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

Up to this point, the only definitive and irrefutable piece of evidence we have is the 911 call. Just based on that alone, I'm willing to bet this was a publicity stunt.

 

This is why we need better driver training. Good training is mostly about learning to suppress panic and deal with emergencies. If people can't be bothered with this important part of piloting a vehicle, they should look for a chauffeur or public transportation.

Tom

 

Hi Everyone,

Local ABCTV Las Vegas reported portion of 911 call of James Sikes He hesitated when the operator Said “Did you try to put it in neutral†then said no†He finally stopped the car by pushing the POWER BUTTON

Also it was reported that A possible “red flag†on the mans character He reported two burglaries that were false
bob2780

 

Last night my Prius started on its own while I was in bed sleeping. It broke out of the garage and into the house, then ran over my pets and crashed into my TV. I screamed "Frisky! Nooooo...."

My claim is proof that Toyota intentionally designs its cars to kill pets. Do not investigate further, this is now established fact. If you dispute it, you must hate pets.

 

I've had enough of this. On the news last night I could have sworn it was a GIII.

Anyway, I'm going to wash Pearl so she'll look good on the video when the accelerator sticks/brakes fail/wheels fly off!!

 

Will have to wait for details to emerge.

But...

Is it possible for one to be able to create, intentionally, an 'out of control' incident like this with the same year/model Prius?

 

Yes, pressing the "park button" while moving over 3 mph will only result in the car going in to neutral. The same is true with selecting "Reverse". At 3 mph or below, selecting "Park" will place the parking pawl in place which will either cause a very abrupt stop or break off the parking pawl. If it breaks off, it can be replaced. If you are moving slowly, it might be better select "Neutral" if simply braking does not stop the car.

 

Ok that's very telling bob! I've thought from the start that it was odd the way he was evasive about the whole "shifting to neutral" thing. Now this new information about this guys history of false reporting is very revealing.

 

This report and all of the Toyota bashing reminds me of the beginning of Tom Clancy's novel, Debt of Honor. Here's a selection from the plot summary on Wikipedia:

"On Interstate 40 in Eastern Tennessee, a car accident involving a tractor-trailer and two Japanese-made cars results in the deaths of six people (two adults, two teenagers, a toddler, and an infant). The accident involves the failure of both fuel tanks in the Japanese cars, which causes an explosion. It is revealed that the Japanese-made fuel tanks were manufactured below proper safety standards, which caused them to fail. This stirs long-standing resentments stemming from Japan's protectionist trade policies, and trade negotiations with Japan grind to a halt."

 

Someone may already have brought this up but... If the gentleman was actually applying the brakes (to the floor) for 20 minutes, as he leads us to believe, would the brakes not have caught fire. After 20 minutes of applying the breaks I would have thought that they would have gotten really, really hot.

 

rember the bloom boy hoax last year. The motive is clear there for publicity.

 

As far as I know according to the Manual, which very few people read, there is no steering wheel lock on Gen II or III models. So powering the vehicle down would just make steering harder and braking manual once the vacuum was gone from the brake booster.

 

I could put my response anywhere, but this is as good a place as any (for my first post) ...

Supposedly there has been another incident in New York of a "runaway Prius". While there is little information on it, I'm inclined to give the woman the benefit of the doubt, while I'm disinclined to grant Sikes the same courtesy. Why?

Because this woman doesn't have her face plastered all over the media nor is she standing in front of a Toyota dealership with a podium full of microphones.

 

No steering wheel lock on either. The Prius does *not* use vacuum for the brake booster, otherwise the booster would fail whenever the ICE shut off. The Prius uses electrically assisted power brakes and power steering.

Otherwise, yes, the steering and brakes get harder when powered off, but still work. If you shift to N the power assist still works.

Tom

 

Bob, do you have a source on the false burglary claims?

 

About the brake cut off on the prius.

It is very possible to have the car engine rev while putting on the brakes. If you put one foot on the brakes, then put another foot on the accellerator, it will accellerate. This is for people trying to start their car from a stop sign while on a steep hill. I read about this on some other site, I cant remember where, but it makes perfect sense. So it goes like this;

Press on accellerator(hold), then press on brake = Brake overide software slows down engine.
Press on brake(hold), then press on accellerator = Engine revs.

One more thing for the record, I can reach my accellerator pedal while driving. Yes, I have to lean forward and press my chest against the steering wheel, but I can do it in my Prius.

Sykes is a complete fraud though.

 

Toyota website has a video on the design of the Electronic Throttle Control explaining how unintended acceleration is prevented by design.

toyota.com/recall/videos/

Look for: Safety Features of ETCS

 

Brakes were definitely kaput.

""The brakes were definitely down to hardly any material," Neibert told reporters Tuesday. "There was a bunch of brake material on the ground and inside the wheels.""

 

You are all jumping to your own conclusions too. But instead of attacking the car we all love you are focusing on the drivers. I do not know/did not know what safety tests the brakes go through in design. I did not know that one test specifically demonstrated that the brakes could safely stop the car with brake assist disabled and the accelerator continuing to drive the car at very high speeds simulating a stuck acceleration in the ECU? But you are very quick to know that this test is one of the 23 scenarios. So I pose the situation and your best attack back is to suggest I'm paranoid?

The brunt of this thread is that all of these drivers have panicked and that the various systems in their Priuses were working okay shows equal paranoia from all of you on that side of the picture too. Show some respect toward these drivers and everyone posting here please. Maybe this thread should be closed?

I've got a good friend in town who would be rolling on the floor laughing hysterically if he knew I had just traded up to a new Prius. I'm not being paranoid--its a lot more loyalty and concern for both the cars and the drivers. :cheer2:

 

Sorry - the luciousgarage YouTube videos disprove this completely on the 2nd gen Prius - at least while moving at highway speeds.