Run away cars

I do not have one of the key-less cars with the start button so turning off the car would 1)lock the steering wheel and 2)do away with power brakes.

Why not put the car in neutral, and the brake would stop the car, and then you could shut it off?

Can the problem cars not be shifted into neutral when this happens?

Reply to
Jack
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WTF does this have to do with home repair?

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

Runaway cars have been known to smash into houses. This often results in damage that must be addressed. They call that work, "home repair".

Got it now?

Reply to
salty

1) No, only requires locking to remove key from ignition 2) Far better to have manual braking and no acceleration than burn out brakes w/ continued acceleration

Why not, indeed...

This seems to be a bone of contention that I've seen no clarification on other than I think it's Toyota's recommendation (I say "I think" because the reports I've seen are secondhand, not directly from Toyota--either testimony or corporate statements. There seem to have been precious few of those until the "technical presentation" to attempt to discredit the firmware failure idea.)

most home owners have autos??? Plus, it's a current topic of some interest. If you're not, mark thread for not following in your newsreader (as I'm getting ready to do).

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Reply to
dpb

To clarify, what he's saying is that if you turn off the ignition the steering wheel will not lock unless you also remove the key.

Some people have claimed that they tried, but could not. Are they telling the truth? Who knows. But take a look at the other thread here I just posted. You have a Toyota again in San Diego, with police involvement for a long time and from the reports so far, it doesn't appear anyone had sense enough to just put it in neutral. And it was in San Diego that a highway patrol officer and his family died in a crash in a Lexus where the car went along long enough for a 911 call to be made. You'd think they surely would have learned something from that one, but maybe not.

Reply to
trader4

Was I drunk or absent the day you were put in charge?

Reply to
Steve B

No reason you couldn't have been both. I often am.

Reply to
HeyBub

Both.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

Was that YOU I was with. I really don't remember.

Steve ;-)

Reply to
Steve B

Buhbye.

Reply to
Steve B

Incorrect. The steering wheel locks as soon as the ignition switch is turned to the position in which the key _can_ be removed, even if the key remains in the lock cylinder.

Reply to
Doug Miller

How old is the car you are driving??? For at least the last 10 years or more, the steering lock can NOT engage without removing the key.

Reply to
clare

Just saw the driver say he was unfamiliar w/ the gearshift -- okay, so who's car was it? If it was his as was indicated as he took it to the dealership earlier for the fix, that's his bad...

Then, he followed that up w/ the astounding statement he thought (or "didn't know if" may have been the actual words, I don't recall precisely just now?) the car would flip if he did shift to neutral...what in the world would possibly make one think something like that? And, he eventually turned it off -- why wouldn't one think of that before on one's own long before reaching 90 mph????

One good thing in this incident other than the doofus did escape is that Toyota and DOT engineers are going to examine the particular vehicle that did malfunction. Hopefully Toyota won't have a chance to clean it up before independent parties are there for a real forensic examination.

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Reply to
dpb

San Francisco got first vote. San Diego ended up with all the lawyers.

Reply to
Oren

??? I have 2005 Ford 500. Has the usual (for the past 30 years at least) LOCK, OFF, RUN,Run Positions (may have another position to run radio, etc, only). Locks the steering in the LOCK positon with the key still in it. I'll bet almost all other cars do the same.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Near as I could follow the clips, he wasn't told, and didn't try, to turn it off before slowing way down.

This is the second car that Toyota has had for a good exam. First one was sitting in its lot with smoking brakes. Never heard what they found on that one.

Harry k

Reply to
Harry K

"Harry K" wrote

The news tonight had the recording of part of the 911 call: Operator: Did you try shifting to neutral? Driver: NO

He later said he was afraid to because he thought the car might flip. He should have his license revoked.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Retroactively...

Reply to
George

You guys are pretty hysterical. There are probably BILLIONS of drivers in the world who aren't aware of how to fix a leaky faucet, or which way to turn a screw to tighten it.

I'm guessing that you aren't perfect and all knowing, either. You just have different areas of interest than some other people. This may come as a shock, but that doesn't make you in any way superior to any of them.

Reply to
JohnnyD

Home Owners Repair, got it.

Reply to
ransley

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