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Four people died due to a defect. The floor mat story is BS. Put yourself in the drivers shoes. The pedal is stuck & the brakes fail. What do you do ? Push button ignition is odd. Ill stick with a key.
you can still put the trans in neutral. Or park for that matter.. Maybe I am missing something.. What makes you thing the trans control is electronic also? Ill bet its still cable control
It's likely an electronic connection. "More reliable" than a mechanical cable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle7
Four people died due to a defect. The floor mat story is BS. Put yourself in the drivers shoes. The pedal is stuck & the brakes fail. What do you do ? Push button ignition is odd. Ill stick with a key.
I'm more inclined daily to believe that this is an electronic gremlin rather than a "floor mat." Floor mat sounds oddly similar to 60 Minutes' fake "Unintended Acceleration" farce that almost ruined Audi.
And I think a state trooper would have the presence of mind to try to turn off the ignition--if such is possible in a tekkie-dream car--cram neutral, and put both feet on the brakes. Something is very fishy here.
Even 2.4 million floor mats will be cheaper than fixing 10 million razmatazz computer systems.
Four people died due to a defect. The floor mat story is BS. Put yourself in the drivers shoes. The pedal is stuck & the brakes fail. What do you do ? Push button ignition is odd. Ill stick with a key.
In that situation if I can't put it in Neutral/Reverse/Park and regular brakes are completely out? Turn the key to the OFF position then back to ACC. Let the engine slow the car if brakes are completely out, and use the e-brake. Steering won't be too difficult until you're close to a stop even though the power steering won't be operating.
You still have plenty of options in such a situation. Even easier not to get in trouble if you drive a manual because you can always put it in neutral
Toyota should make cars that allow the driver to shift into neutral when moving. That has always been my plan for if my gas pedal gets stuck.
Gosh, the brake pedal has always been my plan if my gas pedal gets stuck.
That said, I think the OP is jumping to a hell of a lot of conclusions regarding this story. It could EASILY have been a floormat, plus the driver was in a rental vehicle which means he was probably unfamiliar with how it worked. I'd bet money that it was operator error and nothing more.
Last edited by Mercury Cougar; 10-02-2009 at 11:26 AM..
Gosh, the brake pedal has always been my plan if my gas pedal gets stuck.
That said, I think the OP is jumping to a hell of a lot of conclusions regarding this story. It could EASILY have been a floormat, plus the driver was in a rental vehicle which means he was probably unfamiliar with how it worked. I'd bet money that it was operator error and nothing more.
From an article I saw it said that the ordeal had gone on for a couple of minutes, and that the driver had been on the brakes the whole time but they basically had faded out and the car kept gaining speed...
If it was a normal person, I'd also blame the driver, as I personally feel that half the drivers on the road are clueless about stuff like this, but, he was trained for his job to deal w/ emergency situations, I can't just see him going to bits and not trying every feasible option.
If it was a drive by wire error, combined w/ a transmission glitch, it could easily happen. Try shifting your auto trans into 1st gear at freeway speeds, it won't, the computer will override your attempt at overrevving the engine. Maybe this tranny computer overrode the shift into neutral, letting the stuck dbw do its work?
From an article I saw it said that the ordeal had gone on for a couple of minutes, and that the driver had been on the brakes the whole time but they basically had faded out and the car kept gaining speed...
If it was a normal person, I'd also blame the driver, as I personally feel that half the drivers on the road are clueless about stuff like this, but, he was trained for his job to deal w/ emergency situations, I can't just see him going to bits and not trying every feasible option.
If it was a drive by wire error, combined w/ a transmission glitch, it could easily happen. Try shifting your auto trans into 1st gear at freeway speeds, it won't, the computer will override your attempt at overrevving the engine. Maybe this tranny computer overrode the shift into neutral, letting the stuck dbw do its work?
Occam's Razor.
You want to believe that several VERY unlikely events all transpired at the same moment in time to cause this accident. I prefer to believe the simplest explanation -- operator error -- until the investigation proves otherwise.
You want to believe that several VERY unlikely events all transpired at the same moment in time to cause this accident. I prefer to believe the simplest explanation -- operator error -- until the investigation proves otherwise.
Agreed, no one knows for sure what happened or what the officer did to contribute to it or try to stop it. One thing I know is that if your car is out of control, you don't get off the highway.
The whole thing needs a through investigation before people start throwing around lawsuits.
Overall it just doesn't sound right to me. I can't believe that you can't either shut the car off or bump it into neutral. In the experience I've had with Lexus cars it's quite easily to bump them into neutral actually. I also have a hard time believing that the ignition and transmission is suddenly completely locked up AND the car shoots to 100% throttle. Just doesn't add up.
The whole thing needs a through investigation before people start throwing around lawsuits.
Overall it just doesn't sound right to me. I can't believe that you can't either shut the car off or bump it into neutral. In the experience I've had with Lexus cars it's quite easily to bump them into neutral actually. I also have a hard time believing that the ignition and transmission is suddenly completely locked up AND the car shoots to 100% throttle. Just doesn't add up.
You have point Or was the driver a complete idiot, or wanted to commit suicide?
I was the passenger in a motor-home where the cruise control stuck and Would NOT disengage... talk about a white knuckle ride!
The driver panicked and I jump forward and put it into neutral as the driver pulled to the shoulder with the Engine just screaming and then turned off the key...
I disconnected the mechanical linkage under the hood so even though the cruise was engaged it was no longer connected...
Could have easily ended in tragedy because the brakes were not powerful enough to over come the motor.
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