From: OscartheGrouch on

>>>
>>> do believe that to be true? you don't think our friend might not be one
>>> of the weak-minded that's susceptible to the power of suggestion?

You wouldn't be the service manager I talked to today by chance, would you?
From: dsi1 on
On 2/22/2010 7:55 PM, OscartheGrouch wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
>> On 2/22/2010 5:54 PM, jim beam wrote:
>>> On 02/22/2010 07:39 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>>> On 2/22/2010 4:51 PM, OscartheGrouch wrote:
>>>>> Hachiroku ハチロク wrote:
>>>>>> This fellow knew what to do to bring his car to a screeching halt.
>>>>>> Notice the technique used when the countdown timer gets to ~1:10...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I've been watching the status of all this about the accelerator pedal
>>>>> with a lot of interest. The high level of interest is because my
>>>>> accelerator has hung up on the floor mat 5 or 6 times. I've learned
>>>>> not
>>>>> to gun it. That's how I have solved the problem. So today I called my
>>>>> local dealer who does all my work. My car is a 2005 Prius. They looked
>>>>> up my car and told me it was made in Japan and is not involved in the
>>>>> recall, but that I can bring it in at my own expense. Despite the fact
>>>>> that the accelerator will stick. I would think this would be
>>>>> disturbing
>>>>> news to Toyota. Not disturbing enough I guess. My problem is that I
>>>>> can
>>>>> never get the floor may lock device thingy that is furthest from
>>>>> the gas
>>>>> pedal and closest to me to actually lock. It just can't be forced down
>>>>> into the hole it's supposed to go into. But they will be nice
>>>>> enough to
>>>>> fix it at my expense. Great.
>>>>
>>>> Don't wait for the dealer to fix it. I'd just replace the mats and
>>>> forget about it. If you think this is a danger to the public then
>>>> contact someone that'll listen to you. My guess is that you'd have a
>>>> lot
>>>> of leverage in this matter due to the public hysteria. If this happened
>>>> to me one time, I'd think it was a fluke, two times and I'd be alarmed.
>>>> It wouldn't happen a third time let alone 5 or 6 times.
>>>
>>> hold on a second - our friend alleges that after hearing about stuck
>>> accelerators:
>>>
>>> "my accelerator has hung up on the floor mat 5 or 6 times."
>>>
>>> do believe that to be true? you don't think our friend might not be one
>>> of the weak-minded that's susceptible to the power of suggestion?
>>>
>>> our friend goes on to say:
>>>
>>> "I've learned not to gun it. That's how I have solved the problem."
>>>
>>> he "solved" the problem by not pressing the gas??? that's like "fixing"
>>> a broken seat belt by not crashing!
>>>
>>>
>>
>> You're right that our friend's story is a little fishy. Guess I'm a
>> gullible guy. :-)
>
> You're right, it's not a fix. This all happened within the first few
> years I owned it. Before there was any talk of this happening and my
> "weak mind" had no information to be susceptible to. I learned not to
> stomp all the way down on the accelerator. That worked. Anyway the point
> here is that I contacted my dealer with this and they had nothing to
> offer. Even if this was a made up story here, I can't see a reputable
> Toyota dealer dismissing it out of hand, even if you do, which is fine
> by me. As the dealer represents Toyota, I see an ongoing problem with
> Toyota. By the way, I just reproduced the situation. The damn floor mat
> wants to move in towards the console, which pushes the top part of it up
> towards the gas pedal. The little plastic part that keeps the floor mat
> from moving doesn't want to sink into the hole it's supposed to fit in.
> That makes the whole mat sort of "spin" to the right. I'm aware of it
> and know how not to have an issue with it. How many others with my year
> Prius are being ignored by Toyota, that's my only question. I think I'll
> take it in and show them as it is to this day reproducable(sp.), and see
> what they have to say

