911 Tape: Runaway Lexus Driver Reported No Brakes

All he had to do was turn off the key and use the e brake.

As usual in runaway acceleration cases that capture the publics imagination, nobody has a rational explanation on how the brakes can completely fail without leaving any evidence of failure. That's the brakes, I guess...

Do try to keep up- no key, this is one of those transponder fob and start button setups. And it was a loaner- he was not familiar with the procedure to kill engine and not lock the wheel.

-- aem sends...

If I turn the key off in my 06 LS 460, the steering wheel locks and I die of collision. If I just let the motor run and down shift that may do some engine braking, but I probably die without brakes. If I use the emergency brake, it burns out and I die of collision. OH WAIT !!!!! I paid an extra $15,000 for the radar safety option that stops the car just before it runs into something !!!!! Hmmmm ... oh yeah ... that needs brakes too!!!!! Boy am I ever glad I drive Lexus ... car of the collapsing brakes !!!!!!

And?

Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, said an Aug. 28 crash that killed four --

I'll take my chances with the engine off, or the car in neutral, or whatever.

OK. And the excuse for neutral would be?

So put the transmission lever in neutral and let the engine rev itself off the limiter, so long as the engine and transaxle are disengaged the car will slow down....

The mindlessness of people just amazes me some days...if my car was going full-bore I'd shut the damn thing down one way or another. Turn off the key, press the clutch, pull the e-brake, put it in neutral....put it in park...I don't care. There is just no way a failure such as a stuck accelerator pedal, even on one of them drive- by-wire jobbies, should cause a car to be unstoppable.....

Chris

The story I read on Yahoo today said that the NTSB had found that the floor mats in the vehicle were larger than the proper size.

I don't know if that means that the proper sized ones wouldn't have this problem.

Do Lexus vehicles have a hook to prevent the factory floor mats from sliding forward?

Bob

Yes.

>

Thanks.

So if the factory floor mats are installed correctly there is no problem, then why the recall? Were dealers installing incorrectly sized after market mats as dealer upgrades?

Bob

> >

I don't know what the actual problem is. The floor mats are probably sourced in North America, for whatever that's worth.

No, it doesn't.

That happens only if you turn the key to lock. It doesn't happen when you turn the key to off.

I was at the Toyota dealer last night and they still had a big display of the thick all-weather floor mats (these have Toyota part numbers, they are not after-market).

"NHTSA investigators determined that a rubber all-weather floor mat found in the wreckage was slightly longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, something that could have snared or covered the accelerator pedal."

I wonder if these were the type of mats in the Lexus.

I've had the problem of an after-market floor mat getting the accelerator stuck on a non-Toyota, but I used my foot to unstick it.

You have a very smart right foot. Hopefully, most folks will have feet as smart as yours. :-)

Our Toyota Avalon and Solara both have these hooks on the drivers side, but not on the passengers side, which clearly signals that they dont want those carpets to slide into the pedal area.

I bought some nice looking aftermarket mats for my car, and sure as heck they slide forward and can foul the pedals because they do not have this hook and eye arrangement.

I suspect that this is the whole deal in a nutshell. I will have to stake down these protective mats, or get rid of them.

>

Get something like an 'eyelet' they put in canvas. Put a hole in the mat where the hook is supposed to be, and press the eyelet in place.

You should be able to get them at a hardware store, or perhaps Tractor Supply.

Oh, BOY! Could I make a response to THAT!!! ;p

That would be my advice.

All my cars have regular keys, up to the Scion. IIRC, to stop the engine on a Prius, etc, you press the brake and push the button. I can't remember if the trans has to be in N or P.

Congrats on your remarkable restraint, agent 86. I wish more folks were like you. Then again, this place wouldn't be half as fun. :-)