>>>>>>>>>>>>>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.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/03/news/companies/dot_toyota_lahood/index.htm?hpt=T1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>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?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>It does seem kind of odd.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>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.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>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?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>Now the Prius's are suspected of having brake issues.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>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.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>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
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>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.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Unless the point is to down-shift rather than break (whenever possible) for control (mountain driving and around curves). I learned that back in my teens when I took a couple of lessons from a race car driver. However, today they teach otherwise. Clutching produces less friction on the engion and since breaks are cheaper than a new engine, well, in relatively level areas it would be more cost-effective to clutch and break. (You can always pop out the clutch if you need immediate control). Of course, it also means that those behind you will know you are slowing down or stopping since the break lights will go on whereas down-shifting does not notify the person behind you that you are stopping.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Except that I'm talking about coasting downhill, not downshifting uphill. If I need to slow down going downhill, I break. On level surfaces, depending on my speed, I'll often downshift to slow. By the way, why do 'slow down' and 'slow up' mean the same thing?
>>>>>
>>>>>Wow. Coasting a vehicle with the clutch depressed at a high rate of speed is dangerous.
>>>>
>>>>But why? I have full control of the vehicle. The steering works and the brakes work. It's not as if I'm in free fall with no way to regulate the vehicle's speed or direction. In fact, in order to brake one has to depress the clutch or stall anyway and with the clutch already depressed, the brakes are a piece of cake. If I need to corner, I just slow down some. I can't see what the problem would be.
>>>
>>>Take a fun filled ride through Colorado that way one day... :o) You haven't lived til you've come down a real mountain in a 74 Triumph Spitfire with no clutch... :o)
>>
>>Wouldn't you be more interested in a working brake pedal than a working gas pedal?
>
>A working break pedal can burn out pretty fast going from 10,000' to 5,000' elevation in 15-30 minutes... :o) (Hence the runaway truck lanes in the rockies which sometimes are used by cars)

Hmmm.... Ok, I concede that in the mountains, dropping quickly from 10,000 to 5,000 feet in less than a half hour with the clutch in or using just the brake pedal for control is probably a bad idea. Fortunately, I don't run into that very often around here. Our free falls are a little less severe. It would be more like dropping from 10,000 to 9,900+ feet in that 15-30 minutes.