too odd to me. I'm not saying it is, or it isn't. But something is off. Then again, the guy appears to have panicked. And that can do weird things to your brain.

What nags at me is this.... Why are you so afraid for your life that you call for help and then repeatedly refuse help (refusing to shift to neutral)? That's just off. Totally off.

And I agree that it's going to distract from the true issue here. But a supposedly "outstanding" company such as Toyota should understand that and know how to deal accordingly. I still think they have mishandled this situation, regardless if people are throwing bull crap at them.

MomE said:

And I agree that it's going to distract from the true issue here. But a supposedly "outstanding" company such as Toyota should understand that and know how to deal accordingly. I still think they have mishandled this situation, regardless if people are throwing bull crap at them.

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Well, I wouldn't call them outstanding. They should know how to deal, but sometimes, these things can cause things to spiral out of their control.

I also worry that enough of these sketchy stories come out that Toyota spends so much time dealing with them that eventually, they compile a list and say, "the problem is fixed, as you can see from all these fake stories, the problem has gone away". Depending on how long this drags on, it only takes a couple of redesigns before Toyota can claim the "new" parts don't have that problem.

THen it'll all be buried again. Toyota, being a big co, is very good at PR.

Anyone know if the CHP driver in the San Diego crash ever shifted to neutral? I can't find anything confirming if he did or did not.

codex57 said:

Anyone know if the CHP driver in the San Diego crash ever shifted to neutral? I can't find anything confirming if he did or did not.

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I don't know, but I found this:

It's not known whether Saylor, a 19-year CHP officer whose job entails vehicle safety inspections, tried to shut off the engine or put the car in neutral – the two most common ways to slow down a vehicle with a stuck accelerator.

Car experts said it's not always that simple.

An electrical or mechanical failure could have made it impossible to shift into neutral, said Daniel Vomhof III, a vehicle accident reconstructionist with La Mesa-based Expert Witness Services.

Shutting off the engine also can be tricky because most modern vehicles will then lock the steering wheel, leaving the driver unable to steer, Vomhof said.

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That's from a few days after the crash. I don't know how accurate that statement is, or if they ever determined anything. Another article on there about the 911 call says that the dispatcher asked if they tried changing gears (or turning it off?) but the caller didn't answer.

I'd have to imagine he would have tried, but who knows?

That's exactly what I'm wondering. Everyone assumes he would have, but you don't know. Panic is panic. Cops talk about tunnel vision all the time, but they're mindful of that when dealing with a perp and guns. Like we see with car seats, they should know, but it's often a back seat thing in their minds so they end up not doing best practices.

I'd love to know what the black box said on that Lexus.

I'm also very curious as to what electronic failure would make it impossible to shift into neutral. I can imagine mechanical issues, but a lot of them are far fetched.

OK I read this entire thread and I'm still unsure of what to do if my 06 Camry's accelerator gets stuck. Neutral and no brakes? Neutral and brakes? I live in the boonies and I have to take the freeway almost every time I need to go somewhere. I HATE being scared when I drive my babies around.

codex57 said:

I'm also very curious as to what electronic failure would make it impossible to shift into neutral.

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Maybe a malfunction in the traction control sensors? Electrical surge in the kick down switch? Any of the bagillion other variables that feed input into the TCU?

Makes me glad my Toyota is a stick.

Madeline410 said:

OK I read this entire thread and I'm still unsure of what to do if my 06 Camry's accelerator gets stuck. Neutral and no brakes? Neutral and brakes? I live in the boonies and I have to take the freeway almost every time I need to go somewhere. I HATE being scared when I drive my babies around.

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Pop it into neutral and then brake. I did experiments in my own car. No biggie.

It's unclear if neutral would ever get locked out, but if it does, then turn off the car. I'd only do it as a last resort cuz then the power steering will go out too. Not easy to control a turned off car.

codex57 said:

Pop it into neutral and then brake. I did experiments in my own car. No biggie.

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Yes. Put it in neutra and brake gradually to a stop in a safe place.