Toyota dismisses account of runaway Prius

SAN DIEGO – Toyota dismissed the story of a man who claimed his Prius sped out of control on the California freeway, saying Monday that its own tests found the car's gas pedal and backup safety system were working just fine.

The automaker stopped short of saying James Sikes had staged a hoax last week but said his account did not square with a series of tests it conducted on the gas-electric hybrid.

Toyota said its own testing found Sikes had rapidly pressed the gas and brakes back and forth more than 250 times. The company had no explanation for why he might do such a thing but said the car's front brakes were shot.

"We have no opinion on his account, what he's been saying, other than that the scenario is not consistent with the technical findings," spokesman Mike Michels told a press conference.

The episode March 8 was among the highest-profile headaches Toyota has suffered in recent months. It recalled more than 8 million cars and trucks worldwide because gas pedals can become stuck in the down position or be snagged by floor mats. Dozens of Toyota drivers have reported problems even after their cars were supposedly fixed.

Sikes had said his car raced to 94 mph on a freeway near San Diego. He called 911, but did not respond to instructions from the dispatcher to shut off the engine or throw the car into neutral.

A California Highway Patrol officer ultimately helped bring the car safely to a stop. Sikes spoke to reporters shortly after the incident.

Toyota said it had conducted two days of tests on the car last week. It found severe wear and damage on the front brakes from overheating, but the rear brakes and parking brake were in good condition.

And the rest of the car was fine, the automaker said — the gas pedal was not slowed by friction, the floor mat was not even touching the pedal, and a system that cuts the engine power when the gas and brakes are pressed at the same time was working.

A statement from Sikes' attorney, John H. Gomez, said the firm would not comment further on the episode until a government investigation was complete. Sikes was not immediately available for comment.

The company also said the push-button power switch worked normally and shut the car off when pressed for three seconds, and that the shift lever worked normally, so the car could be shifted into neutral.

The power management computer contained no diagnostic trouble codes, and the dashboard malfunction lights were not activated, Toyota said.

Earlier in the day, federal regulators said they were reviewing data from the gas-electric hybrid but so far had not found anything to explain the out-of-control acceleration reported by Sikes.

"We would caution people that our work continues and that we may never know exactly what happened with this car," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement.

On Sunday, Gomez said it was neither surprising nor significant that inspectors had been unable to recreate the conditions reported by Sikes.

"They have never been able to replicate an incident of sudden acceleration. Mr. Sikes never had a problem in the three years he owned this vehicle," he said.

But Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., suggested it raised questions about Sikes' story.

"It doesn't mean it didn't happen, but let's understand, it doesn't mean it did happen," Issa said on CBS' "The Early Show."

Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the event data recorder — a car's version of the "black box" inspected after plane crashes — would be of no use to investigators because it only stores information when the airbags are deployed. The box only stores four to six seconds of information before the airbags go off, he said.

But investigators were able to download valuable information from the hybrid's control computer system, which showed the car was functioning normally, Toyota said.

The computer also showed that Sikes alternated from brake pedal to gas pedal at least 250 times — the limit of the computer's storage ability. Toyota said the front brake pads were nearly destroyed.

Toyota will give the car back to Sikes soon, Michels said, indicating that no further testing will be done for electronic causes.

Two outside experts, however, said it would be a mistake not to test for unknown electronic gremlins, such as electromagnetic interference, static electricity or software glitches. Those problems, they said, can gum up electronics and then disappear.

It's possible the Prius' backup system could have been compromised by an electronic glitch, said Keith Armstrong, a British electronic engineer and consultant who advises companies on electromagnetic interference.

Why should anyone believe Toyota's ass when they can't explain what the problem is in any of the other cars that are failing??? I KNEW they would eventually find a way to blame this shit on drivers.

"here's your car back, dude"

BklynBabe said:

After they done broke it apart and shit. Ain't that some boolshit???

SCNDLS said:

And there it is.

I mean how/why they pick him out of all the other drivers who've claimed failure issues with Prius. As for the gas and breaks being pressed back and forth a multitude of times...who hasn't done that in heavy traffic which can speed and stall at any given moment?


Fuckers!

And um...this right here is where I'd put my money if I was a gamblin woman:

The state trooper that was there said that the break lights were on and went the car stopped and he got out there was a smell of break fluid.

And yes, the breaks were worn all the way down. Toyota reps. and engineers are being paid to not say what they should say because Toyota doesn't want customers to stop buying their cars.

Me... I don't care about the guy in question.. I trust the state trooper, he has zero reason to lie and state troopers are no joke and all business. He doesn't have to play buddy to anyone.

paintedlady said:

Plus, the trooper said he could see dude raised up in the car literally standing on the brakes. Nice try, Toyota.

SCNDLS said:

The Toyota execs. must really think Americans are all dumb. I hope all the execs of that company experience that shit once... I bet they don't drive Prius cars now either.

I don't think they will be able to give Toyotas away by the end of this year.....

such a shame too, I've never had a Toyota or a Lexus but definitely I would not have thought they would turn out to be so shady.

I've had my Mazda for almost 7 years now, and not nar a problem *knocks on wood*

BklynBabe said:

They are gonna get sued til the end of time because of the lost value people will have on their existing vehicles.

