Who would have thought driver error...
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
I know that Toyota is not the favorite car manufacturer on this blog, but I found this article to be thought provoking. I am all for slamming some company for a bad product, but I wondered if some of those people weren't fabricating stories to cover up their own mistakes.
"In spite of our investigations, we have not actually been able yet to find a defect" in electronic throttle-control systems, Mr. Smith told the scientific panel, which is looking into potential causes of sudden acceleration.
"We're bound and determined that if it exists, we're going to find it," he added. "But as yet, we haven't found it."
2 comments:
Actually the results were that the problem is not with the electronics of the vehicle.
There are actually several problems causing the accidents:
1) Sticky pedals as a result of condensation in the mechanism, which were recalled.
2) Floor mats that trapped a gas pedal that was poorly designed and was recalled.
3) Driver stupidity. Tests have shown that even a 500 + HP Shelby GT 500 will stop eventually, even with the throttle mashed to the floor if full brakes applied. Engines will not overpower your brakes.
By the way, I have had a similar thing happen in an old truck of mine. It wasn’t a big deal. I dropped it into neutral, shut the engine off and fixed a stuck carburetor return spring.
Rickey actually heard this first hand a few weeks ago from a buddy who works as a mechanic for Toyota. Pretty scary that their official policy line on this debacle seems to be "uh, it's something with the computers... have no fucking clue."
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