Update: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38266136/ns/business-autos/

 

That MSNBC story is right. Toyota is nowhere near a final answer. Nor will they ever be near as long as people continue to be confused about which pedal they've stepped on. New reports will fuel "new questions" for the media to pose, and so on, and so on.

At worse, Toyota will get nailed for the "floor mat defect" that was really a consumer misuse of floor mats. No matter, Toyota will be found guilty of failing to design a foolproof mat.

 

Something just does not add up with that whole story... Car and Driver did tests and brakes were always able to slow a car down, even with the accelerator stuck at WOT.

C/D tests:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...tion-tech_dept

Seems like a "highly experienced driver" could have figured out how to do one or more of the following:

1) Put the car in neutral.
2) Turn the car off.
3) Hit the brakes.
4) Downshift? How fast is WOT in 1st gear? 45mph?
5) Get a foot behind the gas pedal and lift it up.
6) Shuffle the floor mat towards the seat.

The circumstances are so fishy that at first I speculated that the driver could have been a "family annihilator". Of course there is no direct evidence but it almost seemed like he did it on purpose. The investigation did show heavy brake use. I wonder why the brakes didn't stop the car?

 

Drivers sometimes do stupid things -- even drivers with lots of experience.

Unintended acceleration (UA) induces panic. Untrained drivers are likely to panic when their vehicle accelerates contrary to the drivers intention. After panic sets in, various options may not be recognized or acted upon. It is very easy to "armchair quarterback". It is much harder to recognize the situation, make decisions, and act appropriately during an event.

If you apply brakes with full throttle, you can overheat the brakes and cause them to fail. This is particularly true if the brakes are not applied with full force. Race car drivers induce brake failure this way, almost every week, when they race on tracks with lots of turns. Race car drivers expect brakes to fail, and are trained to recognize and handle the situation. Other drivers, aren't.

I remain convinced that the vast majority of UA events are caused by one reason: The driver unintentionally pushes the accelerator pedal. Drivers who panic can fail to recognize the situation, and can fail to act appropriately to stop the vehicle safely.

The recent government report of data-recorded results confirms this belief.

 

I bought a 2006 Ford 500 which is now their Taurus. Quite a few times I pressed on the brake and accelerator at the same time trying to stop at a stop sign before pulling out in traffic. Tell you what, it puts you in the panic mode. The harder you try to stop the more the car wants to pull forward. For a good while I had not idea what was really going on. I could not feel anything but the brake peddle.

I finally figured out one day when (windows open) I could hear the engine straining to pull the car as I was stopping at a stop sign. Their was no other traffic so it was easy to hear what the problem was. I'm 6' 4" and wear a good sized shoe. For the next few months I used my left foot on the brake and that eliminated the problem.

After one year I traded the car for the '07 TCH. I never had the problem with the toyota and I use only my right foot for the brake and accelerator. I'm not much on Fords after the various other problems I had with it.

 

With the Saylor incident there is a clear indication that whatever happened had happened twice in quick sequence. According to witnesses the Saylor vehicle was first observed off on the shoulder with the flashers going. Saylor pulled back out onto the roadway thinking he had overcome the problem...?

 

No, I am of the rather firm belief that the Toyota floor mat recall was simply a distraction, a big smoke screen. IMO Toyota could have simply made a widespread public announcement regarding the floor mat danger and everyone would have been satisfied.

By the way just what "other" manufacturer didn't have, potentially, the exact same floor mat problem...?

I have personally encountered the problem of the floor mat slipping forward under the brake pedal and over the gas pedal several times over the years. Apply the brake heavilly and the gas pedal gets depressed along with.

 

>>IMO Toyota could have simply made a widespread public announcement regarding the floor mat danger and everyone would have been satisfied.

I can't think of many times in which, in effect, blaming the customer has satisfied either the customer or the media. Usually, it just elicits even more vehement criticism.

Rule #1 for how companies should respond to customer or media criticism these days is to prostrate themselves fully and unconditionally.