US officials spotlight 'runaway' Prius

Published Mar 10, 2010

Share

US safety regulators and Toyota have sent investigators to San Diego to inspect a Prius that allegedly sped out of control on a California freeway on Monday.

Transportation secretary Ray LaHood said two investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were sent to join a team from the California Highway Patrol "to be part of the investigation".

NHTSA spokeswoman Olivia Alair said: "The investigators are flying out to California to examine the car and look for potential causes.

"We remind the owners of all recalled vehicles to contact their dealers immediately if they are experiencing problems."

Toyota said on Tuesday its own inspectors were also working to find out what caused the 2008 Prius to surge, apparently uncontrollably, to more than 140km/h as it was being driven by owner James Sikes, 61.

The high-speed incident, which involved a dramatic pursuit by a highway patrol car, has raised new questions about the Toyota's damaging string of recent recalls and whether it has done enough to address consumer complaints about unintended acceleration.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Brian Pennings said police had no reason to doubt Sikes' account of the incident and every reason to believe him, based on officers' own observations and evidence of heavy brake use on the car at the time.

Pennings said: "There was heavy brake dust on the inside of the wheels and the brakes were smoking when the officer finally caught up to him."

Pennings said Sikes also appeared genuinely shaken by the incident and complained of chest pains, prompting police to call paramedics, who evaluated him at the scene. Sikes ultimately calmed down and was not taken to a hospital.

Because there was no crash, and no damage or injuriy, the highway patrol did not conduct its own mechanical inspection of the car, Pennings said.

Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore said the Prius was taken to a Toyota dealer in where Toyota investigators were examining it.

The Prius has been a "halo" car for the automaker and dominates the market for fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles.

Sikes said he had received a recall notice to take his car into a Toyota dealer but, when he did, he was told that his car was not on recall lists.

The automaker has recalled the 2004-2009 Prius hybrids due to concerns that loose floor mats could catch on accelerator pedals, causing unintended acceleration.

On Monday afternoon, Sikes was passing another car on a highway near San Diego when the Prius accelerated out of control. For the next 20 minutes he sped 50km along the freeway.

He said: "I pushed the accelerator pedal to pass a car and it did something funny - it jumped and just stuck there. I tried the brakes but it wouldn't stop."

AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING 47 DEATHS

Sikes called the local 911 emergency service and the highway patrol dispatched an officer who pulled alongside the Prius. He used a loudspeaker to tell Sikes to use the hand and foot brakes and to switch off the car's engine.

Once the Prius had slowed to about 80km/h Sikes turned off the engine and it rolled to a stop with the trooper's car in front of it.

Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide for mechanical problems that can cause the accelerator to stick and for the risk that floor mats could trap an accelerator.

Unintended acceleration in the company's Toyota and Lexus vehicles has been linked to at least five US crash deaths since 2007. Authorities are investigating 47 other Toyota crash deaths over the past decade.

Monday's incident, which attracted widespread media coverage, happened in the same Southern California county as a fatal crash in August 2009 that prompted new scrutiny of Toyota's safety record.

Mark Saylor, an off-duty California Highway Patrol trooper, and three family members were killed when a Lexus ES 350 they were driving sped out of control. - Reuters - Reuters

Related Topics: