Runaway Prius Clocked At Over 90Mph.

[jdmidwest]

Another shot at Toyota today, the runaway Prius. Who would have thought one of those little rice burners would get above 70? I have not been able to figure out how someone could let a car get out of control like that. Is the shift knob broke too? Reach down and pull the rug out of the accelerator? It is not like that had instant acceleration like a rocket, probably does zero to 60 in 3 minutes or more. Plenty of time to react. I think there is more to the story than the media is letting out.

I have owned my 99 4 runner for over a year and will have a hard time buying another Chevy. It is a good running, good driving, good riding machine and has over 210k on it. No leaks, 11 yr/o and still tight inside and out. No rattles or wind noises. It does better off road than any Blazer I owned. It has good traction and braking. Better towing capacity and gas mileage.

[eric1978]

Way to buy American there JD...very patriotic.

They are saying the accelerator problem is on later model cars, so your 4-Runner is not susceptible to it.

[laker67]

Is Shimano american?

[eric1978]

Is Shimano american?

No, but I don't know of any American reels that are on a par with Shimano, and I don't have any neighbors that I'll put out of work when I buy Shimano.

[Al Agnew]

Well, actually there are a lot of Toyotas built in America by Americans...and as far as I know, zero Shimano reels built in America.

I own a Prius. When this stuff first came to light, I went out on the interstate, floored the accelerator pedal, and while keeping it floored shifted the gear lever into neutral. It worked. Doesn't necessarily mean it would work if there is some sort of computer problem that is causing this unintended acceleration, but I have to think that if this was a really serious problem, there would have been a LOT more people coming forward and saying it happened to them...or a statistically significant number of high speed accidents involving Toyotas. A certain small percentage of all autos probably have these problems for one reason or another.

By the way, though, jd...the Prius is actually a pretty zippy little car. In fact, we've driven ours a lot of highway miles and passed a lot of cars at 80 mph (when driving out west where the speed limit is 75) and I don't think I've ever had to floor the accelerator pedal to do so. Their screen that shows instant gas mileage at all times, if you watch it and watch how you drive, will make you have a lot lighter foot on the pedal!

Only problem we've had with ours is when driving long distances, we don't have to stop and get gas for so long at a time that when we do stop, we're too stiff and sore from sitting too long. (It gets somewhere between 45 and 50 mpg on the highway.)

One other thing about this issue...I listened to somebody on NPR the other day that said that the apparent risk of this happening is far, far less than the risk of encountering an impaired driver, a deer in the headlights at 70 mph on the interstate, a blow-out...and far, far less than just a stupid move while driving. Yet, we all think we're excellent drivers and that we have the smarts and reflexes to avoid most accidents, while we feel helpless in the face of a sudden mysterious mechanical problem. So we freak out about this unintended acceleration, and don't worry at all about all the things we are more likely to get in trouble with on the highway.

[eric1978]

Well, actually there are a lot of Toyotas built in America by Americans...

But the people who put them together get paid crap. I think they're fine vehicles for the most part, I just hate sending our money out of the country if we don't have to. We hardly make anything here anymore, so when I can buy American I almost always try to as long as we have a product that is comparable in quality and price...cars we have, reels we don't, that was my point.

[jdmidwest]

I was thinking more of the bubble boy last summer that got all of the news attention. It turned out to be a hoax.

Americans make most of the Toyota's, the plants went into locations where the jobs they created were above the local pay scale, and they helped the economy. The did not take a handout like Chrysler and Chevrolet to pay for their lowsy business practices. And they make a very high quality auto that works.

I had a little Prius sneak up on me the other day in the parking lot at Lowes, dang electric cars. They need to add a noisemaker to wheels or something.

[FishinCricket]

The did not take a handout like Chrysler and Chevrolet to pay for their lowsy business practices.

And they make a very high quality auto that works.

1. It was a loan (with extreme limitations and a good return to the taxpayer) that GM and Chrysler have paid back already, not a BAILOUT.

2. Statistically speaking it has been almost 10 years since Toyota's quality has been on par with the general publics perception of their quality.

You might consider checking the facts on these things, you make yourself look pretty silly..

And Toyota confirmed that all of their profit and losses, all of their executive decisions, and all of their upper management (the guys who get the BIG bucks) reside in JAPAN.. Pay taxes in JAPAN. When our government (the people who are supposed to protect the interests of the population at large) sends an inquiry to Toyota, it must be translated into Japanese, and Toyota requires extra time (that domestic manufacturers aren't allowed) to discuss it and send back a reply!

The point is not to dig on Toyota, who is simply another manufacturer, but to maybe shake this perception I see that they are bulletproof and the domestics are crap!

(disclaimer: My first car was a Toyota, I generally like the lil things, but don't make the mistake of putting anything up on a pedestal, it only lends to seeing the world with rose colored glasses, like the above two Toyota owners.. No offense, fellas... )

[ness]

1. It was a loan (with extreme limitations and a good return to the taxpayer) that GM and Chrysler have paid back already, not a BAILOUT.

2. Statistically speaking it has been almost 10 years since Toyota's quality has been on par with the general publics perception of their quality.

You might consider checking the facts on these things, you make yourself look pretty silly..

And Toyota confirmed that all of their profit and losses, all of their executive decisions, and all of their upper management (the guys who get the BIG bucks) reside in JAPAN.. Pay taxes in JAPAN.

(disclaimer: My first car was a Toyota, I generally like the lil things, but don't make the mistake of putting anything up on a pedestal, it only lends to seeing the world with rose colored glasses, like the above two Toyota owners.. No offense, fellas... )

Wrong -- times two. The auto companies essentially got an equity infusion, and they have returned only a small portion. Don't forget, the finance arms of Chrysler and GM got massive bailouts too. Oh, and the auto suppliers. Oh, and they also went through bankruptcy and wiped out billions in debt. The reason they ended up in such horrible shape is the way they ran the business. Paid far too much to workers -- current salary, benefits and through their pensions -- and produced inferior product that didn't sell well.

You might be thinking of the banks -- the big ones have almost all paid back the money. BTW -- many of them were forced to take the TARP money.

So, before you tag anyone else as 'silly', and to prevent yourself from looking silly too, you should check the facts yourself here: CNN Bailout Tracker

I'd like to see the statistics that backup up your quality claim.

The number of incidents is minuscule compared to the number of cars and miles driven. Not saying there isn't a problem -- just saying the number of incidents doesn't appear to be a widespread issue. Which, you couldn't tell by the amount of press it's receiving.

BTW -- patriotism doesn't have anything to do with what kinda car you drive.

[eric1978]

BTW -- patriotism doesn't have anything to do with what kinda car you drive.

I think it does. In my opinion, protecting America's middle class workers is one of the most patriotic things you can do. Corporations are the problem in general, both foreign and domestic, but given the choice to keep my money in our country, or send it to another country, I'll opt to keep it here. Our motor companies have major problems, but to blame assembly workers for those problems is disgusting. Patriotism is not as easy as saying, "I'm patriotic," but rather behaving in ways that maintains and improves the quality of life of the citizens who are the very fabric of the country we claim we "love."