OT" Toyota's problem turns out to be rocket science ...

[Snuffy]

Or so it would appear, NASA is gettin in on the "solution" to Toyouta's throttle problem.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/03/30/nasa-pitch-toyota-acceleration-probe/

[PRB]

I think half of Toyota's "accelleration problem" is drivers confusing the gas with the brake pedal, while talking on the cell phone and drinking coffee. The other half is the media turned against them, and the last half is rocket science..!

[Terry]

I think the whole thing is the Gov and UAW conspiring to damage a non-union company!

[Allen]

I think the whole thing is the Gov and UAW conspiring to damage a non-union company!

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww300/seanachie/NotSureIfSerious.jpg

But if you are have this

http://www.recipetips.com/images/glossary/a/aluminum_foil.jpg

An make a hat...:icon_lol:

[MudMarine]

Sad day for NASA!! I'm sure they were told, "do this or else no more funding". Let's not forget who runs the US auto industry now.

[Allen]

http://meltyourfaceoff.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/tin-foil-hat.jpg

And this thread now requires..

http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID9341/images/TinFoilHatArea.jpg

[huub vink]

Toyota has a very good after care quality control system. That's why the notice there might be something wrong with their cars. Some other car manufacturers never notice any problems with the cars they have sold..........

These companies ofter reduced costs by closing "non-production related sections".

Cheers,
Huub

[Ken Stallings]

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww300/seanachie/NotSureIfSerious.jpg

But if you are have this

http://www.recipetips.com/images/glossary/a/aluminum_foil.jpg

An make a hat...:icon_lol:

I was going to reply, but I bow to your inspired efforts! :engel016:

Ken

[Ken Stallings]

I think more evidence is coming forward that these sudden acceleration and stuck gas pedals are an electronic issue. I don't think that man in California was setting up his incident for public attention. Primarily because after his initial and brief press conference, he has shunned the media. I also think the CHP officer could discern the difference himself.

WHen Toyota made their carefully crafted statement to discredit that man's experience, it just smelled bad to me. It was slick as grease, obviously rehearsed and dissected in the board room word-for-word to make a point without exposing the company to bigger problems.

Sometimes a company can simply get too engrossed in public relations and lose sight of the truth.

Ken

[djscoo]

I think half of Toyota's "accelleration problem" is drivers confusing the gas with the brake pedal, while talking on the cell phone and drinking coffee. The other half is the media turned against them, and the last half is rocket science..!

You may be right! Toyota was initially reluctant to act because statistically it looked like cases of the elderly confusing the gas and brake pedals while they parked their cars.

http://www.businessinsider.com/a-deep-dive-into-toyota-sudden-acceleration-accident-stats-2010-3

3483

3484

[Cratermaker]

Hmmm..... they can't find any electronic or software problems, so now they are turning to cosmic rays. What's next? Suspected gremlin infestation?

At some point, they either have to find these alleged electronic and software problems or investigate in another direction (hint: driver error). I'm sure dragging it out as long as possible would align with certain group's agendas though.

Oh yeah, the guy in CA kept LIGHTLY applying the brakes to his Prius. I'm not sure what he was up to, but it doesn't sound like he was trying to stop the car. Not at first anyway.

[bismarck13]

The problem is most likely the electronic sending unit for the accelerator. My nephew had a Honda Passport that had a similar (but opposite) problem to the Toyotas, The vehicle would be driving just fine and then the accelerator would just stick in the idle position. This was not funny when he was trying to enter traffic. Luckily he never got hit. Anyway, the dealer took the car in about 7 times. 3 times they found "nothing" wrong and the other times they replaced the sender but the problem returned in a few weeks. So he sold the vehicle. Anyway, Toyota uses a similar unit. I am guessing it is sticking in the "full throttle" position as opposed to "idle." Why they had to go to an electronic throttle instead of a nice (cheap) cable is beyond me. I think it is just to drive up the cost of the vehicle and at the same time ease production by removing the need to hook up the cable which probably has to be done by hand (Geez, we have to hire somebody?). The sending unit in the Honda was a real pain to replace (I did it myself once) so I can see why the company wants to do anything other than replace all those senders. If it is not the senders then the problem is located in the ECU which would cost them even more money . . . .

