










Comments     Threshold


RE: Sticking Pedal
By Souka on 2/8/2011 7:03:54 PM , Rating: 4
I liked an article I one of those car mags (Road and Track I think) showing the Prius and othe simalar cars braking capabilities vs engine power...

Most of these mid-sized cars put out about 140hp... the brakes? 300+ HP braking capable...

Most cars stopped from 60-0 with about 20ft more when the gas pedal was held down. I think the Nissan Altima didn't add any distance because they have a throttle cutout feature when the brake pedal is depressed. The emergency brake was also capable of overcoming the engine, but took longer and can cause wheel lockup...

That Lexus and family dying was tragic... but it really saddens me that they had time to make a phone call... DID NOT LISTEN TO THE OPERATOR when instructed to press the brake... turn off the iginition, depress the emergency brake, or lift up on the gas pedal.


RE: Sticking Pedal
By MozeeToby on 2/9/2011 10:49:13 AM , Rating: 3
One exception though, if you (stupidly) eased on the brake and held it there for a long time, you could easily heat up your pads enough that you wouldn't be able to overcome the engine even if you stomped it to the floor later. Why someone would do that is beyond me, but I suppose if you really weren't paying attention to why your car was accelerating and used the brake to keep it at your target speed you could get yourself into trouble.

Otherwise I agree with you. I was driving a old V6 that got stuck wide open and was able to safely drive it the last mile to my destination, pull into the driveway and stop at my regular parking space. And that was about 70 more HP than most of these little Toyotas have.

RE: Sticking Pedal
By AssBall on 2/9/2011 11:26:26 AM , Rating: 3
I have never had any problem shifting from drive to neutral in my Toyota, so as you pointed out, you would have to exercise considerable stupidity to be unable to stop.

I guess rudimentary knowledge of vehicle operation has never been a prerequisite for a drivers license, and that is the real problem here.

RE: Sticking Pedal
By Hyperion1400 on 2/10/2011 10:16:18 PM , Rating: 2
I say we should adopt Finland's requirements, where you basically have to have training as a Rally driver to get a license. It will weed out the idiots/uncoordinated/unconfident people and teach those who do have the pre-reqs to be a decent driver EVERYTHING they will ever need to know.

And yes, switching into neutral is so effortless it makes me cringe when I read some of these reports...

RE: Sticking Pedal
By Alexvrb on 2/9/2011 5:24:29 PM , Rating: 2
There are a lot of factors that could hurt your braking power. Worn brakes, brake fade (stuck in stop and go traffic perhaps), other mechanical/hydraulic brake problems. If you braked with the throttle stuck open and then for some reason released the brake, braking again could prove difficult with the throttle wide open, due to the lack of vacuum. But you should still be able to bring it under control, plus you can drop it into neutral.

But if the vehicle lurches forward unexpectedly in traffic, you might end up rear ending someone. The magazine did these braking @ WOT tests in ideal conditions, not on I-95 in horrendous stop and go traffic. Also, they intentionally did it, so it was IMPOSSIBLE for it to "catch them by surprise". So while there's no excuse for them not hitting the brakes and otherwise trying to bring the vehicle under control, I can see some accidents being cause by people being caught off guard in less-than-ideal conditions.

