Toyota brake question....

[john9001]

Trigger in case of the Cali guy yesterday he said putting the car into neutral didn't not slow the car down, it kept going. I've heard that's the case in all these, shifting to N has done nothing, is it possible for that piece to cause that also or can these cars not shift to N while at high speeds? I know nothing about the Prius since i have zero interest in the car but would think any car could shift to N.

that's not what he said, he was told to shift to neutral by 911 and the CHP car, he refused, he said he was afraid the car would "flip" if he did that.

[whiteman]

that's not what he said, he was told to shift to neutral by 911 and the CHP car, he refused, he said he was afraid the car would "flip" if he did that.

what i read and video is saw said nothing of that nature, it said that Neutral did nothing in everything i saw.

[Denholm]

when it was going on n off, the fluid was low, and tripping the sensor under certain conditions.


 if your shop never explained this to you, you should consider looking for a new place to have your car serviced.
 part of our job(in my opinion) is to educate our customers about their cars.

We figured that out upon refilling the brake fluid. The shop didn't explain anything because they didn't find anything.

[CAP1]

We figured that out upon refilling the brake fluid. The shop didn't explain anything because they didn't find anything.

yea.....i was talking to someone else about this kind of stuff.

 something that simple, they should've found. i don't like talking bad about anyone else in the business.....but that was basics 101.

 i explain everytning i'm doing to pretty much everyone.....men dont like to listen..they like to think they know it all. women, on the other hand, listen very intently, and are always appreciative that one of us takes the time to explain things in terms that they can understand.

 if you're taking your car to a dealer, get the hell outta there.......if you're taking it to a franchise, like goodyear, firestone, sts, or any of them, again.,...get the hell outta there.
 find yourself a privately owned shop. you'll find that you may have to do some searching, but you'll find a much more knowledgable tech to work on your car.

 start with the IATN.net website.

[Denholm]

We assume all the dealership did was hook up their computer to the system. The dealership never communicated with us, yet feel the necessity to charge us premium rates. Yes, we're already looking at local businesses.

[CAP1]

We assume all the dealership did was hook up their computer to the system. The dealership never communicated with us, yet feel the necessity to charge us premium rates. Yes, we're already looking at local businesses.

that's why i don't like dealers.....i could explain...and will later when i have more time to type here.....

but.....

www.iatn.net

or www.napaauto.com

they're both good sources to find decent privately owned shops.

[skribetm]

A Toyota spokesman said Monday evening that the company, which has recalled millions of vehicles because of reports of unintended acceleration, was sending a representative to investigate the cause of the incident.

The cellphone call came about 1:30 p.m. from the driver of the blue 2008 Prius eastbound on Interstate 8 in San Diego County.

"He was driving near the La Posta Indian Reservation when he called 911 and said his gas pedal was stuck," Landeros said.

"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny . . . it jumped and it just stuck there," Sikes, 61, said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes . . . it wasn't stopping."

A CHP patrol officer caught up to the Prius about 20 minutes later and used a loudspeaker to tell the driver to apply his emergency brake in tandem with the brake pedal, Landeros said.

Once the Prius' speed dropped to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and was able to coast to a stop, the officer said.

Landeros didn't know why the driver waited until his speed had dropped to turn off the engine, but the officer speculated that Sikes feared losing the car's power steering.

The officer drove in front of Sikes' Prius to block the car if necessary. But the two cars never touched, Landeros said.

No one was hurt, the CHP said.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-chp9-2010mar09,0,3699926.story

[rogwar]

Trigger in case of the Cali guy yesterday he said putting the car into neutral didn't not slow the car down, it kept going. I've heard that's the case in all these, shifting to N has done nothing, is it possible for that piece to cause that also or can these cars not shift to N while at high speeds? I know nothing about the Prius since i have zero interest in the car but would think any car could shift to N.

I was wondering about that from the beginning of this whole thing. Why not shift into neutral?

