The Solution To Unintended Acceleration-Page 2: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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March 11, 2010 11:38 a.m. 914Driver UltraDork

gamby wrote:

It terrifies me that so few people understand how to shift a car into neutral.

Seriously--you call 911 before you consider shifting into neutral? Really???

The woman that testified before Congress claims she put her car in neutral, nothing changed. She put it in reverse, nadda. Park? wouldn't go. When she thought she was dead she called her husband to say goodbye. This experience may not be the same for all incidents.

A local woman left her driveway in a Prius and slammed a brick wall. If a car was coming across her bow she would have T-Boned it.

Here's a Toyota simulator: speakers on?

http://toyotasimulator.com/
March 11, 2010 12:06 p.m. JoeyM Reader

Dr. Hess wrote:
JoeyM wrote: you can shift the second generation prius into neutral when it is already at 70 mph and still accellerating. A friend of mine tried it yesterday
Hey Joey, did the car flip over? I thought they all immediately flipped over if you put them into neutral.

That is what the idiot in the news was claiming to worry about, but no. Nothing bad happened to the car or the driver.
March 11, 2010 12:32 p.m. Dr. Hess PowerDork

I dunno. This morning, I was driving to work. I think my car is a Toyota. I'm not sure because I'm not that technical. It didn't say "LOTUS" on the steering wheel, so I figger it musta been a Toyota. Anyway, I found that when I pressed on one pedal, the darn thing just accelerated all by itself!!! Yes. Just like in the "news" stories on TV. It just started going faster and faster!!. I'm not sure about what I should have done next, but a turn was coming up, so I pressed on all the pedals at once. The left pedal went to the floor with my left foot, middle pedal pressed down with the ball of my right foot, and my right heel pressed on the right pedal. Then I changed the stick thing from "5" to "2," whatever that means, and let off of some of the pedals and pressed more on others. The thing took off again!!! Weird stuff like this kept happening and I may have even been going faster than the posted speed limit at times!!! I was going to get my cell phone out and call someone, but I couldn't remember the number for 911. Finally, just as I arrived at work, I figured out that if I turn the key thing to a certain position, the motor stopped. It was really scarry. I need to find a TV reporter to do a story on this.
March 11, 2010 12:35 p.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

Dr. Hess wrote:

I was going to get my cell phone out and call someone, but I couldn't remember the number for 911.

Its 7
March 11, 2010 12:40 p.m. John Brown MegaDork

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Dr. Hess wrote:

I was going to get my cell phone out and call someone, but I couldn't remember the number for 911.

Its 7

My carrier uses 527
March 11, 2010 1:18 p.m. WilD Reader

novaderrik wrote: a few of them even go into park, too, but generally there is just a rather loud whirring sound as the parking pawl grinds away the teeth that it's supposed to engage into to hold the car in place..

Due to an extreme brain fart experienced by my buddy who was driving his Grandma's Dodge Caravan, I know for a fact that shifting an auto into park can bring about a screeching halt in alarming fasion. It was a good thing I always wear my seatbelt...
March 11, 2010 2:46 p.m. billy3esq SuperDork

You owe me a new keyboard, Doc.
March 11, 2010 2:48 p.m. alex Dork

WilD wrote:

novaderrik wrote: a few of them even go into park, too, but generally there is just a rather loud whirring sound as the parking pawl grinds away the teeth that it's supposed to engage into to hold the car in place..

Due to an extreme brain fart experienced by my buddy who was driving his Grandma's Dodge Caravan, I know for a fact that shifting an auto into park can bring about a screeching halt in alarming fasion. It was a good thing I always wear my seatbelt...

Was he trying to turn on the wipers? 'Cause when I get in my ZX3 (floor shift auto) from my truck (column shift auto), I have been known to try to shift using the wiper stalk. For the record, they make those pretty strong, but no matter how hard you pull on it, it won't shift gears. Stupid American cars.