- In San Diego yesterday, a 2008 Toyota Prius reportedly sped out of control on the freeway.
- The driver claims the accelerator pedal became stuck.
- CHP officers talked the driver to a safe stop.
SAN DIEGO — In a striking counterpoint to Toyota's show-and-tell on Monday designed to debunk claims of sudden acceleration in its vehicles, an out-of-control Toyota Prius in California stole much of the spotlight, capturing headlines around the U.S.
Jim Sikes, the driver of the Prius, said the accelerator became stuck and the car reached speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour on a portion of Interstate 8 outside the San Diego area. He called 911 and the California Highway Patrol caught up to him and used the patrol car's public address system to instruct Sikes to apply the brakes and the emergency brake at the same time. Later, the officer parked his patrol car in front of the Prius to keep it from moving again.
Toyota swiftly responded to the barrage of media reports of the wild Prius ride.
"This afternoon, Toyota learned of a report that a California Highway Patrol (CHP) unit was dispatched in response to a 911 call from a motorist driving a Prius on Interstate 8 in San Diego County who said the accelerator pedal was stuck," said Toyota in a statement. "The report states that the CHP unit slowed in front of the vehicle and acted as a brake to bring it to a stop. Toyota has dispatched a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the report and offer assistance."
Sikes said he took his 2008 Prius in to a local Toyota dealership about two weeks ago for service and was told his car wasn't on the recall list, according to media reports. The 2004-'09 Prius is involved in the recall about gas pedal entrapment by floor mats, according to NHTSA. The 2008 Prius is not involved in the sticky-gas-pedal recall, nor is it involved in the braking safety issue recall of some Prius models.
It was not the first time that the CHP and Toyota have been linked in a news story. Last August, off-duty CHP officer Mark Saylor was killed along with three family members after the accelerator of the Lexus ES 350 they were in got stuck as they drove on State Route 125 in La Mesa. The loaner vehicle slammed into an SUV in Santee at about 100 mph, according to the local sheriff's department and media reports. The car overturned and burst into flames. The Saylor family's tragic story was retold recently during congressional hearings to investigate the massive Toyota recalls.
During Toyota's Webinar on Monday, corporate spokesman Mike Michels addressed the reports of incidents in vehicles that had undergone recall repairs.
"We are aware of these reports that vehicles have had some sort of incident after the repair was made," he said. "Only a few have been confirmed and verified. In some cases, it had to do with the repair not being done completely.
"If modifications are deployed and done properly, they are effective. We are going to be upgrading millions of cars. The other challenge [is] the nature and the specifics of complaints are not very descriptive. We will look at them and investigate them. We remain confident in the recall remedies."
Inside Line says: Toyota can't seem to get ahead of the negative news. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
jmaroun says:
10:03 AM, 03/15/2010
tbone85 is right.
I sincerely regret my crass initial response and apologise to Mr. Sikes for my remarks. I obviously don't know what happened since I was not there and am glad no one got hurt. I hope this is figured out.
Joseph
San Diego
tbone85 says:
05:11 AM, 03/15/2010
No matter how much experience one has, it always pays to wait until the evidence is in. I'm not predisposed to believe either side of this tale. Investigators did find complete brake pad wearout, but why it happened and the precise circumstances are still being investigated--and may never be known.
Anyone who claims with absolute authority that this is a complete hoax (and part of a greater conspiracy) or a legitimate and laser accurate accounting of what happened is either clairvoyant--or an anonymous internet blogger who has no skin in the game to back up their wild-eyed claims. :-)
vadakin says:
07:45 PM, 03/11/2010
I am a retired auto tech. with over 40 years experience,seems to me nobody remembers the GM stuck accelerators back in the later 60s, This all sounds a little like "let's kick the big guy while he's down". I am not certain there is or is not an issue here, however if there is I am sure that Toyota will issue a massive recall rather than lose sales in this big country.
When the Prius first came out in this country my wife wanted to buy one,however I talked her into waiting a few years,remembering the Edsel, Yugo, Oldsmobile 5.7 L diesel, M29,aka 200 transmission and many more too many to list. Well she finally got her 2006 prius an so far no problems. I tried to duplicate this condition to see if I could fool the electronics but could not. I also tried to see if putting it into neutral is possable at higher speeds which seems to be an option and it definatly is, also when put into neutral it returns the engine to idle speed no matter what position the accelerator is in.
thanx vadakin
anythgoutdrs says:
03:01 PM, 03/11/2010
aren't people instructed to put it in neutral? Also; if you are traveling at the posted speed limit you,d only be doing that speed not 90 plus. Unless the gas pedal mechanisms are increasing in speed I can't see how you'd be going that fast...
racerx1320 says:
09:22 AM, 03/11/2010
Call me a cynic but this all seems a bit coincidental. Bad Economy results in domestic automakers experiencing the largest sales slump in decades. Current top seller gets the mother of all recalls, which pry's on the worst fear of drivers. Faulty parts in question made next door to the state in which domestic automakers reside.
Sincerely,
William Grey
Roswell, NM
fleurious says:
04:17 AM, 03/10/2010
I like how everyone who has not had this terrifying experience knows all about it. Of course NORMALLY you can do this and that, but this is NOT normal. Get it????
ferenc says:
10:44 PM, 03/09/2010
i had this stuck accelerator problem once in my life. i was in the middle of nowhere in mexico, san luis potosi, turned out to be the nearest city. i was driving a 1972 bmw 2002, 4 speed.my accelerator went down and my speed increased to 80-85 on a desolate highway. i tried to pull up the accelerator with my hand but no luck. i stuck the gear in neutral and broke, i came to a stop. i waited about an hour and the green angels arrived. they looked my engine over and discovered that the carburator had a little gas sprayer pipe that was disloged and almost falling inside the carb. the man connected this little pipe to its proper place and i drove the car safely for another 4 years and sold it. that's my story.
arock says:
09:50 PM, 03/09/2010
Good stunt and nice try, but it is not working
compressor says:
09:30 PM, 03/09/2010
I won't comment on the validity of any claim as I will never know all the details. However, I do think there is some confusion on how automotive systems are linked together. Based on many claims, Toyota's cars would need a failure of the electronic throttle control, transmission selector, brake system, and ignition switch. Though cars have complex CPU's, these systems are rarely tied together in a way that would lead to a complete failure of the entire system (which would be needed for you to be unable to slow/stop a car over 20min.) Additionally, each system has built in redundance. The probabilty of all these safeguards failing, all at teh same time is incredibly small.
The strangest fact is that at 50 mph, the driver was able to shut off the vehicle. No ignition switch made cares what speed the vehicle is running at or what load is on the engine.
Toyota may well have had a problem, but everyone needs to look at the situation presently lately with a little intelligence and thought - not fear.
jeffgriz says:
08:50 PM, 03/09/2010
Has anyone investigated the possibility of the cruise control being engaged and either inadvertently pushing in on the accelation cruise button that is on the steering wheel of most of these cars or a failure in the cruise control electronics that causes the car to accelerate?
My mother has driven over 100,000 miles in her previous 2006 Avalon, never engaged the cruise and had no issues. She now has a 2010 Avalon with 15,000 miles, never used the cruise and no issues.
I know I leave the Cruise Control button on the dash in the "on" position in my Honda and have mistakenly bumped the steering wheel controls and engaged the cruise...just a thought.