It's only Wednesday and already there have been two cases of unintended acceleration occurring with vehicles Toyota makes. The first occurred on the west coast where a driver sent California Highway Patrol on a 30 minute chase. The second happened outside of New York City, where a woman in her 50's ran over a retaining wall (probably after mistaking the gas for the brake) and pretty much total here Prius. What is interesting is how the owners of these vehicles claiming unintended acceleration, didn't involve people getting serious hurt or killed and neither of the two involved serious damage to other people's property.
In James Sikes case, I beleive, he either was trying to get out of a speeding ticket or wanted the same type of media attention that Balloon Boy got. As for the lady who ran over her retaining wall at the end of her driveway, I think she never liked retaining wall and wanted a new Prius to boot.
What I am getting at here is that the media, as they always do, has gone into frenzy mode and stopped asking some of the most important and obvious questions. In the case of 61 year old driver James Sikes there are a couple of guns that are still smoking. First, is the fact that his second generation Prius was only affected by the floormat recall, it does not have the suspicious brake failure problem of the 3rd generation Prius and it also does not feature the faulty pedals of other vehicle that Toyota produced around the same time his Prius was made.
Next, is the speed Sikes was travelling at. We've tested the Prius under full throttle situations and can report that the vehicle can go in excess of 100 miles per hour, not the 90 miles per hour Sikes was travelling at. One argument to this top speed claim was that Sikes was on the brakes and therefore the vehicle could not go that fast,, but inspection of the vehicle's rims after the chase was over shows very little brake dust; and if we was on the brakes as hard as he was saying that he was they should have been glowing.
Another is his testimony, Sikes stated that he pressed on the gas to pass another vehicle, then the car took off. He tried to press the brake but the car would not slow down. He then states that while driving he reached down and tried to pull the gas pedal up but that didn't work. None of this makes sense as there is no reason for the accelerator pedal to get stuck or to stop moving.
Finally, are his reactions. It should be noted that a California Highway Patrol Officer had to tell Sikes to use his emergency and brake and to turn the car off. You read that right, he had to be told to use his EMERGENCY brake to stop the car. Why that thought or the thought to hold the power button to turn off his car never his mind remains to be seen.
I honestly believe that the only malfunction occurring in the Prius owned Mr. Sikes, is lies somewhere just above the driver's seat but below the headliner.
UPDATE:
Below is a video of a car dealer proving that are mutliple ways to disengage a Toyota Prius similiar to the one involved in yesterdays high speed chase in California. I think Lars will have to eat some crow.
Comments
He was lying and trying to get out of a speeding ticket! You are correct ! He is a MORON !
This story is all opininion and no fact. Did you go see the prius in person to examine the brakes or did you make that judgement off of the picture. Mr. Sikes called 911, it wasn't as if the patrolman came up behind him because he noticed he was speeding. He was dispatched to do so.
I would say you the writer of this "story" have no Idea what you are talking about.
Do a little research on the subject...and find out some facts. I could site you report after report of this happening for the last several years...but you are right...they are all lying!
Journalism at its best!
Just to get you started on your research...
http://www.houstonpress.com/2009-04-23/news/wild-rides/
This article has several examples...oh, and if you notice, this was long before the latest "hysteria".
I look forward to your article after Toyota admits (well, they won't actually admit, but found out) that their is another problem in their vehicles.
@Lars Larson. This article is mostly based around the observational facts of the this out of control Prius story. It is an opinion article since it in our Editorials sections.
Also I am little confused by your statement as you say I have no idea what I am talking about but yet I am right.
I also never discounted the other stories about unintended acceleration just these two. I know Toyota has many safety issues from rust, to sticky pedals, to glitchy software. But I also know that people make up things for crazy reasons.
I too look forward to Toyota's statement on this and if it turns out I'm wrong I will mail you some extra swag we got from the Auto Show
lars...it's already come out that the moron lied. he was caught speeding, and thought he could get out of it by saying he couldn't stop the car. he is going to be charged and taken to court for this. HE LIED!
You are right...based on what? Investigative journalism?!?
Please explain the facts behind how you are right? 1. Did you interview Mr. Sikes 2. Did you take apart the Toyota Prius
Funny how you left out of your article that when the Trooper was catching up to the Prius going 94 mph he could smell burning brakes.
