progress4m
Member
Yes, I have…… every time I am touching accelerator pedal LOL… Sorry just couldn’t resist..:wink2:
4-Runner Sudden Acceleration
- Thread starter Spaceman
- Start date
Yes, I have…… every time I am touching accelerator pedal LOL… Sorry just couldn’t resist..:wink2:
blackmax
New member
Let me again say what all of us here already know:
1) no such thing as "sudden acceleration" which makes a car go out of control. Absolute nonsense.
2) the only people who say otherwise are:
a. looking for excuses for the accident they caused; OR
b. Union criminals who don't like the fact that Toyota is
non-union (and thus, non-criminal); OR
c. politicians who receive money from the unions, thus jump on their
cause; OR
d. attorneys who want in on the action.
I say, let's get rid of the entire group!
T4R402
New member
Everyone I've talked with at Toyota assured me 4runners can not have this problem as they are built in Japan. Is it possible for a similar problem, sure however I think it would relate to the owner. I do realize the source of the info however I was watching ABC news tonight and of course a toyota story was on.
Evidently there was a professor who manipulated wiring in toyota's to show it could be an electronic problem not just the pedal. Toyota rebutted with showing a variety of other makes which did the exact same thing when the wiring was manipulated.
Its blown WAY out of proportion. I'm glad I bought one and haven't looked back since.
Evidently there was a professor who manipulated wiring in toyota's to show it could be an electronic problem not just the pedal. Toyota rebutted with showing a variety of other makes which did the exact same thing when the wiring was manipulated.
Its blown WAY out of proportion. I'm glad I bought one and haven't looked back since.
Scoobs
Member
Wrong. The engine has rev limiter and will just bounce off the limiter. If you shut off the engine you lose your power steering and power brakes.
Throw it in neutral, apply the brakes ( which are now not fighting the engine ) steer to the side of the road, come to a complete stop, turn off the engine while keeping foot pressed on the brakes, shift into park after the engine shuts down.
CJ3Flyr
Super Moderator
Me too! Falling off the edge while driving along a mountain trail would not be good. The fall is ok it's the sudden stop at the bottom that's tough:lol: Glad the tires are good. I got some GYSAs too and am very happy.
Wait.... so let me restate what you're stating.... anybody who says that their car suddenly accelerated is either a "union wacko" who hates Toyota due to their non-affiliation with the UAW, got in an accident that was 100% their fault, are politicians who are "owned" by unions, or attorneys who want to sue..... and you feel that they should all be killed?
Wow.
What about those politicians who receive money from Toyota, but are still looking into this? What about Republicans who hate unions, but are investigating this issue and participating in hearings? What about those who are dead due to the car doing ridiculous things? I guess they've already been exterminated, so you don't have to "get rid" of that group.
And to top it all off... anybody who is a member of a union is a criminal? That's a new one on me. I thought in America I had the right to belong to a worker's union.... and I had a right to assembly, and other such inalienable rights. Did I miss something that said that unions were somehow criminal organizations? If it weren't for my union there would be many who would have been run out of their job illegally by what basically amounts to a criminal organization that is only kept in check thanks to the worker's union who represents us and assures that we have healthcare and jobs. Who is the criminal there? Hmmmmmm... I guess whoever agrees with you.
FourEyedWilly
New member
Hey BamBam, off topic a bit, maybe someone can chime in. I'm self employed but my father and his brother were both union. I understand the worth but one thing does make me go hmmm. People are living longer, benefits are guaranteed by unions in retirement (as I understand). The company that the union worked was employed at has to pay into the union for these benifits. Don't these costs spiral out of control for the company over time as people are living longer? Am I way off? (I'm not buying union workers are forcing this recall, but I can agree that union workers don't like scabs too much.)
Also, when a company has union workers, is it forced to sell their product at a higher price?
I'm only asking as it seems we have a bit of knowledge on these forums.
Thanks!
eace:
Also, when a company has union workers, is it forced to sell their product at a higher price?
