Audi 5000 All Over Again? ABC News Opens Investigation On Toyota Sudden Acceleration Incidents

Seems to me that there should be a mandate that the braking system on all cars must be capable of overpowering the vehicle's engine and stopping the car. Seems like the German cars have it but the Japanese cars don't - don't know about US cars.

While that sounds like a great idea this would make brake extremely expensive. Typically a car can not accelerate from a dead stop with the brakes floored. But add the momentum at even 50 mph and a floored gas pedal and the brakes overheat and fade.

Essentially becoming useless until they cool.

Most of the German cars use a system that detects conflicting inputs, such as a floored gas and brake. In this case the ECU drops the engine to an idle until the conflict is resolved. While this probably isn't perfect it is safer.

IMO, I think most people would trade expensive brakes for safety...

Or they don't know about U.S. drivers.

Why does that picture remind me of a classic lawyer joke?

For the twelve year olds here who don't get what I'm saying:
Q- "What do you call 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean????"
A- "A great start"
*rimshot*

Not 1 single deboost?
Come on y'all!!!

Ah ah ah, there we go!

All they had to do what put the car in neutral.

That still doesn't excuse Toyota for releasing dangerous deadly vehicles on to the public. So much for Toyotas being the best engineered cars on the planet?

Huu76,

People died!! Shouldn't the gov't get involved? Or at least the authorities? Or do you believe that Toyota shouldn't be held liable for their vehicles killing people because of a poor design?

This is the first time that I've heard of floormats killing anyone. Are we supposed to just brush it under the rug because Toyota is so Successful? It isn't about envy, its about safety. And that is where the Gov't should get involved IMO.

huu,

Not for nothing, but not everyone is a racecar driver that can react at 100mph. There are elderly, younger teens, and just people who are daily driver who panic when a car unintentionally accelerate. That does not make them stupid. Toyota is still liable, and that is that.

huu does raise a good point. Why should cars like the Prius not be limited to less than 100 mph?

If not handled right, this will open the door for Hyundai to take the number 1 spot, unfortunately!

I thought Toyota already fixed the floor may issue :/....

As I recall, after years of investigating thousands of reported runaway Audis, the culprit ended up being "pedal misapplication", the official terms used in the final reports, and a euphemism for "operator error."

It seems the all-too-human (or all-too-North-American?) default position is: Not My Fault. Even when we mess up, it's because of a "bad design" that was at fault. Not operator error, lack of training, or anything else that would render us as being accountable for our own decisions, actions, or inactions.

Combine that with a sea of helpful lawyers, hoards of empathetic jurors, and media who dutifully shine the light of truth on all matters to help the public be well-informed, and we have the current state.

Sue the bastards for making people-killers!

Agree with Steve.
The problem with the Audi 5000 was that the pedals were a little bit close together and it was human error. audi didn't handle the problemk correctly, as they should have tried to make a minor change with pedal placement and they wouldn't have suffered for 10 years.

Floormats are an issue sometimes. I had one bend pretty badly once, and while I didn't make this kind of a mistake, it has affected my shifting when I stepped down on the gas. It's easier to avoid in a stick shift because worst case you step on the clutch and the car goes nowhere.

Sounds like people just can't drive in this case.

Toyota needs to get in front of this mess or they're gonna get "Audi'd".

Inline6 - Well you would be stopping in the IS because you would lift the and then brakes would be applied. In these cases both are pressed at the same time. So not only do you have to overcome the stored kinetic energy of the car, you also have to over come the power of an engine that is trying to accelerate. In these cases I would venture that 99% of all cars would have the brakes fade and become useless in very short order.

I'm gonna rent a Winnebago, set the cruise control and go make a sandwich. Hey, the button said automatic pilot!

I realize that there are many many factors in this, and a quick reaction from most of us here who are enthusiasts who know more about automobiles than the average consumer would notice a problem if you were doing say 60-70 and the car was accelerating on it's own. The problem would be detected, researched, and resolved quickly in our own minds before getting to 90mph or more. Putting the car in neutral to disengage the transmission from the engine is the #1 that allows you to brake without more power going to the wheels.

But again, most people don't think like this, or have the automotive know-how that we do with driving or about the car itself. That is why they buy a Toyota (ok cheap shot).

I've never had an issue with my floormats in my car, the clip does it's job fine. Unless your constantly pushing and adjusting your feet while driving there is no error of the mat being pushed up and over the gas pedal. I think some research should be done into the people's driving habits, how they sit, where the foot placement is. Do they drive with both feet? Are the mats checked to ensure they are flat and not bunched up? Too many variables.

Several solutions assuming the brakes are toast: Put the car in neutral, down shift to lower gears, throw the dang thing in park/reverse(to clip the engine)or just turn the ignition off. Anything to take the engine power away from the wheels should be attempted.

But from what I've heard, the new fangled electronics will not allow the car to be switched off unless in park or downshifted with the accelerator floored. Interesting.