I'm having real problems buying this guy's story.

[Stereodude]

It inspired a funny SNL skit though.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Investigators can't replicate runaway Prius:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gc_pIFqke7WxQovY3MnhcyIYiLgwD9EEG9680

"Every time the technician placed the gas pedal to the floor and the brake pedal to the floor the engine shut off and the car immediately started to slow down," the memo said.

"It does not appear to be feasibly possible, both electronically and mechanically that his gas pedal was stuck to the floor and he was slamming on the brake at the same time," according to the memo.

Then, according to that investigation, all those unintended accelerations are driver caused Problem solved
Can you replicate a computer freezing up on demand? Or, it just happens when IT wants to.
Unfortunately these random events that cannot be replicated on demand has to be an electrical issue. Just because the car works now doesn't mean it didn't accelerate at claimed.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Then, according to that investigation, all those unintended accelerations are driver caused Problem solved
Can you replicate a computer freezing up on demand? Or, it just happens when IT wants to.
Unfortunately these random events that cannot be replicated on demand has to be an electrical issue. Just because the car works now doesn't mean it didn't accelerate at claimed.

You are 100% correct. Electrical problems can be completely random, with no obvious source. My dad had a Ford Focus, in which the engine would die without warning, while driving normally. It would then refuse to restart until it felt like it - anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes later. He brought it to his dealer several times, who was completely stumped as to why this was happening. There were no recorded fault codes in the car's computer. So, they could not find the problem. It was infuriating, to say the least. It finally died and stayed dead long enough for the problem to be found - by another dealer.

Of course, the problem was the computer itself. But, the dealer had refused to do anything for my dad until they could find a "warrantible problem". Needless to say, he never went back to the original dealer for anything else.

 

[Rickster71]

Then, according to that investigation, all those unintended accelerations are driver caused Problem solved
Can you replicate a computer freezing up on demand? Or, it just happens when IT wants to.
Unfortunately these random events that cannot be replicated on demand has to be an electrical issue. Just because the car works now doesn't mean it didn't accelerate at claimed.

There seems to be some confusion...

The OP's thread is about him not buying into this 'one' guys story.
My link to the memo from the NHTSA testing of that 'one' car, was just that, 'one car.'

These systems are 'double redundant' on these fly by wire cars.
i.e. The computer can do anything it wants, the brakes will stop a car while under full throttle

One has to understand, the pendulum swings both ways:
This situation is either an evil corporation (Toyota) and a cover up. Or a case of beleaguered U.S. automaker's protectionism; taking advantage of the unintended acceleration problem. A problem that's plagued other automakers in the past.

 

[lsiberian]

Then, according to that investigation, all those unintended accelerations are driver caused Problem solved
Can you replicate a computer freezing up on demand? Or, it just happens when IT wants to.
Unfortunately these random events that cannot be replicated on demand has to be an electrical issue. Just because the car works now doesn't mean it didn't accelerate at claimed.

Most problems in IT are reproducible.

 

[Rickster71]

This excerpt from an article in Popular Mechanics put it best:

So what to make of the unintended acceleration cases popping up by the dozens? Not the ones explainable by problem sticky pedals, but the ones documented by people who claim their vehicle ran away on its own, with no input, and resisted all attempts to stop it? Some can probably be explained as an attempt to get rid of a car consumers no longer desire. Some are probably the result of Audi 5000 Syndrome, where drivers simply lost track of their feet and depressed the gas instead of the brake. It's happened to me: Luckily I recognized the phenomenon and corrected before it went bang. Others may not have the presence of mind.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/how_to/4347704.html

 

[rnatalli]

Even lacking the ability to reproduce the sudden acceleration, the guy claimed he was braking. If that was the case, he should have been able to stop the car as a Prius doesn't have a whole lot of horsepower. Secondly, I read they were looking at the brake pads and there was no indication of hard braking as he described. I think this guy wanted attention and if it turns out to be a fraud, he should be fined for what he cost the tax payers.

 

[lsiberian]

Even lacking the ability to reproduce the sudden acceleration, the guy claimed he was braking. If that was the case, he should have been able to stop the car as a Prius doesn't have a whole lot of horsepower. Secondly, I read they were looking at the brake pads and there was no indication of hard braking as he described. I think this guy wanted attention and if it turns out to be a fraud, he should be fined for what he cost the tax payers.

I think 1 night in the Pen with the right roommate will fulfill his attention need.

 

[highfigh]

There seems to be some confusion...

The OP's thread is about him not buying into this 'one' guys story.
My link to the memo from the NHTSA testing of that 'one' car, was just that, 'one car.'

