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Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers

online.wsj.com

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Re: Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers

#7

Post by electromagnetic »

delackner wrote: post #6

The last line of the article says a lot, a quote from someone in the long tradition of "its all because you are prejudiced against [insert whatever group the person feels they are an aggrieved member of]."

Agreed, when I first heard about this problem I said to my wife "it sounds like people are hitting the gas not the brake". There were complaints of the vehicle accelerating faster the more the brakes were depressed, which is the mechanical effect of depressing the accelerator.

I don't care if you're 20 or 80, male or female, everyone makes mistakes and everyone panics. I'm sure if I hit the brake and noticed no braking action (or even acceleration) my first reaction would probably be to floor the brakes, and I'd be screwed if I'd caught the gas by accident.

Re: Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers

#8

Post by flog »

electromagnetic wrote: post #7
delackner wrote: post #6

The last line of the article says a lot, a quote from someone in the long tradition of "its all because you are prejudiced against [insert whatever group the person feels they are an aggrieved member of]."

Agreed, when I first heard about this problem I said to my wife "it sounds like people are hitting the gas not the brake". There were complaints of the vehicle accelerating faster the more the brakes were depressed, which is the mechanical effect of depressing the accelerator. I don't care if you're 20 or 80, male or female, everyone makes mistakes and everyone panics. I'm sure if I hit the brake and noticed no braki…

What I find very interesting is the rise in occurrences of this behaviour after the media announcement.

Is this an example of some sort of mass hysteria or did everyone just blame the car for any small thing? Or were they looking for legal settlement money?

Re: Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers

#9

Post by Mark_Book »

I suspect a lot of Toyotas problems have to do with the standards in their overseas factories not living up to those on Japan My father has driven toyotas for 30 years without a single breakdown. I have had 2, I had trouble with one of them. It had a sticky accelerator (which I never considered serious as it only ever happened at the start of a journey), the wipers stopped working one rainy day, the driver seat adjustment lever gave up with the seat stuck in reclined and one time the brake pads stuck to the cylinder when the car had wasn't driven for a month. Interestingly it was the only one of the lot that sported a "Made in Britain" sticker.
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