Oh noes! My Prius is outta control!!11

[Cabbs]

I don't think the prius even has a tranny.

It has a CVT, which stands for continuously variable transmission.

 

[Jesusfrk611]

Pushing the breaks with the accelerator stuck is only going to burn your brakes up.

You put the car in neutral then push the brakes to come to a stop. Anybody that can't figure this out is an idiot plain and simple.

Exactly what I was thinking all along. I've been trying to figure out why no one has said that before as I read through this thread...

I don't think the prius even has a tranny.

lolwut? Even a full electric car needs a transmission. With a gas engine as well it will run up to some high RPMs with only 1 gear...

 

[dude_56013]

I heard yesterday I think on CNN (I listen to the news stations on XM radio) that they were testing this car and according to the testers the brakes were purposely sabotaged prior to this happening and were unable to recreate it with that car after their attempts. They believe due to inconsistencies in the guys stories and also the test results that this was an attempt to create a lawsuit by this guy. I am not agreeing with them but I do smell something fishy here. I mean how can you accidentally shift the car up in to neutral than slip it all the way up and around to park LOL. Another problem I have with that excuse is SO BLOWING YOUR TRANNY MEANS MORE TO YOU THAN SAVING YOUR LIFE???? Come on dude think that one through a little. Im sorry but if my only option to stop my car and not dying is to blow the tranny well lets be honest here BUH BYE TRANNY. LOL

My friend was telling me something similar, but a little bit more.

What he said was that they dug into the electronics and found the accelerator and brake had been pressed to the floor the whole time. Well, idk what conclusion to draw from that but....

He also said, though, that they dug into this guys financials and they weren't pretty...hence the assumption that he was probably trying to create a lawsuit.

 

[root]

What he said was that they dug into the electronics and found the accelerator and brake had been pressed to the floor the whole time. Well, idk what conclusion to draw from that but....

there are two conclusions to draw...

either the accelerator had been pushed to the floor the whole time. and he's just trying to get some money...

or, (and possibly more likely since the brake was also registered as pushed to the floor the whole time).
the position sensor on the accelerator pedal was broken, and as far as the car was concerned it was pushed to the floor the whole time, even though this does not reflect the reality of what happened.

The electronic logs would only indicate what the car was recording. Which would be what the car was seeing.

and if the car thought that the pedal was pushed to the floor the whole time this would also explain why it kept accelerating.

 

[superman22x]

It has a CVT, which stands for continuously variable transmission.

It's a CVT, but it's a fixed CVT, so it isn't exactly CVT.

The Prius also automatically shuts off the engine when you stand on the brakes, so as not to damage the hybrid stuff. The data recorder showed that in this case, the most recent drive, the brakes were hit over 250 times. Meaning the guy was lightly tapping the brakes a lot so they would wear down.

there are two conclusions to draw...

either the accelerator had been pushed to the floor the whole time. and he's just trying to get some money...

or, (and possibly more likely since the brake was also registered as pushed to the floor the whole time).
the position sensor on the accelerator pedal was broken, and as far as the car was concerned it was pushed to the floor the whole time, even though this does not reflect the reality of what happened.

The electronic logs would only indicate what the car was recording. Which would be what the car was seeing.

and if the car thought that the pedal was pushed to the floor the whole time this would also explain why it kept accelerating.

The logs indicated the brake was pushed repeatedly over 250 times, not held down at all. And to short the pedal out is nearly impossible.

 

[Grantofhell]

Malfunctioning TPS or ECU. IIRC, newer vehicles don't even have a physical throttle under the hood. The injection is ECU controlled and not a mechanical hook up to your pedal like older vehicles.

 

[Cabbs]

Malfunctioning TPS or ECU. IIRC, newer vehicles don't even have a physical throttle under the hood. The injection is ECU controlled and not a mechanical hook up to your pedal like older vehicles.

Newer gasoline engines do have a physical throttle. If there was no throttle plate, there would be no need for a TPS. And with no throttle plate, you wouldn't be able to adjust air/fuel ratio. Injectors have always been ECU-controlled as far as I know. The difference between newer and older vehicles is how the throttle is actuated. Older cars use a cable that connects the throttle plate and gas pedal. Newer cars use fly-by-wire throttle, which replaces the cable with wiring and a throttle that is actuated by a servo.

Diesels do not have a throttle plate. The exception is VW's TDI, which is for emissions purposes only.

 

[Grantofhell]

There you go.

 

[GhostGT]

Pushing the breaks with the accelerator stuck is only going to burn your brakes up.

You put the car in neutral then push the brakes to come to a stop. Anybody that can't figure this out is an idiot plain and simple.

In a moment of panic, lots of people will forget to do things or are too busy freaking out about the situation. Also, a single second of a stuck accelerator can cause you to slam into another car and lead to any sort of injury/death.

The typical young driving enthusiast will have a much higher chance of actually calming down and shifting into neutral immediately compared to, say, a middle-aged woman or an older man.

 

[root]

The data recorder showed that in this case, the most recent drive, the brakes were hit over 250 times. Meaning the guy was lightly tapping the brakes a lot so they would wear down.

The logs indicated the brake was pushed repeatedly over 250 times, not held down at all. And to short the pedal out is nearly impossible.

ahh, I made a bad conclusion, based on a bad assumption.

What he said was that they dug into the electronics and found the accelerator and brake had been pressed to the floor the whole time.