Ed Wallace on Sikes' Toyota Prius
ED WALLACE, in a post titled How Toyota Can Hurt the Media said:
Moreover, the evidence didn't bear out Sikes' story when his car's braking system was examined. No, the wear patterns showed that only moderate braking had been applied intermittently. The damage that would have been done had both of his feet been "firmly planted on the brake pedal in an attempt to stop his car" was nowhere to be found.
However, the NHTSA had said: "We observed there was very little left of the car's brakes."
[see http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2010/03/california-highway-patrol-to-weigh-on.html]
Further, the inboard front brake pads were completely gone and the outboard pads were down to about two millimeters to 2.5 millimeters, the NHTSA said, and the rotors were damaged. IPBiz queries: what can be inferred of a "wear pattern" when the inboard brake pads are completely gone?
At the bottom of the Wallace post:
Ed Wallace has received the Gerald R. Loeb Award for business journalism, given by the Anderson School of Business at UCLA, and is a member of the American Historical Association. He reviews new cars every Friday morning at 7:15 on Fox Four's Good Day, frequently contributes articles to BusinessWeek Online and hosts the top-rated talk show, Wheels, 8:00 to 1:00 Saturdays on 570 KLIF.
Separately, Ryan Papaserge wrote:
The discovery that gas pedals, when pressed, stuck to floor mats on some Toyota models led to the eventual recall of a combined 4.8 million Toyota and Lexus (a division of Toyota) vehicles between November 2009 and January 2010, according to a March 15 CNN.com article.
(...)
In a press conference following the incident, Sikes said that while his vehicle was one of the models recalled by the automaker, he was refused service at a Toyota dealership.
The timing of the incident certainly seems suspicious.
Concerning the recall
Recall Date
OCT 05, 2009
Model Affected
2008 TOYOTA PRIUS
Description
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2010 PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CAN GET STUCK IN THE WIDE OPEN POSITION DUE TO ITS BEING TRAPPED BY AN UNSECURED OR INCOMPATIBLE DRIVER'S FLOOR MAT.
Consequence
A STUCK OPEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN VERY HIGH VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD CAUSE A CRASH, SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
Remedy
TOYOTA FILED AN AMENDED DEFECT REPORT ON NOVEMBER 25, 2009, STATING THAT DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND, ON CERTAIN VEHICLES, ALTER THE SHAPE OF THE FLOOR SURFACE UNDER THE PEDAL. THESE CHANGES ADDRESS THE RISK OF PEDAL ENTRAPMENT DUE TO INTERFERENCE WITH THE FLOOR MAT. REDESIGNED ACCELERATOR PEDALS WILL BECOME AVAILABLE BEGINNING IN APRIL 2010 AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY MODIFIED PEDAL WITH THE NEW PEDAL IF DESIRED. ALSO, DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY GENUINE TOYOTA OR LEXUS ALL-WEATHER FLOOR MATS WITH REDESIGNED ALL-WEATHER MATS, OR REPURCHASE THE PREVIOUS MATS FROM OWNERS WHO DO NOT WANT THE NEW ONES. ADDITIONALLY, SOFTWARE MODIFICATIONS WILL BE INSTALLED ON CAMRY, AVALON AND LEXUS ES 350, IS 350 AND IS 250 MODELS THAT WILL ENSURE THAT THE BRAKE OVERRIDES THE ACCELERATOR IN THE EVENT BOTH BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR PEDALS ARE APPLIED. TOYOTA WILL BEGIN MAILING LETTERS TO OWNERS IN DECEMBER 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331, LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.
Potential Units Affected
4260319
Moreover, the evidence didn't bear out Sikes' story when his car's braking system was examined. No, the wear patterns showed that only moderate braking had been applied intermittently. The damage that would have been done had both of his feet been "firmly planted on the brake pedal in an attempt to stop his car" was nowhere to be found.
However, the NHTSA had said: "We observed there was very little left of the car's brakes."
[see http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2010/03/california-highway-patrol-to-weigh-on.html]
Further, the inboard front brake pads were completely gone and the outboard pads were down to about two millimeters to 2.5 millimeters, the NHTSA said, and the rotors were damaged. IPBiz queries: what can be inferred of a "wear pattern" when the inboard brake pads are completely gone?
At the bottom of the Wallace post:
Ed Wallace has received the Gerald R. Loeb Award for business journalism, given by the Anderson School of Business at UCLA, and is a member of the American Historical Association. He reviews new cars every Friday morning at 7:15 on Fox Four's Good Day, frequently contributes articles to BusinessWeek Online and hosts the top-rated talk show, Wheels, 8:00 to 1:00 Saturdays on 570 KLIF.
Separately, Ryan Papaserge wrote:
The discovery that gas pedals, when pressed, stuck to floor mats on some Toyota models led to the eventual recall of a combined 4.8 million Toyota and Lexus (a division of Toyota) vehicles between November 2009 and January 2010, according to a March 15 CNN.com article.
(...)
In a press conference following the incident, Sikes said that while his vehicle was one of the models recalled by the automaker, he was refused service at a Toyota dealership.
The timing of the incident certainly seems suspicious.
Concerning the recall
Recall Date
OCT 05, 2009
Model Affected
2008 TOYOTA PRIUS
Description
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2010 PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CAN GET STUCK IN THE WIDE OPEN POSITION DUE TO ITS BEING TRAPPED BY AN UNSECURED OR INCOMPATIBLE DRIVER'S FLOOR MAT.
Consequence
A STUCK OPEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN VERY HIGH VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD CAUSE A CRASH, SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
Remedy
TOYOTA FILED AN AMENDED DEFECT REPORT ON NOVEMBER 25, 2009, STATING THAT DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND, ON CERTAIN VEHICLES, ALTER THE SHAPE OF THE FLOOR SURFACE UNDER THE PEDAL. THESE CHANGES ADDRESS THE RISK OF PEDAL ENTRAPMENT DUE TO INTERFERENCE WITH THE FLOOR MAT. REDESIGNED ACCELERATOR PEDALS WILL BECOME AVAILABLE BEGINNING IN APRIL 2010 AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY MODIFIED PEDAL WITH THE NEW PEDAL IF DESIRED. ALSO, DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY GENUINE TOYOTA OR LEXUS ALL-WEATHER FLOOR MATS WITH REDESIGNED ALL-WEATHER MATS, OR REPURCHASE THE PREVIOUS MATS FROM OWNERS WHO DO NOT WANT THE NEW ONES. ADDITIONALLY, SOFTWARE MODIFICATIONS WILL BE INSTALLED ON CAMRY, AVALON AND LEXUS ES 350, IS 350 AND IS 250 MODELS THAT WILL ENSURE THAT THE BRAKE OVERRIDES THE ACCELERATOR IN THE EVENT BOTH BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR PEDALS ARE APPLIED. TOYOTA WILL BEGIN MAILING LETTERS TO OWNERS IN DECEMBER 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331, LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.
Potential Units Affected
4260319
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 11:24 AM
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