I had agreed to help my niece buy a car and she had her heart set on a Toyota Camry for 3 months. They had the best financing deals too. Then all this shit happened. I was like, Oh no you don't! Plus she has a son too. Ain't no way I woulda co-signed on that. She ended up wit a fly lil Honda Accord instead.

Toyota was at the top of the car game for years. Not anymore!

Um...them Buick LaCrosse's look sweet!!!

DesireeNevermind said:

I went to the car show last week and there were a lot of cute American made cars. I still wouldn't buy one but they are coming up again . . . thanks to Toyota.

SCNDLS said:

buy american

The kids at Honda must be having a ball.
[Edited 3/15/10 17:21pm]

Lammastide said:

Sitting around

SCNDLS said:

well...
he did say he was never going to drive again

SCNDLS said:

I used to drive a 16 year-old Camry. The day the odometer hit 100,000 miles, some asshole hit me and totaled it. That car was great. It looked like it did the day it was bought new because I believe in maintenance and keeping cars clean. I've also had two Honda Accords. The first one rusted out and the second one I sold, but it was a good car.

Now today, when I went out to get ya'lls chicken, I was driving my Sportage and for a second or two though I was experiencing what Toyotas are doing. I was driving over a rough patch of road and put my foot on the brake to slow down a tad in case there were potholes. I swear to God, when I touched the brake, the car accelerated for a split second. Scared the shit out of me. It has never happened before. The road was wet, so maybe I was sliding...

peb319 said:

True, but now he can't even get the the shit's worth.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people are faking problems for the gravy

Shyra said:

Maybe that's what it was.

My homegirl had JUST signed a new lease on a Camry a week or two before all this stuff jumped off. She said she's experienced the acceleration thing. Of course, this heffa tells me this shit while picking me up from the airport in that bitch.

SCNDLS said:

SCNDLS said:

i doubt the trooper could see where the guy's foot was. and why DIDNT he turn the car off or put it into neutral as 911 said..?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Fucking Californians . . .

Then the whole weekend I'm riding with the heffa, she's all, "Girl, did you feel that??? I think it just did it."
Me: "Bitch, don't make me hurt you."

BlackAdder7 said:

The brakes were squealing in conjunction with him doing this according to the trooper. Have you heard the audio and seen the video? It's OBVIOUS he was panicked, scared, and trying to stop the car. JUST like the 911 audio from the FOUR people in the Lexus who all died.

SCNDLS said:

And you stayed in the car? Girl, Ida thought you'd be the one to say, "BITCH! LET ME OUT AT THE CONA!"

Shyra said:

Right???

I can't believe she's still driving that joker. She's still excited about her leather seats and navigation system.

CAR OWNER TOOK VEHICLE IN FOR SUDDEN-ACCELERATION REPAIR, WAS TURNED AWAY

When 61-year-old James Sikes of California received a notice that his 2008 Prius was one of the millions of Toyota vehicles being recalled for sticking accelerator pedals, he took his car into a Toyota dealership. But the dealer told him his Prius wasn’t on the gas pedal recall list but the floor mat list.

So Sikes had his car fixed and continued on with his life. That is, until Monday afternoon when he was traveling on Interstate 8 near San Diego.

“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny,” Sikes said. “It jumped and it just stuck there. As it was going, I was trying the brakes. It wasn’t stopping.”

The gas pedal was stuck and his Prius quickly accelerated to over 90 mph. “But it wasn’t stuck on anything that was visible,” said Sikes.

The driver immediately called 911 and the highway patrol dispatched Officer Todd Niebert. After 20 minutes and 30 miles, the trooper was able to catch up to Sikes, who was standing on the brake pedal with no avail.

“When I saw him, I could smell the brakes,” Neibert said.

Neibert used his loudspeaker to get Sikes to apply the emergency brake with the brake pedal while the car was going uphill. That slowed the Prius down to 50 mph and Sikes, after several attempts, was able to safely turn off the car’s engine by using the ignition button. With the trooper’s car in front of him, Sikes was able to roll to a stop.

“I won’t drive that car again, period,” said Sikes at a press conference after the incident. “Maybe they can find out what’s wrong with them now.”

Toyota, already reeling from the biggest crisis in the company’s history, immediately dispatched a technical specialist to investigate the report and offer assistance.

To date, Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide for mechanical problems that have, in a few cases, proven deadly.

Ironically, Sikes’ incident occurred in the where an off-duty California Highway Patrol trooper and three family members were killed last August during a sudden-acceleration case that led to the first major Toyota recall.

Toyota has blamed the unintended acceleration on intruding floor mats and other “engineering problems,” but has failed to actually address car owners’ pressing safety concerns.

And this incident proves that the reason they have been elusive is that they really have no clue what is wrong with their vehicles.

SCNDLS said:

Does her navigation system have one of those woman's voices giving directions? If so, maybe she can program it to kick in when the shit starts to say, "SLOW THIS BITCH DOWN! LEMME OUT THIS MUHFUCKA!"
[Edited 3/15/10 19:50pm]

how hard is it to put a runaway car in neutral??
apparently its fucking impossible or there's really fucking stupid people driving toyotas....