Feds can’t explain Prius incident on I-8

[Chuck]

“I’ve always loved Toyotas,” Sikes said. “No more.”

Steve Schmidt - SIGNONSANDIEGO - May 8, 2010

Incredible: a car goes full throttle for over 20 minutes in one of the nation's largest cities unscratched at the height of the UA hysteria. {sigh} --Ed.

Two months after a Jacumba man made international news by alleging that his 2008 Prius barreled out of control on an East County freeway for 20 minutes, federal transportation officials said they’re still at a loss to explain what happened.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s lack of answers won’t help James Sikes, who maintains that his ordeal was genuine. It won’t bolster Toyota’s suggestions that Sikes fabricated his story, which came at the height of the company’s recalls of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide. And it won’t satisfy the online bloggers, among others, who are convinced that Sikes was out for fame and money.... [Read More]

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

<betweenlines>
We agree with Toyota but we're going to play safe and not say anything.
</betweenlines>

[xcel]

Hi Chuck:

I still think this Sykes guy was lucky not have been arrested and thrown in Jail for doing something as stupid as this in the first place. The Toyota records clearly showed him applying the accelerator pedal and then applying the brakes more than 250 times in a row at which point, the basic EDR function ran out of memory to record any more events. It was a fraudulent money grab and it backfired. While this incident will never reach the level that Steve Bartman of Cubs fan lore caused (anyone remember him ), this will be a simple asterisk on some report issued a few years from now.

Good Luck

Wayne

[KittyBoodles]

Originally Posted by xcel

(snip)

The Toyota records clearly showed him applying the accelerator pedal and then applying the brakes more than 250 times in a row at which point, the basic EDR function ran out of memory to record any more events. It was a fraudulent money grab and it backfired.
Good Luck

Wayne

I'm curious... not arguing about it but wondering: how does the computer know that he wasn't trying to put on the brakes to stop the car, and that he wasn't trying to push the accelerator hoping it would 'let go'? I would guess that someone might try both.

I personally think and agree that this case was fraud, but I"m wondering how it records to show that it wasn't stuck.

Thanks

[phoebeisis]

Why would you hit it 250 times to unstick it? Wouldn't hitting it once or twice be enough to convince you that hitting it wasn't going to unstick it?

Besides this guy was a reasonably savvy car owner-Corvette club member, so he knew how cars work.

There isn't any mystery at all about this- it was pure scam.

The BS he said about" it would flip if he hit the power button or if he put it in N was enough to show he was lying. Once again-Corvette club member-he knew cars don't flip when put in N or when the motor is turned off.

The only mystery is why wasn't he arrested?

[KittyBoodles]

Originally Posted by phoebeisis

Why would you hit it 250 times to unstick it? Wouldn't hitting it once or twice be enough to convince you that hitting it wasn't going to unstick it?

Besides this guy was a reasonably savvy car owner-Corvette club member, so he knew how cars work.

There isn't any mystery at all about this- it was pure scam.

The BS he said about" it would flip if he hit the power button or if he put it in N was enough to show he was lying. Once again-Corvette club member-he knew cars don't flip when put in N or when the motor is turned off.

The only mystery is why wasn't he arrested?

Hi,

I wouldn't hit it 250 or more times. Once or twice before I killed the engine.

Like I said, I'm not arguing it, I believe it's a scam, I just wanted to know how the computer knows the difference between a stuck something or a deliberate push, that's all.


Thanks for your post tho.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Hi, Karen. I can't speak definitively since I don't know the actual coding involved but it would seem to me that if the accelerator truly was stuck the computer wouldn't be able to record "on/off" events from the pedal because the sensor would be "stuck" on full application. In other words, if the computer is able to read differing pedal positions, the accelerator isn't "stuck" (since that's what is used to determine requested power from the user in a drive by wire system).

[phoebeisis]

Kittyboodles- I didn't mean to seem like I was attacking you-my apologies if it seemed that way.

Right lane offers a better explanation than I did.

I would bet that the computer does note throttle position-if stuck or if it becomes restuck it would return to more or less the same setting.

[KittyBoodles]

Originally Posted by Right Lane Cruiser

Hi, Karen. I can't speak definitively since I don't know the actual coding involved but it would seem to me that if the accelerator truly was stuck the computer wouldn't be able to record "on/off" events from the pedal because the sensor would be "stuck" on full application. In other words, if the computer is able to read differing pedal positions, the accelerator isn't "stuck" (since that's what is used to determine requested power from the user in a drive by wire system).

Ah, I think I understand that better.. it would then be the ECU that records everything and stores it, reports back that "this and that" was done, correct?

Is it possible then, (not in this case specifically, but theoretically) that the ECU could be bad and it would report one thing and not another? Or, if an ECM goes bad, that's it, it's bad and does not work at all? I'm curious to know if the ECU or other sensors could partially work in any of the systems. I've done searches but can't come up with a definite answer to that.

I've had the silliest issues with an air-cooled, carburetor engine on a 29 year old airplane and it's systems that don't have fancy computers to measure things. It becomes then an educated guess plus experience to find the issue.

Thank you for your explanation!


-- ETA not sure if I meant to say ECM or ECU? Engine Control Module? Unit? one and the same? off to search

[KittyBoodles]

Originally Posted by phoebeisis

Kittyboodles- I didn't mean to seem like I was attacking you-my apologies if it seemed that way.

Right lane offers a better explanation than I did.

I would bet that the computer does note throttle position-if stuck or if it becomes restuck it would return to more or less the same setting.

It's okay, thank you. I think my problem is that I tend to think first more in simple air-cooled engines (think airplanes) than 'newer' computer controlled / sensor cars. Sometimes I don't always articulate my question well either.

Thank you.