Lexus crashes at 120mph due to faulty pedal

[E46Fanatic]

Gee man. This is bad. All 4 in the car killed. Hence the massive recall. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f8b_1254173935 -------------Apparently a CHP officer loaned a 2008 Lexus ES350 and the accelerator pedal got stuck due to improperly installed floor mats. There were 4 people in the car and it ended up in a fatal 120mph crash into a Ford Explorer at an intersection. They had a couple of minutes from discovering the problem before crashing; they had time to call 911.Attempts to apply the brake was unsuccessful; they caught on fire from excessive use. Apparently because of the inertia of a moving car, even the brakes cannot stop the vehicle (many people comment that no matter how powerful an engine, it can't overpower the brakes, but I think they are probably just thinking about from a stop when the engine hadn't gotten into it's powerband).What he tried next was to turn off the ignition, but the car had keyless ignition and a push button stop that requires the button to be pressed for 3 seconds to turn off the engine. Obviously with the car being a loaner, the officer didn't know this. Many owners of the car claim they didn't know this either until they were told.The other option was to put the car into neutral, but it is unclear if this was every attempted. I'm not sure if the car was automatic or manual, but for the automatic cars the neutral corresponds to an upshift in manual mode, so that may cause a problem.Bad design of the tranny. Pushing it to Neutral activates the upshift as well.

 

[IsaacVky]

This is the case led to the 1st recall of Toyota/Lexus vehicles due to carpet mat.

However the recent massive recall of vehicles in the states, europe and china with the amount close to 9.5millions is due to faulty design of accelerator. Made by a company called CTS, Toyota locally sourced from the states. Denso-made accelerator is fitted to CBU from Japan therefore they are not affected.

Now I start to wonder, the 1st case which led to 4 deaths, is it really carpet mat? :stupid:
American Congress has called for a hearing.:top:

Honda is recalling its Fit/Jazz due to water leaking into power window assembly and caught fire. Death in South Africa, 2 years old girl I think. Another 2 cases in the states.

Morale of the story, don't buy Japanese :love:

Inside Line is a really good automotive website, you guys should check it out. They have good coverage on this recall too.

 

[VKS]

The recall affects Toyota's 2009-2010 RAV4, Corolla and Matrix; 2005-2010 Avalon; certain 2007-2010 Camrys; 2010 Highlander; 2007-2010 Tundra and the 2008-2010 Sequoia. The Camry Hybrid is not included in the recall.

Cant imagine if i were on their situation with panic attacks..RIP to the deceased and now we have the answer why some of us feeling safe of our rides comparing with Japs

 

[astroboy]

Yah... Lexus accident, they recall Toyota.. smart!

It wasn't the carpet that stuck on accelerator pedal.. perhaps its the drive by wire throttle control. Those with Sprint Booster on better be careful. A tinny electronic glitch with any throttle control device will have trick the throttle into believing the driver fully depress the pedal.

Maybe should add an emergency shut off key switch into our car like FIA spec'ed track car..

 

[VKS]

Now i think its really TOYOTA..but same problem again?? Lexus toyota all adik beradik lar bro..

http://news.yahoo.com/video/local-15749667/18522045

EL CAJON, Calif. – A California Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck on a San Diego County freeway, the CHP said.

Prius driver James Sikes called 911 about 1:30 p.m. after accelerating to pass another vehicle on Interstate 8 near La Posta and finding that he could not control his car, the CHP said.

"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny... it jumped and it just stuck there," the 61-year-old driver said at a news conference. "As it was going, I was trying the brakes...it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up," Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning he was pressing the pedal so hard.

A patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and officers told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.

"They also got it going on a steep upgrade," said Officer Jesse Udovich. "Between those three things, they got it to slow down."

After the car decelerated to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a halt.

The officer then maneuvered his car in front of the Prius as a precautionary block, Udovich said.

In a statement, Toyota said it has dispatched a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the incident.

Toyota has recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide — more than 6 million in the United States — since last fall because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius.

Toyota owners have complained of their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles since 2000.

One of the crashes claimed the life of a CHP officer last August.

Off-duty CHP Officer Mark Saylor was killed along with his wife, her brother and the couple's daughter after their Lexus' accelerator got stuck in La Mesa.

The Toyota-manufactured loaner vehicle slammed into a sport utility vehicle at about 100 mph, careened off the freeway, hit an embankment, overturned and burst into flames.

 

[mizhan]

in the States, it'll take some time for an automaker to recover from bad PR such as this.

