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Unintended Acceleration -- While Parking

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by evpv, Dec 29, 2010.

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  1. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    Someone else used the same argument in this thread, claiming there were no unintended acceleration problems in the UK. I posted two examples from the UK, one resulted in a fatality. Doesn't sound like "no problems" to me.

    And I'll ask you the same thing I asked him:

    Does your country have a resource like the NHTSA that shows unintended acceleration complaints? Provide a link and we'll see if there are really no problems...

    Americans may be a little crazy, but one of our better traits is that we're not afraid to question authority. Sites like the NHTSA are a valuable resource for consumers, allowing them to share information that can force companies to address dangerous situations and improve the vehicles we drive. It amazes me that other countries don't utilize similar systems.
     
  2. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    With all of the Unintended Acceleration studies currently in progress, it seems that the party is still going strong. And it will really heat up if NASA finds that the Toyota software isn't as rock solid as some of you think it is...
     
  3. priustexasbob

    priustexasbob Member

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    is this the same NASA that lost a Mars orbiter probe a few years ago because they had a contractor use English measurements while NASA expected metric? so much for NASA's QA/QC

    I have felt my 2010 Prius get a subtle nudge while driving, kinda like someone gave me a sudden push or the engine got a shot of 93 octane gas.
     
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    You're unusually honest, Most people consider themselves to be 'slightly above average.' Just like everybody that goes to Vegas 'just about breaks even.'.

    The answer to your question is when you respond or add a comment to a thread, it "bumps" it to the top of the stack of threads within that forum.

    The more this topic gets bumped---the more it gets read....:D
     
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  5. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    In the real world there are always what-ifs.
    What if a large rock crashes through the windshield...
    What if a car runs a red light at an intersection...
    What if the material of the on-board computer's storage medium is
    defective...

    Yes, and what is the likelihood of a what-if happening? Can you say
    with certainty? A prudent person can protect themselves from the
    effect of a what-if -- insurance, legal suit -- but not from the very
    remote, statistically insignificant chance of the what-if occurring.

    If in good conscience you can't accept a what-if, you should do your
    utmost to avoid it:
    If the what-if involves a particular car or make of car, get rid of it.
    If the what-if involves the vagaries of driving, take the bus.

    Our answers to the OP's questions -- which boil down to, "Why is the
    Prius, not perfectly without fault, or even the unverified reports of
    faults?" -- just lead to more subtle, nebulous, and speculative
    what-ifs.

    The OP apparently needs something this forum cannot provide; absolute
    certainty.
    Clearly, he/she should be looking somewhere else to satisfy their needs.
     
  6. bac

    bac Active Member

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    Please quit feeding the troll. You will only encourage him/her/it and in the end, the forum suffers.

    Make your last post your last post to this troll. This will be mine. :)

    -Brad
     
  7. statultra

    statultra uber-Senior Member

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  8. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    I say feed him.
    His/Her arguments will stand or fall under the weight of their own merit.

    Stifling discussion and debate is kinda contrary to what forums are all about---isn't it?

    Definitions of troll on the Web:

    • circulate, move around
    • cause to move round and round; "The child trolled her hoop"
    • sing the parts of (a round) in succession
    • angle with a hook and line drawn through the water
    • (Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
    • a person who says or thinks anything the least bit negative about Toyota Priuses
    etc.... :D
     
  9. TheSpoils

    TheSpoils Member

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    Unintended = driver intended to perform a particular maneuver but did'nt.
    Unexpected = driver expected something to happen but what was expected did'nt happen.
    Sudden unintended= driver was surprised by what happened but what he intended did'nt happen
    Sudden unexpected= driver was surprised that the expected did'nt happen


    idiot= see definitions above
     
  10. jayrider

    jayrider Member

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    Why don't any of these unintended acceleration scenerios include the driver simply pulling the shift knob to the left and holding it there in neutral while applying the brakes ? They all seem to travel substantial distances and crash.
     
