Ok, Lads.... Gather around!

My wife was asking about what to do should our 2009 Camry Hybrid have an event of 'unintended acceleration.'

Friday, we were coming home and the HYCAM was fully warmed up I gave it 'the test'. I brought it up to about 25 mph, in Drive, with the ICE engaged and hit the "START/OFF" button momentarily. Nothing happened. This is not unexpected.

Repeating the test and holding the button in for about four seconds, the ICE and electric drive systems shut down completely. Screens went blank and the steering and brakes got only slightly heavier.

The teaching point: YOU HAVE TO HOLD THE BUTTON DOWN FOR AT LEAST FOUR SECONDS TO EXECUTE AN EMERGENCY POWER OFF!!!!

Since you are moving and it only starts in Park... do NOT stuff the gear lever into P while moving!!!

The restart procedure. Glide to a stop. Put it in PARK. Start as usual.

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks...this has been well documented in the press as well by Toyota in press releases, etc. Actually, I believe it's a three second hold, but holding it for the extra second (which might seem like an eternity in an emergency) can't hurt.

 

That's great to know and thank you for using your car as a test bed for everyone's benefit.

The only thing that concerns me is that the emergency shut down command is still just a virtual command. I wonder if it would or would not work if the computer receiving the signal was corrupt or frozen.

Here is an example.... years ago I had a customer with a customized wheel chair van. He had everything including Powered Door Openers and articulating seats. The guys neighbor had wireless sprinkler controls. Each morning at 4am when the sprinklers turned on, the EMI generated was enough to wake up the guys van and cause the doors to open and lock in that position. No functions worked to release them, except for pulling the battery cable.

So if this problems ends up being EMI related, or due to some corruption or 'glitch' in the primary control system, would the "request for emergency shutdown" be obeyed, or not?

But again thank you for testing this function. It's good to know.

 

While EMI is possible. It's not probable. Most... almost everything... from pacemakers to computers have some resistance to EMI at levels we find in the environment. They aren't protected against lightning and atomic blasts for example. The systems in the car couldn't work if they were constantly at odds with spurious signals generating all kinds of interference. The cars computers and wiring are protected from external sources by the metallic body ... its like a Faraday cage. It doesn't mean that it could not happen... just very remote possibilities. If you think about it if external EMF were the cause, they'd act up passing by our under any high tension power line.

(The only cars that I personally know that were affected ... destroyed actually ... along with some expensive sonar/fishfinders and radars on personal power boats... were those used as an 'experiment' at a military EMF facility. This was a powerful EMF 'radiator' ... strong enough to generate electric shocks in aluminum masted sail boats over a mile away. NOT your usual EMI source as it simulated nuclear weapons effects. Yes.. in case you are wondering... In case of an atomic attack... we're going to be foot mobile.)

I'd suggest that the wireless sprinklers were at, or a harmonic of, the van's radio control system frequency and that caused the system to operate. Since the sprinkler probably used a simple 'on' 'off' signal similar to the van's 'open - lock' signal it could operate the van as well. This isn't EMI.

Is sort of like older R/C model receivers/transmitters that can be 'spiked' by outside signal.

 

It gives a whole new meaning to the" blue screen of death". Hope Microsoft didn't write the code.

 

I suspect the poor CHP officer who crashed with the loaner ES350 was unaware of the shutdown procedure that Old-Crows confirmed. I will NEVER understand why he called 9-11. Of all the things to do in a situation like that...

I've been telling all my friends to practice shifting into neutral while underway so they get used to it in the event they experience UI.

 

If I remember the story correctly, it was the passenger who dialed 911. The driver/officer had his hands full.

 

I STAND CORRECTED! It was the brother-in-law of the officer who made the call to 911.

 

Makes it even more weird!!! Four people in the car and all incapable of suggesting a solution? Clearly a case for 'cockpit resource management' ...

I think there's much more to this story that is being told....

 

Forget about power shutdown: it takes too long and you loose power steering and power breaks, also shifting into park will lock steering column. In a very unlikely scenario of UA, both feet on the breaks, stand on it if you have to and shift to neutral. Breaks alone should overcome power of the engine, unless you're already going 60-80 mph, at that speed you could overheat the breaks, but that's where shifting into neutral comes handy. BTW, me think TCH does have break override, in other words applying breaks will lower engine output, at least it seems that way anytime I forget to release parking break and want to drive. Also, lets put things into perspective, we have much, much bigger chance to crash due to much more mundane causes, like drunk or distracted drivers, people running red lights etc. etc.
As far as calling 911 I would probably never ever think of it, if faced with similar situation, albeit few years ago a woman on Long Island, NY had runaway SUV (not Toyota, some American brand). Wide open throttle, she burned the breaks then called 911, flying on the highway at very high speed. It happened that dispatch had cruiser in the area and that cop got in front of the woman and used his car to slow her down with no major accident at all.