I think it's likely that there is a problem with the pedal getting stuck
under that mat and we all know that dealers are famous for ignoring the
problems of the buyers once the cars have been sold. The only strange
part is that this happened 5 or 6 times and you did not think to simply
remove the mat. That's all. My floor mats are in the trunk of my Camry
not because of this problem but because I think thick rug mats are not
real practical. I use rubber floor mats. If I had the accelerator get
stuck under my OEM mat, I'd just dump the mats. OTOH, that service
manager must be a fool.
From: OscartheGrouch on
dsi1 wrote:
> On 2/22/2010 7:55 PM, OscartheGrouch wrote:
>> dsi1 wrote:
>>> On 2/22/2010 5:54 PM, jim beam wrote:
>>>> On 02/22/2010 07:39 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>>>> On 2/22/2010 4:51 PM, OscartheGrouch wrote:
>>>>>> Hachiroku ハチロク wrote:
>>>>>>> This fellow knew what to do to bring his car to a screeching halt.
>>>>>>> Notice the technique used when the countdown timer gets to ~1:10...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've been watching the status of all this about the accelerator pedal
>>>>>> with a lot of interest. The high level of interest is because my
>>>>>> accelerator has hung up on the floor mat 5 or 6 times. I've learned
>>>>>> not
>>>>>> to gun it. That's how I have solved the problem. So today I called my
>>>>>> local dealer who does all my work. My car is a 2005 Prius. They
>>>>>> looked
>>>>>> up my car and told me it was made in Japan and is not involved in the
>>>>>> recall, but that I can bring it in at my own expense. Despite the
>>>>>> fact
>>>>>> that the accelerator will stick. I would think this would be
>>>>>> disturbing
>>>>>> news to Toyota. Not disturbing enough I guess. My problem is that I
>>>>>> can
>>>>>> never get the floor may lock device thingy that is furthest from
>>>>>> the gas
>>>>>> pedal and closest to me to actually lock. It just can't be forced
>>>>>> down
>>>>>> into the hole it's supposed to go into. But they will be nice
>>>>>> enough to
>>>>>> fix it at my expense. Great.
>>>>>
>>>>> Don't wait for the dealer to fix it. I'd just replace the mats and
>>>>> forget about it. If you think this is a danger to the public then
>>>>> contact someone that'll listen to you. My guess is that you'd have a
>>>>> lot
>>>>> of leverage in this matter due to the public hysteria. If this
>>>>> happened
>>>>> to me one time, I'd think it was a fluke, two times and I'd be
>>>>> alarmed.
>>>>> It wouldn't happen a third time let alone 5 or 6 times.
>>>>
>>>> hold on a second - our friend alleges that after hearing about stuck
>>>> accelerators:
>>>>
>>>> "my accelerator has hung up on the floor mat 5 or 6 times."
>>>>
>>>> do believe that to be true? you don't think our friend might not be one
>>>> of the weak-minded that's susceptible to the power of suggestion?
>>>>
>>>> our friend goes on to say:
>>>>
>>>> "I've learned not to gun it. That's how I have solved the problem."
>>>>
>>>> he "solved" the problem by not pressing the gas??? that's like "fixing"
>>>> a broken seat belt by not crashing!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> You're right that our friend's story is a little fishy. Guess I'm a
>>> gullible guy. :-)
>>
>> You're right, it's not a fix. This all happened within the first few
>> years I owned it. Before there was any talk of this happening and my
>> "weak mind" had no information to be susceptible to. I learned not to
>> stomp all the way down on the accelerator. That worked. Anyway the point
>> here is that I contacted my dealer with this and they had nothing to
>> offer. Even if this was a made up story here, I can't see a reputable
>> Toyota dealer dismissing it out of hand, even if you do, which is fine
>> by me. As the dealer represents Toyota, I see an ongoing problem with
>> Toyota. By the way, I just reproduced the situation. The damn floor mat
>> wants to move in towards the console, which pushes the top part of it up
>> towards the gas pedal. The little plastic part that keeps the floor mat
>> from moving doesn't want to sink into the hole it's supposed to fit in.
>> That makes the whole mat sort of "spin" to the right. I'm aware of it
>> and know how not to have an issue with it. How many others with my year
>> Prius are being ignored by Toyota, that's my only question. I think I'll
>> take it in and show them as it is to this day reproducable(sp.), and see
>> what they have to say
>
> I think it's likely that there is a problem with the pedal getting stuck
> under that mat and we all know that dealers are famous for ignoring the
> problems of the buyers once the cars have been sold. The only strange
> part is that this happened 5 or 6 times and you did not think to simply
> remove the mat. That's all. My floor mats are in the trunk of my Camry
> not because of this problem but because I think thick rug mats are not
> real practical. I use rubber floor mats. If I had the accelerator get
> stuck under my OEM mat, I'd just dump the mats. OTOH, that service
> manager must be a fool.

