Recall or government attack?

[pschaub]

Yes - Last fall a family member of mine was riding in a Toyota that had the gas pedal become stuck while going in reverse. The car sped wildly out of control and ran in to a neighbors garage door. This was after the floor mat recall; the mats were not in the car at the time of the accident. Thankfully everyone was safe.

[Samson]

From what I've read, it's a real issue that dates back at least as far as '04.

The real problem in my mind is not that the throttle sticks, but that the brakes cannot overcome the engine. Their ~280 hp V6 cars have the same measly brakes as the ~180 hp 4-cylinder cars. That's just not smart.

Another issue is the throttle/brake override. After the Audi 5000 debacle, most (all?) German cars kill the throttle when the brakes are engaged. I'm not sure if it's once a certain threshold is reached or just any brake contact, but that could really hamper left-foot braking (not that 99.99% of car owners would care).

Anyway, I hope this makes Toyota and Lexus used values drop for a little while. I want another IS300.

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by Samson

Another issue is the throttle/brake override. After the Audi 5000 debacle, most (all?) German cars kill the throttle when the brakes are engaged. I'm not sure if it's once a certain threshold is reached or just any brake contact, but that could really hamper left-foot braking (not that 99.99% of car owners would care).

Are you sure about that?
At the BrumosU course, I stood on the brakes for the stopping box, with Hurley Haywood in my car, no less, and my size 12 shoe caught the throttle pedal also. The brakes were in anti-lock mode and the engine revved against the rev-limiter.

[Samson]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

Are you sure about that?
At the BrumosU course, I stood on the brakes for the stopping box, with Hurley Haywood in my car, no less, and my size 12 shoe caught the throttle pedal also. The brakes were in anti-lock mode and the engine revved against the rev-limiter.

I'm not sure which manufacturers do and do not use this override. It could be the case that Porsche doesn't, and they just rely on their brakes to slow the car down, regardless of throttle position.

I haven't tried it in my '01.

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by Samson

I haven't tried it in my '01.

I wasn't intending to try it on mine, either!!

[stephen wilson]

"The real problem in my mind is not that the throttle sticks, but that the brakes cannot overcome the engine"

You would think so, but in my experience, that's not the case. Similar to what Kurt did, I caught the gas pedal while braking in my Formula Ford, with a whopping 110H.P., and the car still plowed straight off the track. Brakes just aren't designed to overcome engine torque once the car is moving.

edit: That may not be a good comparison, I was at racing speeds, and the FF actually has a decent power to weight ratio. I may have to experiment this weekend with my beater Integra, though it's a stick shift, so I won't try a "standing start" test and fry my clutch.

[husker boxster]

A month or so back, there was a report on the national news about this. It was a 911 phone call from someone in a runaway Camry in San Diego. The caller was telling the 911 operator that they were out of control and what road they were speeding down. The road came to a T intersection and they were going too fast to turn. They tumbled down a steep embankment. Unfortunately there were fatalities when the police arrived. It does sound like the stuck accelorator problem is real.

However, if they had time to call the police on their cell, they should have had time to put it in neutral and shut their ignition off.

[mikefocke]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

"The real problem in my mind is not that the throttle sticks, but that the brakes cannot overcome the engine"

Odd, Car and Driver mag (issue I received yesterday) tested several cars and it was only at above 500HP that the brakes couldn't stop the car. And the brakes were surprisingly effective.

They did have several criticisms of the programming of the ECU computer and its sensing that the driver was trying to stop. They wanted the start button delay shortened (it doesn't immediately react lest someone inadvertently bump against it while you are at speed) and for it to react to successive presses as other cars do. And for the ECU to sense that the brakes are pressed and automatically cut the gas being fed to the engine. This in addition to the mats sliding and the pedal itself having defects.

If you think dozens of people being killed isn't proof, well then it is just another conspiracy.

[Quickurt]

Well that makes me feel better. The talk around here (north Florida) is no one has heard much about the problem. My across the street neighbor is a tech at the big Toyota dealership in the area and he said they had replaced lots of carpets, but no one had complained about any problems with the gas pedals or anything else sticking the throttle.
What made it stick? And if it "sped wildly out of control" did the car step on the pedal itself?
I'm not being fecetious but the pedal can't stick in a position farther than was applied by the driver. This sounds somewhat like the old Audi 5000 claims that they put themselves in gear and opened the throttle. That turned out to be more of a pedal placement issue that had people stepping on the wrong pedal when they acted in an emergency or panic way.
The thing I find suspicious is the magnitude of a problem that was not an issue last week. Then again, maybe it's a slow news week?