What's Wrong With This Picture: Toyota Owners And Their Floormats Edition

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: July 23rd, 2010

what s wrong with this picture toyota owners and their floormats edition

An anonymous Toyota Tech sent us these recent images of a 2008 Prius and its highly questionable pedal-floormat interface. Did nobody tell this guy that Toyota has had some problems with floormat pedal interference, and that there had been a recall? Did he somehow miss the months-long media frenzy? This is yet more proof that there is literally no way to completely prevent unintended acceleration, even if the problem has been identified and a recall has been issued. Remember folks, when it comes to cars only you can keep you safe.

#Floormat #Prius #Quality #Recall #Safety #Toyota #UnintendedAcceleration

Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 14 comments

Sandy A on Jul 23, 2010

No doubt that some people are idiots and other simply make mistakes. That has always been true even with mechanical throttle control. However, when it comes to electronic throttle control it isn't necessarily just the floor mats. See: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727704.800-toyota-too-soon-to-blame-drivers-for-problems.html "But the fault detection system is not foolproof, according to Todd Hubing, a vehicle electronics researcher at Clemson University in Greenville, South Carolina. This month, Hubing told a US National Academy of Sciences committee investigating SUA that when his team fired radio waves at laboratory test vehicles travelling at a steady speed, they accelerated. These incidents were not picked up by the fault detection system, possibly because the radio waves affected both sensors equally, Hubing says." And: http://www2.wspa.com/news/2010/jul/21/clemson-professor-studies-unintended-acceleration--ar-607687/

Like Reply
- SomeDude on Jul 23, 2010
  
  Well, the researchers at Clemson should better start looking for a "redundant" source of funding...
  
  Like
JimC on Jul 23, 2010

Toyota doesn't need to knock on his door at 2am. Darwin will knock on it soon enough and though painful we as a society will be better for it. Remember, it's better to rip the bandaid off quickly instead of slowly.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

SCE to AUX How well does the rear camera work in the rain and snow?
MaintenanceCosts The Truth About Isuzu Troopers!
Jalop1991 MC's silence in this thread is absolutely deafening.
MaintenanceCosts Spent some time last summer with a slightly older Expedition Max with about 100k miles on the clock, borrowed from a friend for a Colorado mountain trip.It worked pretty well on the trip we used it for. The EcoBoost in this fairly high state of tune has a freight train feeling and just keeps pulling even way up at 12k ft. There is unending space inside; at one point we had six adults, two children, and several people's worth of luggage inside, with room left over. It was comfortable to ride in and well-equipped.But it is huge. My wife refused to drive it because she couldn't get comfortable with the size. I used to be a professional bus driver and it reminded me quite a bit of driving a bus. It was longer than quite a few parking spots. Fortunately, the trip didn't involve anything more urban than Denver suburbs, so the size didn't cause any real problems, but it reminded me that I don't really want such a behemoth as a daily driver.
Jalop1991 It seems to me this opens GM to start substituting parts and making changes without telling anyone, AND without breaking any agreements with Allison. Or does no one remember Ignitionswitchgate?At the core of the problem is a part in the vehicle's ignition switch that is 1.6 millimeters less "springy" than it should be. Because this part produces weaker tension, ignition keys in the cars may turn off the engine if shaken just the right way...2001: GM detects the defect during pre-production testing of the Saturn Ion.2003: A service technician closes an inquiry into a stalling Saturn Ion after changing the key ring and noticing the problem was fixed.2004: GM recognizes the defect again as the Chevrolet Cobalt replaces the Cavalier.fast forward through the denials, driver deaths, and government bailouts2012: GM identifies four crashes and four corresponding fatalities (all involving 2004 Saturn Ions) along with six other injuries from four other crashes attributable to the defect.Sept. 4, 2012: GM reports August 2012 sales were up 10 percent from the previous year, with Chevrolet passenger car sales up 25 percent.June 2013: A deposition by a Cobalt program engineer says the company made a "business decision not to fix this problem," raising questions of whether GM consciously decided to launch the Cobalt despite knowing of a defect.Dec. 9, 2013: Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announces the government had sold the last of what was previously a 60 percent stake in GM, ending the bailout. The bailout had cost taxpayers $10 billion on a $49.5 billion investment.End of 2013: GM determines that the faulty ignition switch is to blame for at least 31 crashes and 13 deaths.It took over 10 years for GM to admit fault.And all because an engineer decided to trim a pin by tenths of a millimeter, without testing and without getting anyone else's approval.Fast forward to 2026, and the Allison name is no longer affiliated with the transmissions. You do the math.