[Tigger29]

Trigger in case of the Cali guy yesterday he said putting the car into neutral didn't not slow the car down, it kept going. I've heard that's the case in all these, shifting to N has done nothing, is it possible for that piece to cause that also or can these cars not shift to N while at high speeds? I know nothing about the Prius since i have zero interest in the car but would think any car could shift to N.

There is almost no reason whatsoever why the vehicle would continue to accelerate after shifting into Neutral unless the computer is somehow programmed to stay in gear electronically to protect the engine.. that would be the only theory I could come up with.  Doesn't make much sense, but yet I can see engineers doing such a thing.

I would also have hoped that depressing the brake pedal would override any gas pedal input whatsoever... erring on the side of caution I would say... basically, if both pedal are pressed, the computer would automatically choose to brake over accelerating.  Still though, this doesn't seem to be the case.

Perhaps it's because of the few people out there that still ride their brakes by driving with both feet..

[68Wooley]

Totally unscientific test. Just tried shifting my RAV4 into neutral doing about 50 on a quiet road. The car did indeed shift into neutral as I intended. Should point out my particular model hasn't been recalled.

[Denholm]

While the real cause of the Toyota unintended acceleration issues are still under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), one news outlet is reporting that they know what's behind it. ABC News tracked down one David Gilbert, an automotive technology professor at Southern Illinois University, who says he knows exactly what it is. According to Gilbert, it's an electronic design flaw in Toyota's 'Fail Safe' system.

Gilbert says the flaw "prevents the car's onboard computer from detecting and stopping certain short circuits that can trigger sudden speed surges." ABC News adds, "he can recreate a short circuit in the electronic throttles of Toyotas that can create a surge of acceleration but can't be detected by Toyota's electronic sensors."

Because the computers won't record an error code in this situation, Gilbert told ABC, "they can't activate the 'fail safe' system designed to shut down the power and put the car in the 'limp home' mode."

If you want to read some more, here's the link:
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/22/abc-news-expert-says-electronic-design-flaw-to-blame-in-runaway/4

[SirFrancis]

Mr. Sikes drove 93 mph?  

I am driving up to 120 mph each day to work and back home (on the autobahn with my BMW 320i)  

but seriously:

A friend of mine had a similar problem with his VW Polo (with shifting gears). He drove with 80 mph on the autobahn, when suddenly the car went faster. He used both brakes and slowed the car down, shifting the gears down, drove on the far right lane (emergency lane) and stayed on brakes until his car was about to stop. Then he went into neutral and shut down motor when the car stopped.  
As driving automatic I guessed going into neutral and staying on the brakes would help.

[CAP1]

There is almost no reason whatsoever why the vehicle would continue to accelerate after shifting into Neutral unless the computer is somehow programmed to stay in gear electronically to protect the engine.. that would be the only theory I could come up with.  Doesn't make much sense, but yet I can see engineers doing such a thing.

I would also have hoped that depressing the brake pedal would override any gas pedal input whatsoever... erring on the side of caution I would say... basically, if both pedal are pressed, the computer would automatically choose to brake over accelerating.  Still though, this doesn't seem to be the case.

Perhaps it's because of the few people out there that still ride their brakes by driving with both feet..

i drive with both feet.....and i can assure ya i don't ride the brake. 

[CAP1]

Totally unscientific test. Just tried shifting my RAV4 into neutral doing about 50 on a quiet road. The car did indeed shift into neutral as I intended. Should point out my particular model hasn't been recalled.

your rav4 has a mechanical linkage to the tranny

on that note, i just went into my information system.....it seems true that there is no actual shifter linkage on the prius.

[SIK1]

i drive with both feet.....and i can assure ya i don't ride the brake. 

I drive with both feet too. I did learn how to heel toe brake when I first learned to drive, and still use the technique in the Mustang. The pedals are not positioned correctly to do so in my truck. Yes they are both manual transmissions. No I don't ride the brake.