Hey guys,

I have a 06 Lexus IS 250 AUTO, I wasn't so scared about the SUA issue because I know I'd shift to Neutral when that happens to me. But after I read the news about this Tuesday's runaway Prius incident, I am not sure any more. Do we really know that we can shift to Neutral even when the engine is in high rev or the car in high speed with the throttle wide open? I know in theory we should be able to, but have anybody tried this? What about on the IS250? I believe after so many cases of the same problem that happened, people would've already known that they should put the car to neutral, but still **** like that happens, so I can't stop wondering if there's some kind of interlock (computer controlled) that prevents you from shifting to neutral when the RPM is high.

When the car goes wrong, all the common sense may not apply, especially if it is electronic related. I know for my IS 250, we can press and hold the start button for 3 seconds and the engine will shut off. But under that circumstance, will it really work? It'd better work coz it's gonna be my last resort if I failed to shift to Neutral, as I know the brake is not gonna work for sure

Thanks,
Willie

 

Why don't you try it yourself? You'll quickly verify it works.

 

your brakes will work, because

brakes > engine power.

 

I just tried it on my car, but I don't have a run way to fully test it myself, plus i'm not a professional..so...

with that said, i put my car on gear 1 and hit the gas ( not fully, coz i can't be too fast in a parking lot...), when the engine goes between 6000-7000, i made it to the Neutral gear with no problem. But on IS250, you have to pass D position in order to put it to N, so when you pass D, the RPM will drop... so i can't find a better way to test it... maybe later on the freeway.....

 

that's what I think too, but according to what I read, nobody has a functioning brake when that unintended acceleration happened... don't know what to believe now..

 

There is nothing to be scared of. Do not let
-dumb people
-dumb media people
-twisted results
-lawyers looking to make a buck

intimidate you. The cars are fine. The car can be slapped in neutral or you can hold the power button. The brakes WILL also slow the vehicle down if you slam on them.

If you didn't know this it just adds more confirmation that our drivers test is a complete joke and people that do know how to drive and take care of things in emergency situations are surrounded by drivers who know how many cupholders their car has but doesn't know how to stop a car.

 

I've accidentally knocked it into neutral at highway speeds and it's fine.

 

I've had my shifter accidentally pushed into Neutral by a passenger just as I was accelerating on a turn. No problems, other than my engine revving up and my car coasting. Guy behind me was probably not too happy though, other than that no problems. The transmission will most likely block a shift into Reverse though.

As stated above, there is really nothing to worry about. I think a lot of the hype surrounding the current "problems" is based on panic, foolish mistakes that are now easily "explained" as a mechanical failure, and the media jumping all over this as their latest "sky is falling" topic.

 

I have to shift into neutral occasionally on my Cadillac while driving. My tranny is slipping and the only way to get it back into proper gear is to drop into neutral, decelerate until youre at a speed when you would normally be in the gear that you're currently stuck in, then drop back into drive and accelerate. Usually it's when I'm on the highway and I'm stuck in 3rd gear and revving high and need to be in 4th. It's a pain in the ***, but it's safe.

 

I've hit it into neutral accidentally on the freeway a couple times before too. Shouldn't be a problem. 1SICKLEX is right. Don't let the media scare you. They're full of bs all the time.

 

I personally think that the guy driving the prius is in it for the media attention. He said that he tried to yank the pedal, move the floor mat, and shift into neutral, all to no avail. Shifting to neutral should have and would have worked on any vehicle.

Like 1SICK said...I think people are just blowing this entire thing out of proportion.

 

are you speaking from experiance, do you have any research, or is it just what "you think"?

 

Well lets clear it up for you:
1. Yes, you can shift your car into Neutral. Once you do, your engine will be disconected from the wheels, you will still hear the sounds, but it will not move the wheels anymore.
2. Yes, you can brake even if your car is accelerating. And your car will slow down. There have been many independent tests of this, and yes, brakes overpower your engine.

So nothing to be worried about. Just be calm and do the work.

 

I know for sure my Lexus will shift into neutral at any speed......... clutch pedal for the win. My 07 FJ cruiser (auto) has defiantly been shifted into neutral during some spirited driving and nothing bad has ever happened.

 

on my sienna, my GS, my GX, my LS, my sister's civic, our family's previa, my sister's corolla... no problem.

Here's to beating a dead horse, and this may have been discussed before, but there was a discussion over in the sienna forum where it was thought that someone may have thought they put it in NEUTRAL when it can fact they can rev it in the (+) mode:

this is a better speculation: