toyota problems

[rockaway]

If you own a Toyota and it starts to accelerate out of control just

shift it into neutral. The car will then slow down so you can safely

pull of the road and shut of the motor. Do not shut off the motor

first because the power steering will not operate properly.

This is a hint from "Click & Clack" the tappet brothers

[rshoffer]

I wonder if Toyota will still have all the "red circles" like they always did in the annual Consume Reports auto review?

[TrudyM]

Locally we have been hearing allot about recent Prius accidents. It seems that the brakes stop working and putting it into neutral doesn't help much. It has something to do with the onboard computer they think. Owners who got notices took the cars into dealers, who told them their car wasn't on a recall and then bam no brakes. Car totaled :22yikes: Guy says he just wants a replacement Prius.

[BobKat1]

I wonder if Toyota will still have all the "red circles" like they always did in the annual Consume Reports auto review?

CR has temporarily removed some Toyota models from their Recommended list pending resolution of any issues.

[Russ_Boston]

Locally we have been hearing allot about recent Prius accidents. It seems that the brakes stop working and putting it into neutral doesn't help much. It has something to do with the onboard computer they think. Owners who got notices took the cars into dealers, who told them their car wasn't on a recall and then bam no brakes. Car totaled :22yikes: Guy says he just wants a replacement Prius.

I was wondering why putting into neutral would have little effect. I would think that either you can put it into neutral or you can't. If you can then even though the engine is racing it would slow down eventually. Anybody know?

[BobKat1]

I was wondering why putting into neutral would have little effect. I would think that either you can put it into neutral or you can't. If you can then even though the engine is racing it would slow down eventually. Anybody know?

IMO, that seems to be the mystery with this whole thing. How much of this is mechanical/electronic, how much is driver error and how much is some people taking advantage of the situation?

It seems like it will be a while before all of the answers are in.

[Jazzper]

The latest Prius one in California sounds particularly suspicious -- IMHO.

As to shifting into Neutral, there's not a lot of heavy lifting involved.
Check out:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100204083409AAokxjS (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100204083409AAokxjS)

and this YouTube video of how to do so:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II_03lbr-Jw

[tamike]

Just go out and buy a Ford. Very high quality, they did not take government money and it is ALL AMERICAN!!!!!!

[The Great Fumar]

If you own a Toyota and it starts to accelerate out of control just

shift it into neutral. The car will then slow down so you can safely

pull of the road and shut of the motor. Do not shut off the motor

first because the power steering will not operate properly.

This is a hint from "Click & Clack" the tappet brothers

I was told that If you are accelerating very fast and you take it out of gear your RPM.S will race over the red line of the engine and the only CLICK AND CLACK you will hear is your Rods going through the side of the engine block...........Just hold it in a straight line and turn off the key.... this is only an opinion and not necessarily mine...........Now if this is a Prius , then all bets are off, JUST UNPLUG IT !!!

[zcaveman]

I was told that If you are accelerating very fast and you take it out of gear your RPM.S will race over the red line of the engine and the only CLICK AND CLACK you will hear is your Rods going through the side of the engine block...........Just hold it in a straight line and turn off the key.... this is only an opinion and not necessarily mine...........Now if this is a Prius , then all bets are off, JUST UNPLUG IT !!!

In today's paper it said to NOT turn off the key. You will lose your power brakes and power steering. They also said that the new engines can take the high RPMs that result when you switch into neutral.

[JimJoe]

I am surprised it has taken so long for the "experts" to give advice on handling this in an emergency. It happened to me in a nova years ago. The accelerator spring broke. I shifted to neutral, and used the brakes to stop. I turned off the engine, stretched the spring and re attached it and drove away.
The engine revving when you are neutral for a short time should not hurt the engine, and even if you have to risk it, my life and the lives of all the innocent drivers on or along the highway is far more important.

[zcaveman]

I am surprised it has taken so long for the "experts" to give advice on handling this in an emergency. It happened to me in a nova years ago. The accelerator spring broke. I shifted to neutral, and used the brakes to stop. I turned off the engine, stretched the spring and re attached it and drove away.
The engine revving when you are neutral for a short time should not hurt the engine, and even if you have to risk it, my life and the lives of all the innocent drivers on or along the highway is far more important.