Blaming it on old folks and carpets is just smoke and mirrors. But why people just can't throw the car in nuetral is another story all together . . .

[Dain Arns]

I think half of Toyota's "accelleration problem" is drivers confusing the gas with the brake pedal, while talking on the cell phone and drinking coffee. The other half is the media turned against them, and the last half is rocket science..!

I really think you're right. :applause:

[centuryseries]

When you think that the accelerator pedals are bought in from a component manufacturer just like a lot of other parts of cars, one must wonder which other manufacturers use those same pedals that are covering it up?!!

If the media reported the real number of recalls for all manufacturers I think everyone would be shocked.

I managed to get an unsecured carpet mat on top of my accelerator pedal once, so it does happen and is not smoke and mirrors. Luckily I was quick thinking enough to put my foot on the clutch avoiding a collision. Very easy to do!!

[Ken Stallings]

Oh yeah, the guy in CA kept LIGHTLY applying the brakes to his Prius. I'm not sure what he was up to, but it doesn't sound like he was trying to stop the car. Not at first anyway.

How do you know that? The CHP officer said he smelled the brakes inside his own car. That doesn't happen from merely "lightly" tapping brakes.

And what about the people who died? We'll never know their personal perspective because they cannot tell.

Further, there's a man who was convicted and sentenced to prison for reckless driving that killed people. He claimed years ago in the trial that the car spontaneously accelerated and would not stop despite him trying. No one believed him!

Now, because of what else has happened over the years, even the prosecuting attorney who put him in prison has petitioned the court for a new trial.

This isn't what happens from false claims. The sheer volume of complaints points to a serious problem. To asset thiese are due to driver error ignores the fact that unless Toyota drivers are dumber than average, no other car company is suffering nearly the same degree of complaints.

Ken

[Ken Stallings]

I really think you're right. :applause:

Did you notice his post added up to three halves?

Ken

[Cratermaker]

How do you know that? The CHP officer said he smelled the brakes inside his own car. That doesn't happen from merely "lightly" tapping brakes.
Actually, that is exactly what Toyota claims and I can see how lightly and continous or near continuous application of the brakes (not tapping) over a period of a half an hour at highway speeds would cause them to burn. So yes, that is consistent with the story. We'll see what the NHTSA report says. BTW: they did demonstrate that the brakes could easily overpower the prius's engine and his brakes were obviously working. So, unless there was bug that caused the car to accelerate wildy AND provide enough brakes to burn but not stop the car... his story does not add up.


And what about the people who died? We'll never know their personal perspective because they cannot tell. Yes and that is what accident investigations are for. But just because you don't know the cause, doesn't mean it is automatically the equipments fault, nor does it mean automatic human error.


Further, there's a man who was convicted and sentenced to prison for reckless driving that killed people. He claimed years ago in the trial that the car spontaneously accelerated and would not stop despite him trying. No one believed him!

Now, because of what else has happened over the years, even the prosecuting attorney who put him in prison has petitioned the court for a new trial. Tragic, yes. His inccident happened at or near the beginning of all this and very well could have been a floor mat issue.


This isn't what happens from false claims. The sheer volume of complaints points to a serious problem. To asset thiese are due to driver error ignores the fact that unless Toyota drivers are dumber than average, no other car company is suffering nearly the same degree of complaints.Interesting you should mention that. Ford has about half as many complaints about acceleration as Toyota, but we don't hear about those. I guess they are ok because not as many people died. Maybe they have just been luckier.

I bet there are quite a few engineers working on this from both Toyota and the government. Other than the floor mats and possible sticky accelerators, as time goes on with no bugs in the electronics or software found, it points more and more at the driver's actions. That's pretty much what happened with Audi. They looked and looked and looked at every possibility of mechanical failure and just could not find any. They had to conclude that people were just hitting the accelerator instead of the brake. Does that make the drivers "dumber"? Not necessarily. It could have been a subtle variation of the pedals positions versus American cars. That theory was included in the report.

[Dain Arns]

Did you notice his post added up to three halves?

Ken

Why yes. Yes I did.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b162/Leorstef/529173824_m.jpg