<p>Thx, Astro, I will try it out on DW Prius, and inform her these control alternatives.</p>
<p>DW was telling DS that she used to be “cool” in driving this car, now she’s “dangerous”.</p>
<p>I discussed this with my husband. </p>
<p>“You should be able to stop any car with the brakes even when the engine is stuck on full revs.”</p>
<p>“Yes” he said, “BUT the Prius uses regenerative braking, so it uses electronics to stop the car, not hardwired brakes.”</p>
<p>And that alone is enough to persuade me not to buy a Prius. I want hardwired brakes.</p>
<p>^dmd! I was hoping that this crisis was another “Audi” problem. A while back there was an issue with Audis and people were dumping their cars for a song. That’s how friends of ours got their first car! They never had problems with the ones they bought.</p>
<p>Maybe we should wait…but that 0% financing for a new car in WA is so tempting :)</p>
<p>To be more specific, you can:</p>
<ol>
<li>Press the “Park” button. If you’re going faster than a few miles an hour, you’ll go into neutral. You can then put it back in drive. </li>
<li>You can move the shifter into neutral and hold it to see if it shifts.</li>
<li>Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds. You can’t just press it when you’re moving. You have to hold it. This will also put you in a form of neutral. You will not lose complete control. Repeat: press and hold power button for 3 seconds.</li>
</ol>
<p>If there is an electronics / programming failure, none of this may help. But these are the things to do. I would suggest doing them in this order.</p>
<p>I heard the 911 tape on the Today Show this morning, and when it was suggested he put the car in neutral, he was silent for awhile before he said he was just trying to control the car. That was very suspicious to me. Prior to being asked this question, he was completely engaged in conversation with the operator- no gaps. He could call 911, but he couldn’t shift to neutral.</p>
<p>I’m not afraid of Toyota or Prius. I’m afraid of this guy.</p>
<p>My husband thinks that all the bad publicity for Toyota isn’t a coincidence…and the truth is, the electronic issues that are causing the acceleration problems are NOT just found in Toyotas , but in many autos throughout the world ( BIL is a mechanic in Europe and this is a widespread problem with several manufacturers ) I don’t buy this story…who could be driving 94MPH and manage a cell phone call ?
Did we forget the big three bailouts ? And perhaps it is media manipulation to steer us in the direction of making our auto purchases for American autos ?</p>
<p>I really would like to wake up to news tomorrow morning that perhaps isn’t about bashing Toyota or Tiger Woods…I wonder if any other cars have had malfunctions and accidents in the last few months in this country , besides Toyota ;)</p>
<p>Our 2007 Prius is my fourth Toyota (fifth if you count the Chevy Nova, which was really a Corolla). I’m disappointed in Toyota, but I’d buy another one. Toyotas are likely to be more safe after what’s happened lately.</p>
<p>As for the guy who called 911 while careening down the highway–huh? And he bent down to check the accelerator? He must be a contortionist. As other posters have noted, there are plenty of things he could have tried, all within easy reach. Once I accidentally flipped the car into neutral while moving (I meant to go into B), so it can be done, at least on 2007 models. It slowed down immediately. </p>
<p>My biggest gripe about the car is the inconvenient location of the MP3 player outlet!</p>
<p>Casting another vote for “believable”. When a car goes haywire in a dangerous way, a lot of people freeze up and don’t know what to do.</p>
<p>Last year my old beater had a leaky break line, and we were waiting to have it towed by one of those charities that sells old cars for scrap. After it had sat for a while, my wife started it up just to move it to another parking spot, and the breaks didn’t work at all. She cruised around and around for a minute or so, idling at about 10 miles per hour, panic-stricken. It never occurred to her simply to put the car in neutral and coast to a stop, probably because she never imagined she’d be in a moving car with no breaks. Someone shouted at her to put it in neutral, and all was fine.</p>
<p>I imagine a guy in the same situation, but going 90 instead of 10, would flip out a million times worse.</p>
<p>I agree that the story yesterday does have its questionable parts. But there is definitely something wrong with those Toyota/Lexus acceleration.</p>
<p>What about the off duty CHP and his family! One would think if anyone knows what to do, it would be them. I saw this on TV news and heard the released 911 call all the way up to the crash that sadly killed all of them. This accident and many others are what finally led the government and Toyota to admit to the problem and trying to do something about it.
[4</a> Killed In Fiery Santee Crash Believed Identified - San Diego News Story - KGTV San Diego](<a href=“http://www.10news.com/news/20609225/detail.html]4”>http://www.10news.com/news/20609225/detail.html)</p>
<p>We need the “Mythbusters” crew on the case.</p>
<p>This guy is a fraud as are many of the plaintiff-drivers.</p>
<p>The regenerative brakes are only used for “light” braking. When you push down hard, the usual frictional brakes are activated. Occasionally, you can feel the transition between the two types, typically while going over bumps when the ABS is activated. It is this < 1 sec transition that caused the recall on the 2010 Prius. I have felt it exactly once in 5000 miles. I’ll get the updated software when I get my oil changed, but the “event” didn’t scare me at all. I was interviewed by a reporter when all the hoopla hit, but apparently I was too boring since the article never got published ;).</p>
<p>^^Or you sounded too pro-Toyota.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah but not for 23 minutes - and he definitely didn’t freeze up - he called 911, bent down to look at various things, etc.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Apparently not…</p>
<p>Based on the 911 call I heard last night, I’m calling it a hoax. (Hey, I callled balloon boy.) The way he answered questions didn’t seem natural. Granted, I didn’t listen to all 23 minutes of the call, but he seemed very calm while explaining why he couldn’t take both hands off the wheel. How was he talking on the phone? Put the &(<em>)^&</em> phone down and try something.</p>
<p>Something seems VERY fishy here…but I just don’t know. I hope there is a thorough investigation.
I agree that there are problems like this with other cars but TOYOTA is getting all the attention.
And I’m thinking that maybe they should recruit Tiger for an ad campaign.</p>
<p>I am personally withholding judgement since I don’t drive a Toyota ;)</p>
<p>However, apparently shifting into neutral in a Prius can be a little confusing since it is unlike other cars.
FWIW - Here are instructions and a visual on how to do it and Prius owners (especially new ones) should probably practice. There are also some Youtube links at the bottom.
[Stopping</a> a Runaway Prius Requires Special Techniques // Most Media Fail to Warn or to Test - See Tests on Youtube.com](<a href=“http://www.pr-inside.com/stopping-a-runaway-prius-requires-special-r1769460.htm]Stopping”>http://www.pr-inside.com/stopping-a-runaway-prius-requires-special-r1769460.htm)</p>
<p>As I noted above, you only need to hit the park button to shift into neutral. You can also hold down the power button for 3 seconds.</p>
<p>I’ll buy toyota again…but the mythbusters idea is a good one!</p>
<p>[Man</a> at Wheel of ‘Out-of-Control’ Prius Has Troubled Financial Past - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com](<a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,589090,00.html]Man”>Republicans | Fox News)</p>