Radio host's Prius experiment brings CA incident into question

topseattleguy said on March 13, 2010 at 4:52 PM

This story is ridiculous. The guy used an old model. The Prius was completely redesigned. The reported probelms with Toyotas are ALL from newer designs. His experiment is totally irrelevant.

woody44x4 said on March 12, 2010 at 7:43 PM

If they can just make the "Ctrl/Alt/Delete" buttons closer to the driver, then you can reset the vehicle, and not call a 911 operator. Just kidding. As a Lead diagnostic tech. I've actually "Cured" several driveability complaints, just by disconnecting the battery. Today's manufactors are pushing out systems SO fast, it's only a matter of time before Glitches happen. We older ppl remember the Pintos, (Ford) Don't forget the Chevy/GMC truck with side saddle gas tanks. Nissan had issues with fuel injectors. They all have problems. It's only when ppl get killed do we hear about it. I'm having doubts that ppl can't stop thier cars. Brake system are designed to HOLD the vehicle at MAXIUM power. My own thoughts are, if you can't turn "off" your car when your driving it, then why buy it. I know prius is totaly different, as it doesn't have the normal "Key" ignition. BUt there is a "POWER" button. If that won't turn it off, then THAT should be recalled, and FIXED.

carlconstantine said on March 12, 2010 at 3:00 PM

lifted_loyale - You sound like a PC Technician to me... So it's very understandable why you feel this way. We only use Power Mac Pro and other Mac machines... Our frustration level decreased by 100% just by dumping all of our PC's into a dumpster. My heart goes out to you if you make a living working on computers that run Windows XP and Windows Vista. That is one frustrating proposition.

lifted_loyale said on March 12, 2010 at 10:50 AM

And people wonder why I keep my old POS car with no electronics in it. I work on computers for a living, they have bugs. I sure don't need a computer bug affecting my personal safety while I'm driving. Software controlled accelerator? I'll pass. The regenerative brakes? These are software controlled too... I'll pass again as I prefer mechanical brakes. Fly by wire shift linkage? No chance, I'll keep my manual 5 speed with manual clutch.

clothyard said on March 12, 2010 at 9:40 AM

That's cuz the guy in San Diego is a fake and a fraud. He has a history of cash problems, runs a sorta shady real estate business and has filed false claims before. He is gonna get nailed for insurance fraud is my guess, and probably in the not too distant future. There is a story posted on Fox which doesn't make it necessarily factual but since it is from an AP report and has other info, it would be a good start towards exposing this guy.

kennovak67184564 said on March 12, 2010 at 8:35 AM

So, these Toyota zelots who are faithful to the end with their cars, I'm watching out for you. The newer the better, if you're making payments, you should have full insurance, and my Honda Accord is one minor accident away from going to the scrap heap. Please, drive your defective cars around and maybe we'll meet on the road. Then I can go shopping for a new Honda! See you soon!!! ;-)

kanajune said on March 12, 2010 at 6:28 AM

Interesting. I wondered why no one had thought to drop it in neutral. I wonder if what went wrong system-wise affected the ability to shift also? This does raise some questions in my mind.

nwpow said on March 12, 2010 at 2:52 AM

It doesn't MATTER if his car or the Rodland Yotas didn't do it.... the Cali guy's car did SOMETHING, and I doubt that was like the balloon hoax for kicks and giggles. Listen, sure, you can turn the car off and lose power, you can shift into neutral etc etc.... but if there is a problem in the computer, or something mechanical like, say, an accelerator cable being stuck open, it doesn't do much. These are all chance, we can't predict them, or else car makers wouldn't let them happen.

rocketscience said on March 12, 2010 at 1:46 AM

Can you imagine the fear of the lone Ford Pinto driver now when he sees a Toyota show up in his rear view mirrors ?

carlconstantine said on March 11, 2010 at 11:46 PM

Hey you grump... The radio guy is not saying that Toyota's don't have legitimate problems. He is only saying that if your accelerator gets stuck, you can shift into neutral and the vehicle will stop since the brakes will still work, even if the accelerator is stuck. The main issue is that the vehicle must be placed in NEUTRAL. Even an idiot should know that a vehicle will slow down and can be stopped after putting it in neutral... Obviously the guy in California didn't have any intentions of stopping his Prius, until TV cameras arrived on the scene.

erick said on March 11, 2010 at 11:41 PM

This was obviously another KING-5 "news story" that involved free advertising for one of their sponsors. they used to do it all the time for washington mutual. this "Story" only proves that KING-5 is willing to be a corporate mouthpiece. way to go lori.

grumpa said on March 11, 2010 at 11:31 PM

Here is the bottom line. Toyota has a problem of some kind. They knew about it and did not say anything. Now they are paying the reaper. Just because some no body talk show host thinks his Prius is just fine does not make it so. I would not drive one of those things until Toyota swears on there mothers graves that they have fixed the problem. This comes from my dad and my son in law who are both journeymen auto mechanics. It like the cigarette companies saying that smoking does not cause cancer, sure right!

