NHTSA releases new info about crash that prompted Toyota floormat recall
Contrary to previous reports, the death of a four people and the largest recall in Toyota's history was caused by a compound of errors. The initial buzz/word on the virtual street suggested that it was simply an improperly placed floor mat that doomed CHP officer Mark Saylor and three family members when the Lexus ES350 they were traveling in got jammed open at over 100 MPH before crashing and bursting into flames. But it turns out it was more than just a floor mat.
First of all, the floor mat in question didn't belong to the ES350 (actually, the ES350 didn't belong to Officer Saylor -- it was a dealer loaner while his car was being worked on). The mats in the ES350 that crashed were from a RX400h. Not only that, they were those thick, all-weather hard rubber mats. Regardless, because the dealer had placed the wrong mats into the wrong car, there was no way to properly mount them. Also, it seems that the pedal design of the ES350 also played a role. The NHTSA discovered that, "Beyond the main pivot, the lever is not hinged and has no means for relieving forces caused by interferences." We think that means it can easily get stuck.
But that's not all. The NHTSA had also learned from a previous ES350 investigation that, "the Lexus ES braking system loses power-assist when the throttle is fully opened, increasing braking distance fivefold." That's not good. And the brakes had signs of heavy wear and damage, "Rotors were discolored and heated, had very rough surfaces, had substantial deposits of brake pad material, and showed signs of bright orange oxidation on the cooling fins consistent with endured braking."
Additionally, because the Lexus has push button start, the operator must push the button for three seconds before the engine will shut off. A piece of info obviously and sadly not known by Officer Saylor. The San Diego County Sheriff's office is leading the investigation and has not yet released their final report. We'll keep you posted on that, but as they say in plane crashes, looks like the holes in the swiss cheese all lined up.
[Source: LA Times]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
bart 3:41PM (10/26/2009)
no drive by wire? in my 10 year old vw if the brake and gas are pushed at the same time the ecu automatically cuts the gas... good news if i put in wrong floor mats ;) bad news when i try to heel-and-toe haha
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T3hD0gg 3:51PM (10/26/2009)
Same with my old 2001 Volkswagen Jetta but there is a one or two second delay before it happens.
Paul 4:31PM (10/26/2009)
The bigger story here is: How do you shut down a car with a push-button start? I'd never known you have to push it for three...whole...seconds, and I've driven plenty of them. Those trendy little buttons are not only useless, they're an obvious safety hazard. It's why we've had ignition switches in cars, successfully, for 100 years.
The driver simply didn't have a chance: Between a stuck throttle, reduced braking, no way to get it out of gear and no way to stop the engine, they were dead the moment he hit the gas. Toyota needs to accept responsibility, fork out, and undertake a major safety initiative.
DKB_SATX 6:10PM (10/26/2009)
@paul: You're wrong about the "no way to get it out of gear" part.
It would seem that Toyota isn't 100% at fault in any event, since the dealer had apparently put in all-weather mats for a different vehicle.
MKIV 6:33PM (10/26/2009)
@paul,
All that needed was for him to put the car into Neutral. It is as simple as moving the gear selector up one. Everyone is blaming Toyota for this issue but it could happen to anyone in any car.
Rich 7:01PM (10/26/2009)
If you can't put it in neutral, you can surely put it in 2 or 1.
And how could he *not* know how to switch off the engine? (Did he not own a computer?) Does that also mean that if he attended a road traffic accident while on duty, he wouldn't know how to kill the engine on an overturned vehicle?
The death of a person is a tragedy, to be sure, but there's some personal and even *professional* accountability here.
tomguptill 7:16PM (10/26/2009)
This seems like something that they could go back and fix with a firmware update. A little bit of code that says something like "if (gas=down) and (brakepedal>50%) then set engine power limit = 10% of max until car is restarted"
This would allow somebody to limp out of traffic in the event of a sensor malfunction, but would keep the power output low enough that you could stop it even in the event of a brake failure.
Dave 7:47PM (10/26/2009)
At 100mph, you're covering 147 ft per second. So, in the three seconds required to shut off the car, youve gone 440 feet. And the entire time, your right hand is occupied with the button instead of with putting the car in neutral.
the4thheat 7:49PM (10/26/2009)
@Paul
Umm what did you do when you needed to park them? Does the 3 second thing only apply when moving?
John H. 8:30PM (10/26/2009)
Note for California readers:
If you get pulled for speeding, just tell the cop that your floor mat got stuck for a little while...
mitchw 8:44PM (10/26/2009)
If there is a civil action in this case, keep in mind that one only needs to be more than 50% responsible for a judgment to go against you. So even if the driver should have shifted to neutral or held the start button down for three seconds, a jury can be of the mind that Toyota was still more responsible. If I were a juror, I would take into account the training of a highway patrolman and nail Toyota.
mact 8:47PM (10/26/2009)
Paul:
No way to get it out of gear? NEUTRAL IS STRAIGHT UP FROM DRIVE ON THE ES350.
mitchw 9:03PM (10/26/2009)
A sad part of this story is that push button start is itself a safety feature. The idea is that when you actually crash your car, there is no key on the steering column to wedge into your flesh on impact. In the US the feature is sold as a luxury feature, but in Europe it is a safety thing.
Photo Phil 10:21PM (10/26/2009)
i'm by far not a toyota supporter, id rather bash them for this recall, but even in my "non-toyota" i have this problem, actually happened to me twice in the last 2 days. my gas pedal got stuck to the floor. I indeed do have a rubber mat that protects the floor nicely in the winter. getting to 100mph that gives you a lot of time to think about putting the car in neutral, thats what i did until i got the problem solved and the pedal released. i say it was the drivers fault on that aspect. however i do say the design of the gas pedal is at fault too. how did cars work before those lil plastic tabs that held back your floor mat?? i sure dont remember 100mph crashes because of floor mats before!
paul34 1:31AM (10/27/2009)
>>no way to get it out of gear and no way to stop the engine
Huh? Just go straight up from D. The only vehicles I've encountered that require you to push the brake to go to N are Fords. And even that isn't a big deal - the brakes don't need to be working properly, just the actual pedal needs to be pushed. Which it obviously was in this case. Not to make fun of the dead, of course. But still - neutral is very easy to get to.
Slizzo 11:53AM (10/27/2009)
@All
Does the Lexus ES350 have safety features preventing you from shifting the car accidentally while moving at specific speeds? I know cars will not allow you to engage park unless you are stopped, but does the same go for Neutral in these cars?
Inspired 3:42PM (10/26/2009)
So much for killer floor mats.
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John H. 3:43PM (10/26/2009)
Exactly.
Operator error for not taking the car out of gear.
Matt 3:44PM (10/26/2009)
Sad story...but John, you are right.
Matt T 3:49PM (10/26/2009)
The dealer's fault as well. It is incredibly irresponsible for them to place the wrong floor mats in a loaner car, especially when they do not fit.
The blame can't be entirely left upon the driver because it's not everyone's first instinct to put the car in neutral.