I agree. At the time of an emergency like that, the last thing I would think of is the damage to the engine. Hit the brakes - switch to neutral - stop the car - then turn it off - while at the same time trying to make sure you did not hit anyone and they did not hit you.

[batman911]

Some of the newer Toyotas do not have traditional "keys". The driver carries an electronic device which, when near the vehicle, activates the START button. There is no key to insert or turn. I would never buy a car with a START button if there was no key to turn off the engine. Also, there may be a speed activated lock on the gear shift to prevent shifting into lower gears or neutral above certain speeds. Another reason to drive standard shift vehicles.

[Pturner]

I would never buy a car with a START button if there was no key to turn off the engine. Also, there may be a speed activated lock on the gear shift to prevent shifting into lower gears or neutral above certain speeds. Another reason to drive standard shift vehicles.

Why, Batman? All you do to turn off the engine is hit the start button. It's faster than turning a key.

Although, hitting the start button to turn it off does sound a bit Microsofty, doesn't it. lol

[batman911]

Pturner,

The driver in the last reported case said he was pushing the start button to kill the engine but it did not work. Electronic malfunction may have prevented engine shut down. A manual key breaks the connection.

[BobKat1]

The story of the last reported Prius incident seems to be unraveling a bit.

By most accounts, shutting off the engine (key or button), putting the car in neutral and/or standing on the brakes are recommended.

Newer cars have rev limiters. If the engine hits the redline on the tach, fuel is cut off to prevent engine damage. IMO putting the car in neutral seems like the first thing to do.

[KayakerNC]

Why, Batman? All you do to turn off the engine is hit the start button. It's faster than turning a key.

Although, hitting the start button to turn it off does sound a bit Microsofty, doesn't it. lol

Actually, the button says "Power".
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/1/1132365_fd5c479ec1.jpg
And, yes, pushing the button and holding it in for a few seconds does shut down the engine while the vehicle is in motion.

[Pturner]

Actually, the button says "Power".

Beam me up Scotty. You're right. Just went out to check. I've been driving my '07 Camry Hybrid for three years! You'd think I'd know that. :loco:

[BobKat1]

The button in my car (not a hybrid) says: Engine - Start - Stop.

[faithfulfrank]

Well, I have a Prius, and I love it. Alot of this bashing by the media is bull.

Yes, the last story is unraveling fast.......I listened to the actual 911 tapes of the incident, all 24 minutes of them.

The 2010's had one recall on the abs system...easy fix. Done. The car mat problem? Also bull. The OPE car mats are fine, well secured and cannot move at all....A cheap Walmart brand car mat?, well I don't know.

Problem is that everyone believes whatever they hear from the media....there is usually 2 sides to every story, and a half truth is a whole lie. I have friends calling me up all worried because we own a "death car". Jeez. They mean well, but it kind of ticks me off. I've never had a lick of problems with it, and if I did, I could handle it easily. I"m not losing sleep.

I drove my Prius 900 miles yesterday......on my way to my Florida home from NY. I'll be there tomorrow.....can't wait!!

Frank

[Hawkwind]

The 2010's had one recall on the abs system...easy fix. Done. The car mat problem? Also bull. The OPE car mats are fine, well secured and cannot move at all....A cheap Walmart brand car mat?, well I don't know.

Frank

Frank
Remember one thing and the is that Toyota is the one that stated the acceleration problem was caused by the floor mats (I have me recall letter right in front of me for a 2010 Camry) and the news media just reported it.

I feel that Toyota is clueless as to the cause and has done a very poor job of informing the consumers. My old Ford F-150 was recalled twice and I received the recall notice a day or two after it hit the news media. In Toyota's case I just received the recall for the accelerator pedal reinforcement just last week and how long has this been going on?

As far a creditability, how about Apple Computer founder Steve Wozniak's speed up adventure?

Toyota is spending more time trying to discredit anyone and everyone than it is trying to find the root cause of the problems. Take the engineer that was able to short circuit the computer system and caused the car to speed up. Toyota is disputing his claims because he cut the wires in the wiring harness to create the short. Duh how else can you create the problem? And to top things off the computer readout showed no error.

