Crazy_Nate Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 The 911 call was from a frantic passenger, trapped with family members in a runaway vehicle barreling down a California highway with a stuck accelerator and no brakes. The call ended with someone telling people in the car to hold on and pray, followed by a woman's scream. The high-speed crash near San Diego in August, involving an out-of-control Lexus ES 350 that killed four members of a family, led Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday to issue its largest-ever U.S. recall, involving 3.8 million vehicles. The recall is intended to address problems with a removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck and lead to a crash. http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1763305 Wow...just...wow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comp Dude2 Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Seems like they have bitten the bullet and started a recall quickly though..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Nate Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Yeah, I have the feeling that they're trying to not get sued... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 What a stupid recall. Anyone with any sense would either shut the car off, shift into neutral, or, oh I dunno, CHECK TO SEE IF THE GAS PEDAL IS STUCK. That happens all the time on older cars because of cables getting caught, throttle returns breaking, and yes, the pedal getting stuck under the floor mat. Issuing a recall over this shows just how ludicrously litigious our society has become. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Nate Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 Well...I think the Lexus in question has a button, not a key. There's a special way to turn it off (like hold the button for 5 seconds). Not sure about the shift lever...it used to be a safety mechanism to always be able to drop into neutral. Now, if our society was one that drove manual cars, you could probably bog down the engine in gear with the brakes and get it to stall...funny how a manual transmission is called "standard"... not in this country Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
suchuwato Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 How retarded do you have to be to not realise the mat is stuck on the accelerator? <_< Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerm Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 My wife's car falls in that recall but we aren't dead yet. lol......Rather than deal with a recall BS why not just remove the super dangerous floor mat? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoArmistead Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) Tragic situation, but being an off-duty cop, I would think the driver would instinctively check those things, or worst case scenario would maneuver the car into a guard rail to kill the engine. According to Toyota you can kill the engine by pressing the button for three seconds. It's a damn shame four people had to die over something so simple. Edited September 30, 2009 by LoArmistead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard, luckily I wouldn't be affected since I don't run floor mats in my cars. I hate to be a dick but I'm not sad that one driver died (though I am down that the 3 other passengers did ) since it would be so easy to avoid an incident like this. Turn the car off (unless it's one of those stupid push starts, in which case there still must be some way to "push off" or something) If they couldn't turn it off, they could have put the car in neutral, if the motor blows, oh well it's Toyota's fault not yours. The human lives are more important than the life of the motor. (assuming this wasn't just the floor mat holding down the gas pedal, and it was actually a stuck throttle). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GabrielT Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 I had this happen with my dad's Ranger once, I was driving and I punched it and it wouldn't stop accelerating! I looked down and saw that the floor mat had the pedal stuck so I removed the floor mat. I lived so what is that drivers excuse? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjmagneto Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 I learned from traffic school that for stuck accelerator to put the car in neutral and if the brake fails use the handbrake or parking brake. It might be quite hard to remember that stuff as a driver during a crisis but good grief, one would think the 911 operator should know this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waco Posted September 30, 2009 Posted September 30, 2009 assuming this wasn't just the floor mat holding down the gas pedal, and it was actually a stuck throttle I've had a stuck throttle before. Solution? Kill the engine. Can't do that? Shift into neutral/pop the clutch. Can't do that? FLOOR THE BRAKE PEDAL. There's almost no car in existence with more horsepower than braking power. The only way your brakes would "go out" is if you just tried to slow down without hitting the brakes hard (eventually overheating them to the point of failure). As much as it sucks that they died I think recalling vehicles for this is absolutely insane. We as a society sue over the most retarded things. Personal responsibility is dying. :/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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