So about a week ago, i got in a somewhat major accident in the isf. Was doing a right turn and suddenly lost the tail end. Tried to regain control of car but no success. Now in details of exactly what happen. The right turn was not a 90degree turn from one street to another. It was a right curve turn? (Like going on or off a highway) As i entered the turn i was going at normal speed, coming out of the turn i felt the car accelerating and slowly losing the back end. I tried to adjust and eventually counter steer slightly and that's when all hell broke loose. The car ended up sliding left now. I went over 1 island, 1 center median and the side walk. Car ended up under a small fence. That's going over 3 curbs and off 2 curbs. 5 curbs total! When i felt like i had no hope and was going to hit the island curb i slam the brakes but the car still continued to move forward from one side of the street (far right lane) to the left side of the street (far left lane). About 5 lanes total so u can imagine the distance from one side to another. How the **** can i go over all those lanes and at the same time slamming the brakes and still go over an island, center median and sidewalk. I would imagine if it was a normal car losing control and slamming the brakes the car would probably be at a dead stop after hitting the first island. Anyways the car is 44k in damage. I can go into details of the damage later. Insurance says they would rather write off the car and pay me full value for the vehicle (68k) then fix it. Lexus collision center also said they will not guarantee any other problems after fixing what they know of. Insurance also said they would save money fixing it but they came to conclusion to write it off. What i'm thinking is that my insurance company doesnt want to risk insuring my vehicle after its fixed. My main question is what process do i take to deal with this situation? Any help would be greatly appreciated. HOW DO I DEAL WITH THE RECALL????

Thanx everybody that's listening and helping!!

 

Hope you're ok after that horrible incident. Is your car stock? Was your accelerator stuck or was it all the way up has you were braking? If it wasn't stuck then it seems like your car has a serious issue with a signal that is being sent that cannot be stopped. I could be wrong, but my understanding of the recall is to cut the accelerator signal should the brake be pressed assuming that the accelerator pedal would get stuck. If your accelerator didn't get stuck and the accelerator signal was continuous then I think they need to figure out firmware wise what's going on. In the end despite your car getting totaled that you're are ok.

 

What recall are you talking about? There have been ZERO recalls for issues related to unintended acceleration. The only recall as relates to the IS right now is the pedal entrapment issue when the wrong floormats are used or they're installed incorrectly. Are you saying your pedal became trapped? Or are you saying your car just started accelerating by itself? From your post it seems as though you simply lost control of the car from oversteer...

Javier

 

Glad you're ok man.

 

+1 agree with Javier. I'm wondering if your pedal physically got stuck! Was tracking control off?

 

You don't do anything, you simply tell your insurance company what YOU feel happened, and they will assign an investigator to the claim. Hind sight being 20 20, slow down! The streets are NOT a race track. What you may not know is that these cars are equipped with a "black box" very similar to what is in an aircraft. This will tell the investigator a number of different things, i.e. what the EXACT speed of the vehicle was at the time of the event, steering angles, if the brakes were applied, if the ABS had been activated, if the stability control intervened, if the driver and passenger were wearing seat belts, what percentage the throttle was at. and pretty much EVERY engine parameter. The best advice I can give you is, do NOT lie. the car will rat you out every time.

 

+1!!!!!
The only stuck pedal issues that have been honestly reported were from using all weather mats. There have been no issues of the pedal suddenly locking into place. Even with the older pedals with moisture in it; you could feel it way before it happened. Besides, the brakes always overpower the engine.

 

http://www.usautoinjurylaw.com/cases...FSJ25QodpV4oOg

the recall is basically a gas pedal issue? not 100% caused by floor mats right? If it was ONLY because of floor mats then that would be a simple solution. There wouldn't be a need to do a software update etc. i could be wrong that's why i'm here. I can totally understand if people think speed is a factor. but I know i wasn't going fast in or out of the turn. i took the turn at normal speeds i take everyday. if your asking me if the pedal was stuck i cannot say as things happened really fast. i made sure my friend and i are ok and then tried to reverse out of the fence. when i couldn't i went out to see the damage and realized it was bad. my first instinct wasn't to check the gas peddle being stuck or not. As for the black box. i would be glad to see the results to that. i did not lie to the police nor the insurance. so basically i let insurance deal with the situation from beginning to end if i believe it was a recall or manufacture problem?