You said "First, is the fact that his second generation Prius was only affected by the floormat recall, it does not have the suspicious brake failure problem of the 3rd generation Prius and it also does not feature the faulty pedals of other vehicle that Toyota produced around the same time his Prius was made."
So you are assuming that Toyota is telling you all their is to know about these issues. Have you ever heard Mr. Lentz or Mr. Toyoda say that without a doubt their is not any issues with the electronic throttles on there vehicles?
By the way, doesn't it seem strange to you that they came up with a solution to the "accelerator pedal" recall in 5 days, yet they still do not have a fix for the "accelerator pedal entrapment"? Do some research on that. Here is the simple facts. If they didn't come up with some type of believable solution for the "Pedal fix" they still would not be building the affected Toyotas. The "temporary" solution for the floor mats is to have the customer remove them.
If you are right, by all means call up Mr. Akyo Toyota and help him out. Maybe you should call a press conference with all of the major media and explain your findings...I'm sure they would be very interested.
Please site where it was reported that Mr. Sikes lied
@Lars The police officer stated he smelled burning brakes AFTER he stopped the car.
The evidence I have is purely observational based on Mr.Sikes testimony. You can also look at his body language and tell he's lying and knows he's about to get caught.
As for you "ad absurdum" comments I'm not even going to entertain those
"Todd Neibert, the CHP officer who gave instructions to Sikes over a loudspeaker as they went east on mountainous Interstate 8 in San Diego County Monday afternoon, said he smelled burning brakes when he caught up with the Prius."
"The brakes were definitely down to hardly any material," Neibert told reporters Tuesday. "There was a bunch of brake material on the ground and inside the wheel."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gc_pIFqke7WxQovY3MnhcyIYiLgwD9EBR7HG0
Please site your source.
By the way....There is an interview of the officer on youtube or other news sources in which he states he smelled the brakes as he pulled along the side of the vehicle.
Again...Good journalism on your part.
Lori McKeown - Hey...did you find your source yet....I didn't think so.
@Lars: I based my information an ABC News report. I also never stated that Mr. Sikes never hit the brakes, so your claim about brake wear is a moot point. He very easily could have neglected to replace his brake pads and rotors before the incident (which is much more likely than him riding the brakes in the one Prius where the accelerator override was broken during the same time there is a media frenzy over Toyotas.
Mr. Mack - My advice to you after reviewing this site and reading your journalism is, if you truely want to help College students, you need to broaden your views from your opinion and your likes of automobiles to facts about automobiles. I have been in the car business all my life and truely love automobiles. To have a closed mind and jump to judgement without facts and thorough reviews is not doing the journalism or reviews justice, because your viewers or readers will not find merit in what you write.
Just some advise from an old car guy
Please provide a link to the ABC news report.
"Accelerator override" What is that?
"We've tested the Prius under full throttle situations and can report that the vehicle can go in excess of 100 miles per hour, not the 90 miles per hour Sikes was travelling at. "
So you drove a Prius at 90 to 100 mph and applied the brakes while still pressing the accelerator pedal? If not, how can you speculate the speed he could or could not have been going? Also, you are speculating the amount of brake dust or brake wear that would show on the outside of the vehicle. You are doing this based on driving a prius over 100 mph.
"None of this makes sense as there is no reason for the accelerator pedal to get stuck or to stop moving"
Your right...unless there is a problem with the car (WHICH HE and hundreds are CLAIMING)
"I think Lars will have to eat some crow." Thats funny, that is the same kind of talk that Toyota is spewing. IF YOU ARE 100% sure, Say "Lars will have to eat Crow"...but you're not 100% sure...just like Toyota
@Lars: Again you are mistaking the intent of this article. You are characterizing it as if I am saying the whole Toyota recall thing is a sham, which it is not. As far as my narrow minded views are concerned, I wrote an article a few weeks ago stating that there should be less cynicism when it concerns these recalls, as a lot of car blogs were piling the cause of these accidents on the drivers. Again, I feel I have stated enough facts based on Mr. Sikes testimony to prove that he is not telling the truth. There are multiple fail-safes in this car which make the sequence of events impossible unless all of these safety systems broke at once. I do feel that we help college students here by giving them an alternate point of view when it comes to making a car purchase and car culture in general. But just because my view is different from yours doesn't make it narrow minded or too focus. So I respectfully will have to disagree with your previous claims.
@Lars: I again think you are cherry picking comments from the article and interpreting them with freedoms that are distorting the truth.
