I feel like this is "The Stupid Question of the Day". Can you shift newer Toyota's into neutral while driving???

I just can't help but to think that the 1st thing I would do if my car started speeding up out of control, would be to shift the car out of gear into neutral. Can anyone with a post 2004 Toyota test this theory to see if it is possible. I would try it when going 45 mph or more.

My thoughts is that this problem is linked to something within the cruise control system. That should be the only thing in a car that tells it to idle up, right?

 

Heard on NPR that you can. Most people are too scared to do it because they think it's going to destroy their transmission. Now I could be wrong but I think that there is a safety device to prevent transmission death. First thing I would do is pull the E-brake...

 

Most modern cars (not just Toyotas) are now 'drive by wire' instead of the old cable-from-pedal-to-throttle system that worked so well for so long. The pedal tells the drive computer how to set the throttle via a servo, so there is no mechanical connection any more. It's like you're using cruise control all the time, but constantly adjusting the 'set' speed with your foot. I don't understand how anybody thought this was a good idea.

I don't think dropping into neutral would have any negative effect on the transmission, no matter what. And cars now have a rev limiter that prevents the engine from red-lining, so you wouldn't even damage the engine. As far as the e-brake is concerned, if the foot brake won't stop the car, there's no way the e-brake would. Many e-brakes now just use the main braking circuit, instead of having a separate drum brake inside the rear rotor.

I feel the same way: duh! put it in neutral and turn the key back to the accessory position. The car is still rolling, and the steering isn't locked, so then just coast to the side of the road. But then I remind myself that not everyone is into the nuts and bolts of how a car works. If I had just shelled out the $$$ for Prius, I would be worried about being responsible for breaking it too.

But here's the thing I find the most scary. The stories we hear about are the ones where the driver didn't think to put in in neutral and cut the engine. How many times has this happened to someone who DID know to do that, found that the car worked properly when they started it back up, and just went on their way without reporting it, or just took it in for service without calling the media. I bet this is actually a BIGGER problem than we know.

 

Too funny to see this post.. My roommate has a Brand new what I call "Runaway car" aka 2010 Camry, that is under recall. To test the theory mentioned above, we took his car with 1000k on the clock and went to 55mph, and you can slide it righ into neutral. We did that trying to seeif you could do that. The obvious one you can't do is go past (N) and into revers where the shiftlock kicks in. He took his in to have the shims on the pedal added and one fo the techs told him that it looks like they are looking (toyota) into the ETM and/or software malfunction and that's why some cars are running away. Knowing that I have a possible"runaway car" in my garage, I told him to make sure he slams into the house than into the 850,lol..

 

They run electronic throttles because the manufacturers were sick of imbeciles destroying perfectly good engines. It allows the emgine management computer to tell the throttle actuator to back off if overspeed is imminent, allows traction control systems to retard throttle and allows transmission computers to do the same if a transmission issue occurs.
There's probably a cost savings in there too.
It seems though, with people too dumb to just turn the ignition off when teh car runs away, that they still can't engineer stupid out from behind the wheel......

Regards, Andrew.

 

Wow! I was un-aware that they took throttle cables out of cars. I guess not having purchased a vehicle newer than 2004 puts me behind the power curve. I'm really attached to the pre-ford Volvos.

As for bumping the car into neutral, I'm glad that works. I just can't image why the San Diego guy drive 30 freeking miles going 90+. The thing about it is that you would likely NOT do damage if you accidently put it in part or reverse. I have done it a few times in a car or two. It just makes a zipper should as the pin or whatever skips across the gearbox/transmission holes. I have done it going down the highway at 60 mph. It was a little scary but it did NO damage. Also, shifting the car into neutral would not damage the transmission, only the engine if it redlined and kept going. But with the rev-limiter, that would be unlikely.

Now the ignition is another matter. Seeing that most of these cars NO LONGER have keys that you can turn back. I understand that you have to hold the start button in for 3+ seconds to kill the engine. That really would not concern me either. Once in neutral, and the car stopped, that's when I would be consider turning the car off. Better yet, let the damn thing blow up. I would not be worrying about picking up the tab on a motor.

I think Bertelsen is right about how often this happens. I would be one that probably would not report to the media. But I would tell the dealer if it happened more than once. I knew then they started that "gas pedal shim" hog wash that they would be eating those pieces of metal later. A stuck gas pedal is usually not the cause of a car taking off. Very few people floor the pedal to get going.

I think I'm going to go to the local Toyota dealer to order me a Toyota name plate. For now the cops might buy it. When they pull me over for going 135 in a 70, I'll tell them my pedal got stuck. :-)

 

Speaking of which, this is intresting turn of events...http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/toy...fumento_2.html

 

Yup, hoax: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35855757...tos/?GT1=43001
I would put this in range of "balloon boy"

 

I guess so..................... wtf is wrong with people now a days!

 

I didn't say the ebrake would work...it'd just be a reaction to pull it...

As for shifting into neutral: Not everyone is as mechanically inclined as we are. Most people in the US who drive auto cars are taught NEVER to touch the shifter while the car is moving. Hence why people would be hesitant to shift into neutral. I know I wouldn't do it in my car and I've even been told it will do no harm...

 

I think the test those guys did on the mans car was weak. If you have been driving for 30+ minutes and then you're on the highway, your wheels/brakes are already hot. The brake fade is a lot more likely than if you start the car, drive 5 minutes then try to stop the car.

 

Yes, you CAN shift cars into neutral while driving. Heck, you can put modern electronically controlled transmissions into reverse- the computer will not actuate the reverse solenoid until you're below 3 or so MPH, and it'll just stay in neutral. Now, putting it into park... that "zipper" noise is the parking pawl rubbing against the teeth it engages to lock the transmission. That WILL eventually wear the pawl/ gear out, resulting in weak or no park. Trust me, this happens. My dad's old Chrysler Concorde ended up in the neighbor's yard overnight once because of a defective parking pawl (okay, the entire transmission in a '94 Concorde was defective from the factory!) Anyhow, he woke up one morning, went to go get coffee, and his car wasn't in the driveway! It was sitting against the neighbors' porch across the street. the parking pawl had slipped, and the car rolled down the driveway!

 

Your dad had a coffee maker in the car? Dang, that's big pimpin'. JK

I was talking to one of my helpers at the office and she said she has had two Camary's take off on her. The first one was a '95 model. She stopped at a busy intersection in Dallas and a few seconds after she stopped it just took off with her foot still on the brake. She was hit broad side and a lot of damage was done to the car, should have been totalled. Then she had a 2000 that did the same thing, it was totalled. In both cases she said she had no time to do anything before she was hit by an on comming car. The thing that gets me is that she has another Camary, 2008 . She must be a slow learner like me.

 

It's not a case of being mechanically inclined. You should know how all the systems are operated on your vehicle and how to use them to full effect.
The problem is, people are just too dumb and ignorant to bother spending 20 minutes sitting in teh new car they just bought reading the owner's handbook.
It's pure laziness and ignorance.
As I said, ANY car has far more braking capacity than engine acceleration capacity and that alone is enough to prevent a runaway car.
This whole situation is a sad reflection on how we've allowed car licences to become too easy to obtain, not everyone should be driving a car, some just don't have the skills, and this is proving it yet again.

Regards, Andrew.