Well, yeah. I wanted to protect the carpet. So it's clean at resale. My
bad now that I think about it, I wanted to protect the floor's
appearance over my own safety? I make no claim as to being very bright.
Anyway, as I said in here somewhere else, it's going in, they are going
to see the problem, and we shall see what happens from there.

Question, how are the rubber mats kept in place? Same pins as the stock
mats or something else? Because I like the idea of rubber mats. But only
if they don't slip around.
From: dsi1 on
On 2/22/2010 9:33 PM, OscartheGrouch wrote:
> dsi1 wrote:
>> On 2/22/2010 7:55 PM, OscartheGrouch wrote:
>>> dsi1 wrote:
>>>> On 2/22/2010 5:54 PM, jim beam wrote:
>>>>> On 02/22/2010 07:39 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>>>>> On 2/22/2010 4:51 PM, OscartheGrouch wrote:
>>>>>>> Hachiroku ハチロク wrote:
>>>>>>>> This fellow knew what to do to bring his car to a screeching halt.
>>>>>>>> Notice the technique used when the countdown timer gets to ~1:10...
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I've been watching the status of all this about the accelerator
>>>>>>> pedal
>>>>>>> with a lot of interest. The high level of interest is because my
>>>>>>> accelerator has hung up on the floor mat 5 or 6 times. I've learned
>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>> to gun it. That's how I have solved the problem. So today I
>>>>>>> called my
>>>>>>> local dealer who does all my work. My car is a 2005 Prius. They
>>>>>>> looked
>>>>>>> up my car and told me it was made in Japan and is not involved in
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> recall, but that I can bring it in at my own expense. Despite the
>>>>>>> fact
>>>>>>> that the accelerator will stick. I would think this would be
>>>>>>> disturbing
>>>>>>> news to Toyota. Not disturbing enough I guess. My problem is that I
>>>>>>> can
>>>>>>> never get the floor may lock device thingy that is furthest from
>>>>>>> the gas
>>>>>>> pedal and closest to me to actually lock. It just can't be forced
>>>>>>> down
>>>>>>> into the hole it's supposed to go into. But they will be nice
>>>>>>> enough to
>>>>>>> fix it at my expense. Great.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Don't wait for the dealer to fix it. I'd just replace the mats and
>>>>>> forget about it. If you think this is a danger to the public then
>>>>>> contact someone that'll listen to you. My guess is that you'd have a
>>>>>> lot
>>>>>> of leverage in this matter due to the public hysteria. If this
>>>>>> happened
>>>>>> to me one time, I'd think it was a fluke, two times and I'd be
>>>>>> alarmed.
>>>>>> It wouldn't happen a third time let alone 5 or 6 times.
>>>>>
>>>>> hold on a second - our friend alleges that after hearing about stuck
>>>>> accelerators:
>>>>>
>>>>> "my accelerator has hung up on the floor mat 5 or 6 times."
>>>>>
>>>>> do believe that to be true? you don't think our friend might not be
>>>>> one
>>>>> of the weak-minded that's susceptible to the power of suggestion?
>>>>>
>>>>> our friend goes on to say:
>>>>>
>>>>> "I've learned not to gun it. That's how I have solved the problem."
>>>>>
>>>>> he "solved" the problem by not pressing the gas??? that's like
>>>>> "fixing"
>>>>> a broken seat belt by not crashing!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> You're right that our friend's story is a little fishy. Guess I'm a
>>>> gullible guy. :-)
>>>
>>> You're right, it's not a fix. This all happened within the first few
>>> years I owned it. Before there was any talk of this happening and my
>>> "weak mind" had no information to be susceptible to. I learned not to
>>> stomp all the way down on the accelerator. That worked. Anyway the point
>>> here is that I contacted my dealer with this and they had nothing to
>>> offer. Even if this was a made up story here, I can't see a reputable
>>> Toyota dealer dismissing it out of hand, even if you do, which is fine
>>> by me. As the dealer represents Toyota, I see an ongoing problem with
>>> Toyota. By the way, I just reproduced the situation. The damn floor mat
>>> wants to move in towards the console, which pushes the top part of it up
>>> towards the gas pedal. The little plastic part that keeps the floor mat
>>> from moving doesn't want to sink into the hole it's supposed to fit in.
>>> That makes the whole mat sort of "spin" to the right. I'm aware of it
>>> and know how not to have an issue with it. How many others with my year
>>> Prius are being ignored by Toyota, that's my only question. I think I'll
>>> take it in and show them as it is to this day reproducable(sp.), and see
>>> what they have to say
>>
>> I think it's likely that there is a problem with the pedal getting
>> stuck under that mat and we all know that dealers are famous for
>> ignoring the problems of the buyers once the cars have been sold. The
>> only strange part is that this happened 5 or 6 times and you did not
>> think to simply remove the mat. That's all. My floor mats are in the
>> trunk of my Camry not because of this problem but because I think
>> thick rug mats are not real practical. I use rubber floor mats. If I
>> had the accelerator get stuck under my OEM mat, I'd just dump the
>> mats. OTOH, that service manager must be a fool.
>
> Well, yeah. I wanted to protect the carpet. So it's clean at resale. My
> bad now that I think about it, I wanted to protect the floor's
> appearance over my own safety? I make no claim as to being very bright.
> Anyway, as I said in here somewhere else, it's going in, they are going
> to see the problem, and we shall see what happens from there.
>
> Question, how are the rubber mats kept in place? Same pins as the stock
> mats or something else? Because I like the idea of rubber mats. But only
> if they don't slip around.