 

[viewfinder]

Toyota has started counter claims to the issue. Seems like the real problem has not been found yet, in order to explain the accidents.

 

[Hammer278]

Pretty scary stuff. Ever since I read about drive-by-wire and steer-by-wire and whatnot it seemed something risky. All it takes is a simple electronic glitch to cause a nightmare on the road. For the timebeing I prefer to stick with mechanical.

 

[ICEMAN 68]

A patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and officers told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.




wow impressive police support there ...if in malaysia ...sorry encik kita tiada kereta peronda ..semua sudah keluar operasi ...

 

[okow]

A patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and officers told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.




wow impressive police support there ...if in malaysia ...sorry encik kita tiada kereta peronda ..semua sudah keluar operasi ...

More impressive is the response time by CHIPs to arrive at the scene while the car is still on the h'way. How many minutes would it take before a runaway car like that would slam into something...

Wonder if driver called 911, h'way traffic cameras or CHIPs heli noticed car in distress..

tax payers money put into very good use..

 

[ICEMAN 68]

in malaysia we only get pull over at the side by JPJ ---> showing us signs of " BERHENTI "

the EVO's are for show to stop slow cars and lorries leyyy ... why aren't the EVO's stopping the ferrari's , porsh , skylines " those fast car thats doing 200kmh at 90 kmh .......

ok ok back to topic

 

[mizhan]

in malaysia we only get pull over at the side by JPJ ---> showing us signs of " BERHENTI "

the EVO's are for show to stop slow cars and lorries leyyy ... why aren't the EVO's stopping the ferrari's , porsh , skylines " those fast car thats doing 200kmh at 90 kmh .......

ok ok back to topic

..because their Evo cannot go beyond 180kmh :sleep:

 

[buzzlie]

If not mistaken, they also have Volvo S60, can easily tapau 200 kmh. Evo for town/city use OK laa.

 

[Jules]

If not mistaken, they also have Volvo S60, can easily tapau 200 kmh. Evo for town/city use OK laa.

soli.....s60 is a slow n uncle car.

but kudos to CHIPS for their quick thinking and saving someone's life.

 

[fabianyee]

my fren's Honda City with electric power steering got jammed while taking a corner and ended up hitting the barrier... luckily no serious injuries...
The steering power was leaky and when she went to the SC to check , they said have to replace the whole unit but had to wait for it to arrive... and it cost a few grands to replace.

scary....

 

[buzzlie]

soli.....s60 is a slow n uncle car.

but kudos to CHIPS for their quick thinking and saving someone's life.

Pick-up not so important for hiway, top speed yes.

 

[E46Fanatic]

my fren's Honda City with electric power steering got jammed while taking a corner and ended up hitting the barrier... luckily no serious injuries...
The steering power was leaky and when she went to the SC to check , they said have to replace the whole unit but had to wait for it to arrive... and it cost a few grands to replace.

scary....

Read about these cases, and its usually a story of a friend or friend of friend. Honda Malaysia has not received a formal complaint on this from the actual affected parties. Logically as well, the EPS does not jam the steering. You'll loose power assist and the EPS warning light will light up on the dash, but certainly it doesn't jam the steering. Have you friend submitted a formal complaint to HM? Whats the car Reg no?

 

[buzzlie]

Read about these cases, and its usually a story of a friend or friend of friend. Honda Malaysia has not received a formal complaint on this from the actual affected parties. Logically as well, the EPS does not jam the steering. You'll loose power assist and the EPS warning light will light up on the dash, but certainly it doesn't jam the steering. Have you friend submitted a formal complaint to HM? Whats the car Reg no?

Waa Bro ... u from Honda ka?

 

[E46Fanatic]

Waa Bro ... u from Honda ka?

My wife drives a Jazz and hence I was concerned about what I read specific to this case. Pulled some contacts to check on the validity of such cases reported on the Internet.

 

[fabianyee]

Read about these cases, and its usually a story of a friend or friend of friend. Honda Malaysia has not received a formal complaint on this from the actual affected parties. Logically as well, the EPS does not jam the steering. You'll loose power assist and the EPS warning light will light up on the dash, but certainly it doesn't jam the steering. Have you friend submitted a formal complaint to HM? Whats the car Reg no?

Knowing her, I know she'll bite some heads off... The steering did jam when she was taking the corner, the steering just stuck and there's nothing she can do...
Will ask her later what's the story from HM..

Prior to the accident, heard her mentioning about the power steering costing a few grand to replace, can't be serviced. And even that, HM didn't have stock at that time, so have to wait...