These systems are 'double redundant' on these fly by wire cars.
i.e. The computer can do anything it wants, the brakes will stop a car while under full throttle

One has to understand, the pendulum swings both ways:
This situation is either an evil corporation (Toyota) and a cover up. Or a case of beleaguered U.S. automaker's protectionism; taking advantage of the unintended acceleration problem. A problem that's plagued other automakers in the past.

I saw something about these problems not occurring on cars made outside of the US. That would almost look like they may have sent known bad parts to the US plants.

I also read and heard that when the accelerator AND brake are depressed, the motor shuts down. If they don't have a fail-safe on the throttle, they're fools.

 

[Rickster71]

I saw something about these problems not occurring on cars made outside of the US. That would almost look like they may have sent known bad parts to the US plants.

I also read and heard that when the accelerator AND brake are depressed, the motor shuts down. If they don't have a fail-safe on the throttle, they're fools.

The faulty pedal is made by a U.S. manufacturer CTS corp. The good pedal is made in Japan, that's the replacement part and was already used in Japan with no problems.

That's just it, it's a double fail-safe setup that bypasses the ECM

 

[krzywica]

It's a shame the ECM (control modules) don't have a 'Black Box' type of flight recorder in them.
That would put this whole thing to rest, one way or the other.

Actually they do. They record throttle position, vehicle speed, RPM, gear position and several other things.

This obviously varies from vehicle to vehicle, but I would imagine the Prius would have top notch monitoring features as it is a new Japanese designed car.

 

[rnatalli]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703909804575123380572242938.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

It turns out the brake pads were worn down and the rotors damaged. Also, apparently the Prius doesn't let you shift into neutral under full throttle. The plot thickens.

 

[highfigh]

The faulty pedal is made by a U.S. manufacturer CTS corp. The good pedal is made in Japan, that's the replacement part and was already used in Japan with no problems.

That's just it, it's a double fail-safe setup that bypasses the ECM

IMO, a 'fail-safe' shouldn't bypass the controller, it should bypass the faulty input to the controller. If the controller itself causes the problem, the system should either shut down completely or go to a default, like idle. This is how MasterCraft ski boats handle the TBW- they have redundant traces and if the potentiometer or some other error occurs that won't allow operator control over the motor, it goes to idle. Their controller isn't as sophisticated as what's in a car, either. Shutting the motor off can put the driver and other occupants in danger if the motor and they don't want to do that unless it's more dangerous to keep it running.

Maybe they should put a kill switch in cars, like they have in boats so it still has minimal operation and allows the vehicle to get out of traffic.

I don't know- CTS has probably made a billion potentiometers- I suppose a bad batch could happen but I have to think that Toyota's engineers would be smart enough to keep this from happening in the event of a bad TPS or servo.

 

[krzywica]

I think maybe "Failsafe" translates differently into Japanese.

To me it means that it is not dependent on another part to perform its given function.

 

[Stereodude]

Also, apparently the Prius doesn't let you shift into neutral under full throttle. The plot thickens.

That must explain why there are several videos on you tube from Prius owners showing thast the transmission will do just that.

 

[KEW]

That must explain why there are several videos on you tube from Prius owners showing thast the transmission will do just that.

Under full throttle?
Links?

Thanks!

Edit:
Never mind - I found a link at full throttle.

Thanks

 

[Stereodude]

Under full throttle?
Links?

Thanks!

Yes, with the pedal buried in the floor.

2010 Prius (warning: extremely foul language)
2008 Prius (family friendly)

 

[highfigh]

I think maybe "Failsafe" translates differently into Japanese.

To me it means that it is not dependent on another part to perform its given function.

Ohhh, you want failsafe? You no say dat when we designed it, roundeye!

 

[Stereodude]

Clearly you've never done business with the Japanese.

 

[mtrycrafts]

There seems to be some confusion...

The OP's thread is about him not buying into this 'one' guys story.
My link to the memo from the NHTSA testing of that 'one' car, was just that, 'one car.'

These systems are 'double redundant' on these fly by wire cars.
i.e. The computer can do anything it wants, the brakes will stop a car while under full throttle

One has to understand, the pendulum swings both ways:
This situation is either an evil corporation (Toyota) and a cover up. Or a case of beleaguered U.S. automaker's protectionism; taking advantage of the unintended acceleration problem. A problem that's plagued other automakers in the past.

I understand that your post is about that but yours seemed to be a good place just to make a comment overall about this in general

And, I also understand that this is just one car but not the only one with this problem. If Toyota or any car maker for that matter could replicate the fault and able to reproduce it on demand, the cars would have been fixed and these stories would never have been. I don't fault Toyota for not finding the problem as I know how hard it can be to locate when it is a random event and cannot be reproduced when the maker wants to.
On the other hand, it also could be a fake but what a dangerous fake it is.