Toyota (inc Lexus) wild acceleration claims

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hls - 04 Nov 2009 22:02 GMT

This claim that some Toyotas and Lexuses go into wild
and uncontrollable acceleration has been troubling everybody.

I have an Avalon and a new Solara convertible and have never
had any issues at all.

I had floor mat issues in both cars and cleared that up. And Toyota
claims that this acceleration has NEVER occurred in any car that
did not have aftermarket "floating" floormats.

Until this is settled, the media has suggested that - if this happens -
we (1) brake lightly but firmly, and (2) we shift from Drive to Neutral.
I practised this maneuver today and there is no reason it wont work.

In a panic situation, I, or my wife, might have problems to do it, but
it will work. And pressing the Start/Stop button for 3 seconds is
supposed to kill the engine.

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ransley - 04 Nov 2009 22:47 GMT

> This claim that some Toyotas and Lexuses go into wild
> and uncontrollable acceleration has been troubling everybody.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> it will work. And pressing the Start/Stop button for 3 seconds is
> supposed to kill the engine.

My 91 camry linkage buckled locking it into about full throttle, I
shut it off, then opened the hood and saw the linkage bent, I moved it
and it just popped back into place. It never happened again, it
buckled at the manifold it was the cable and the cables tube somehow
getting a kink in it. But maybe what I describe is different. They
mention computer, I know on another car I had an error on screen that
didnt get recorded into memory so the dealer could not fix it, when
the car was turned off the error went away until one day it came on
and I just went to the dealer and refused to shut off the car until
the boss saw the Error on the display, crap happens.

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john - 05 Nov 2009 03:53 GMT

A Prius owner touched her cruise control's resume function, then her
car accelerated out of control. She had her foot on the brakes, but
the brakes heated up and caught fire. This was like the situation in
which the California Highway Patrol officer and family of four were
killed.

I'd say watch the throttle-by-wire and cruise control. German cars cut
throttle when brakes are pressed. Every other manufacturer should do
the same.

Watch the excellent series of articles/videos by ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/RunawayToyotas

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C. E. White - 05 Nov 2009 12:47 GMT

>A Prius owner touched her cruise control's resume function, then her
> car accelerated out of control. She had her foot on the brakes, but
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> throttle when brakes are pressed. Every other manufacturer should do
> the same.

As far as I know, everybody's cruise controls cut the throttle when
the brakes are pressed. Ford got so paranoid about claims like the
ones against Toyota that they have triple redundancy on the cruise
control - brake light switch, the infamous leaking brake pressure
switch, and logic in the controls that cut the throttle if the speed
drops more than a few miles below the set point (i.e., if the brakes
are dragging the speed of the car down slightly).

> Watch the excellent series of articles/videos by ABC News:
>
> http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/RunawayToyotas

And why would you trust a TV new organization. CBS 60 minutesd lied to
try and convince the public Audi 5000s had demonic acceleration
powers. NBC faked crash photos to "prove" Chevy trucks would burst
into flames in side collisions. Virtually all of the TV "news"
organizations slanted stories regarding Ford Explorers and bad tires.
The people that do network news know as much about cars as the average
New York City apartment dweller. Think about that...

Ed

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