By now everyone's heard about the shady dealings of runaway-Toyota driver James Sikes, and the allegations that somehow, instead of legitimate Toyota failings, what was really occurring with his 2008 Prius was a case of fraud.
Obviously, considering that this horror (or stunt) was filmed on live television, Toyota needed to get personally involved with Sikes and his claims. After stating that Sikes' story and what the car's computer recorded didn't add up, they made sure to fully disclose what, precisely, they checked.
"• The accelerator pedal was tested and found to be working normally with no mechanical binding or friction. It should be noted that the Prius is not subject to a recall for sticking accelerator pedals and the Prius component is made by a different supplier than the one recalled.
• The front brakes showed severe wear and damage from overheating. The rear brakes and parking brake were in good condition and functional.
• A Toyota carpeted floor mat of the correct type for the vehicle was installed but not secured to the retention hooks. It was not found to be interfering or even touching the accelerator pedal.
• The pushbutton power switch worked normally and shut the vehicle off when depressed for 3 seconds as the 911 operator advised Mr. Sikes to do.
• The shift lever also worked normally and neutral could be selected. The neutral position is clearly marked and can be easily engaged by moving the lever left to the "N" marking.
• There were no diagnostic trouble codes found in the power management computer, nor was the dashboard malfunction indicator light activated. The hybrid self-diagnostic system did show evidence of numerous, rapidly repeated on-and- off applications of both the accelerator and the brake pedals.
• After examination of individual components, the front brakes were replaced and the vehicle was test driven, during which the vehicle was observed to be functioning normally.
• During testing, the brakes were purposely abused by continuous light application in order to overheat them. The vehicle could be safely stopped by means of the brake pedal, even when overheated."
With everything supposedly being kosher, Toyota goes on to say that maybe it's Mr. Sikes who needs to be under investigation. Now, before anyone screams, "Of course they're going to say it's all working correctly!", here's the disclaimer they tacked onto the end of the press release:
"NHTSA investigators were present during Toyota's examination, and are conducting their own investigation of the vehicle and its performance. Toyota's examination was also observed by a congressional staff member."
Automotive News reports that Toyota's system checks indicate "the car was being driven with the brakes lightly and repeatedly applied -- some 250 times over a 30-mile stretch of highway." Toyota goes on to explain that "[Our] engineers believe that it would be extremely difficult for the Prius to be driven at a continuous high speed with more than light brake-pedal pressure."
Maybe this Mr. Sikes (if that is indeed his real name) is in trouble.
- By Phil Alex
23 Comments:
Can you give me a link to the back story?
Yeah, it sounds like this guy is a dodgy mo fo.
And an idiot for trying to get away with an obvious scam without even having a clue about what type of models are effected, what info the cpu stores and dumber than hell to have it splattered all over the news.
The guy's a cock and I hope they teach him a lesson and lock his ass up.
i still don't trust toyota
I don't trust toyota to do it's own investigatio on it's allready proven defective cars.
Not surprised someone tried a stunt like this.
The US media doesn't help things by drumming up the fear factor and taking things over the top.
Some of the BS reporting coming from US networks/papers shouldn't be that surprising though. We saw how thorough they can be during Iraq's WMD BS and once again they have a foreign target.
It doesn't surprise me that the gullible public is swallowing a lot of this crap. Though, it is a little strange that there seems to be such an anti-Toyota/anti-foreign car sentiment growing when so many non-US makers employ such huge numbers of American workers.
However, the "Buy American" catch cry is getting much louder now.
I guess they want to put more of their money into weak American brands that wouldn't have needed the Tax payer bailout if they actually had a clue.
The man is a realtor. In LA. With financial problems.
I'm sure he's never uttered an untruth in his life.
"I don't trust toyota to do it's own investigatio on it's allready proven defective cars."
LOL!!!!
Really, what, all their cars are defective? The ones "proven" to be defective by the media right?
Read the article dumbass - "NHTSA investigators were present during Toyota's examination, and are conducting their own investigation of the vehicle and its performance. Toyota's examination was also observed by a congressional staff member."
Don't think Toyota will be doing any testing alone.
After knowing this problem years ago and not doing anything, Toyota lost trust.
If there was a problem they should have fixed it and recalled immediately and not let all this build up.
Keeping it quiet did not make it go away, it was a time bomb waiting to explode.
"Really, what, all their cars are defective? The ones "proven" to be defective by the media right?"
I think they ment the ones with defective 'floormats' and gas pedal...that of which doesn't even seem to be the problem with the cars at all.
WHO is MR. James Sikes?
Toyota lied about things before...
So they're telling the truth now?
Somehow, I'm not going to believe Toyota anyway!
There are still 19 or so deaths to account for...!!!
Oh dear, just becaise this guy Sikes is a conman, Toyota want to use this to discredit ALL reports of runaway Toyota's - which CLEARLY IS NOT THE CASE!!!!
Oh dear, poor Toyota
Formula 1 - Fail
Carmats - Fail
Gas pedal - Fail
Now, blame runaway Prius' on Joe public - Fail!
Sorry, but this witch hunt has taken on surreal proportions and only serves to propagate the belief held by non-Americans that the US media, government and society at large embody those very draconian anti-democratic principles that they supposedly start wars for to defend...
I work in the field of failure analysis (aerospace components). Unless and until Toyota can reproduce the failure mode responsible for unintended acceleration, they cannot provide root cause and corrective action. The present fixes have not proved to be the root cause for this problem. They might be contributing causes, however.
"Sorry, but this witch hunt has taken on surreal proportions and only serves to propagate the belief held by non-Americans that the US media, government and society at large embody those very draconian anti-democratic principles that they supposedly start wars for to defend..."
As a non-american, I'd like to point out that I feel that the Japanese government's shameless defence of their corporations OVER their own people's welfare (or those of other nations) is an abominable fact and worthy or ridicule, scorn, and condemnation.
"As a non-american, I'd like to point out that I feel that the Japanese government's shameless defence of their corporations OVER their own people's welfare (or those of other nations) is an abominable fact and worthy or ridicule, scorn, and condemnation."
Good point. Except the Detroit manufacturers have a dreadful record on product recalls stretching back decades. And unbeknownst to most people, VW is an unreliable dud of a brand that for some unknown reason receives little criticism. Who knows, once they become number one, this will no doubt happen to them too...
"Good point. Except the Detroit manufacturers have a dreadful record on product recalls stretching back to many decades. And unbeknownst to most people, VW is an unreliable dud of a brand that for some unknown reason receives little criticism. Who knows, once they become number one, this will no doubt happen to them too..."
-Now...Good point thats the best point here at carscoop in ages.
Why does the Government motor (GM) fan boys become so active in a Toyota post?
Go and check history of Detroit 3's recall history.
2L Turbo
I'm not a GM fan, and I know their recall history too.
However, despite your best efforts, reminding us all of GM's past recall history DOES NOT somehow exclude or diminish Toyota's recent major recalls and defective products.
Toyota tried to cover it up right in front of the public. They are monsters and are rightly being hauled before the public for ridicule for doing so.
^So you want to concentrate on Toyota and forget about GM.
"So you want to concentrate on Toyota and forget about GM."
For the time being, yes.
As far as I can tell, BOTH of them are corrupt.
Post a Comment