Is there an accelerator problem in the Prius independent of floor mats?

I don't know, I heard Toyota was thinking of changing their slogan to: Toyota Moving Forward...Whether You Want To Or Not.

 

Honestly, I haven't brought it back yet. I know, I know, I should...I wasn't trying to get sympathy, I won't sue Toyota, I just wanted to recommend that people think in terms of all ways to get out of the issue (pull back on pedal). I see my problem as a one-off (maybe because I have a tendency to put my foot on the side of the pedal, not enough silicone on the plastic, etc.). Agree it is not a design flaw or people would have come out of the woodwork long ago. Don't worry, I will take it in and report back.

 

No.

-Brad

 

:drum::thumb:

 

I have a 2009 Prius and just had the accelerator sticking problem tonight.(first time) In Cleveland, leaving a concert at Severance Hall, in a tight traffic spot I punched the accelerator to move quickly out of a problem in traffic. I have never had occasion (that I recall) to call on the car for such quick acceleration before. The accelerator stuck; I could put the car in neutral, and I could shut it down. But restarting brought the racing engine back. The brakes held the car, but I couldn't safely drive. The mat was NOT the issue. I made sure there was no such problem and the problem remained when I started the car. I did reach down and move the pedal back and forth with my hand. The problem abated. I do not know if my action was causal. But I did continue home with no further incident (I did not punch the accelerator again!) Will be contacting the dealer on Monday (this is now Sunday 12/12/10). Will report any finding of value.

 

People keep confusing -Prius problems- with -Toyota problems- re the accelerator pedal.

I'll say it again - the accelerator problem on many Toyota vehicles was due to corrosion of a metal plate in the accelerator assembly made in Canada and installed in vehicles assembled in Canada and the US.
The Prius has not been assembled in Canada or the US and didn't get the accelerator pedal made in Canada. All Prius use the Japanese made accelerator assembly, and it doesn't have the corrosion problem.

Because of this, any acceleration runaway problem with Prius is caused by, in order of occurrence, operator error, improperly installed floor mats, fraud, or outright failure of a part. At any rate it is not common.

Finally, it is also not difficult to stop a "runaway Prius" (if any actually exists). The brakes are much more powerful than the engine/HSD, the car has built in defense against application of a lot of throttle and brake at the same time (engine goes to idle), and you can very quickly shift the operating mode to neutral or reverse and or park (which triggers neutral if you are moving faster than about 5 km/hr). There is no shifting of gears or operation of clutches, and no damage results from the above.
In my experience, the engine WILL NOT rev. up unless the car is in "P" when you play with the throttle. Try it! In "D", stopped, foot on brake, play with the throttle. All that will happen is the car will strain against the brakes (it won't move) and the engine won't rev up!