I think that there is a problem and it is with the electrical / computer system or a combination of both and is a intermittent problem that is the hardest to trouble shoot. Remember back a few years ago when the space shuttle was being delayed because of what everyone was thinking was a faulty sensor? Well it turned out not to be the sensor but the wiring to the sensor that would open or short out when the fuel tank was fueled. The actual short was many feet away from the sensor.

I have a boat that had a problem with raising the stern drive when the motor was hot. You could sit in the drive and raise and lower the drive all day long with no problem but send a day on the lake water skiing and 100% of the time you could not raise the drive. The boat was back to the dealer so many time they though I was nuts as they could not duplicate the problem. It took 2 years to resolve the issue and it was not until I actually cut into the wiring harness and found a short in a molded rubber plug that when things got hot would expand and not allow the drive to raise. I replaced that harness and have never had a problem since. Could this be a possible cause for Toyota?

Also was there anything common in the reported occurrences? We will never know the answer to that question. We will not even go into the possibilities of RF transmission mixing frequencies and creating a harmonic and the end result getting into the computer system.

My Camry go into the shop on 3/22 for the accelerator pedal fix and it will be interesting to see if it fixes another issue and that is smooth acceleration for a standing start. Every time you pull away from a stop there is a very minor jump and not a smooth acceleration. I have never owned or driven a car that did that and I noticed it when I drove the car off the lot and this was long before the Toyota problems hit the news media.

[KayakerNC]

Is Sikes a "Balloon Boy"?:pepper2:

:click:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/fox-is-sikes-a-balloon-boy/

[BobKat1]

Is Sikes a "Balloon Boy"?:pepper2:

:click:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/fox-is-sikes-a-balloon-boy/

It's beginning to sound like he might be. There will probably be more too.

[GMONEY]

Looks like a group are taking this Toyota Deal another GIANT step forward. I own a 2008 Camry and agree with them. I would not let my Kids drive it..

http://www.wftv.com/automotive/22847494/detail.html

[Grill Meister]

With the events happening with Toyota, it reminds me of an "empidemic" that occurred in Atlanta. One of the customers at the Atlanta Farmers' Market put their hand into a bag of butter beans and felt a sting. They reported that they had been bitten by a coral snake. Within a week, five other people reported that they had been bitten....also by coral snakes.

The anomaly of this story, like the Toyota incidents, is that the coral snake is indigenous to the sandhills of North Carolina and because they are so small and don't have fangs like other poisonous snakes, they would have had to have actually gnawed on a person's hand for a while before any venom would be injected....and because their mouths are so small they would have had to "gnawed" on the hand's webbing between fingers. In other words...."it didn't happen".

I drive a 2006 Toyota Prius and had not heard of one incident of accidental accelleration or other problems, until the panic epidemic set it.....and only after the feds took over Detroit, with Ford's exception, and sales started sagging terribly. As with any automobile manufacturer, accidents and incidents such as accidental acceleration with happen, but not in epidemic proportions. Go figger.

My next car will be another Prius.:pepper2:

[BigLew]

Frank
Remember one thing and the is that Toyota is the one that stated the acceleration problem was caused by the floor mats (I have me recall letter right in front of me for a 2010 Camry) and the news media just reported it.

I feel that Toyota is clueless as to the cause and has done a very poor job of informing the consumers. My old Ford F-150 was recalled twice and I received the recall notice a day or two after it hit the news media. In Toyota's case I just received the recall for the accelerator pedal reinforcement just last week and how long has this been going on?

As far a creditability, how about Apple Computer founder Steve Wozniak's speed up adventure?

Toyota is spending more time trying to discredit anyone and everyone than it is trying to find the root cause of the problems. Take the engineer that was able to short circuit the computer system and caused the car to speed up. Toyota is disputing his claims because he cut the wires in the wiring harness to create the short. Duh how else can you create the problem? And to top things off the computer readout showed no error.

