Toyota

[Fuel Miser]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

"Focuses" is the one that has bothered me since the car first hit the streets.

Yeah, there's another, and I can't think of anything that feels so good rolling off the tongue as foci. Prii perhaps.

[Fuel Miser]

I recall a member with the custom user title "Cogito Ergo Soy", an apparantly intentional bastardization (talk about fun words) of cogito ergo sum. I suppose that makes four of us at least.

[spotaneagle]

saturns get the throttle bodys stuck once in a while(need to get cleaned out, usually stay clean for 10k maybe 15k, and only is a problem when taking off in first gear not on the highway, its gets stick and you have to free it and will play games with your transmission)which is the accelerator in a sense, but the case here is drive by wire meaning the gas pedal is not connected to the throttle well, maybe the toyotas have a sticking throttle body issue but its uncontrollable from the driver seat because there's not a manual connection to it

even at 80k on my engine i had to clean mine, so maybe these prius owners, who never do their own work to their cars im assuming to keep their warranties. probably have no idea about anything like this. i dont really know just speculation.

[JanGeo]

Ah pardon my ignorance on the power steering I heard there was electric power steering but I didn't think it got into the Prius yet. Guess I will have to try the 2007 Prius my friend has and see what happens. I backed it up a long hill yesterday . . . interesting how there is not much power to go backwards on pure electric drive... no reverse on the engine power don't cha know.

[theholycow]

I think electric power steering may have been developed first for hybrids and then made its way into normal cars. Since hybrids don't have vacuum from a running engine all the time, they need it.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I've never seen vacuum operated power steering. Vacuum operated power brakes is quite common though.

[theholycow]

My head was not on straight when I posted that.

When the engine is off in a hybrid, it has no engine running to turn the power steering pump.

[kit352]

i think electric steering was first introduced in the boxy toyota mr2. i know the cobalt xfe is sporting one as well and i think the nissan versa has it now as well. pretty soon itll be the norm.

[JanGeo]

What threw me was the Mini from BMW had electric pwer steering but they ran a pump on an electric motor and you could hear it whiring when you turned the wheel. I thought they all ran electric over hydralic (to use the proper term).

[JanGeo]

FYI - I heard from a guy that examines the car problems at Toyota in particular the Prius cars and he reports that not a single throttle related problem was caused by manfacture defects or software problems. Every one he has seen was caused by carpets and debri getting into the throttle pedal linkage and jamming it. He also says that the pedal assembly is made in the USA in Indiana by a plant that makes Aerospace parts and the same recall applies to certain models of Bmw's, Volvo's, Mercedes, Ford's, & Nissan's.