As for the pedal. If you are trying to pull up on the pedal and it won't allow you to do it, there is either a unique problem concerning something being jammed in the pedal. Or the person didn't really pull up on the pedal and fabricated the story
I will leave you with this and if I am wrong I am wrong- I have been watching this unravel from early last year (2009) and really began watching, listening, and studying what is going on.
When this is over 1. We will all find out that the "floor mat entrapment" recall is a sham. 2. We will all find out that the "accelerator pedal" recall is a sham.
Why, because Toyota thought after years of getting away with the problem Unintended acceleration (since 2003) they could put the fire out with a couple "get me done" recalls to "appease" the media, its drivers, and all of America. What they didn't plan on was continued media coverage and fact checking. My view is that the reason they don't have a "fix" for the accelerator pedal entrapment yet is that they don't have a fix. You are in college...do this deduction. Accelerator pedal entrapment is caused by the floormat becoming out of position or in some manner covering a portion or all of the accelerator pedal. The floor mat is a physical part and the accelerator is a physical part. What they say is that the two are overlapping in these incedents. If I know that this is the cause...how hard would it be to come up with a fix? Why don't they have one? Like I stated earlier...they discovered and produced a fix for the pedal mechanism within a week, yet they can't figure out the floor mats?
Difference...solving the "accelerator pedal" recall with the "shim" fix allowed Toyota to start production again.
Just my opinion...and we will see who eats crow
If Mr. Sykes stood on his brakes to slow the car down, it would have slowed down since the braking action is on both the driving wheels and the rear wheels. Also his lack of attempt at shutting down the motor and using the emergency brake is suspicious.
From Joan Claybrooks hearing Testimony today...Just FYI
"I think it is interesting that Toyota has said that it is a floor mat recall of 5 million cars and yet the remedy that they are putting in most of those cars is not only to remove or fix the pedal or floor mat but to put put in a brake override program which is an electronic fix....Why are they putting an electronic fix in if it is the floor mat or if its the pedal?" "I think it is a software problem and if the vehicles have been fixed with the floor mat or pedals and they still run away, then there is obviously another problem" "and I also think there are vehicles not covered by the recall that may have these problems but they may use a different sofware so it is not an identical problem"
"But their is no question in my mind that this is an electronics issue"
" and I think the company took the position early on that it wasn't because it would hurt there sales with consumers and consumers don't like software glitches."
"Now if they changed there mind they would be subject to 18uc1000...lying to the government and going to jail!"
"I think they (Toyota) are looking at this as a communication fix as opposed to a real fix"
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/292484-1
I'm willing to believe that the throttle was stuck in the full open position and the brakes were completely useless. When the 911 operator asked him if he had tried to put the car in neutral he said "no". She told him to try to put the car in neutral. His voice sounded somewhat indignant when he responded " I'M TRYING TO CONTROL THE CAR" He could make a 911 call but he couldn't take 1 hand off the wheel to shift into neutral ??? I contend he made the 911 call AFTER he realized a trooper had seen him clipping along at 90 mph
The Lexus crash was real and caused by improper floor mats double stacked and jamming the accelerator. Toyota has admitted that they engineered proper clearance for one properly installed mat but failed to engineer for the possible misuse of muliple stacked or improper mats. That is the nature of the floor mat recall.
The Prius story stinks:
1) We are to believe that the Prius accelerated on in its own and the pedal stuck forward and wouldn't return even pulling on it with all his strength. Hmm.. The Prius pedal has no mechanical device to move it forward on its own. (not cable linked to anything and even cruise doesn't physically move the pedal) Even if the computer had an amazing glitch, it can't and doesn't physically move the pedal.
2) On a Prius even if you intentionally floor the gas with one foot, all Toyota Hybrids (including this 08) are already equipped with the much discussed brake override that would kill the accelerator immediately. Anyone with a Prius can safely try this.
3) Even if we were to assume that an electronic gremlin accelerated the car and disconnected the brake override, the standard brakes would overpower the engine without contest.
