[mccmark]

UPDATE: Further research indicates the car has a brake override system.


Just got my 2011 Sonata SE last weekend. God forbid, but if the car were ever to develop Toyota-heimers (I drive past the site of the 4 death Lexus accident in Santee, CA every day), what is the procedure for turning off power to the engine on the Sonata? It's probably in the manual, but I didn't see it in the index and no hits using this forum's search function.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[jtfortin]

Throw the key out the window.

 

[NT2SHBBY]

I invested in Napalm...I suggest you do the same

 

[ssmuff]

Put it into park! Warranty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bingo Steve]

Step on the brake and shift to neutral? Is this a trick question?

 

[bsdlimited]

QUOTE (MarkieMarkie @ Jun 24 2010, 12:21 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=335825

Just got my 2011 Sonata SE last weekend. God forbid, but if the car were ever to develop Toyota-heimers (I drive past the site of the 4 death Lexus accident in Santee, CA every day), what is the procedure for turning off power to the engine on the Sonata? It's probably in the manual, but I didn't see it in the index and no hits using this forum's search function.
Thanks,
Mark

Owner's Manual page 5-7, yellow box: Press the start button for more than two seconds, or three times in succession within three seconds.

That's supposed to do it!

 

[Souks]

Yep throwing car into neutral to cut out the engine plus braking seems to be the answer all the experts agree on. Safest way to prevent damge to engine / Tranny. Don't think just turning off engine or throwing it into park is vey safe for a engine that is acelerating.

 

[midas69]

If you just put it in neutral, you better hope the rev limiter works. Regardless, eventually you'll need to turn it off.

 

[jdubs]

Point it toward Alabama or wherever it was made and jump out of the window.

 

[chaoskim]

QUOTE (jdubs @ Jun 26 2010, 07:55 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=336429

Point it toward Alabama or wherever it was made and jump out of the window.

Dang! Jump out of the window? at 70 mph or faster speed? I think people want to stop the car to survive! :grin:

 

[Mike Eckman]

In one of my magazines (I subscribe to Car & Driver, Autoweek, and Motor Trend so i cant remember which), they had did a test in a new Camry, and several other popular sedans in which they drove up to 70 mph and simultaneously floored the gas and brake pedals.

In about half of the cars (the Camry included), the engine's computer cut throttle to the engine and promptly stopped the car immediately. In the other half of the cars which didnt have this feature, the car still came to a complete stop with only a minimal amount of additional braking distance. This test concluded that even without an override system, the brakes on the car were easily able to overcome the power of the engine flooring the car.

Then they performed the test on a 540 HP Rousch Mustang and while the time to stop the car was considerably longer, it was still within a reasonable distance (considering the brakes have to overcome a 540 HP engine).

Many people like myself and most of you reading this post are at least somehwat knowledgeable about cars and would be able to think quickly about putting a car into neutral, shutting off the engine, etc, but for people like my grandma (and girlfriend) who know nothing about cars, and hopefully everyone learned from the Toyota fiasco is that no matter what type of car you have, no matter how old it is, and no matter how much horsepower it makes, if your car ever tries to accelerate without your input or if the gas pedal sticks...press the brake pedal as hard as you can and the car will stop.

 

[Mike Eckman]

Turns out it was Car and Driver. Here is a link to the article:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/...ation-tech_dept

And a graphic:

http://www.caranddriver.com/var/ezflow_sit...ee64c216012.pdf

 

[lovemysantafe]

Not trying to get this thread off-course but C&D didn't do a comprehensive enough test, if you ask me. Will the brakes stop the car from 70 mph if they're cold? Absolutely. But here's the thing, most people don't react the way they should in an emergency situation like unintended acceleration. If somebody does have the wits to step and hold the brakes until the car comes to a complete stop, then they will override an engine, even at WOT. However, if the driver pumps the brakes or eases into it, the discs are going to get very hot very quickly and as we all know, hot brakes don't work as well as cool ones.

A man took out a Lexus ES350 (same car as the Lastrella crash) with permission from a Lexus dealer. He wound it up to 80 mph on an open freeway and with the gas pedal floored, whomped on the brake pedal. The car came down to 20 mph easily and would have stopped but he didn't want to do so in the middle of the freeway. So he wound it back up to 80 and tried it again. This time, the brakes were only able to bring the Lexus down to 60 before they lost their bite. Once again, he got the car back up to 80 and hit the brake pedal a third time. Nothing....zip, zilch, nada. The brakes had become so hot that they had lost all their effectiveness. Even with his foot off the gas, the car took a long time to slow down with the smoking hot brakes. He said the brake pedal was so hard it felt like a brick.

