simple fix for everyone here, don't buy toyotas! you shouldn't be anyways!
:usa:

 

AMEN - - A SMART MAN. Many Americans just don't get it. The big 2 have some very high rating cars out now - - above Toyota and Mercedes. About time, but they finally got the message. Now, let's get America back on track by supporting them. After all, you own a lot of the company's stock. We just need to pressure them to use more American parts and assemblies in them. They want us to buy American - - let's see them do likewise.

Bob

 

I AGREE TO AN EXTENT. BUT FINE ME A SMALL AMERICAN PICKUP THAT WILL STAND UP TO THE ABUSE TAHT A TOYOTA WILL TAKE. I HAD A 92 4X4 PICKUP WITH 218K ON IT WHEN I BOUGHT IT AS MY FIRST TRUCK. I BEAT THE SNOT OUT OF IT DAY AFTER DAY. ALL THAT EVER WENT WRONG WITH IT WAS REAR U JOINTS. DO YOU KNOW THE ABUSE A 16 YR OLD CAN PUT A TRUCK THROUGH? THAT THING SAW MUD AND SERIOUS OFF ROADING AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. DROVE THE TRUCK TO 270K AND BOUGHT MY DODGE. MY OLD MAN STILL DRIVES THE TRUCK TODAY WITH OVER 300K WE HAD TO DO A NEW TIMING CHAIN AT 280k

 

It seems to me that at this point in time, having a Prius on the road is an accident or at it's worse an accident waiting to happen. They need to pass a law to get them off the road for the safety of the American public until this matter is resolved.

Never liked em anyway...

 

Simple solution:
Buy a car with a manual transmission.

But I guess Toyotas reputation is doomed anyway, at least for the next few years...

 

Here is your answer to why they could not just shut down the motor.

Still any car should stop if you brake hard enough, take it out of gear or turn off the ignition????

let me remind everyone of the systems the "experts" put into the Prius.

1) NO ignition key: You push a button to start it, push it again to shut it off. IF the car in IN GEAR and MOVING when you push the button, a SAFETY OVERRIDE keeps the car from shutting off (it ASSumes it was pushed by mistake).

2) The gear selector is ALSO a push-button. IF the car is MOVING over a certain speed, it ASSumes the shift was done by mistake and a SAFETY OVERRIDE keeps the car in gear.

3) Prius brakes are of the regenerative / hydraulic type. IOW, the electric motor that is pulling the car is also a generator (like the motors on a diesel electric locomotive). When power is SHUT OFF to the engine and the brake pedal is applied, it FIRST switches the motor to generator and the resistance of generating power brakes the car. Power generated is put into the batteries (unlike a locomotive, which "burns off" the excess power with a giant toaster grid on top, hence the row of fans). If the regenerative braking is not enough, THEN the hydraulic brakes are applied. NOTE: Due to the reliance on the regen braking, the mechanical brakes ARE MADE SMALLER.

Note also: WHEN THE POWER IS SHUT OFF to the motor.

4) Prius and other Toyotas (as well as most of the new cars) are FLY-BY-WIRE throttle control. IOW, there is a sensor on the footfeed that reads the position, sends it to a computer, which translates that reading to a motor on the throttle vavle, which sets the valve to the position corresponding to the position of the footfeed. There is NO LONGER a SIMPLE cable connecting your foot to the throttle. BTW: In all the failures with a SIMPLE cable (THREE in number) I have seen, it shut the engine down to idle, NEVER acceleration!!!!

AS A RESULT, WHEN the electronics fail and the engine is accelerating, it WILL NOT SWITCH OVER to the regen braking (used only in some hybrids). And since the mechanical brakes are smaller, they don't have enough power to overcome the acceleration.

 

Myself and two buddy's bought 1985 Toyota 4wd pickups. All three used 2.5 qt. of oil every 3,000K. My alternator went beserk and overcharged the stock battery and the resulting acid boilover ate up some metal on the fender. Tailgate rusted through do to sitting on it with my wetsuit. The only issue Toyota would fix was the tailgate. My buddy carried a sign in front of his Toyota dealership proclaiming "I bought a lemon and Toyota won't touch it!" He got a new shortblock. The technician confided in him that he see's this particular year all the time for excessive oil consumption. Next was the 1" of spring travel that made offroad travel a pleasure. A diesel Tacoma they sell everywhere but here would tempt me to give Toyota another go,but alas the EPA killed that. That being said,this company employs a lot of folks out there,so I hope they get things straightened out.

 

They all need a guillotine air shutoff.

 

Or an override for the cutoff switch. Maybe an additional switch sealed in wax that you would have to break off before you could depress it. Then there would be no question of if it was pressed on accident. Of course then it would be like Toyota proclaiming that your car was PROBABLY going to have this problem...

 

OOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRR


They could put a parachute on them......

 

hahahaha

 

Great explanation, and thank you for taking the time to write it out in a manner that's easy to understand. BUT... well jeez, just a little less condescending would be nice next time.

OOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRR


They could fix them correctly, say they messed up and take their lumps like any good business should!

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/toyota...ory?id=9909319

I also told a gal at work that her 2009 Vibe would be recalled. She said the dealer said only for the floor mats but not to worry, she didn't have anything...

 

I guess Toyota should have copied hondas design under the hood too--They did with the body!

 

Toyota copies Mercedes. I've got an old Mercedes 380SL roadster. I had a Toyota Camry for a while and until I had them side by side, I never noticed how many design features are direct copies of the M-B designs. Try telling the difference between a Lexus and the comparable Mercedes at a glance. I sometimes thing I could use Toyota parts on a Mercedes they are so close.