I think that there is a problem and it is with the electrical / computer system or a combination of both and is a intermittent problem that is the hardest to trouble shoot. Remember back a few years ago when the space shuttle was being delayed because of what everyone was thinking was a faulty sensor? Well it turned out not to be the sensor but the wiring to the sensor that would open or short out when the fuel tank was fueled. The actual short was many feet away from the sensor.

I have a boat that had a problem with raising the stern drive when the motor was hot. You could sit in the drive and raise and lower the drive all day long with no problem but send a day on the lake water skiing and 100% of the time you could not raise the drive. The boat was back to the dealer so many time they though I was nuts as they could not duplicate the problem. It took 2 years to resolve the issue and it was not until I actually cut into the wiring harness and found a short in a molded rubber plug that when things got hot would expand and not allow the drive to raise. I replaced that harness and have never had a problem since. Could this be a possible cause for Toyota?

Also was there anything common in the reported occurrences? We will never know the answer to that question. We will not even go into the possibilities of RF transmission mixing frequencies and creating a harmonic and the end result getting into the computer system.

My Camry go into the shop on 3/22 for the accelerator pedal fix and it will be interesting to see if it fixes another issue and that is smooth acceleration for a standing start. Every time you pull away from a stop there is a very minor jump and not a smooth acceleration. I have never owned or driven a car that did that and I noticed it when I drove the car off the lot and this was long before the Toyota problems hit the news media.

Toyota has confirmed that there are black boxes in their cars but have never offered nor responded to requests for the data in the cars with problems. The NHTSA has asked repeatedly and been denied....this was just before it was reported how they laughed in their boardroom about OUR laws and how they did not care about them.
http://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-turncoat-may-get-the-last-laugh-2010-2

[KayakerNC]

With the events happening with Toyota, it reminds me of an "empidemic" that occurred in Atlanta. One of the customers at the Atlanta Farmers' Market put their hand into a bag of butter beans and felt a sting. They reported that they had been bitten by a coral snake. Within a week, five other people reported that they had been bitten....also by coral snakes.

The anomaly of this story, like the Toyota incidents, is that the coral snake is indigenous to the sandhills of North Carolina and because they are so small and don't have fangs like other poisonous snakes, they would have had to have actually gnawed on a person's hand for a while before any venom would be injected....and because their mouths are so small they would have had to "gnawed" on the hand's webbing between fingers. In other words...."it didn't happen".

I drive a 2006 Toyota Prius and had not heard of one incident of accidental accelleration or other problems, until the panic epidemic set it.....and only after the feds took over Detroit, with Ford's exception, and sales started sagging terribly. As with any automobile manufacturer, accidents and incidents such as accidental acceleration with happen, but not in epidemic proportions. Go figger.

My next car will be another Prius.:pepper2:

:agree:

[Hawkwind]

BigLew
No one knows, outside of Toyota, what information is actually collected by the onboard black boxes. Toyota will not give out any information about it. Also no one knows how far back they can go with the data. I believe in some US made cars you can only get the last 20 or 30 seconds of data.

It should come to no surprise that Toyota nor the NHTSA could recreate the problem on the car is question. How many times has anyone had a problem with their computer and for some unknown reason it only happened once and could never be duplicated?

[golfnut]

gil, what do toyota's problems have to do with the feds bailing out GM and Chrysler?...gn

[Grill Meister]

I guess it is only a coincidence that one of the major auto sellers suddenly comes under scrutiny after Detroits problems. I am certain that one really has nothing to do with the other.

[golfnut]

gil, thanks for the reply, I still haven't a clue what you are trying to say, but I'm OK with that...gn

[BobKat1]

I can't speak for Gil, but I've talked to a number of people who feel that since the U.S. government bailed out GM and Chrysler, it might be to their advantage to keep the heat on the Toyota issue. Consumers might purchase more GM and Chrysler vehicles if they want to stay away from Toyota cars and trucks.

[golfnut]

Bobk, can you show us how the gov't is keeping the heat on Toyota?..gn

[BobKat1]

Bobk, can you show us how the gov't is keeping the heat on Toyota?..gn

Nope. Personally don't buy it...Seems like the latest conspiracy theory...

[golfnut]

now i'm really confused, all i can say is buy american...gn