I'm only asking as it seems we have a bit of knowledge on these forums.
Thanks!
eace:
JB.
New member
It's just a matter of getting a handle on the abstraction of the increase of risk involved. I realize that's hard to do when you have a picture in your mind of going over a cliff (I travel a lot of shelf roads, myself). For instance, the increase in risk has got to be at least thousands of times smaller than the increased risk of having a lift.
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1. I say you just repeated a lot of talking points...which is a nice way of saying you're incapable of coming up with an original thought.
2. I'd also say even when given a chance to offer just one single fact to back up your nonsense, you couldn't perform. Which makes you:
a. A blatant liar
b. An Internet flame artist
c. A ditto head, who knows nothing except what you're told to think
d. All of the above
My vote is.....D
Uneek
Super Moderator
You don't want to shut off the engine. You'll lose power steering. If the engine blows up, it just shows that the throttle was stuck open.
Hey BamBam, off topic a bit, maybe someone can chime in. I'm self employed but my father and his brother were both union. I understand the worth but one thing does make me go hmmm. People are living longer, benefits are guaranteed by unions in retirement (as I understand). The company that the union worked was employed at has to pay into the union for these benifits. Don't these costs spiral out of control for the company over time as people are living longer? Am I way off? (I'm not buying union workers are forcing this recall, but I can agree that union workers don't like scabs too much.)
Also, when a company has union workers, is it forced to sell their product at a higher price?
I'm only asking as it seems we have a bit of knowledge on these forums.
Thanks!
Good question and I think we could have a really interesting phone conversation about this, because I hear your points and I think about this kind of stuff often...... this is the problem with "lumping" in general though.... because my union sells no product. Different unions serve different purposes and your dad and brother's union is in it for a way different purpose and does things much differently than mine. For example, the UAW serves the auto workers interests to the point where they can try to max out salaries and retirements, but also protect workers and provide them with a safe working environment. Sure that is the happy smiley faced description of what they do, and we all know there is a lot more that goes into it (and some not so happy smiley stuff as well). I can come up with negatives on unions too.
My point is that I can come up with a positive for every negative, and probably even two positives for every negative in most situations and ten positives for every negative in my own situation.
My union isn't a profit based deal. I am a member of my local teacher's association, as well as the state, and the national education association. The interesting thing is that the local association doesn't see eye-to-eye frequently with the national association. But the aims are the same. To protect the teachers, students, and schools. Disagree if you want, but that is my firm belief in what they do.
I know many people who hate the NEA and find a million reasons why they are bad. However.... I have been through heck and back in my employment and as sad as it is to say it, I wouldn't still have a job if it weren't for my union. Now, I know many will say that I shouldn't have a job if my employer feels they have reason to fire me..... but that is where we can disagree about what a union does.
My situation is not as strange as it may sound, but I have never received anything lower than a 5 on a 5 point scale in a teacher evaluation over the 9 years of my career (evaluated 9 times formally, plus countless informal observations). So I have perfect work evaluations. My test scores are at or above expected level and always have been (except for one blip when I was out having a neck fusion). I have been decorated as a teacher of the year and as teacher of the month. I have been in charge of local area committees and been asked many times to speak at the school, district, and state level on matters of education. I have never had a complaint filed against me for insubordination or inappropriate activity. So why am I "on the chopping block"? Because my spine decided to fall apart last year, and on top of that I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. I tried to work through it and it was brutal (but I made it!).
I came up with a plan in conjunction with my supervisor where if I needed to miss time for my massive number of specialist appointments then it would be done on Friday afternoons while I had planning time in order to avoid disruption to my class/students.
Guess what happened? I got a new supervisor this year who looked at last year and said I missed too many days (even though I was way way way under my negotiated sick leave benefit level, and it wasn't even close). The new supervisor felt I was some sort of a deadbeat just by looking at numbers. I explained my situation and was scoffed at. This person wasn't my supervisor last year, but made a decision by looking at numbers. They were discussing termination and making a completely hostile and intolerable work environment. Leveling accusations about my teaching ability, mocking me, basically harassing me to the point where they knew I'd break and possibly quit.