carlconstantine said on March 11, 2010 at 11:23 PM

Exactly! The guy in California, that had to be stopped by a state trooper, never put the vehicle in neutral, even when the 911 dispatcher asked him to do so several times. The response that he gave when she asked him if he tried to place the vehicle in neutral was very evasive and demonstrates clearly that he planned the entire incident. He should have been taken directly to JAIL.

juliegreen said on March 11, 2010 at 10:51 PM

Just to be clear - I am referring to the man in CA who said he drove for 20 minutes at 90 miles an hour . I believe HIM to be the fraud. I think anyone who has driven in CA knows what I mean, We will see.....

carlconstantine said on March 11, 2010 at 10:34 PM

juliegreen - You are absolutely right! When I first heard the story, the first thought that popped into my head was HOAX! First it was the White House party crashers and now it's the runaway Prius drivers. Keep watching and you'll probably see copy-cats looking for their 15 minutes of shame, trying to cash in, in hopes of being on Oprah's Show. They should be taken directly to jail, just like the balloon boys dad...

quacker said on March 11, 2010 at 8:49 PM

"This proves little more than the already-well-known fact that not all Priuses (Priui?) have faulty breaks..." Using that logic, billiameveryman, the Prius would have had to have a faulty motor control unit to cause the acceleration AND, the (non)computer-controlled brakes would have had to fail at the same time. Seems like the mechanical (brake) portion of that will be easy to verify.

billiameveryman said on March 11, 2010 at 8:36 PM

Hmmm, this sounds like a scientifically-sound experiment... This proves little more than the already-well-known fact that not all Priuses (Priui?) have faulty breaks...

quacker said on March 11, 2010 at 8:28 PM

To be fair, the Prius has a "regenerative braking system" meaning that the motors which power the wheels are involved in the braking as well. If there was something wrong with the controller software it is conceivable that the same glitch could affect the braking capacity of the drive motors. However, that being said, I think Dave Ross has hit the nail on the head. The (non) computer-controlled brakes have the capacity to stop the vehicle even in full power mode. And then there is the issue of shifting the vehicle into neutral, etc., etc. It's only the gullible who think that stories about people like this prove something is wrong with the Toyotas. Don't be so quick to assume things. By the way, maybe no one else knows that the person involved in the California incident is bankrupt and due to have his last remaining vehicle (the Prius) repo'ed.

rite2post said on March 11, 2010 at 8:09 PM

People are not getting Dave Ross's point. He trying to prove a point that even if the accelerator a Toyota Prius can come to a safe complete stop given a reason distance. Rodland is lying his pants off, stating that he was going out of control for 30 mins… that’s complete bogus.

blankingout said on March 11, 2010 at 7:48 PM

I am a Prius owner and I love my car because having to be in crash position allows me to smell my own farts.

apennythought said on March 11, 2010 at 7:42 PM

juliegreen, you obviously haven't lived or traveled in WA state for very long. You can go as fast as you want, anytime you want, for a few minutes, on most of I-90 east of Bellevue. But that still doesn't mean Dave Ross proved all Priuses are now safe.

jackwong said on March 11, 2010 at 7:29 PM

@indexman: But Dave Ross in on the correct side of politics. Dave Ross only proved in the test though, that it didn't happen to his car. The problem may not be systematic on all vehicles.

indexman said on March 11, 2010 at 7:08 PM

Dave Ross is soooooo full of him self. Dori Monson rules.

juliegreen said on March 11, 2010 at 6:45 PM

This guy is clearly looking for his "15 minutes". I used to live there. Show me ANY stretch of ANY freeway where you can go 90 miles an hour for any length of time without bashing into another car. You are lucky if you hit the speed limit anywhere. Total fraud - I can't wait for it to come out as such!

trucker45 said on March 11, 2010 at 6:23 PM

Car and Driver magazine did a test on several makes of cars for an article last month. In every case the car came to a safe stop with the right foot flooring the gas while the left pushed the brake. Even from 90 mph the car stopped although the brakes smoked at the end. Not to mention that when the car magazines do tests for 0-60 they floor the gas and then let off the brake. The brakes can hold the car even against the engine. Now if the computer tells the engine to go full throttle in a parking lot that would be bad. By the time you realize what has happened the car has crashed.

coffeekate said on March 11, 2010 at 6:11 PM

The Dave Ross test proves nothing except that in this one test, the car stopped. So many other Prius owners can also attest... the cars stopped correctly for quite a while, until they didn't. It's clear that in some number of cases, the car ceases to operate properly. Because we don't know WHAT has failed (though I strongly believe there's a multipoint failure), we have no way of knowing what other system(s) are affected. There are so many scenarios that could be at play here. I don't believe that it's purely mechanical, but I also believe that it might not be the electronics in the purest sense of that word. A mechanical failure, that leads to an electrical misconnection, that then tells the electronics the wrong thing, is not technically an electronics failure. So Toyota can tell the truth and mislead us some more. Based on recent behavior... would you be surprised?