Elex

Yeah, I did it accidentally when pulling into our garage with our GMC Sierra truck last summer. I somehow hit the gas and the brake at the same time - luckily it was raining outside, so the tires were wet and spun easily on the garage floor. I didn't do any damage - maybe that was divine intervention (I'm not a real religious person - maybe someone can help me interpret this????) Unfortunately I didn't have time to call all my close friends and family, I just shut the key off and then I realized what stupid mistake I had made.

*Batman*

I nominate Rhonda Smith for a public grant to support people of diminished mental faculties.

LeslieRC

Ms. Smith's story notwithstanding - I'm no judge or jury - there is something WRONG going on with certain Toyota -manufactured vehicles. As consumers, we should be incredulous and angry when companies become so obsessed with peer status and profits that they don't care about their products or customers. When we purchase products such as cars, food, and toys, we're not only relying on their quality, but we're also placing our trust in those that manufacture them that they would warn us if/when they became aware that their products could cause us harm. In this connection, we are well aware of recent news stories about people who died as a result of eating feces-contaminated hamburger meat and children who suffered brain damage because their toys contained lead. Now we're learning from the Chairman of Toyota that his company had received thousands of customer complaints and knew about safety problems with several models of their cars and did NOTHING about it. There's even a company memo that has now come to light, that was produced as a result of a Congressional subpoena, that contains a message celebrating the fact that the company would likely be able to save over $100 million if the company could escape from having to address certain known problems.

So, which is worse? Maybe in her panic Ms. Smith did something to exascerbate the problems she was experiencing with her ES350. However, based on the known evidence regarding other incidents with ES350s and Camrys, I believe she was having some problems with her vehicle. Nonetheless, I cannot lose sight of the fact that Toyota covered-up the problems it knew about with the ES350, Camry, and Prius for the sake of profits and peer status without any regard for the people who had placed their trust in that company.

racingt

Until Government mandates are written, approved and enforced for procedures of electronics on motor vehicles then it is highly unlikely that anything will happen to force manufacturers to play fair.

Richard95

I noticed that a couple of you feel she may have been exaggerating her problem somewhat. If you follow the case, she wasn't the only one with a problem. There were also the deaths of California Highway Patrol officer, Mark Saylor and his family in San Diego whose Lexus accelerated out of control and whose last pleas were recorded in a 911 call.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

That's the incident that kicked this whole stupid thing off. That was driver error pure and simple. The cop was in a loner from a dealer. The car had improper and unsecured floor mats, which was reported to that dealer by a prior customer who had the same issue. The prior customer knew the proper steps to take to stop the car. He reported that the floor mats were wedged in pretty tight and he had to pull them out to free up the accelerator pedal. The highway patrol officer did not put the car in neutral, nor did he turn off the ignition. It was tragic to be sure, but it was the fault of the dealer, not Toyota.

Lou

LeslieRC

IF (and I'm one who is not buying the theory of improperly installed floor mats) that was the case, how then could it be "driver error pure and simple"? I've listened to the 911 call that the CHP's brother-in-law made from the back seat of the car where he described to the operator that the brakes were not effective, shifting the car into neutral wasn't effective, and attempts to turn off the car were not effective. Thus, there is evidence, not to mention that there was a highly skilled CHP officer behind the wheel, that every possible attempt was made to stop that vehicle. I urge you not to use dismissive terms like "stupid thing" in this discussion, inasmuch as many people have lost friends and loved ones in accidents that they feel were caused by Toyota's negligence. As for the ES350 with the CHP officer and his family, I believe that incident clearly demonstrates that there IS indeed some type of hidden defect or problem. CHP officers are some of the most highly trained and skilled vehicle operators in law enforcement and are not prone to panic in stressful situations. To me, the fact that this officer could not bring the car under control indicates a problem with the car, not the driver. Further proof is that Toyota is now apologizing for that accident and acknowledging that the company was at fault.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

"shifting the car into neutral wasn't effective," was never said.Nor was any attempts to turn off the car were not effective said..
I heard the recording too.
Here the recording .Tell me where those things were said.

http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_14458389?source=rss


Toyota apologized becasue it was the right thing to do under the circumstances.It was the dealer's fault.
The incident was investigated and the extra set of mats from a RX over the regular mats slid into the accelerator.
Just because he was a cop doesn't mean he didn't panic.

LeslieRC

Toyota apologized because they were at fault and because they were caught trying to bury a safety problem they knew about and made a conscious decision not to address, fix, or provide related notice to their customers. Toyota's motivation in this regard was totally financial. There is nothing noble in their apology at this point. As for the CHP officer's skills, my point in this regard is that there is a greater likelihood than not that his training to respond to such a situation kicked-in and that he attempted everything he knew to do to save lives. I listened to the recording and near the end (before the crash) I heard a cooly professional voice say "brace, brace"; I would imagine that voice was the officer's.

I am thinking about this logically because (thank God) I wasn't in the car and cannot say for certainty what transpired. I have nothing against Toyota and, as evidenced by my signature block, Toyota has received a lot of the money I have spent on cars. However, because Toyota did not begin acknowledging safety problems with the ES350 as well as several other models of its cars until this incident where a professional driver and a 911 "witness" was involved, even in light of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prior like complaints, logic would point to the fact that Toyota is culpable for causing this event. My issue with Toyota in this regard has everything to do with how, through this action, it marginalized the lives of innocent people.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

You also imagined you heard in the 911 call ....
shifting the car into neutral wasn't effective and attempts to turn off the car were not effective.
The case was investigated and the mat on top on another mat was the cause.

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

I will not apologize for using the term "stupid thing". Because most of it is stupid. Toyota has made many serious errors of judgement in the mishandling of this mess. but, IMHO, The press is sensationalizing this thing, and much of the public is scared to death . The State Cop, while not at fault, did not know what to do to prevent the incident, and again, IMHO, Ms. Smith is in this for the money and her 15 mins of fame. NHTSA seems to be in a fog, and does not appear to be acting rationally. How many of you remember the Audi fiasco? The one good thing that came out of that was the ignition interlock.

Lou

*Batman*

Did you guys see the NHTSA followup on Rhonda SMith's car. They said that the car was inspected by a Lexus dealer after Rhonda returned it. They couldn't find anything wrong with it, so they just sold it again. With no mods. This is back in 2007 when the car had 3000 miles.

So the NHTSA called the current owners. They said the car now has 30,000 miles on the clock and they have had no issues whatsoever.

verals05

iTrader: (3)

100MPH for 6 Miles? This lady is retarded.... She exaggerated this story... Damn thats the problem with the US. Our legal system makes it too easy to sue people..

Anyone with a Toyota might as well say they had "sudden acceleration" and get some money!

LeslieRC

Let's get to it then. What qualifies you as such an expert regarding this matter? And by that statement you are saying if you had been in his place you would have known what to do? In my opinion, that was an incredibly foolish thing to say.

LeslieRC

Thanks for the link to the 911 call. Obviously I did confuse my facts regarding the transcript, but I am still convinced that the CHP officer did not panic and did everything he could to save everyone.

A tragic result nonetheless.

I enjoyed our debate.