why i believe there is a problem is because after realizing the car was not under control, i SLAMMED on the brakes and the car still managed to go over island, center median and sidewalk and under grass fence while stomped on the brakes the whole time. AND believe it or not i was not speeding! so for the car to go through that many obstacles while breaking doesn't make sense to me. i can guarantee and im sure u guys know, if we were let's say going 80km driving straight and we hit a curb slammed the brakes the car wouldn't go very far after hitting the curb and braking. my situation was not going more then 80 and not straight line and still managed to end up on other side of road. my car was not parallel with the road.

 

Not to bash on anyone or the person that was involve in the accident, but I think some people are starting to get paranoid and the first thing that comes to their mind is RECALL. The recall is mainly about the accelerator getting stuck under the floor mat which causes the acceleration of the car, not the accelerator pedal itself or anything wrong with the car. There are many reasons for a car to fish tail during a turn: accelerating to fast on a turn, bald tires, improper pressure on the tires, or traction is off and etc. Mainly it doesn't seem like the cause of the accident to be related anything to the "recall." I'm glad that no one was seriously hurt.

 

Look at the scene. Perhaps there was sand on the road or oil? Like crazee said there are many reasons for a car to fish tail during a turn. Was it wet out? If your car has lost traction and the car is in motion, hitting the brakes may have little effect on stopping the car if the car is already gliding on the surface.

 

The only part of that law firm's advertisement that applies to the IS is the section that mentions "vehicles that have also been recalled due to gas pedals and floor mats." There is no electronic throttle problem with the IS, what you're reading is sensationalist propaganda from a law firm looking for business. If you read the several threads discussing this on Club Lexus and other forums, you'll discover that the recall (as it relates to the Lexus IS) is the result of some users failing to install the correct floor mats, or using all weather floor mats ON TOP of their existing floor mats, which could pin the accelerator pedal. That is the only situation that has been reported (again, as it relates to the Lexus IS). Having said that, I'm extremely glad that you're ok after this accident.

Javier

 

Glad to hear you are ok after the accident...
If it happens to be the problem with unintended acceleration than you should def contact lexus about it.. let us know what happens and good luck.

 

sorry for the traumatic accident...

However, from your details in the post, it seems unlikely the car was at issue, unless that acceleration you felt was indeed not actuated by you, you said you felt it accelerating out of the turn in your first post, were you giving it throttle out of the turn, or did it just kick on?

Regardless, once your car is beginning to slide , with the tail moving out, slamming on the brakes is not going to stop it cold, nor counteract the momentum you've already begun generating, generally- braking hard once the car has lost its **** will cause a ridiculous mess, and I could forsee it slamming out sideways out of control.

I learned the hard way not to slam on the brakes when in a uncontrolled slide.

 

The recall directly addresses concerns pertaining to pedal entrapment... The recall includes a ECU reflash, mainly as a 3rd line of defense. With the new programming, the ECU cuts power when it sees the brake and gas pressed at the same time. The 2nd line of defense, is a replacement gas pedal itself, which is shorter, and further away from the floor, to minimize any contact with the carpet or floor mat. The 1st line of defense being common sense, correct and properly installed floor mats using the factory carpet clips.

The situation you describe doesnt indicate an engine revving out of control and accellerating. It indicates an excess of speed going into a corner. The laws of physics will carry the car pretty far. We have no idea what the conditions of the weather, street, or car were at the time of the accident. Too many variables to make a clear determination. Im sure the investigation will show what happened. Glad no one was hurt.

 

+1.

Up here in Canada, (according to my dealer), Lexus will allow customers to decide is they want the ECU reflash since it will curtail certain 'racing type circumstances' such as from a stationary position.

The warning letter sent out in December of '09 was for aftermarket mats that could not be fitted properly because they were not designed for the car.

A letter of explanation is forthcoming in the next 2 weeks from Lexus Canada explaining all this.

xxISFxx, I'm glad to hear that you're ok and that the Lex took the brunt of the damage.
Other rides (and drivers) may not have fared so well.

Colin (in Cambridge).