Guess who stepped in and made it stop? My union. If I hadn't had that protection (especially in a "right to work" or "right to fire" state) then I'd be out on my ear right now. Why? Because I used my benefits which I pay a great deal into and used them appropriately and in conjunction with a plan created by myself and my supervisor to keep the disruption to a minimum while still providing me with the massive amount of medical care I need.
So that is my experience with unions. It has been good. They have saved my bacon in this situation. Now they are providing me with a lawyer. Am I looking to sue? Heck no. I just want to continue to do my job in an environment free from harassment, insults, lies, etc. If it weren't for my union I wouldn't have that.
Does that mean the teamsters are choir boys? No. But when done properly unions can be a great thing.
Does it require things to cost more? I will give one last example of when I was in the private sector working for a non-unionized software company. I used to do data analysis and run statistics on all of us who tested the software and debugged it. Guess what I found? I found that instead of paying 55 people minimum wage, that they could cut 45 of the workers, pay the remaining 10 a standard salary and our productivity wouldn't drop. They were limiting hours because they didn't want to pay benefits.
I know people will say that unionizing would have created chaos in that situation and assured poor workers jobs. My point on the flipside was that if the company had done the right thing and terminated wasteful employees because they just wanted more cheap workers than a few skilled workers then they wouldn't have a NEED for unions, because the workers would be happy and the company would see better return on their dollar. So unions typically step in where there is a situation like Wal-mart where they limit hours to avoid paying benefits and overwork their workers so that they can save a few bucks. So would our company have had to charge more for the product if we had less employees making more money? No. They probably would have been more streamlined. Same goes with car companies. They have to charge more because of retirements I guess? Well look how much guys that have never been anywhere near the line are taking in retirement packages. I guess once that levels out a bit then we can have that discussion. The workers need somebody to fight for them or that golden parachute that already looks ridiculous looks a whole lot more ridiculous. Look at the countries that we fear becoming (China for example) and see who makes all of the money. Does it spread down to the workers? Heck no. I don't buy the whole argument that the union is somehow making us like a communist country. Communist countries don't have well paid workers and ethical executives. They are full of bribed government officials who sit on the board of 10-20 companies and make the money on the backs of what basically amounts to slave labor. Thank goodness we CAN have unions. Whether you like them or not.
If employers took it on themselves to follow their own rules and negotiate in good faith with entire groups of employees (similar to collective bargaining) then no such setup would even be needed. But if you get the wrong person mad at you for whatever reason then a union is your best friend. And to counter the typical argument that unions protect bad workers.... I have NEVER once seen my union protect a worker who was guilty of a crime, especially against a child. The union will typically say "Your best bet is to walk away and deal with the consequences legally, we are NOT going to do anything beyond what we are legally bound to do.... but you should just quit." I support them 100% in that situation because they know who is right and who is wrong and they take the side of right.
iOpine
New member
Um, getting back to the original topic...
Regarding whether anybody has heard of a sudden acceleration mechanical or electrical problem with 4Runners it appears the answer so far is "No."
Just be careful about getting your pedal stuck behind an aftermarket floor mat. I've never experienced this in my 4R, but this has occurred to me a few times over the years in other vehicles. Fortunately, in each case I had time to work it free.
Now I don't let that happen. If a floor mat begins working its way into a dangerous position it either gets tossed in the trash or modified so it can't do it anymore. Clean carpet isn't worth it.
-John
'05 SR5 V8
Regarding whether anybody has heard of a sudden acceleration mechanical or electrical problem with 4Runners it appears the answer so far is "No."
Just be careful about getting your pedal stuck behind an aftermarket floor mat. I've never experienced this in my 4R, but this has occurred to me a few times over the years in other vehicles. Fortunately, in each case I had time to work it free.
Now I don't let that happen. If a floor mat begins working its way into a dangerous position it either gets tossed in the trash or modified so it can't do it anymore. Clean carpet isn't worth it.
