unintended acceleration
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More than two years after Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus recalled the majority of its hybrid cars to stop the accelerator pedal sticking on aftermarket mats, yet more of its cars have just been recalled for the snip. This time, it isn’t Toyota’s Prius hybrid, but over 150,000 RX crossover models from 2009, including the 2010 RX 450h hybrid. According to Toyota’s official recall, the affected cars have been added to an existing recall believed to affect a total of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus cars. The recall addresses the risk that in cars with poorly fitted or...
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U.S. DoT Sued For Toyota Prius Unintended Acceleration Documents
Five days ago, when we told you the National Academy of Sciences was backing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s findings into unintended acceleration issues concerning Toyota Priuses, we speculated it wouldn’t be the last we’d hear on the matter. Now an American...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Prius Unintended Acceleration: Electronic Faults Untraceable
A new report from a National Academy of Sciences panel has said that the NHTSA was justified in closing a probe into Toyota's 2009 and 2010 unintended acceleration cases. More than 8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles, including models like the Toyota Prius hybrid, were recalled worldwide to fix...
Antony Ingram -
Toyota Recall Recap: Floormats, Sticky Pedals, AND User Error
Let's recap. After 18 months, recalls totaling 9 million Toyota, Lexus, and Pontiac models, and investigations by Toyota, Congress, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unit ... what have we learned? (1) A few accelerator pedals...
John Voelcker -
Most Popular Posts of 2010: Mazda2, Prius Crashes, Leaf, Volt, and Other EVs
We love looking back to see what's been popular over the course of a full year. And 2010 was definitely chock-full of green car news. Our 10 most popular posts this year are a little less random than last year's most popular, which featured Muslims and ethanol, urine, hybrid Ferraris, and our...
John Voelcker -
NHTSA Investigating Honda Accord Hybrid For Unintended Acceleration
Normally it’s Toyota that’s in the headlines whenever ‘unintended acceleration’ is concerned, however, this time ‘round it’s close rival Honda that’s in the spotlight. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
For all the grief Toyota Prius hybrid drivers get, you'd think they were some deranged combination of green storm troopers and mentally defective traffic impediments. But every now and then, a Prius driver does do something jaw-droppingly idiotic. Take, for instance, the unidentified (and possibly inebriated) driver of this black 2010 2004-2009 Prius. He was filmed during a traffic stop at 11:20 pm last Saturday night by the video camera mounted inside the police car--into which the Prius slammed, moving backwards. The driver is shown getting out of the car, and then jumping back in when he...
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Photos: Padgett's Post-Recall Prius Pedal, Accelerator Shortened
While the dust is now settling on a year's worth of recalls by a beleagured Toyota, the company is still working to modify millions of vehicles that are potentially involved in recalls over sudden acceleration or other safety issues. Toyota Prius models built from 2004 to 2009 are part of a recall...
John Voelcker -
Car Batteries, Diesel Golfs, Prius Crashes: What's the Link?
Like many site editors, we read our traffic stats religiously. Perhaps unlike other site editors, ours frequently make us laugh. We try to provide practical information on navigating your way through the confusing claims made about 'green' cars, whether they're hybrids, clean diesels, or just very...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Prius Owners Are Sensible and Level-Headed, In Other Words
Ah, yes, it must be about time for another outburst of Prius stereotyping. Three, two, one ... there! Did you hear it? Over there, in the slightly shrill tones of the ever-shrinking but still testy New York Observer (still printed on orange paper, so Nineties)? The paper attempted to survey New...
John Voelcker -
U.S. DoT Asks Scientists, NASA To Probe Toyota Acceleration
In the face of continuing suggestions that random electronic interference may be causing unintended acceleration in the Toyota Prius and other vehicles, the U.S. Department of Transportation has asked for independent studies on the topic from two scientific organizations. Despite multiple recalls...
John Voelcker -
Those Two So-Called Runaway Prius Cases? Cars Not At Fault
We thought we should provide a short update on two highly publicized so-called "runaway Toyota Prius" cases, one in San Diego and one in Harrison, New York. The reputed phenomenon of "sudden acceleration" has been debated at least since a 1986 controversy around the Audi 5000 model. But the two...
John Voelcker -
Few automotive engineers believe in so-called "sudden acceleration". But until recently, there's been no way to determine what a driver what doing when he (or she) swears that he was pressing the brake pedal with all his strength even as the car accelerated. Now, that's changed. Federal investigators say the latest highly publicized incident--in which a 2005 Toyota Prius in the New York City suburb of Harrison, NY, accelerated across a street and into a stone wall on March 9--appears to be the fault of the driver. Black box: No brakes, full throttle The Event Data Recorder, or "black box," in...
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The Strange Saga of Sikes and His Suddenly Accelerating Prius
As we've noted before, so-called sudden acceleration is a confusing, messy, and very uncertain subject. Now a certain San Diego citizen seems to be caught in the cross-hairs of media scrutiny over what is and isn't technically possible in a Toyota Prius--let alone smart to do--if the driver claims...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Reigns As Japan Sales Champ Despite Recalls
Unlike some of its Toyota brethren, the 2010 Prius hybrid was never pulled off sale due to recalls. But U.S. sales fell 6.1% in February anyway, against the previous month, though they rose versus February 2009, when the new 2010 model hadn't yet hit dealers. Currently, the 2010 Prius is the...
John Voelcker -
2004-2009 Toyota Prius Recall Will Reshape Accelerator Pedal
Owners of Toyota's iconic Prius hybrid model who thought they'd escaped the rash of Toyota recalls need to think again. The company is working on a fix to reshape accelerator pedals so that they cannot be trapped by floor mats, and will issue details within weeks. The upcoming recall took center...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Prius Recall Guide: Sudden Acceleration & Brake Safety
Everything you need to know about the recalls affecting the 2010 Toyota Prius, and the 2004-2009 Prius too
John Voelcker -
RECALL: 2010 Toyota Prius, Lexus HS250h For ABS Software Update
As expected, Toyota has announced a recall for its 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Lexus HS 250h models to update the anti-lock braking system (ABS) software. The new software improves the response time of the anti-lock system and alters its sensitivity to tire slippage. The update is intended to reduce...
John Voelcker -
UPDATE: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal inquiry into the brakes of the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid. It has now received 124 complaints of faulty brakes, out of roughly 37,000 of the cars sold to date in the U.S. Toyota said it would cooperate fully with the investigation, which applies only to the 2010 model-year Toyota Prius hybrid. [Automotive News (subscription required)] +++++++ Yesterday, we reported that Japan's Department of Transportation had forced Toyota to investigate complaints about inconsistent braking behavior in its new 2010 Toyota...
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UPDATE: Toyota Admits Braking Problems, On 2010 Prius Only
Things are moving fast in the land of Toyota safety issues and recalls. Yesterday, we told you that the 2010 Toyota Prius was being investigated for braking problems in Japan. Today, Toyota has admitted that most 2010 Prius models (those built between the start of production last spring and late...
John Voelcker -
Is Woz's Prius Acceleration Just Toyota's Wacky Adaptive Cruise?
UPDATE, February 8, 2009: Speaking in a sort-of-webchat on Digg, Toyota president Jim Lentz said of the Woz complaint, "We are working with him on the operation of the cruise control." Please forgive us while we quietly smirk. ++++++++++ It's obviously pile-on-Toyota week. Transportation Secretary...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Investigated In Japan For Braking Problems
Citing allegations of braking loss or slippage, Japan's Ministry of Transportation ordered Toyota to launch an investigation into possible brake problems in the new 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid. That car, currently in short supply globally and also the best-selling car in Japan, is the subject of 14...
John Voelcker