Originally posted by: SSSnail
He should learn how to use the guardrails to slow his car down along with the hand brakes. I guess he was afraid of scratching up his precious Lexus.
Originally posted by: SSSnail
He should learn how to use the guardrails to slow his car down along with the hand brakes. I guess he was afraid of scratching up his precious Lexus.
Originally posted by: Engineer
There was a big thing a few years ago about the all weather mats getting stuck with the accelerator of the ES350. I read about it on ClubLexus.com forums, but I don't recall Lexus solution. I don't think it was ever recalled, but a TSB was issued, IIRC.
Damn sad situation for those people...damn sad.
Originally posted by: LTC8K6
For push button start/stop vehicles, typically you hold the button in to kill the engine while in motion.
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
I buy the floor mat explanation, especially from moron owners who don't know about or understand the purpose of the clips. That bullshit site someone posted was a joke. In the example audio clip, the guy wasn't even willing to consider the floor mats as a possibility. He said "there's no way a floor mat could push an accelerator." Are you fucking retarded? Ever picked up a floor mat before? They are heavy and stiff. When it creeps up on the gas and then you panic and start stomping around and push it up even farther, it will easily push the gas to the floor. That's why there are clips on the driver's side. If you neglect to use a safety feature of your vehicle, is the automaker at fault for your choice? That's like blaming the company for an airbag not firing when you pulled the fuse for it.
Of course, there are solutions:
Press the brake pedal.
Put the car in neutral or park.
A big problem that MANY drivers have is that they have NO CLUE how hard to press the brake pedal in a panic-stop situation. That's the reason so many companies have implemented brake assist systems, because even in the most dire situation many drivers won't use more than 50% of their car's capabilities.
There was a great quote in the last Car and Driver where a driving instructor said: "Most people, when faced with cornering beyond 0.4 g or hitting a tree, will choose the tree." I think that sums it up nicely.
A sales manager for the dealership, Blair Carter, told SignOn San Diego that employees' hearts sunk when they learned about the crash. He said the car was equipped with a system that should have shut off the engine if there was a major malfunction.
Originally posted by: KeithP
A sales manager for the dealership, Blair Carter, told SignOn San Diego that employees' hearts sunk when they learned about the crash. He said the car was equipped with a system that should have shut off the engine if there was a major malfunction.
I suppose some sort of electronic malfunction is what happened, however...
What about a murder/suicide? If the driver of Lexus decided he wanted to kill himself and his family, pretending that the accelerator was stuck would give him an out should the attempt be unsuccessful. Granted, that doesn't make a lot of sense but nut jobs do crazy things all the time.
-KeithP
Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Had to have a brake failure at the same time. Seems unlikely.
Modern autos will not downshift by themselves or manually until the vehicle slows down to a speed appropriate for that gear. If you are going 60, you can drop the lever into first, or try to select first, but you won't get it because the vehicle speed is too high.
For push button start/stop vehicles, typically you hold the button in to kill the engine while in motion.
Originally posted by: radioouman
I had this happen in a 1986 Plymouth Reliant. I took the throttle body apart over the weekend and cleaned it, and I lubed it with WD40. Once that WD40 dried up, the throttle body linkages became sticky. I thought that I quick blip of the throttle would release it, but it became stuck wide-open. Fortunately the engine only had 86 hp and I was able to keep it under control using the brakes, put it in neutral and shut it off quickly. No damage done, but it was scary. I couldn't imagine having to deal with that situation with a high horsepower car. It would overcome your brain very quickly.
Originally posted by: radioouman
I had this happen in a 1986 Plymouth Reliant. I took the throttle body apart over the weekend and cleaned it, and I lubed it with WD40. Once that WD40 dried up, the throttle body linkages became sticky. I thought that I quick blip of the throttle would release it, but it became stuck wide-open. Fortunately the engine only had 86 hp and I was able to keep it under control using the brakes, put it in neutral and shut it off quickly. No damage done, but it was scary. I couldn't imagine having to deal with that situation with a high horsepower car. It would overcome your brain very quickly.
Originally posted by: SSSnail
I missed the loaner part, all the easier for me to find a nice long wall to scrape against. Besides, everything should be covered by insurance, why did he care?