Owners of Toyota Cars in Rebellion Over Accidents Caused by Sudden acceleration.

[HemiEd]

Owners of Toyota Cars in Rebellion Over Series of Accidents Caused by Sudden Acceleration


Anyone else been following this story? They had a pretty graphic show on nightline about it last night.


http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Runawa...ory?id=8980479

Refusing to accept the explanation of Toyota and the federal government, hundreds of Toyota owners are in rebellion after a series of accidents caused by what they call "runaway cars."


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Department of Transportation: underlying defect causes accelerators to stick.

More PhotosSafety analysts found an estimated 2000 cases in which owners of Toyota cars including Camry, Prius and Lexus, reported that their cars surged without warning up to speeds of 100 miles per hour.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OF THE RUNAWAY TOYOTAS STORY.

Toyota says the incidents are caused by floor mats becoming stuck under gas pedals, but owners say that's not what happened to them.

Watch the full report tonight on 'World News with Charles Gibson' and 'Nightline'.

"I'm absolutely certain that in my situation, it was not the floor mats," Elizabeth James told ABC News. She was driving her Toyota Prius outside Denver, CO when she says it suddenly shot up to 90 miles an hour, even though her foot was on the brake and not the gas pedal.

"I kept going faster and faster," James said. "And all of a sudden… my foot was pressing on the brake super, super hard and I wasn't slowing down."

James and some other Toyota owners suspect the accidents have been caused by some kind of glitch in the electronic computer system used in Toyotas that controls the throttle.

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...at-recall.html

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by mmaddog

....the Chevette.....little POS couldn't make it up the normal sized hill.....

mmaddog
*******

I had an 80 Chevette when I was young and poor. Drove that thing around for 2 or 3 years. Only paid $100 for it. Yeah, it was a little piece of junk. But hey, it got me from point A to point B. It never had any problems with hills, either.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Lzen

I had an 80 Chevette when I was young and poor. Drove that thing around for 2 or 3 years. Only paid $100 for it. Yeah, it was a little piece of junk. But hey, it got me from point A to point B. It never had any problems with hills, either.

I learned to drive on a 76 chevette. An orange 76 chevette.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Rukdafaidas

Those new Smart Cars double as caskets. You get in a wreck in one of them and they just bury you in the car.

Oh, look, another uninformed moron. Tell you what, I'll get in my Smart car and hit you head on in your car, and we'll see who walks away.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I learned to drive on a 76 chevette. An orange 76 chevette.

For me it was a green ’74 Pinto. Tuff little sumbitch though. Made it across the Neosho River bed 1 ½ times.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I learned to drive on a 76 chevette. An orange 76 chevette.

Orange, eh? I bet you picked up a lot of chicks in that stud mobile.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Radar Chief

For me it was a green ’74 Pinto. Tuff little sumbitch though. Made it across the Neosho River bed 1 ½ times.

So it's still there?

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by JD10367

Oh, look, another uninformed moron. Tell you what, I'll get in my Smart car and hit you head on in your car, and we'll see who walks away.

What's a smart car? If you're talking about one of those little itty bitty cars, I think they look like they couldn't take much of a hit from most other vehicles out there. Tell us what safety features they have and how good they have done in crash testing.

[The Bad Guy]

I have an 09 Highlander. I'm reading about the recall because of a floor mat problem. What a load.

It's also great to know that the outstanding resale value that Toyota prides itself on is now pretty much ruined now.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by JD10367

So it's still there?

No, we called a wrecker and he winched it out.
First time I heard my dad drop the f-bomb too.

[The Bad Guy]

Whoaskew,

I don't see how you couldn't sue. I'm puzzled as to how there is no legal resource for you. People slip and fall in stores all the time and get tons of cash.

You get in a vehicle you presume is safe and the car won't stop and you can't sue? Nonsense.

[jjjayb]

Originally Posted by JD10367

Oh, look, another uninformed moron. Tell you what, I'll get in my Smart car and hit you head on in your car, and we'll see who walks away.