  11. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    Like I said in my original post, I used to dismiss the entire Unintended Acceleration problem as driver error. But when it happens closer to home, you think about things differently. It's not just a statistic for me anymore. It happened to my friend. I started doing this research to help him report the problem, even though I personally thought it was driver error. Unfortunately, the more research I do, the worse it looks for Toyota.
     
  12. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    Many of the complaints describe doing exactly what you suggest. It just takes time to gather your senses and apply corrective actions, especially in a situation where the car did something you didn't expect it to do.

    https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/index.cfm

    Step 1: Vehicle--> Search Selected Type
    Step 2: Year-->2010-->Submit Year
    Step 3: Select Make-->Toyota-->Submit Make
    Step 4: Select Model-->Prius-->Submit Model
    Step 5: Select Component-->Vehicle Speed Control-->Click "Select this box if you would like to see a full summary" -->Submit
     
  13. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Just what sort of research are you doing? I hope it is something more than surfing the Internet from your home computer.

    Tom
     
  14. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    Seriously, what do you recommend?
     
  15. socalev

    socalev New Member

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    I really don't understand

    A prius OWNER comes into this forum with legitimate questions about safety (what could be more important to discuss).

    These safety concerns are being investigated currently by toyota, nasa and several other parties.

    so you guys start calling them names ( troll, idiot etc)... and say that you feel sorry for the owner. I feel sorry for you and your need to name call. Also interesting that some of the people calling names call themselves names (redneck) skeptic etc, so perhaps name calling is all you can do?

    back to topic please. some of us are intersted in the safety of these cars and a fact based discussion.
     
  16. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Well that could be because, A - You do not own a Prius ...Yet and B - You need to do a SEARCH and read up on this, there are MANY posts, not just this thread that addess this issue.
    Well, in a word, YES. Some of us have taken the time to figure out the problem, we realise that while disconcerting "Lack of Braking", NOT UA is the problem. That can be overcome by, A - Allowing a little extra space to possibly compensate, and B - Hittng the brake hader and actually engage the pad to the disk or shoe to drum, depending on which model you have.
    Not PANICKING, and "Modulating" the gas to stop would be a first good step.
    Throwing a an uninfomed trollish attemt to moderate into the pot, just does not cut it! When you spend some time, A - with you Prius, (When you even get one) and B - Actually figuring what is going on, and realising that when you think it is happening to you, you can overcome this by just not mistakig the gas for the brake and just press the BRAKE pedal harder.YOU WILL STOP!!!
     
  17. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    We did take the time to educate him on the various subjects but he has ignored us. That's what happens when someone goes trollish on us.

    I am a researcher for a living and I can tell you you're not "doing research." A researcher takes all evidence into consideration. All you're doing is focusing on anecdotes ("Have you read the complaints?") and junk science that support your agenda and ignoring hard data, including Bob Wilson's (a poster you can search on this forum) data that there's no acceleration during the regen to friction transition post-Gen III brake campaign.
     
  18. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    Where is this "education" that you speak of?

    I'll ask the question again:

    What research do you suggest I do?

    I've provided links to the Toyota SMART program, NHTSA consumer complaints, a link to the current class action unintended acceleration law suit against Toyota, a letter to a Prius owner from Toyota, information about the auto insurance industry suing Toyota, statistical analysis of unintended acceleration cases from Edmunds.com, an unintended acceleration report from Exponent that was commissioned by Toyota, and information about electronic data recorder testing done by Safety Research & Strategies.

    Is all of that just focusing on anecdotes. Is all of that junk science?
     
  19. impact10

    impact10 Junior Member

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    How do you explain the fact that virtually all models of cars have UA complaints, and many models have more complaints than the Prius?
     
  20. evpv

    evpv Active Member

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    The Prius was ranked in the top 5 as of February, based on the number or more recent complaints on the NHTSA web site I'd bet it's currently higher than 5th.

    Certainly some of the problems are driver error. But as more cars switch over to electronic throttle/brake systems instead of mechanical, there is a potential for problems based on electronic gremlins. There have been so many complaints recently, especially for Toyota and the Prius, that the government has deemed it important enough to get NASA involved. That action alone calls into question what many here seem to believe -- that it is entirely driver error.
     
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