-John
'05 SR5 V8
One of the first things I did when hearing of my aquantaince dying in San Diego in the Lexus was to put my car(IS350) into nuetral at 80mph. I also did engine shutdowns (holding start button down) upto about 35mph. Steering isn't difficult but braking is.
If you want to see how different your brakes are without power assist... roll down your driveway backwards in nuetral (with engine off of course)
If you want to see how different your brakes are without power assist... roll down your driveway backwards in nuetral (with engine off of course)
B'klyn_Mike
New member
Thanks, but no thanks! I'll keep the unionized cops, firefighters, sanitation workers, hospital staff, gas company workers, electric utility workers, etc., etc., and etc. around if you don't mind!
I've worked on both sides of the fence...management and unionized employee...and while both sides aren't always angelic they serve a purpose! If it wasn't for my union I wouldn't have been able to retire at 48 yoa with 30 years in. If I stayed in management I would've had to be 55 yoa before I could retire with a pension with 37 years in. Oh, and my industry always turned a profit or the shareholders would've revolted years ago. As far as I remember, the CEO never took a cut in pay while I was employed!
Mike :artist:
G.I.G.
New member
Yes, I in fact had the sudden acceleration problem with my '07 4Runner! I took it into the dealer and come to find out, it was my right foot that was causing the problem.
Yeah, this has gone WAY overboard. Once the media catches wind of even the most isolated occurrences, it's like chum in the water. They start swarming like a bunch of hungry sharks. It's become a witch hunt with our elected officials grandstanding and blasting Toyota, while doing nothing more than hurting Toyota's reputation. I think a lot of people forget that even though Toyota is a Japanese company, they employ tens of thousands of Americans! When our economy is in the tank, I don't think the media and the government are doing anyone any favors by making a bigger deal of this than is necessary. Especially if people at Toyota dealers, manufacturing facilities, final assembly plants, etc. start loosing their jobs because of this.
I just saw another story today of a 61 year old man who was going over 90mph in his Prius and called 911 in order to stop. I had a Prius as a rental once and I'm pretty sure they can't go over 90mph even if they were being towed by a top fuel dragster.
There have been plenty of demonstrations, including the Youtube link someone posted on page 1 of this thread, that show that Toyota's have more than enough braking authority to stop the vehicle even under full throttle. It's important that everyone knows how to handle an emergency situation in a vehicle. Putting the car in neutral would be a good start but people somehow seem to forget that.
Yeah, this has gone WAY overboard. Once the media catches wind of even the most isolated occurrences, it's like chum in the water. They start swarming like a bunch of hungry sharks. It's become a witch hunt with our elected officials grandstanding and blasting Toyota, while doing nothing more than hurting Toyota's reputation. I think a lot of people forget that even though Toyota is a Japanese company, they employ tens of thousands of Americans! When our economy is in the tank, I don't think the media and the government are doing anyone any favors by making a bigger deal of this than is necessary. Especially if people at Toyota dealers, manufacturing facilities, final assembly plants, etc. start loosing their jobs because of this.
I just saw another story today of a 61 year old man who was going over 90mph in his Prius and called 911 in order to stop. I had a Prius as a rental once and I'm pretty sure they can't go over 90mph even if they were being towed by a top fuel dragster.
There have been plenty of demonstrations, including the Youtube link someone posted on page 1 of this thread, that show that Toyota's have more than enough braking authority to stop the vehicle even under full throttle. It's important that everyone knows how to handle an emergency situation in a vehicle. Putting the car in neutral would be a good start but people somehow seem to forget that.
Scoobs
Member
Or think back to driving my '71 Chev Nova that had no power steering or power brakes. I remember when most cars didn't have power steering or power brakes, it was optional. The first car I drove with power steering or power brakes was my father's '79 Olds Delta 88. That took some getting used to as I was always pressing way too hard on the brakes. Steering with one finger, instead of both hands, was a new thing as well.
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