Runaway Prius owner was told his car isn't on the Recall list

[OldGoat]

A California highway police officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck on a freeway near San Diego, authorities said.

Prius driver James Sikes said that the incident Monday occurred just two weeks after he had taken the vehicle in to an El Cajon dealership for repairs after receiving a recall notice, but he was turned away.

"I gave them my recall notice and they handed it back and said I'm not on the recall list," Sikes said.

Runaway Prius Stopped in Nick of Time - CBS News

[voyager7]

OOPS! Sounds like someone at the dealer is in for it.

[kpatz]

I thought Prius wasn't on the recall list for sticking accelerators, just for brake issues.

Couldn't the driver simply have shut the engine off and/or slipped the gear selector into neutral when he found the car accelerating? I remember being taught that in drivers ed. Plus, I drive a stick, so I also have a clutch pedal to get me out of a bind if something like that happened.

With today's drive-by-wire systems, carmakers could program the computer to cut or limit engine power if the gas and brake are pressed at the same time.

Hmm... I wonder if Toyota owners can get out of speeding tickets by using "sticky gas pedal" as an excuse...

[milkman]

I thought Prius wasn't on the recall list for sticking accelerators, just for brake issues.

Couldn't the driver simply have shut the engine off and/or slipped the gear selector into neutral when he found the car accelerating? I remember being taught that in drivers ed. Plus, I drive a stick, so I also have a clutch pedal to get me out of a bind if something like that happened.

With today's drive-by-wire systems, carmakers could program the computer to cut or limit engine power if the gas and brake are pressed at the same time.

Hmm... I wonder if Toyota owners can get out of speeding tickets by using "sticky gas pedal" as an excuse...

That is a very good idea.

[hockey005]

i didnt know a prius could go 94mph

[oes]

^it was a long hill down

[stinger11]

I am willing to bet operator error. I just can't understand people, how freaking hard is it to put the car in neutral?????

[Motor On]

i didnt know a prius could go 94mph

They can do at least 98 on a long flat road, I got stuck behind one traveling as such in Utah a few years ago.

I agree with the fact these cars have neutral no excuse for needing to kill the brake pads when you realize this isn't working. I understand the whole waiting to kill the engine cause the guy can't control a car without power steering anymore, after being dumbed down by electronic aids for the last 20 years, however yelling at hm on a loudspeaker to pull the ebrake and slam the pedal as hard as he could also would be likely to cause a spin out.

A patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and officers told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.

"They also got it going on a steep upgrade," said Officer Jesse Udovich. "Between those three things, they got it to slow down."

After the car decelerated to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a halt.

No mention if CHP gave him a ticket or not, it would qualify as pacing.

[mfcool45]

pretty dumb story ... its obvious the perfect solution would have been to tuck and roll... i mean he/she drives a prius

[AirMoore]

We had someone killed in my city recently from this and have been told that the recorder box could not be read at this moment, and it is possible it might never be so... since it might be "damaged"... Ok Toyota.

Not to mention they currently only have one computer in the US to read(all) the 2010 models.

Look at the damaged box here: Note that these are essentially 'block boxes' for cars... what good are they if they cannot suffer impact(s).

Toyota is being very un-forthcoming.

Plus, I drive a stick, so I also have a clutch pedal to get me out of a bind if something like that happened.

x2, yet another reason to drive a standard. I have had the brakes blow out (complete hydro-system failure) on 2 separate vehicles when I was driving, luckily both were standard... as controlled downshifting helped save my bacon so much.


I also find it weird even in an auto people are having issues with getting these things stopped... we need more mandatory driving classes.

I would immediately turn off the car. Power brakes and power steering... pshhh: I want to go back to the basics (almost pure mechanical input) rather then letting a malfunctioning car keep trying to 'aid' me.


PS: Thanks to more and more automated systems: Some autos will not let you downshift or take them out of gear (into N) if the accelerator is being pressed (or thinks it is)... so that is not always the solution.