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Sedans Lexus ES Lexus ES 350
2727 messages, Last post on Nov 15, 2009 at 5:29 PM
You are in the Lexus ES Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
| This was a horrible accident and like many accidents several things in addition to a stuck accelerator must have occurred to end in such a tragedy. I suspect that since the car was a loaner the driver was unfamiliar with the controls. If this had been a normal car with a key ignition then he could have turned the key to turn off the engine; however, I own an ES350 for many years and I didn’t even know that to turn off the engine of my car while driving, I need to hold the On/Off switch for 3 seconds. Also it is common because of the irregular shift pattern on this vehicle, for new drivers to mistakenly drive in the manual shift mode. In this mode the car will still automatically shift when the RPM’s reach a high enough level; however the N for neutral is located adjacent to the up shift position when in manual shift, so if in an emergency you are unaware of this you would push the shift up to the N position but are actually up shifting the gears. As far a breaking, a coworker of mine had a Camry accelerator stick full throttle because of debris in the tube that the accelerator arm travels through and when his accelerator stuck he was unable to stop even uphill with full break force. | |
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Replying to: tome2c (Sep 10, 2009 9:17 am)
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Replying to: rcf8000 (Sep 10, 2009 11:48 am) |
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Replying to: rcf8000 (Sep 10, 2009 11:48 am)
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as far as i know...police drive cars that are automatics. they spend their lives in them. they receive training on high speed driving and are comfortable driving auto and trained to handle such situations. he should have easily kept his head and shifted to neutral or a low gear. he wasn't a normal person, he was a cop. its their work. esp chp! he he was on an officers salary and buying lexus's, perhaps he had financial difficulty.... |
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Replying to: gagrice (Sep 01, 2009 10:19 am) This case was complicated by a sort of perfect storm; this particular car has a fancy keyless ignition, the driver may have been unfamiliar with the shift pattern and some genius stuck in a cool super-weatherproof floor mat -- made for a different vehicle. The correct mat hooks onto the floor and can't foul the pedals, but this one was a bit too big an maybe not hooked to the floor. Normal foot motion could shove it forward and maybe over the gas pedal. Still, you gotta pay attention and don't just flail about when something unexpected happens. 1. Step on the brake (duh). The 4 wheel brakes easily overpower the 2 drive wheels (or 4 driven wheels with AWD). I have an AWD car with a turbo and the brakes could easily overpower full throttle. If you are already traveling at highway speeds, you'll need to use some force on the brake pedal and it'll feel strange, but the brakes still outpower the engine. A typical car can stop from 100 to 0 in five seconds; no car has that much accelerating power. then 2. Shift into Neutral, coast to the side of the road. OR 3. Turn off the engine. The brakes and steering will still work You don't like 1,2, or 3? It's hard to imagine why (artificial legs fell off? Aliens sending high voltage through the ignition key?), but there are more no-brainer options. a. Downshift until you reach 1st gear. That takes you down to about 30mph, and engine braking will slow the car. b. If it's an automatic you can hit reverse. That might stall the engine or possibly throw the drive wheels into a skid (they'll start turning again on their own) but that's better than screaming, texting your mechanic or staring into space. c. If it's a manual shift and you haven't figured this out.... it's hopeless. Pull out your phone and get the video. If the service brakes really failed you still have other options, but since the acel and brake systems have no mechanical connection, and there are 2 separate, independent hydraulic brake circuits the only way this would happen is the movie scenario where the evil genius/government agency/alien installs radio controlled gadgets that cuts both your brake lines at once. Even then you have other ways to stop the car. The problem is that many people are not driving their cars, they're passengers holding the wheel. Once something goes wrong they simply stare out the windshield and allow any reflexes they may have to take over.
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Replying to: pegasuszz (Sep 30, 2009 7:22 am) |
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WOW! Toyota designed a Christine! And not just one! 3.8 Million! (Christine is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1983. It tells the story of a vintage automobile apparently possessed by supernatural forces.) http://www.leftlanenews.com/a-closer-look-at-toyotas-sudden-acceleration-problem- .html So, if the floormat catches the accelerator petal or computer controlled throttle malfunctions, the keyless start/stop feature can not be enabled in a "WIDE OPEN THROTTLE" until it is held down for 3 seconds. In 3 seconds you can be at 45mph! How many seconds would it take you to figure this "3 second feature" out if your in panic mode and accelerating towards 100mph!? They designed a car with out a kill switch and blame it on the car owner which installs a floormat and not aware of the 3 second kill delay? Now thats smart  Here are some additional information about Toyota's quality and engineering practices: "Consumer groups are watching and If the allegations are correct that Toyota destroyed or withheld (electronic) data, it has the potential to reopen hundreds of Toyota rollover cases." http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-09-01-rollover-lawsuits-toyota_N.htm "Consumers saddled with sludge-clogged Toyota engines may soon get some help from the Japanese auto giant under the terms of a class-action lawsuit settlement that covers roughly3.5 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles damaged by engine oil sludge." http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/toyota_sludge_settlement.html jd |
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For the last few years, I keep reading about Toyota cars that accelerate on their own. I believe this also affects the ES-350. Is this an ongoing problem with cars made from Toyota? I'm thinking of buying a Toyota but I'm a little concerned about the problems and the length of time the problem has been around. Why can't they fix it? 
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Replying to: tedescm1 (Oct 23, 2009 5:24 am) No car can overpower its brakes! From any speed. If your foot is on the brake pedal the car will come to a stop. From 10, 20, 80, 120 MPH. I have personally done this on a closed track. When people say the car continues to accelerate despite "pressing with all their might" on the brakes, their foot wasn't on the brake pedal. Simple. End of story. |
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