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Toyota sued in carbon monoxide tragedy

Discussion in 'Other Cars' started by PapaGallo, Nov 7, 2010.

  1. PapaGallo

    PapaGallo Junior Member

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    Toyota sued in carbon monoxide tragedy that killed 79-year-old lawyer

    Read more: Toyota sued in carbon monoxide tragedy that killed 79-year-old lawyer

    Its happen to me where I walked away from my car, and forgot to turn it off,
    (car is so quiet) but when I try to close the doors , either using the door handle or the remote a long loud beep sounds, so i know that the car is still on or something else is wrong(left fob inside car, a door is ajar or something else) but I live in apartment building with off street parking so i am always making sure the doors are locked.
    When I was living at my brothers house, I would park in a garage but i still made sure my car doors were locked(different car), but I know some people who park in a garage leave their doors unlocked and this is where the problem can happen.
    Does anybody if the Lexus cars do the same thing as a Prius when you try to lock them as I describe above.

     
  2. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    Wow, sad story. It is funny, just yesterday I almost walked away from my prius leaving it on. Had I not tried to lock the car, and heard the loud beep it would have remained on.

    I did press the power button, but for some reason sometimes it doesn't turn the car off.

    I do not know why this happens. If I had a house, especially with a garage, locking my car would not be a priority for me. The car could have easily been left on in that situation.

    It makes you wonder how often this does occur. I think something does need to be done to address this issue.
     
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I think this is a very important part. Prior to keyless entry, it was impossible for someone to start their car and walk away with it still running. Also, it was impossible for someone to lock their keys in side their car or leave the lights on even if they had shut the car down.

    (yeah, that was sarcasm)
     
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  4. seasalsa

    seasalsa Active Member

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    Strange! When I leave my Prius in ready and walk away, I get 3 really annoying beeps that tell me it is still on.
     
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  5. Jolly Paul

    Jolly Paul Member

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    It's the same old problem: All the information is there to use the product safely. It is always possible to do something dangerous or fatal. Law suits will continue to push manufacturers into making products more difficult or annoying to use to compensate for uninformed or inattentive customers. Witness the Prius "backup beep".
     
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  6. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    ""Ernest was very vibrant and vital and she's left with a feeling that somehow she's responsible for the accident," Kushlefsky said."

    Really? the person that left a deadly device running completely unattended feels repsonsible when it kills someone?

    I also don't understand this "i don't need to lock it because it's in my garage" thing. I no longer have a garage, but did at our last house. the car was alwas locked.
     
  7. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Terrible tragedy. Too bad she did not turn off the car. Lawsuit without merit.
     
  8. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I know a corporate attorney. There was a case in which a 16 year old kid was clocked by a cop exceeding 60mph in a 30mph zone in his brand new mustang. He lost control, hit a tree and was thrown from the vehicle. Kid's paralyzed from the waist down.

    They sued because even though the car had the automatic shoulder harness, it was not made clear enough that the lap belt should always be fastened. In the opening argument, my friend pointed out seven different instances in which it is made clear that the lap restraint should always be worn: written in the manual, a chime upon start-up, an icon on the dashboard, on the visor, etc.

    The case was dismissed.
     
  9. Much More Better

    Much More Better Active Member

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    It is not the manufacture's responsibility to design a product with an infinite amount safeguards so that every last person is protected in every conceivable situation. Not sure about the Lexus, but the Prius makes noise when it's on and you walk away with the key fob. If you're old and hard of hearing, not technologically inclined, or weak in the language the manual was written it in, it's not Toyota fault.
     
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  10. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    That must have been sometime ago, eh? Nowadays most juries throw out personal responsibilities and tag the deep pockets.
     
  11. Much More Better

    Much More Better Active Member

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    I agree with you. However, the backup beep is different. It is there to annoy pedestrians as well so owners are protected.
     
  12. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    The Prius backup beep can't be heard by pedestrians. It's inside only.
     
  13. wick1ert

    wick1ert Senior Member

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    Seems to me, that a simple $10 carbon monoxide detector would have prevented this. How many times do we hear on TV, radio, etc that you should have one and that the daylight savings time change is a great time to test them and put a fresh battery in? I have 2 of them in my house (they do CO and CO2). The things are louder than loud and make all kinds of noise when the batteries are running low. Mine are actually connected to each other wireless, so if one goes off, so does the other. They cost me $25 each.
     
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  14. wick1ert

    wick1ert Senior Member

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    I can hear it outside the vehicle, although it is very faint. The beep itself only has an audio source inside the vehicle but someone could hear it outside the vehicle. Then again, if you turn it to 1 beep, they'd have to be right there when you place the vehicle in reverse.

    I know you know this, though, but for those that may not necessarily realize it, I figured I would elaborate a little.
     
  15. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    It's pretty much useless for pedestrians outside the Prius. If they are paying enough attention to notice the faint beep, they will notice the other signs of a backing car.

    Tom
     
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  16. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    This is a "2008 Lexus ES 350" which is not even a hybrid. Perhaps it is time to move this poisonous gas thread to the Lexus forum?

    The complaint can be read at:
    http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/11/02/NotSmart.pdf

    This is the second time that a keyless Lexus has become the subject of potentially, a high profile death. From the complaint:
    The first was the San Diego crash:
    http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/aug/31/bn31chp-lexus-crash/

    Bob Wilson
     
  17. GasSaving

    GasSaving Saves $1,000/yr on gas

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    The "KEYLESS IGNITION" system on Toyotas/Lexus are very well designed. If I attempt to leave the car without turning off the engine, the car emits a continuous BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP because the key is in my pocket, and the key MUST BE IN THE CAR to keep the engine running. Besides its kinda hard to walk away while your car won't let you lock it, and it's making the loud and annoying BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP that anyone in the vicinity can plainly hear. You see the car can NOT be locked until you turn off the engine. Toyota has done an exemplary job of making these cars about as 'Idiot Proof' as they can possibly and practically be.
     
  18. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    How did the car put out enough carbon monoxide to kill someone elsewhere in the house? Modern emission control systems have cleaned up the exhaust enough to foil many garage suicide attempts.

    This is also an indoor air quality issue that should have been addressed by the building construction. In the old days, numerous innocent people sleeping indoors were killed by garage suicide attempts. While new cars should not be putting out that much CO, other CO emitters such as older cars, grills, and portable generators still get operated in the garage by the clueless, volatile chemicals are improperly but frequently stored there, and gas fired water heaters still suffer occasional problems. Construction or house operation that allows significant amounts of fumes of any sort to seep from the garage into the living space is simply irresponsible.
     
  19. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Please try the following test:
    • cool or cold evening, 50 F or lower so the engine and heating will provide a load
    • reset a tripmeter and drive 5-10 miles
    • park car without hitting "Power"
    • read out the tripmeter miles and MPG as this will let us know if the engine runs
    • leave and try to lock the doors
    • place keyfobs some distance away and/or wrap in aluminum foil
    • leave car in that state for ~1 hour
    • go back to car and see if the door is locked
    • read out the MPG
    When I've run this test, the MPG has gone down reflecting the engine running to sustain the heat and traction battery SOC.

    GOOD LUCK!
    Bob Wilson
     
  20. wick1ert

    wick1ert Senior Member

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    Agreed