Inspection order by Toyota linked to Santee crash

[question everything]

Toyota today will order its dealers to inspect the floor mats in all of their vehicles amid reports that a wrong-sized mat may have played a role in the recent Santee crash that killed four people in a runaway Lexus. The unusual order from the world's largest automaker is being sent in a letter even though the accident is still under investigation. The letter will go to 1,400 U.S. dealers and applies to all new, used and loaner vehicles

Auto-safety advocates, who have been studying sudden-acceleration incidents for decades, expressed skepticism about linking the mat to the crash, which killed veteran California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and three members of his family. They pointed to the complex electrical and computer systems in modern vehicles, which they said develop glitches and have caused thousands of similar accidents.

Saylor was driving a 2009 Lexus ES 350, a loaner from Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon, when a passenger called 911 and told a dispatcher the accelerator was stuck and the vehicle was going 120 mph. It crashed shortly after near Mission Gorge Road and state Route 125. Investigators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said an all-weather mat found in the wreckage could have interfered with the accelerator, Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said yesterday.

The mat was a couple of inches longer than the mat that belonged in the vehicle, Lyons said.

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/16/inspection-order-toyota-linked-santee-crash/?metro&zIndex=166625

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Please, check your mats, even if your is not a Toyota or a Lexus.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. It was not the mat...

that is CYA.

Been as a medic to plenty of accidents.

[Trajan]

2. How horrible ....

Is the gearshift locked out from moving to neutral when driving ? ..... mine isnt ....

[flvegan]

3. The more I read of this story, the more I love my clutch pedal.

This accident, no matter the cause, is a horrible tragedy.

[Purveyor]

4. Some network news radio station is playing the 911 tape of the call. Horrid indeed and I couldn't

believe that the news agency was exploiting that tragedy.

But, I guess that is what is normal...now days.

I'm tired.

[NYC_SKP]

5. If this happens to you: Step on the brake, Shift to Neutral, Turn off the ignition.

If that doesn't work, downshift the automatic or put in neutral, and use the emergency brake.

If these things don't work, ram the shifter into reverse and then into park.

Leave a streak of parts and ATF oil on the highway, step out of the vehicle when it comes to a rest.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Indeed. If you've ever accidentally shifted to 'R' while the car was in motion ...

you'll know how effective this is. Sacrifices the machinery, but avoids tragedy.

[itsrobert]

6. These Toyotas are death traps

They should be taken off the market until a complete investigation conducted and the recommended repairs/fixes completed.

[hayu_lol]

8. DO NOT TURN OFF THE ENGINE...

Almost all newer cars(perhaps all)have a steering wheel lock. If you turn off the engine in panic, you will turn the key all the way to total off and the wheel lock will then engage. If you are moving at a high rate of speed, you will turn over--perhaps several times depending on speed of the vehicle.

I've always thought that the steering locks were dangerous items when coupled with the two stage or more ignition locks.

A possible cure would be a 'kill switch' on the dashboard which would turn off the engine(panic)without engaging the steering lock.

These engine runaway incidents seem to be increasing.

Many of the safety items in modern cars were designed by people who did not think through the Laws Of Unintended Consequences.

[question everything]

10. I still don't like the power windows

ever since the story about Jessica Savitch who drowned - with her dog - when her car fell into a river and she could not open the windows. We carry these little hammers in both cars, that can break the windows and cut the seat belt.

After the collapse of the 35W bridge, we made sure that we know where we keep them.

[parkia00]

9. An excellent idea!

Of course this needs to be applied to all vehicles of all makes as well. When a vehicle gets into an accident, that model must be taken off the market until a complete investigation is conducted and the recommended repairs/fixes completed. In the mean time lease a vehicle model type that has yet been in an accident. If none are found, take the bus and hope it does not have an accident.