We have heard a lot lately about Lexus and Toyota battling claims that floor mats had jammed throttle pedals and were causing uncontrolled acceleration. Audi dealt with similar claims in the late 1980′s. Toyota will recall 4.3 million vehicles in order to fix the floor mats and/or the gas pedals.
The intense media attention started when four familty members were killed in California while driving a Lexus ES350. It was reported that someone in the car called 9-1-1 moments before the crash, saying that the “accelerator is stuck . . . there’s no brake.”
I’ve discussed this with family members and friends because when one has a plan, then one knows what to do in such an emergency. The question that came immediately to my mind when I heard about these deathes, was why didn’t they
- pop the car into neutral,
- slam on the brakes,
- as a last resort – turn off the ignition?
The answer is simple, they didn’t think of it.
My friend G at work told me that “Car and Driver” took a look at this issue in a recent article. Here’s an excerpt from the internet (I’ve formatted it a bit but it’s verbatim word wise):
“ Here is how to deal with a runaway car: Hit the Brakes Certainly the most natural reaction to a stuck-throttle emergency is to stomp on the brake pedal, possibly with both feet. And despite dramatic horsepower increases since C/D’s 1987 unintended-acceleration test of an Audi 5000, brakes by and large can still overpower and rein in an engine roaring under full throttle. With the Camry’s throttle pinned while going 70 mph, the brakes easily overcame all 268 horsepower straining against them and stopped the car in 190 feet—that’s a foot shorter than the performance of a Ford Taurus without any gas-pedal problems and just 16 feet longer than with the Camry’s throttle closed. From 100 mph, the stopping-distance differential was 88 feet—noticeable to be sure, but the car still slowed enthusiastically enough to impart a feeling of confidence. We also tried one go-for-broke run at 120 mph, and, even then, the car quickly decelerated to about 10 mph before the brakes got excessively hot and the car refused to decelerate any further. So even in the most extreme case, it should be possible to get a car’s speed down to a point where a resulting accident should be a low-speed and relatively minor event. “
In Canada 100 mph will likely result in losing your license. It may even mean jail. Regardless, it looks like our brakes are designed to stop the car even while under full throttle at all legal speeds. Car and Driver also tested a 600hp modified Mustang. The results were similar.
My Toyota Echo is unaffected by the recalls. But I’d stick with it even if it was. This car has been bombproof from the moment I got it. Fabulous fuel efficiency too.
