Was the Runaway Prius a hoax?

Question

Was the Runaway Prius a hoax?

Answer 1

Toyota said that if you press the brakes real hard, the engine cuts off the power from the wheels...as a Prius owner, I do agree. This is a true fact.



I think the guy on the California freeway in the Blue Prius was definitely a staged event (just like the balloon boy hoax....he's trying to gain publicity and eventually will sue Toyota for money). My friend saw an interview of him who was on the "adult entertainment" business and recently he announced that he declared bankruptcy.



He also said that he reached down and tried to pull up the gas pedal, and then got out his cell phone and dialed 911. The operator told him to put the car in neutral.



He was asked if he tried that and he said "no, I was too busy trying to control the car to be distracted moving the shift lever". I find that difficult to believe.



He also said that he was pressing the brakes as hard as possible....apparently the brakes didn't even look that bad....the engine definitely should've stopped giving power to wheels if he claims that he pressed it hard.



Edmunds believes that this is BS because they recently tested the Prius and they to agreed that the Prius should've slowed down.

Answer 2

I learned today that the Prius disables regen braking while the throttle is pressed. This means that for the entire 30 mile run he could have been riding the friction brakes with pedal pressure just below the point required to kick in the throttle override. The car has an electronically limited top speed of 106-110 MPH depending on who you ask and did 130 on the salt flats with mods like an inverter modified for a higher boost voltage limit (permanent magnet brushless motor voltage is directly tied to RPM) so it is entirely possible that he had it floored but held the speed back to 94 by riding the brakes. I had a caliper stick on a car once and the rotor got so hot it cracked in 2 places and all it did was make the car slow down a little faster than normal.

Answer 3

The Patrolman said he smelled brakes and he "saw the brakelights coming on...". This does not mean that the brakes were consistently on. The patrolman advised the real estate agent to use his parking brake, which is an extra set of drum brakes on the rear and is mechanical, not hydraulic and after that the car slowed and stopped. Just try and stop your car - any car- with just your parking brake. It is a very weak set of brakes, but that made 6 brakes operating on the car. The real estate agent didn't want to try to shut off his engine because he was afraid the car would flip over. Even a child knows better than that. I am sure the story is a stunt and the examination of the car shows that the real estate agent did not tell the whole truth. He wasn't after a lawsuit, he said, but I wonder how much GM paid him to lie. His pants are on fire and he will never put them out. Burn, baby, burn.



You Can look at complaints in the NHTSA web site and you will see many manufacturers have had the same run-away problems with late model cars, whether it was stuck pedals, mats or bad cruise controls.Nobody else recalled all their cars for this but Toyota. Chevy has quietly admitted problems with Cobalts and Malibu power steering- and that's been a problem for 5 years, but they're just now getting around to fessing up. Now, the complaints against Toyotas have gone viral. If you looked at '98 Corolla complaints before this mess, you'd see a few about twisted seat belts- not much else. Now, there are myriad complaints about runaways. This is no Toyota cover up.



I tried a few things with my 2010 Corolla. I put the car in neutral while driving with the throttle depressed. Yes, it went into neutral, and back into drive when I shifted it back into drive. The engine has a rev limiter and will not rev past the red line. I also parked, shut off the engine and turned the steering wheel, and the wheels still turned- though with more effort. That shows you electric power steering is not something in the place of the connection between the steering wheel and the rack and pinion and it proves that people are just telling a lot of scary lies for their own purpose- whatever.



Don't keep repeating things you don't know for yourself to be true. Look and get your own proof. If you are still scared, buy a Ford and live with the problems you'll have with it even though all the ads tell you it's is nearly a perfect machine and Toyota is another chapter from Stephen King's "Maximum Overdrive".



The "Suit" in the GM ads tells you that all the Chevys beat all Toyotas for economy. He won't be talking about how many of his Chevys will still be on the road 5 years later, but that great big ONE MPG more is all he has to brag about. Go to the junkyard and get the truth about who's in the majority there!

Answer 4

It's establishing to appear that approach. I learn the tale approximately that man, and he turns out beautiful shady. When requested why he did not placed the vehicle in impartial, he stated he was once afraid it could cross into opposite and the vehicle could turn over. Really, how rough is it to transport the shifter from force as much as impartial?

Answer 5

No it was not a hoax but since all the Toyota execs and employees hang out in this section trying to cover their a$$e$ you are going to hear a LOT of lies from them....

Answer 6

I tend to believe Mr Sikes and wish him well. With a computerized car and all the electrical parts, it could be difficult to replicate a problem.



Sitting in my Prius parked at curbside several years ago, a VW sedan drove up into the driveway in front of me and the woman parked her car. I was listening to the radio and it shut off just as she turned off her car and got out to go into the house. I didn't touch any radio control, yet my radio shut off. It has never happened again. My guess was that either it was a Toyota gremlin or electro-magnetic interferance. Needless to say, I did not report the problem because I was able to turn the radio on again and continue listening to the program.