So in theory your brakes will overpower the engine but you will only get one chance at it.

 

[Mike Eckman]

QUOTE (lovemysantafe @ Jun 28 2010, 10:56 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=337003

Not trying to get this thread off-course but C&D didn't do a comprehensive enough test, if you ask me. Will the brakes stop the car from 70 mph if they're cold? Absolutely. But here's the thing, most people don't react the way they should in an emergency situation like unintended acceleration. If somebody does have the wits to step and hold the brakes until the car comes to a complete stop, then they will override an engine, even at WOT. However, if the driver pumps the brakes or eases into it, the discs are going to get very hot very quickly and as we all know, hot brakes don't work as well as cool ones.

A man took out a Lexus ES350 (same car as the Lastrella crash) with permission from a Lexus dealer. He wound it up to 80 mph on an open freeway and with the gas pedal floored, whomped on the brake pedal. The car came down to 20 mph easily and would have stopped but he didn't want to do so in the middle of the freeway. So he wound it back up to 80 and tried it again. This time, the brakes were only able to bring the Lexus down to 60 before they lost their bite. Once again, he got the car back up to 80 and hit the brake pedal a third time. Nothing....zip, zilch, nada. The brakes had become so hot that they had lost all their effectiveness. Even with his foot off the gas, the car took a long time to slow down with the smoking hot brakes. He said the brake pedal was so hard it felt like a brick.

So in theory your brakes will overpower the engine but you will only get one chance at it.

I dont disagree with anything you've said, but how many times do you need?

Obviously there are going to be one-in-a-million extenuating circumstances in which something completely bizarre happens, but for the most part, I think that its safe to spread the message to people who are less mechanically inclined that if they ever find themselves in a panic situation, the first thing they should do is press the brake pedal as hard as they can and hold onto it until the car comes to a stop.

For a while, people were so afraid of all Toyotas thinking their cars would kill them. I think that this lesson should apply to 99.999% of situations where this could happen. And in the event the car truly goes crazy and repeatedly accelerates and overheats the brakes, well, sometimes people are bound to have really bad days!

 

[PhilCanuck]

QUOTE (Mike Eckman @ Jun 29 2010, 09:41 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=337093

I dont disagree with anything you've said, but how many times do you need?

Obviously there are going to be one-in-a-million extenuating circumstances in which something completely bizarre happens, but for the most part, I think that its safe to spread the message to people who are less mechanically inclined that if they ever find themselves in a panic situation, the first thing they should do is press the brake pedal as hard as they can and hold onto it until the car comes to a stop.

For a while, people were so afraid of all Toyotas thinking their cars would kill them. I think that this lesson should apply to 99.999% of situations where this could happen. And in the event the car truly goes crazy and repeatedly accelerates and overheats the brakes, well, sometimes people are bound to have really bad days!

The problem with runaway Toyotas wasn't so much a question of brakes overpowering the engine (there is no question, they will), but of panicky people mashing the accelerator down thinking they had their foot on the brake. That and simply lying to try and cash in.

 

[lovemysantafe]

Exactly....I think you've got a better chance of winning the lottery than getting that one car that does go all Toyota on you. Technically one chance is all you need but people often don't think right when they're in a panic situation. They may pump the brakes or be so grateful that they've gotten it to slow down that they may get off the brakes. The possibilities are virtually limitless.

QUOTE (Mike Eckman @ Jun 29 2010, 06:41 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=337093

I dont disagree with anything you've said, but how many times do you need?

Obviously there are going to be one-in-a-million extenuating circumstances in which something completely bizarre happens, but for the most part, I think that its safe to spread the message to people who are less mechanically inclined that if they ever find themselves in a panic situation, the first thing they should do is press the brake pedal as hard as they can and hold onto it until the car comes to a stop.

For a while, people were so afraid of all Toyotas thinking their cars would kill them. I think that this lesson should apply to 99.999% of situations where this could happen. And in the event the car truly goes crazy and repeatedly accelerates and overheats the brakes, well, sometimes people are bound to have really bad days!