Sorry to tell you, but it probably won't be you. Even though the Smart car tested "good" by the IIHS when tested against a sled, it tested "poor" (it's worst rating) when tested against other midsize vehicles.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123965905920114729.html

If you hit a midsize car, you're toast, I can't imagine what it would look like if you hit a full size car, truck or SUV.

For the recent tests the Insurance Institute, a research group funded by the insurance industry, staged offset crashes between two cars traveling toward each other at 40 miles an hour. The group tested three pairs of cars consisting of subcompact and midsize models from the same manufacturer. Toyota's small Yaris collided with the midsize Camry. The Honda Fit crashed into the Accord, and Mercedes-Benz's two-seat Smart went against the company's C-Class sedan.

All three small cars received "poor" ratings in the crash test, which is the Insurance Institute's worst rating. Under typical testing, in which the vehicle strikes a barrier that represents a car of similar size and weight, the same three cars received top ratings of "good."

My advice to you: If you get into a wreck, don't wreck into another car, hit a crash test sled or another Smart car instead.



(not a Smart car, just showing the laws of Physics)

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by Lzen

What's a smart car? If you're talking about one of those little itty bitty cars, I think they look like they couldn't take much of a hit from most other vehicles out there. Tell us what safety features they have and how good they have done in crash testing.

They do very well in IIHS crash testing.

They have front and side airbags.

They have ABS brakes.

They have a traction-control system (unheard-of in a small car).

The entire car is pretty much a rollcage. It doesn't crumple so much as bounce off things. (Some safety reviews say that's a bad thing but, all things considered, I'd rather the whole car bounce away from the collision than get pancaked with the other vehicle.)

The car is so small that it can't be T-boned because the oncoming car will hit both the side wheels and push the car instead of collapsing the car and thus crushing the passenger compartment.

The car has been in production in Europe for almost a decade. If it had serious issues they wouldn't be making it any more.

In fact, in a reverse way, the smallness of the car is actually an advantage. In only a year, I need two hands to count the number of times that having a car that small has saved my ass. People slamming on their brakes and swerving into my lane right in front of me where, had there been a typical engine and front end, they would've cartwheeled me off the road. A truck broken down in the fast lane causing everyone to slam on their brakes, causing me to slam on mine and come to a stop inches from them--where, again, with a regular-sized car, my engine would've been in their trunk. Just last night, driving to the Indian casino, something darted across the road (it was white and doglike, don't know if it was a large dog or coyote) and ran right behind the car where, if I'd had a longer car, we probably would've collided.

(Yes, it's tiny. Yes, it doesn't fare well when it hits a bigger vehicle. What does? If a sedan hits an SUV, the sedan loses. If an SUV hits a semi, the SUV loses. Should everyone drive a semi?)

[asdf]

Recall spreads to Europe and China.... interesting that the cars made in Japan don't have the defective pedal assembly.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100128/...yota_recall_32

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by jjjayb

Sorry to tell you, but it probably won't be you. Even though the Smart car tested "good" by the IIHS when tested against a sled, it tested "poor" (it's worst rating) when tested against other midsize vehicles.

If you hit a midsize car, you're toast, I can't imagine what it would look like if you hit a full size car, truck or SUV.

My advice to you: If you get into a wreck, don't wreck into another car, hit a crash test sled or another Smart car instead.

(not a Smart car, just showing the laws of Physics)

#1: It's about avoiding the accident as much as having it.

#2: Most accidents aren't head-ons with a semi.

#3: As I said, anything larger will fare better than anything smaller. Doesn't mean we should all drive Sherman tanks.

Anyhow, I'm not here to thread-hijack. I was just making the point that people who see the car's size and go, "Oh, that's a deathtrap," knowing nothing at all about the car, irritates me. The car has many safety features in an attempt to balance its small size. Just because it's the size of a Chevy Chevette doesn't mean it equates it. I'd rather get into an accident with the Smart than with another small car. It cost me less to insure it than it did to insure my wife's 2003 Hyundai Elantra sedan, so the insurance company agrees with me.

[Chief Pote]

So when does Toyota get their "bailout"?