Loved Ones - Toyota

[jinman]

...last turn key off back to first stop not all the way off or steering wheel may lock and you would loose power steering and power brakes....

I'm sure your Vibe is much like mine. It will not allow the key to move to the lock position for the steering unless the shifter is moved to Park. I believe this is also true of most vehicles with locking steering wheels. If the shifter is in Neutral and you just reach up and shut off the key, you will lose power steering and brakes, but there is no worry about locking the steering wheel. I would suggest that people find a clear spot of road or open parking lot and turn off their key momentarily to see just how their car would react as "practice." If you can control the car, then that is the quickest and most immediate solution in my opinion. In heavy traffic, any sudden surge is likely to cause problems even for those of us with the fastest reactions. I think the key off and immediate slowing is the best solution. If you have your foot on the brake, your brake lights and other lights will operate whether the ignition is on or not and at least long enough for you to get off the road or slow to a stop. It's not a good thing to happen, but far better than accelerating and smashing into someboby or running off the road.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Not sure about Dodge trucks with Diesels but on the Ford 6.0's I have they have a electric motor that runs the power brakes much like a Dump Truck or something heavy that does not have air brakes.

On my Dmax and my uncles 6.5 Suburban which were both diesel they used the power steering pump to achieve power brakes. Kind of threw us for a loop when my uncle went to back out the diesel burban and the brakes did not feel right. The mechanic came to the house and said "you did not tell me its a diesel___did you check the power steering fluid???" My uncle commented that he was born at night but not last night. The mechanic was right on the money. He had a small leak and that was the issue, low fluid.

Chris

 

[wedge40]

I don't find it hard to believe what Pat said at all about his Dodge pickup. What I find hard to believe are the posts saying the brakes will overpower the engine even if the engine RPM is high. With a car sitting still, I've seen drivers stand hard on the brake pedal and give it the gas until the rear wheels would spin and the car go nowhere (never seen it done on a front wheel drive car, but guess it might be possible). Now that meant the engine overpowered the brakes on the drive axle, and if the vehicle had already been moving I don't think the brakes on the other axle would have stopped the vehicle. Now of course, I've no experience at all with a hybrid such as the Prius.

Where I come from that's called "Power Braking" Dad could never figure out why his tires didn't lasted very long.
If the accelerator got stuck the brakes would stop the car and the rear tires would evenually lose traction and start to spin. On old car with a shift lever you can slip to car into neutral, pull over then turn the car off. If the engine over revs and blows up so be it.

I'm not sure I can do this with my '08 Prius. Not that worried about it. The cop in California is tragic but I would consider it darwinism. If anybody should know what to do it should be a cop.

I admire the fact that Toyota is laying everything out the leting people know there is a problem. Unlike to some auto manufacture who would wait till enough law suites were filed then let the public know.

At work were takings bet on how long before the President of Toyota commits suicide. I figure within two weeks. They don't deal with discrace the same as us Western folks do.

Wedge

 

[Bird]

It will not allow the key to move to the lock position for the steering unless the shifter is moved to Park.

I'm not sure if that's true of all modern vehicles, but I think it is. At least it's true of my Fords.

On my Dmax and my uncles 6.5 Suburban which were both diesel they used the power steering pump to achieve power brakes.

And they don't have to be diesel. My 1989 Chevy one ton dually had the hydroboost brake system instead of vacuum and it was a 454 cu. in. gas engine. Incidentally, in 1991, I ordered a new hydroboost for a customer in Anchorage who had a Buick with that system.

If anybody should know what to do it should be a cop.

I agree, but maybe there were factors we just don't know about. Kind of like the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire fiasco. Having blown a right rear tire on a 1956 Mercury convertible and a left front tire on a 1966 Chevrolet police sedan, in both cases doing more than 100 mph at the time, and neither vehicle equipped with power steering, I don't understand why people crash because of a blown tire, unless they panic and hit the brakes.

 

[Deerlope]

Its my guess that Toyota will take a few steps backward but they will come out of this smellng like a rose. If this had happened to any of the big three there would have been a lot of payoffs to shut someone up. They ( Toyota) got to bit the bullet right now but I will still buy their products.

 

[ccsial]

Also, Pat's truck was a diesel which doesn't generate vacuum from the intake (no venturi) - my Ford 7.3 has a vacuum pump that runs off the accessory belt. This would suggest that a WOT would not cause brake failure (on a diesel).

.

Pat's truck is a 97. The 97 RAM diesels don't have vacuum brakes. They work from a engine powered hydraulic pump.

I also have a Cummins powered RAM and with the torque it produces it is not hard to imagine the brakes not stopping it.

 

[Dutch445]

If this had happened to any of the big three there would have been a lot of payoffs to shut someone up. They ( Toyota) got to bit the bullet right now but I will still buy their products.

AGREE 100%

 

[mlauk]

With all the accelerator and brake problems Toyota is having, I heard the engineer's latest fix was to switch the two.

 

[dcyrilc]

One thing I have to commend Toyota on, is that they have ordered their dealers to stop selling these vehicles until the problem is resolved. Has anyone ever heard of any other manufacturer doing that? No way, keep selling and worry about it later. I have an '07 Tundra and love it. I will have no reservations about buying another Toyota vehicle.

As for the post on pulling up the throttle, on my Tundra this would not help. I say this because when in cruise, the throttle does not depress as the vehicle accellerates. The pedal is already at the idle position. Most of the newer vehicles I have driven are the same way.

The other thing I find interesting is the recall Ford just put out for the same issue on some of their hybreds.

 

[two_bit_score]

I
Yes, he should be personally responsible for the damage he has caused to Toyota's reputation.

Aaron Z

Get a grip on reality. Toyota caused their own problems.