C\D tests V6 Camry Unintended Acceleration - stops better than Taurus normally!
01-06-10 | 02:16 PM
#1
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C\D tests V6 Camry Unintended Acceleration - stops better than Taurus normally!
Hit the Brakes
Certainly the most natural reaction to a stuck-throttle emergency is to stomp on the brake pedal, possibly with both feet. And despite dramatic horsepower increases since C/D’s 1987 unintended-acceleration test of an Audi 5000, brakes by and large can still overpower and rein in an engine roaring under full throttle. With the Camry’s throttle pinned while going 70 mph, the brakes easily overcame all 268 horsepower straining against them and stopped the car in 190 feet—that’s a foot shorter than the performance of a Ford Taurus without any gas-pedal problems and just 16 feet longer than with the Camry’s throttle closed. From 100 mph, the stopping-distance differential was 88 feet—noticeable to be sure, but the car still slowed enthusiastically enough to impart a feeling of confidence. We also tried one go-for-broke run at 120 mph, and, even then, the car quickly decelerated to about 10 mph before the brakes got excessively hot and the car refused to decelerate any further. So even in the most extreme case, it should be possible to get a car’s speed down to a point where a resulting accident should be a low-speed and relatively minor event.
Certainly the most natural reaction to a stuck-throttle emergency is to stomp on the brake pedal, possibly with both feet. And despite dramatic horsepower increases since C/D’s 1987 unintended-acceleration test of an Audi 5000, brakes by and large can still overpower and rein in an engine roaring under full throttle. With the Camry’s throttle pinned while going 70 mph, the brakes easily overcame all 268 horsepower straining against them and stopped the car in 190 feet—that’s a foot shorter than the performance of a Ford Taurus without any gas-pedal problems and just 16 feet longer than with the Camry’s throttle closed. From 100 mph, the stopping-distance differential was 88 feet—noticeable to be sure, but the car still slowed enthusiastically enough to impart a feeling of confidence. We also tried one go-for-broke run at 120 mph, and, even then, the car quickly decelerated to about 10 mph before the brakes got excessively hot and the car refused to decelerate any further. So even in the most extreme case, it should be possible to get a car’s speed down to a point where a resulting accident should be a low-speed and relatively minor event.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...tion-tech_dept
01-06-10 | 02:21 PM
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Quick Question . Whats bigger issue - floormats or poor brakes that some cars have by default? I mean if Camry stops 17 ft better than Taurus, an Taurus owners should be worried about his car braking performance, should they?
01-06-10 | 02:30 PM
#4
Problem is not everyone would panic brake immediately and by the time they figured it out could have had accident already.
I'm really blaming people who have improperly installed floormats whether it be dealers or owners not Toyota/Lexus.
I'm really blaming people who have improperly installed floormats whether it be dealers or owners not Toyota/Lexus.
01-06-10 | 02:34 PM
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so their car is accelerating, and they would not brake immediatly? If you check the charts, car slowed down just fine even from 100 mph... when do you think they would start applying brakes, at 120mph? :-)
01-06-10 | 02:45 PM
#6
Some cars accelerate effortlessly without feeling fast at all. You can easily get from 75mph to nearly 120mph within a few seconds. Many people also don't realize what's going on until it's too late, hence why we have accidents.
01-06-10 | 02:57 PM
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From: MO
The Taurus reference is there for perspective. It counts for something that the Taurus is a bigger, heavier car to begin with. But that's not the meat of the argument as far as this article is concerned. It's a matter of the manufacturer designing in practical safeguards in the case of a sudden acceleration incident. In that Toyota could do better.
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01-06-10 | 03:03 PM
#8
and also sometimes, they try to brake but not complete panic braking, thus actually causing the brakes to overheat and by then, it's too late
01-06-10 | 10:17 PM
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The Taurus reference is there for perspective. It counts for something that the Taurus is a bigger, heavier car to begin with. But that's not the meat of the argument as far as this article is concerned. It's a matter of the manufacturer designing in practical safeguards in the case of a sudden acceleration incident. In that Toyota could do better.
As to brakes pressing: a. there are brake boosters, b. if you press brakes slightly and it does not brake, by human nature you will not stop pressing the brakes, you will press them harder.
p.s. Taurus is also more expensive, and should have bigger brakes. I would call difference of 1 car lenght compared to cheap family sedan an safety issue. In fact, I am sure we could find other real-life safety issues that kill a lot more people than stuck floormats, from brakes to VSC to passive safety to bad roads to poor tires, etc, etc.
Last edited by spwolf; 01-06-10 at 10:21 PM.
01-07-10 | 07:10 AM
#10
Who ever said that?
Like I said, some cars can accelerate faster without feeling much of a surge. In my GS400? I definitely feel it. In my friend's ES330? Not so much, but the speed does climb and within a 5 seconds, you're probably 20-30 mph higher than what you were cruising at. Does that sound unreasonable at all? Not everyone is a ninja that can react within a blink of an eye. If that's the case, we wouldn't have accidents.
Besides unintended acceleration isn't a normal thing at all. Most people don't ever experience it in their lifetime so when it does happen, it comes as a huge surprise. I bet reaction time will be different than from those who has experienced it.
01-07-10 | 07:15 AM
#11
That's probably the case with the earlier ES350 incident. Witness said the brakes were glowing red hot, and possibly catching on fire, right before it railed off the highway.
01-07-10 | 08:40 AM
#12
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