Mr. Sikes said he sped up to pass another car: if the investigators could not find that mystery car, go on the highway at the same place and drive his path then they did not replicate the situation. Finding a software or electronic problem is exceedingly difficult - Toyota and government investigators just went through the motion and blamed the unfortunate driver who lived to talk.



Drivers Education needed: The Toyota hybrids are well made cars but knowing that certain things can happen with high tech vehicles, those of us who drive them must know how to safely handle those situations.

Answer 7

Yes,



looking for a way out of his dire financial state. Told the 911 operator he didn't want to put it in neutral because he was scared the car would flip over. Give me a Break !



Where around San Diego can you go 94mph on the freeway, I thought it was more like 6-15 mph.

Answer 8

The problem I have is that toyota admits to nothing! Ever! According to toyota...38 people died--and 2000 reports of runaway vehicles. In every instance Toyota insists it is either driver error, floor mats, stuck peddles, ---always the consumer, never Toyota. How can this be? I believe Toyota is lying through its teeth. Even now, they confess that they do not know the problem--but on TV they continue incentives to buy the very vehicles they do not know how to fix!...oh that's right!!.. I forgot!!.. All 2000 consumers were wrong, and the 38 who died from acceleration accidents was also driver error. Really...toyota should be shut down. They abuse and exploit capitalist for their greedy ways. It's a disgrace.

Answer 9

There is no way that this guy was serious. I mean what kind of retard would think that if you shift a car into neutral it will flip? Also has the guy ever heard of turning off a car and then just slowing down using the brakes normally? It was obviously a hoax.

Answer 10

Lets see, He already said he wouldn't be suing so that takes away the monetary motive! The Police officer collaborated his story by saying his brake lights were on the the entire incident and he smelled the brakes burning also. And to top it off even the NHSTA says there were little brakes left!

No i don't believe its a Hoax and anyone that would would be an idiot!

Answer 11

Great question, by the way!



Yes, it was a bona fide hoax! Mr. Sikes, or shall I say Mr. Psychotic is an old fool. He's a liar & an opportunist.



He was $20,000.00 dollars in debt & had numerous failed real estate deals. It is evident, this old, broke fool was trying to get some form of compensation from Toyota.



He received TONS of unwarranted media coverage, yet his story was full of holes from day 1.



He is an outcast & deesrves to be punished by the California penal system.



This whole scheme was premeditated & bogus! He has opened the door for FUTURE opportunists & alike, unfortunately!

Answer 12

Well I was listening to a talk show host on the radio, and by what he said made me think Sikes was a joke. It seemed Sikes owed alot in back taxes and such and owed money to toyota. I think Sikes may have just wanted 15 minutes of fame and he got it, and the media ate it all up. The media didnt even questions of how he did it. They just ripped up toyota pretty bad on it. And how he reached down and pulled it loose is pretty unbelievable, and there are just alot of suspicous things about it. So from my point of view its a hoax

Answer 13

Coming from a Un-Biased opinion because I know theres alot of car guys that spread BS.

ok, I might be the first to say this, but if its not a hoax and Mr. Sykes stands by his word. I read the whole report and I believe what they say, my brother is a automotive mechanical engineer who works at FORD motor co., so he knows.

Not being on sides, Im glad the guy is alright if its real.

But the fatal mistake the guy, Mr. Sykes probably didnt know was that they were actually going to have the federal government and Toyota themselves, which in California, they have their US Headquarters there so its easy for toyota engineers to go and fix the problem, Mr. Sykes probably thought that when he would have this incident, that the media and news would have a blast with it. And that would be that with no officials from toyota checking in or feds but just media. Well I guess he was wrong and they proved him wrong. But if its not a hoax, Mr. Sykes, sir you shouldve changed your front brake pads cause they were due or learn how to drive cause apparently you cant drive if they can prove that your car wasn't bad.

Answer 14

the second you apply the brakes and the gas pedal at the same time, the Prius will shut off the engine. I wanna see the footage from the police officers car as he was approaching sikes and I want to see if the brake lights are on. If they are off than he was never hitting the brakes, only the gas. I personally believe he is a fraud,

Answer 15

I think he has recently shed himself of several hundreds of thousand $$ of debt by bankruptcy and he is looking for a new grubstake!

Investigators have confirmed that this vehicle HAS a brake override system and it was working fine when they tested it. this hoax is easy enough to do. Go to the steep canyon roads and burn the brakes - with repeated downhill stops - then go for the 90 mph ride while dialing 911.

Answer 16

I quite suspect the fellow was a bit loose with the truth, hoping to con Toyota out of a nice chunk of change.

Answer 17

I believe it was a hoax. I am sure that he is not the only one either

Answer 18

This has been happening for a few years, its just that Toyota just recently decided to grow some balls and get to fixing it. Its real.



Toyota has nothing to gain from homicidal cars