If we found anything, we would take appropriate action. But we continue to think it’s entirely unlikely that an electronic malfunction is the cause.
— Mike Michels, Toyota spokesman
By Joel Thurtell
Think again, Toyota.
I had trouble with a runaway car a few years ago, and the cause turned out to be with the electronics. It was a terrifying experience, and I can well understand why Toyota owners are hesitant to go driving in their cars.
I can understand why Toyota is concentrating on mechanical problems as the cause of runaway Toyota cars that have crashed and killed eight people. Changing or re-shaping a few parts would certainly make it an easy repair, given that millions of Toyota vehicles have been recalled. Troubleshooting the electronics would be harder and could take a long time.
As this problem has unfolded, Toyota has reacted slowly, in corporate denial. Early on, Toyota didn’t want to hear complaints. That reminds me of our situation in the 1990s as we tried to get a dealer to listen to our report that our brand-new Ford Windstar had twice begun accelerating rapidly, propelling the car towards nearby stationery vehicles.
Even now, having stopped production of eight models of Toyota in the U.S., the company is focusing on the idea that the runaways result from malfunctioning accelerator pedals.
It’s quite possible that Toyota is fixing the wrong problem. The problem may well be with the cars’ electronics, a far more difficult fix.
We were driving on Interstate 96 headed for a wedding on a bright Saturday afternoon in the spring of 1995. Cars were packed close together due to highway construction, and like everybody else, I was creeping along in the Windstar. Suddenly, the engine raced. I pressed my right foot on the brake, but the engine was turning so fast that the brake wouldn’t stop the car. I was headed directly at another car bare yards away with no way to turn except towards other cars. I grabbed the gearshift lever and pushed it into “park.” The Windstar stopped dead just a couple feet from a car that it otherwise would have creamed.
My wife took the Windstar to the Ford dealer who sold it to us. The reaction in the service department was to tell her it was impossible that the accelerator had stuck and that the car had raced of its own accord. It must have been operator error. My fault.
Meanwhile, a second runaway acceleration happened on a street in a Detroit suburb. The engine was idling, I was again the driver, and we were waiting for a traffic light to switch from red to green. The engine took off on its own and the car jumped forward, towards the car ahead. Again, the brake couldn’t stop it. I shifted into “park.” The car came to a sudden halt.
We were scared to drive the Windstar. My wife took it back to the dealer and got more of the same response: Your husband must have been stepping on the gas.
I’d had enough. I took the car to the dealer and told them exactly what my wife had told them. The only way I could stop the car was to slam the gears into “park.” It was a new car. The problem was theirs. We needed to have it fixed. The car was not drivable.
There was still disbelief at the service department, but we left the car. Our new car stayed with the dealer for a few weeks as people in Ford’s engineering department tried to solve the problem.
At some point, disbelief was replaced with concern at Ford that this was indeed a potentially fatal flaw.
Eventually, Ford returned our Windstar to us. The explanation: A faulty ground on a cable shield was feeding erroneous instructions to the car’s computer.
It was an electronic and not a mechanical problem.
I was absolved of having a heavy foot.
We drove that car for several years and never had another acceleration problem with it. It was a great automobile.
Still, I never forgot those two runaway experiences, and I never fully trusted that Windstar.
I can well understand the feelings of Toyota owners fearful of driving their cars.
Until Toyota investigates and rules out the possibility that electronics is causing its out-of-control car problem, Toyota owners have a right to be scared.
Drop me a line at joelthurtell@gmail.com
