I Understand The Rx Is Now Being Added To The List

[The G Man]

I agree...anyone can do that. Saying however that neutral wouldn't solve the issue isn't true though.

Putting car into neutral should solve the issue of sudden accelaration, but the problem is what if there is simply not enough to do that, or maybe the driver cannot handle the pressure and panic. What if it is a handicap driver or a senior citizen with slow reaction. What if it is a junior driver with very littel experience. There are many senerios as to why one may not be able to put a car into neutral for what ever reason. Toyota as with any other car company should make sure the driver should not have to worry about putting the car into neutral at high speed everytime they get behind the wheel.

[SW03ES]

And what if the driver has no arms?

Frankly...if you can't handle the pressure in a emergency situation well enough to bump the gearshift up one setting...then you shouldn't be driving a car on a public roadway.

I agree with you that there should be no issue to cause uncontrolled acceleration, but saying that its the carmaker's responsibility to be sure that the driver's abilities are never called upon makes no sense.

Asking that drivers be capable to moving a gearshift up one position is hardly unreasonable. How is that any more advanced a maneuver than steering into a skid?

[The G Man]

And what if the driver has no arms?

Frankly...if you can't handle the pressure in a emergency situation well enough to bump the gearshift up one setting...then you shouldn't be driving a car on a public roadway.

I agree with you that there should be no issue to cause uncontrolled acceleration, but saying that its the carmaker's responsibility to be sure that the driver's abilities are never called upon makes no sense.

Asking that drivers be capable to moving a gearshift up one position is hardly unreasonable. How is that any more advanced a maneuver than steering into a skid?

In a ideal world yes, every driver should be able to perform in emergency situation, but we all know, we do not live in ideal world.

[SW03ES]

You're right, we don't and carmakers can't design cars so that they are able to protect their drivers from all of the unforeseen things that can happen in an un-ideal world. Sometimes bad things just happen...

[The G Man]

You're right, we don't and carmakers can't design cars so that they are able to protect their drivers from all of the unforeseen things that can happen in an un-ideal world. Sometimes bad things just happen...

I agree, but its not all the consumer's fault either. If your car speed up from 65 mph to a 100 mph within 2 seconds on the highway, I think most people would have a brain over load at that point. Natural reaction would be to hit the brakes and steer with both hands, by the time they realize the brakes are not slowing the car down, 2 or 3 seconds would have already gone by and the car would have traveled 150 feet.

[cduluk]

Toyota isn't telling people to "put it in neutral if this happens" in an attempt to justify anything... it's just a suggestion!

The fact is, there's the possibility that this problem could happen to some of the toyota models. And until a cure is found, there's not much you can do besides putting the car in Neutral.

And honestly, this "sudden acceleration" could happen to any car for any reason. The old "drive by direct cable" designs had problems too. Cables would brake, get mechanically "stuck", it wasn't a flawless design either.

Or you could drop something in the cabin that could hold down the gas pedal... what would your excuse be then? That the car doesn't have enough cabin space??

Seriously, these issues could happen to anyone, in any car, for any reason- especially as cars become more advanced. When a car company takes chances with new "features" and new designs, you run the risk of having problems. It's just the way life is.

The best thing you can do is be educated. Realize these problems could occur, and make a note as to how you'd help yourself if the problem occurred. If an uneducated or inexperienced driver had this happen to them, it would definitely take them a lot longer to figure out what to do... <_<

[RX in NC]

As I've mentioned before, my mom (age 80) traded her trusty 1997 Accord in on a 2010 Camry last summer because Honda took her for granted, assumed they would automatically get her repeat business with a 2010 Accord, and didn't offer her nearly as much on her trade as Toyota did. While she's now regretting her decision and wishing that she had stayed with Honda, I've had her practice driving her Camry, slipping the gearshift into Neutral, and braking to a stop as well as coasting to a stop. Braking to a stop is for neighborhood driving while coasting to a stop is for "main roads" driving (she no longer drives on the interstate highways)....

Simple practice like this will serve as a full rehearsal for anyone who may unfortunately be struck by this acceleration flaw and will certainly provide a level of familiarity and perhaps even confidence to those who may find themselves in this situation. A little preparation and practice can go a long way towards helping Toyota owners (and anyone else) learn to properly react immediately and preserve their safety as a result....

[SW03ES]

Absolutely...

[The G Man]

I agree, knowledge of the problem and preparation is the key to being able to deal with the problem when it happens. The problem is, who is going to make sure all the drivers are knowledgable of all the problem that can exist in a modern vehicle and whose job is it to train them as to how to react. We all know that most of the drivers themself will not do it and the government will not require this. Also, putting a car into neutral doing 25 MPH in a quiet neigborhood is one thing and trying to putting a car into neutral doing over a 100 MPH on a busy NY highway with a 18 wheeler inches in front of you is a whole different senerio.

[RX in NC]

Given your example of "doing 100 mph on a busy NY highway with an 18-wheeler inches in front of you" scenario, this country could certainly use some thinning of the herd out there on the highways and byways. Unfortunately, sometimes those who don't deserve to be thinned out perish along with or instead of those who do....

[SW03ES]

And sometimes it has to be people's own responsibilities to find out how to deal with emergency situations for themselves. The information is out there, Toyota has mailed it to its customers and put it on its website, the media is reporting it. Some common sense and personal responsibility needs to come into play here.

[The G Man]

Given your example of "doing 100 mph on a busy NY highway with an 18-wheeler inches in front of you" scenario, this country could certainly use some thinning of the herd out there on the highways and byways. Unfortunately, sometimes those who don't deserve to be thinned out perish along with or instead of those who do....

Lol, my example was if you are driving down a NY highway doing the typical speed and your car accelarates by itself and get up to 100 MPH in about 2 seconds with a big truck in front of you and cars on either side of you. How good will your reaction be in that situation?