toyota problems
 

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

Consumer Reports
 

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

Prius Brake problems.
 

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.

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

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.

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

and this YouTube video of how to do so:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II_03lbr-Jw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II_03lbr-Jw [/ame]

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

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.

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.

Toyota
 

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.

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

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.