Apple Co-Founder Says His Toyota Accelerates Unintentionally 91
By Mehul Srivastava
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Count Apple Inc. co-founder Steve
Wozniak among Toyota Motor Corp. car owners who say their
vehicles accelerate unintentionally.
Wozniak’s 2010 Toyota Prius can unintentionally accelerate
to as much as 97 miles (156 kilometers) per hour when he uses
cruise control to increase his speed, he said in an interview
yesterday. Toyota and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration haven’t responded to his complaints in the past
two months on what may be a software-related glitch, he said.
“It’s scary when it happens,” Wozniak, 59, said from San
Jose, California. “I’ve had trouble getting both the government
safety agency and getting Toyota to listen to me.”
The world’s largest automaker has recalled millions of
vehicles globally to fix mechanical flaws in accelerator pedals
that could lead to sudden unintended increases in speed. The
action led to a halt of U.S. sales and production of eight
models and prompted Congress to schedule hearings.
The Japanese carmaker, based in Toyota City, has recalled
5.35 million vehicles, including the 2004-2009 Prius, because of
the risk of “floor mat entrapment” of the accelerator pedals,
according to Toyota’s Web site. Wozniak’s 2010 model, which has
a steering wheel-mounted dynamic radar cruise control, hasn’t
been recalled by the company.
“I have never heard of this problem with cruise control on
Priuses,” a Toyota spokeswoman, Ririko Takeuchi, said by phone
from Tokyo. She said she doesn’t know whether the problem has
been reported by anyone other than Wozniak or whether Toyota is
investigating.
Cruise Control
While in cruise control, flicking the lever on side of the
steering wheel doesn’t always increase the speed of the car in
increments as intended, Wozniak said. Instead, the vehicle would
sometimes continue accelerating until one steps on the brake, he
said.
Believing the issue may be software-related, Wozniak, who
owns four Priuses, said he took his car to a dealership,
contacted Toyota and called the NHTSA about the issue.
Wozniak said he believes the acceleration may be caused by
a software glitch because the unintended increase in speed
occurs when his feet are on the floor, he said. Wozniak said he
would buy another Prius.
Electronics are “not part of the issue,” Jim Lentz,
president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said during a conference
call this week. The company has pinpointed the cause and has an
effective solution, he said.
Toyota’s American depository receipts traded in New York
fell $2.33, or 2.9 percent, to $77.61 at 3:04 p.m.
Wozniak made the comments after a Web log posted on the
CNET News Web site reported he spoke about his Prius’s cruise
control at the Discovery Forum 2010 in San Francisco.
“The reason that my case is important and urgent is that
it is electronic. I can cause it totally under cruise control
without a foot touching the accelerator pedal,” Wozniak said.
“Is my software bug also some code that is in the other Priuses
and related to the deadly problem?”
By Mehul Srivastava
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Count Apple Inc. co-founder Steve
Wozniak among Toyota Motor Corp. car owners who say their
vehicles accelerate unintentionally.
Wozniak’s 2010 Toyota Prius can unintentionally accelerate
to as much as 97 miles (156 kilometers) per hour when he uses
cruise control to increase his speed, he said in an interview
yesterday. Toyota and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration haven’t responded to his complaints in the past
two months on what may be a software-related glitch, he said.
“It’s scary when it happens,” Wozniak, 59, said from San
Jose, California. “I’ve had trouble getting both the government
safety agency and getting Toyota to listen to me.”
The world’s largest automaker has recalled millions of
vehicles globally to fix mechanical flaws in accelerator pedals
that could lead to sudden unintended increases in speed. The
action led to a halt of U.S. sales and production of eight
models and prompted Congress to schedule hearings.
The Japanese carmaker, based in Toyota City, has recalled
5.35 million vehicles, including the 2004-2009 Prius, because of
the risk of “floor mat entrapment” of the accelerator pedals,
according to Toyota’s Web site. Wozniak’s 2010 model, which has
a steering wheel-mounted dynamic radar cruise control, hasn’t
been recalled by the company.
“I have never heard of this problem with cruise control on
Priuses,” a Toyota spokeswoman, Ririko Takeuchi, said by phone
from Tokyo. She said she doesn’t know whether the problem has
been reported by anyone other than Wozniak or whether Toyota is
investigating.
Cruise Control
While in cruise control, flicking the lever on side of the
steering wheel doesn’t always increase the speed of the car in
increments as intended, Wozniak said. Instead, the vehicle would
sometimes continue accelerating until one steps on the brake, he
said.
Believing the issue may be software-related, Wozniak, who
owns four Priuses, said he took his car to a dealership,
contacted Toyota and called the NHTSA about the issue.
Wozniak said he believes the acceleration may be caused by
a software glitch because the unintended increase in speed
occurs when his feet are on the floor, he said. Wozniak said he
would buy another Prius.
Electronics are “not part of the issue,” Jim Lentz,
president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said during a conference
call this week. The company has pinpointed the cause and has an
effective solution, he said.
Toyota’s American depository receipts traded in New York
fell $2.33, or 2.9 percent, to $77.61 at 3:04 p.m.
Wozniak made the comments after a Web log posted on the
CNET News Web site reported he spoke about his Prius’s cruise
control at the Discovery Forum 2010 in San Francisco.
“The reason that my case is important and urgent is that
it is electronic. I can cause it totally under cruise control
without a foot touching the accelerator pedal,” Wozniak said.
“Is my software bug also some code that is in the other Priuses
and related to the deadly problem?”
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