CNN Toyota VIdeo

bob urz wrote in news:jjaaft$ki0$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

Hatchet-job.

The video says the NHTSA has received 300 complaints. Until very recently, the NHTSA did not bother to act on /any/ issue until it had received at least 1,000 complaints, since most complaints of /all kinds/ always prove to be groundless. Also, complaints tend to spike after a dramatic incident is publicized, then they eventually slide back down to where they were before the big hullabaloo.

I see the Ford Freestyle was under investigation last year with a similar number of complaints. You didn't hear of that one, did you?

The memo mentioned in the video has to do with a cruise-control system that was not even sold in the US, so the memo is inapplicable to the incident discussed in the video.

The Black Box data from that woman's car show the accelerator having been pressed immediately before impact. She says she didn't have her foot on the gas, but so did the Audi 5000 driver who was interviewed by 60 Minutes back when that was the hot topic.

Actually I did. It was widely reported. And since my Mother used to have a Freestyle I was interested.

As I read things, this is not exactly the same sort of unintended acceleration that Toyota was accused of. It is referred to as "unintended lunging." Apparenly some drivers have had their Freestyle breifly surge forward when the car was sitting still with the transmission in drive and the engine at an idle and their foot was OFF the brake and OFF the accelerator pedal. It is suggested that the behavoir might have been more likely if the AC is on or the driver moved the steering wheel. This seems plausible since both have inputs to the engine idle speed control. I assume this is not actually an engine issue, but is realted to the CVT transmission used on some Freestyles.

The folling quote from

seems to sum it up:

"NHTSA claims that 18 crashes have been attributed to the alleged defect, and one minor injury, a bruised knee, has been reported. The government agency says that the "lunge" is up to 10 feet in length either forward or in reverse, though applying the brakes will bring the vehicle to a halt. Ford says it will fully cooperate with NHTSA's investigation."

I guess I am old enough to remember when unintended lunging was not souncommon. My Ex's old Cressida lunged all the time when it got older, but then I never sat there idling along with the car in drive and my foot not on the brake. The Ex's sister did once run the thing up on the curb, but weren't smart enough to blame the car back then. We just thought she was a ding bat.

Now my beat up rusted out 67 Fairlane with weak motor mounts had true unintened (well I usally intended it) accelration. If you backed out of the garage and dropped it from reverse to drive without stopping, the motor would rock over on the bad motor mounts far enough to open the throttle and you'd get a satisfying chrip from the rear tires. Ford definitely should have recalled that rust bucket. My dad bought it used from a local dealer. But it clearly had come from some rust belt state and been wrecked besides. I ran it through an automatic car wash and it literally peeled the stick on repair tape off the rear doors where the rust had been covered up and painted over. Despite this, we drove it for 5 years and 100k more miles. My Sister finally killed it when a truck hit it.

Ed

Well, when i was 16 and stupid, i borrowed my family's early 70's 350ci Chevy suburban. Was out on a gravel road trying to have some fun and punched the throttle (that part was intended). After i punched the throttle, it would not shut down and i was in a see sawing match with the steering wheel to try to keep in on the road. The road won and i slid sideways bouncing (after going over a small drainage ditch) toward a house. Rear quarter of the suburban brushed the house, then came to a stop. A kid i know around the corner about died rolling on the ground laughing (good thing he did not, he is a regional NASCAR driver now). I was perplexed on what happened,

Come to find out Chevy had a recall on motor mounts, because they could separate and cause the engine to jam to one side and jam the mechanical throttle linkage open. Bingo! i was the crash test DUMMY on that science experiment.

Another time i had just put a 340ci in my 68 barracuda. It still had the hood off and i punched it going thorough the gears on a industrial section of town. I was about to hit 3rd when out of the corner of my eye, i saw a cop car sitting off behind a building. SHIT! Busted!

I had to think fast, so i jammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. I then put on a ranting and raving performance (worthy of a academy award) like the engine just blew up. The cop slowly came up beside me and keep going (probably laughing that the dumb kid blew up his car). After the cop was just out of range, I started it up and made a quick egress to home. Some you win, some you lose...

bob