Toyota casts doubt on Prius driver’s claim

March 16, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

SAN DIEGO

Toyota cast doubt Monday on a California man’s claim that his Prius sped out of control, saying the report is inconsistent with the findings of the company’s preliminary investigation.

Toyota said in a statement that the accelerator pedal was tested and found to be working normally and a backup safety system worked properly. The automaker said the front brakes showed severe wear and damage from overheating, but the rear brakes and parking brake were in good condition.

The motorist, James Sikes, said his car raced to 94 mph on a freeway near San Diego last week. The March 8 incident ended when Sikes stopped the car with help from a California Highway Patrol officer.

“While a final report is not yet complete, there are strong indications that the driver’s account of the event is inconsistent with the findings of the preliminary analysis,” the statement said.

A telephone message seeking comment on Toyota’s assertions was left by The Associated Press at the office of Sikes’ attorney, John H. Gomez.

Toyota said testing found that the car’s accelerator pedal had no mechanical binding or friction, and the floor mat was not interfering with or touching the pedal.

A self-diagnostic system did show evidence of repeated applications of the accelerator and brake pedals, Toyota said.

“The data from the diagnostics test indicated that the accelerator and the brake had been rapidly pressed, alternately back and forth, 250 times,” Mike Michels, vice president of corporate communications for Toyota Motor Sales USA, told a press conference.

In a test, the front brakes were replaced and then purposely overheated by continuous light application and still stopped the car, the company said.

According to Toyota, the Prius has a self-protection system that cuts engine power if the brake pedal is pressed moderately or greater. Tests found that system to be functioning, the carmaker said. The company also said the car’s push- button power switch worked normally and shut off the vehicle when pressed for three seconds, and that the shift lever worked normally and allowed neutral to be selected.