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John Boitnott
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rytonq2010Feb 26, 2011
A company causes the death of a somebody and ends up paying a VERY small portion of what it makes.
usq1111Feb 26, 2011
for God's sakes it wasn't Toyota's fault. accidents happen and this settlement shows that Toyota cares.
stubearFeb 27, 2011
Settlements do not show a company cares, they show they want the issue to go away as quickly and quietly as they can without admitting fault of any kind.
stubearFeb 27, 2011
Settlements do not show a company cares, they show they want the issue to go away as quickly and quietly as they can without admitting fault of any kind.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
stubearFeb 27, 2011
Settlements do not show a company cares, they show they want the issue to go away as quickly and quietly as they can without admitting fault of any kind.Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
shizzaqFeb 27, 2011
Typical dumb ass response. If you read the case you will see that in this case the car was a loaner from a dealership that had put in some extra heavy duty floor mats that weren't even made for the car and the extra thick floor mats caused the gas pedal to stick. If there was any tort at all it would be by the dealership, not the automobile manufacture. Mike Judge hit the nail on the head with his movie Idiocracy.
Mean_Mister_MustardFeb 27, 2011
But Toyota wasn't guilty, it was an incorrectly installed floor mat, one not designed for the vehicle. The dealer is the one who should bear the blame.
What I find more fascinating is that this incident lead to a 120 mph crash. Turn off the car, shift to neutral, f**king dump the transmission into first, rub off the speed on guard rails.
slappybag9Feb 26, 2011
I do feel bad for the family, but I do find it suspicious that right around the time that a few people were coming out about the bad acceleration pedals, a lot of other people came out as well saying they had the same problem.
I'm just wondering if maybe some of those people were just looking for some settlement money, despite no problems.
resistoonFeb 27, 2011
Nothing to wonder about, it's a fact that people lie to get money all the time.
bonestampFeb 27, 2011
It seems like it was right around the same time to you, because that's when the media started covering it. The fact is, Toyota has been receiving an elevated number of complaints since 2002, at least according to the manufacturer of the sticky pedal component that was replaced on many models.
slappybag9Feb 26, 2011
I do feel bad for the family, but I do find it suspicious that right around the time that a few people were coming out about the bad acceleration pedals, a lot of other people came out as well saying they had the same problem.
I'm just wondering if maybe some of those people were just looking for some settlement money, despite no problems.
pandaxrageFeb 27, 2011
Cha Ching!
Didn't read the article, Chrome called bulls**t on that website.
Closed AccountFeb 27, 2011
Same here
number23Feb 27, 2011
Chrome says:
www.leftlanenews.com contains content from ktk65ktrfjfgjm.co.cc, a site known to distribute malware. Your computer might catch a virus if you visit this site.
resistoonFeb 27, 2011
Yes it's sad what happened, but still amazing a CHP Officer didn't look at the owners manual and learn how to turn off the vehicle prior to driving it. The first time I read the story about this, I couldn't understand why he didn't hold the start button down to turn it off or put the drive in neutral.
elmuerte17Feb 27, 2011
I had the exact same issue with my old Camaro, where the floor mat would work its way up and cause the pedal to jam. My car had more power than buddy's Lexus and I managed to never crash it.
Didn't somebody do a test that proved even with the accelerator mashed to the floor, you could bring the car to a stop with the brakes anyway?
gezuskFeb 27, 2011
Stuck gas pedal? Let's see...brakes, emergency brake, neutral, park, turn off engine...so many ways to prevent that accident. Makes me wonder....
acdcfanbillFeb 27, 2011
I can almost understand the drooling mouth breathers I see wandering around the country not being able to figure out how to turn off a car that is stuck accelerating. But to think that a police officer with hours of driving training, a man trusted to catch speeders, drive through high speed chases, respond to emergencies and such, can't figure out how to slow a car with a stuck accelerator... It simply baffles me.
bonestampFeb 27, 2011
You're right, that officer should have been able to stop that vehicle. That is why some people still believe there is a bigger problem here. Despite NASA's code sweep, Toyota did admit there was a bug in their electronic system. If that system also had a problem with drive-by-wire then brakes, shifting the transmission and even turning off the engine might not be possible (look up drive-by-wire if you don't understand this concept).
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/14/report-toyota-admits-black-box-bug-can-give-false-speed-reading/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+weblogsinc/autoblog+(Autoblog)&utm_content=Google+Reader
elmuerte17Feb 27, 2011
Electronic bug or not, the brakes would have stopped the car even with the throttle wide open.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept
bonestampFeb 27, 2011
I guess it depends on the car. Some Toyotas use brake-by-wire so if there was a software problem, the brakes might not work. Not because they can't overpower the engine, but because software controls the brakes and they might not be applied if there is a problem with the software.
elmuerte17Feb 28, 2011
It'd have to be a pretty serious bug, since brake-by-wire systems are typically redundant and involve separate processors. Regardless, the Lexus involved in this incident was not equipped with such a feature.
phpldFeb 27, 2011
While I have nothing terrible to say about Toyota, its good to see a story like this can make the front page even though Toyota has also been an advertiser on Digg.
chongqingkingFeb 27, 2011
a very, very, very sad incident... but good for Mr. Toyota for taking responsibility and blame... money can only alleviate the surface for the survivor... the bereavement and pain will nonetheless linger deep within for years to come... but time eventually heal all wounds.
telumektarFeb 27, 2011
Though it's clear it wasn't a car malfunction, as shizzaq says, Toyota's action demonstrates that the company cares. I'm good with Toyota giving some money to the family after this tragedy but this could have been avoided just by hitting the breaks as soon as the car started to accelerate (there's a "long" record of someone in that car speaking to a 911 operator, explaining the situation and asking for advice/help, until the very last moment... it's sad but apparently they did nothing to stop the car). Breaks are designed to be able to stop a car no matter how much power it's engine is giving, thay should be able to handle much more energy that what the engine+inertia "generate", for example: a BMW 328i's engine produces about 302 bhp while the car's breaks are able to handle about 3000 bhp (or so they claim), so no matter if the car is moving fast and the gas pedal is stuck, if you hit the breaks the car will stop, that should be a general rule for most new cars. Putting the car in neutral and/or turning the engine off, after hitting the breaks, is the next step for stopping the car and it's as simple as turning the keys/hitting the engine button or clutching and shifting to neutral (in manuals at least).
elmuerte17Feb 27, 2011
Not entirely true - a built engine making over five hundred or so foot-lbs of torque will keep the wheels turning pretty easily in many cases (but how many Lexuses are making that kind of power?), and if the brakes overheat they can become "glazed," where a glass-like coating forms on the pads rendering them ineffective. Regardless of both of these facts, hitting the brakes would have been more than adequate to stop a 272 hp Lexus doing highway speeds with the throttle wide open.