4) On an 08 Prius neutral is engaged by a single flick of the clearly marked shift lever to the left . It is not anywhere close to engaging reverse (which would not engage anyway). Anyone who has ever used an automatic carwash in a Prius knows how easy it is to engage neutral. The only legitimate reason for not engaging neutral in a 30 minute wild ride is because you don't want to engage neutral.... The shift lever on Prius is inches from the steering wheel and easy to reach.
re: video on this page. "2008 prius demo..."
what is the speed limit on the interstate where the car was driven? i would guess it was being driven in excess of that limit and the video is evidence that can be used against the car dealer in court. someone please arrest the sucker and fine his tushy.
the argument that the prius couldn't possibly do this: when it is working i'd agree, when it is not working who knows? toyota certainly doesn't or doesn't want you to know. my win7 x64 pc couldn't possibly lock up while it's working correctly, but then as it's running windows every once in a while you get a BSOD or it freezes and only a reboot will get it back to where it works as 'designed'. remember the titanic. it couldn't possibly sink, it was designed to stay afloat, wasn't it? like the titanic that didn't need life boats, the toyota doesn't need mechanical backup systems to shut down the engine if the onboard computer fails.
I don't know about some of these incidents. Psychological problems or fraud are certainly possible, but not certain. Intermittent problems are very hard to track down.
On a straight road, I floored the accelerator on my Prius. Then I pressed and held the power button. After 5 seconds, the engine stopped, and the transmission indicator showed Neutral. Power steering and brakes continued to work. The power button showed orange. I could not restart the engine until I coasted to a stop.
I find it hard to believe that a stuck throttle, if it occurs, would cause an accident if you know what to do. Why is there so much publicity about stuck throttles and so little about what to do if it happens?
One more thing about psychological problems. A person in panic can fail to do the most obvious things. The publicity about this issue has increased the chance that incompetent drivers will react by panic instead of by figuring out what to do.
Many things point to a hoax here. The road was virtually clear of traffic at 1:30 in the afternoon---rare near SanDiego. The timing was perfect to do maximum damage to Toyota, since the media were in feeding-frenzy mode over Toyoda's Congressional testimony. This stretch of road just happened to be 12 miles from the place where a CA state trooper died in a similar situation-- a fact guaranteed to be mentioned in every story about this incident. What are the chances of that? The driver says he has no intention of suing, but he hired the same law firm as the late Highway Patrolman's family, who ARE suing. Why would somebody do that? Also, it is safe to assume the State Trooper who helped stop Sikes knew the dead Trooper. I see plenty of motives and plenty of warning signs.
I'm not a Toyota lover by this story is clear bull. Sikes told the media the reason he couldn't follow 911 instructions (about shifting to neutral, turn off the engine by holding down the button for 5 seconds) was because he was scared to death and he had to put two hands on the wheel. But he told the police that during the 95 mph run he reached down and tried to move the gas pedal back up with his hand!
Second, Sikes claimed he slammed down the brake pedal the whole time, but investigators only find evidences of braking at intermittent intervals, and gassing at intermittent intervals.
Third, Toyota has so much safe systems in place to prevent exactly the thing Sikes said happened, and the problem with Prius has never been software induced accelerations, but gas pedal stuck by bad floor carpet, which Sikes version of Prius don't have.
Fourth, Sikes claimed he doesn't want to sue, and yet he has a high powerful firm lawyer team on his back.
Fifth, many people privately tested Sikes story said if the gas pedal is floored the car goes all the way up to 125-130 mph in all cases, not 90-95 mph.
I distain Toyota as much as the next guy, but this has conspiracy all over it. Sikes either is hoping for Toyota to resolve this with an "undisclosed financial agreement", or Sikes is a hired gun of Government Motors.
A Prius can go 90 mph?
I think sikes needs a braincheck.
So why didn't he shift it into nuetral when he first realized that the car was accelerating without him wanting it? The only undisputed fact in this whole story is that most people have only a vague idea about how to actually drive a car and more importantly what to do in an emergency. I seem to recall another mass auto hysteria involving treads of a tire delaminating on a certain brand of SUV. http://www.caranddriver.com/features/01q1/why_are_ford_explorers_crashing_-column Check the link, with hardly any steering wheel input, the car tracked almost completely straight after the test-blowout. I've had treads delaminate from my car on the interstate at 75, and it was the same thing, an uneventful but frustrating turn of events. Every person who has tested this has been able to put the car into neutral because they were expecting it, so if our uneducated, panicky and generally terrible drivers would take a deep breath when and if it happens, there would be no more epidemic of injuries and crashes. Obviously if it is accelerating uncontrollably then the blame partially lies with Toyota, but lets not forget the fact that most or all of these injuries are preventable.
Haha I'm literally the only comment to this amazing article!?
If I had a dollar for every time I came to thecollegedriver.com! Great article!