>>>>>The Toyota recall for sticky gas pedals has been striking me as fishy for a while. Now Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is recommending that people who own these vehicles not drive them at all until taking them to a Toyota dealership for service.
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>>>>>http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/03/news/companies/dot_toyota_lahood/index.htm?hpt=T1
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>>>>>Is this an unwarranted conspiracy theory on my part? It just seems awfully convenient for the domestic automakers with their business in the toilet and Toyota being the #1 manufacturer. They wouldn't be ginning this story up behind the scenes, would they?
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>>>>It does seem kind of odd.
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>>>>It seems to change from day to day as well.
>>>>
>>>>We got a recall notice on our Prius last fall re: the floor mat causing the gas pedal to stick.
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>>>>Now most of the other Toyotas are recalled because of a defective gas pedal (not floor mat related) that can stick. But the Prius was just a floormat issue?
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>>>>Now the Prius's are suspected of having brake issues.
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>>>>Through it all, our Prius works like a charm and we intend to get another one for me (when interest rates are viable).
>>>>
>>>>We also know how to put a car in neutral if the throttle sticks.
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>>>>I'm assuming people who are having wrecks have to sign off from whomever they are texting at the time and then try to 'text a friend' to find out what to do. this can be time consuming in an emergency.
>>>
>>>Or turn off the ignition.Or is there some "safety" feature that stops you doing that.
>>>My father used to turn the ignition off on long hills and freewheel all the way down
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>>Having a stick shift makes it easy, on hills I just push the clutch in all the way and coast.
>
>Turning off the car is a bad idea for several reasons. First of all it takes so much MORE gas to start a car than it does to idle that you don't save any gas and actually use more. Second - in most cars the steering wheel locks when you do that so now you can't turn either. Plus now you are unable to accelerate should you need too - and any power steering and power brakes are now no longer power assisted. It's really a very dangerous and foolish thing to do if you ask me.
>As far as holding the clutch in all the way and coasting that's not too good of an idea either. The long term effect on your clutch parts (mostly the throw-out bearing in this case) is bad. Plus from a safety standpoint you're not supposed to do this either as now you have much much less control over the car. The only time you're should be holding in the clutch like that is if your stopped at an intersection or in traffic somewhere. In those situations you're not supposed to take out the clutch and idle in neutral for the same reasons - you now have no control over the car if something happens (if you get hit or need to move right away to avoid a problem).

I'm not sure I quite buy all that. With the clutch in and coasting, I can brake very quickly if I have to since the clutch is already in and as far as moving quickly, it's easier and more reflexive to let go of the clutch than to depress it.

As for as the throw-out bearing, I don't really think that's an issue unless I start revving the engine up while I'm coasting. At a stop, yes, I generally have the clutch depressed and the car in 1st gear.