Thanks for the update. I would assume you were found liable for the damages to the other car? Will there be any investigation to see if something faulty happened with the car?

 

Yes, I was declared liable for the damages to the other car. I'm a bit unsure how to launch an investigation when Honda says nothing is wrong with the car, and it's something so difficult to prove. It's more of a computer glitch, not a physical piece of equipment that is broken.

I was talking to someone who had just read an article about how the police would like to take advantage of these new computer-driven cars by having the ability to send out a signal that disables the car, such as in a pursuit. That got me wondering if there are current forces that can interfere. I know when I'm in a gas station, my radio (on AM) gets a lot of interference. This happened in a gas station. (I know... probably my overactive imagination here, but the thought crossed my mind). Was there a force interacting with the computer?

 

Thanks again for the quick response


Who knows what happened. You will probably never find out. I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I can imagine this experience has left you hypersensitive to anything the car does. I'm sure after time this will go away...that's if you keep the car. Good luck. I hope everything works out for you.

 

Thanks Vince,

I agree I'll probably never really know what happened, unless it should happen again. But for now, it's probably best to put it behind me and not dwell on it. Now that the accident and repairs are in the history of the car, it will be hard to sell it (not sure I'd want to pass this on to anyone else anyway!), so I'll probably hold on to the car for now.

It was such an eerie day when my car was done at the body shop. We had been having howling winds all night and that day, which put me on edge (stuff flying around as you drive, plus lights out, etc.). Then the strange feeling of getting in the car for the first time since the accident. As if that wasn't enough, I then witnessed a fatal pedestrian accident a few minutes later. I tell you, my nerves were shot! I'm doing much better now. Life is returning to normal.

 

Wow your experience reads like a novel. I'm sure there will be a happy ending. Best of luck to you

 

I believe the system you are talking about is intended to work with the manufacturers' help. i.e. the manufacturer would include some sort of receiver in the car to recieve a coded RF signal telling it to disable. The car would have to be designed to shut down and have a receiver for it to work.

I don't think its some sort of star wars device that fries or interferes with your electronics. While it might be possible to build something like that... it would be difficult to make it selective... imagine if the police used it and disabled a bunch of cars nearby on a freeway.... what would happen to the police cars themselves?

You mention your AM radio signal picks up alot of nose. And you wondered if interference might cause issues with the computer... not likely. Its in a shielded box. Sure the radio picks up noise but you have to remember a radio will "pick up" various interference around it because its DESIGNED to detect faint RF energy. Your car computer isn't.

Its not impossible but if it turns out to be electronic... its likely to be something else.

 

One thing that might help now that you've got the car back, and it's certainly something that I would do were I in your shoes, is to find a nice large and empty parking lot and try to 'recreate' the conditions that lead up to the accident. Presuming that the car does not take off on its own you might end up feeling a lot more comfortable behind the wheel.

 

Thanks for the info. Good question about how the police would be able to disable just one car. I didn't read the article myself, nor am I any kind of electronics wizard. Nope. I'm a designer, so I tend to use the other side of the brain more.

 

Hahaha.... that is one of the first things I did! (Well, there wasn't a parking lot, but I found a street.) I plan to "test" it further when I have the chance.

It was interesting to have the experience of renting a PT Cruiser for the month my car was in the shop. It reminded me how "regular" cars handle and drive. While I'm not wild about the Cruiser, it was comforting to me at the time to feel more in control and it made me question whether I'm ready for this new technology (or if it's ready for me). At least the rental reinforced my claim that the two type of cars do drive differently and it wasn't all my imagination.

 

The HAH has an event data recorder that will record 'Primary Target Events', 'Log Events' and 'Safety Events'. It's listed in your owners manual, and depending on what state you live in, is a required disclosure. It will record 30 seconds leading up to termination, so say, for instance an impact greater than 15mph, or one in which "A connected safety mechanism is engaged or deployed as a result of sensor feedback". (Quoted from Honda, 2006).

A primary target event is one in which you caused the car to react with a feature - anti-lock brakes, seatbelt pretensioners, traction control. Log events are ones where error codes are logged (in both the regular computer and in the EDR) and a safety event would record what i listed above.

This happened when my mother was in a car accident and they pulled the logs from the car - all of which was provided to the insurance company without disclosure to us.

The system is not calibrated, does not have any maintenance records or maintenance plan, yet can be used against you by Oregon Highway Patrol when investigating an accident.

Hers recorded the following:
a decimal based time code,
seat position,
stage of airbag deployment
airbag number(s) deployed and result (success/fail)
fuel termination (success/fail)
Tamper evidence
Steering wheel tilt
Wiper status (on/off/inter)
Console light on/off
Safetybelt on/off
Driver weight (level 1, 2, 3)
Application force of pedal for both brake, and accelerator. (shown by a numeric value, we weren't told what the max was)


At an 'event' it will correlate 'wheel' speed with the logged event as well as a few other of the above items using an associated number code.

It it's own battery/power source but is primarily powered from the battery. There are two fuses - one in console and one proprietary. It's housed in a silver case but inside is wrapped in a black tape material that feels like shrink-wrap

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If the impact was severe enough to set off an airbag or the seatbelt pretensioners, it should have recorded. If you press hard enough and 'skid' enough to engage the anti-lock brakes, it would have recorded as well - however, that data can be lost if you continued to drive the car after impact.

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After all the legalese and issues my mother/father dealt with - they agreed any impact, fender bender...anything, they would have the car towed and logs pulled.

I don't know if the same logs are in the Hybrid model, but I would generally assume so; they are in all of the Prius and Camry models and are fully disclosed.

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I know a number of people on this thread have said it's most likely operator error - however, if it was an instantaneous reaction or impact, I could see a slip to the gas or not pressing the brake hard enough - however, you indicated that the car was accelerating and you tried several times to hit the brake without response. It would seem to me that after the first attempt you certainly would have been hitting the brake and not mixing it up with the gas. If you can't get out of the car - the best advice would be to document! Write a certified letter to Honda and the third-party arbitration company they use and document your case/effort. If it happens in the future, then you have preponderance on your side.