I've never had mats that needed to be pinned down. If you choose a
thinner mat that conforms to the floorboard and has points on the bottom
to keep it in place, you don't need to secure it. My guess is that if
you get thick, heavy mats it may slide around. Actually, I'm quite
ignorant on this subject. Mostly I just put the mats in place and forget
about it. My suggestion is to go with a cheaper mat and not a thick,
heavy one. Good luck!
From: Bob Cooper on
In article <hlvrs3$fl7$1(a)news.eternal-september.org>,
tondaleo(a)hotmail.com says...
>
> >>>
> >>> do believe that to be true? you don't think our friend might not be one
> >>> of the weak-minded that's susceptible to the power of suggestion?
>
> You wouldn't be the service manager I talked to today by chance, would you?

You were clear in your initial post.
He's a Toyota fanboy. You're a Toyota customer. Big difference.
But since it sounds as if you have a good dealership, the simple
approach is to drive there and ask them to attach your floor mat.
They may have a routine for phone calls to slow down all the fixes they
are doing, or you may have been misunderstood about it being the floor
mat causing your problem.
I bet they jump right to attaching your floor mat, even if a tab is
distorted or the hole is the issue.
Let us know what happened.
Even if it hasn't been said, since those are now a safety issue, I
suspect the connectors at least are now lifetime guaranteed.
Just don't abuse that guarantee by breaking a tab when the mat gets
dirty so you can get a new mat.
I wonder what came first - locking floor mats or bad pedal design.
Whichever, it shows that violating the KISS principle is dangerous.
When I first heard of floor mats causing accidents I was a bit shocked.
Floor mats. The worst issue I've had with floor mats in many car and
many years of driving is adjusting aftermarket mats once in a great
while. Designing floor pans, gas pedals or floormats to where the mats
and floor need a number of connectors seems to violate KISS.
And the worst drivability issue I've had with the pedals of any car is a
couple times dropping something that is just the right size to wedge
behind the brake pedal. User error, and easliy rectified.