911 Tape: Runaway Lexus Driver Reported No Brakes

Toyota issued a second recall related to floor mats. The first one (Sep 2007) sure didn't help Lastrella's family of 4, who reported, according to 911 tape, that the car had no brakes!!

"Chris Lastrella, were killed after reporting to a 911 operator that they could not stop their Lexus ES 350, as it careened down Route 125 in Santee, Calif. The tape of the brief call was made public this month. It features the voice of Lastrella, telling the operator that the vehicle had no brakes. The call ended with occupants calling on each other to pray."

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Reply to
john
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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...

Reply to
dsi1

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.

Reply to
aemeijers

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 !!!!!!

Reply to
mcbrue

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.

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

OK. And the excuse for neutral would be?

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

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

Reply to
Hal

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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

Reply to
bob

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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

Reply to
bob

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

Reply to
Ray O

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.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

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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.

Reply to
hls

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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.

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

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.

Reply to
Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B

The car had the push button start. A lot of people don't realize that to kill the engine with one of those when the car is in gear you have to push and hold the button in for 3 seconds or so.

Panic does strange things to peopel. Putting the car in neutral would have solved the whole thing.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

Maybe in flat eastern Nebraska or Iowa but not if he's going downhill. Google Earth shows Hwy 125 in Santee, CA is in the hills/ mountains. That's going to take some skill to slow down.

Michael

Reply to
Michael

He was a POLICE OFFICER. There was no excuse.

Reply to
Gary L. Burnore

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