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The Flip Side of the Perfect Prius

Sometimes the cars accelerate on their own. Sometimes they stop dead. Drivers of the hybrid Prius have discovered they can be an unexpected adventure.

Comments (38) By Paul Knight Wednesday, Apr 22 2009

...continued from page 3

Toyota's response was in fact minimal. In a letter to Ted, the company blamed the problem on excessive brake wear, stating "We are sure she believes that her vehicle accelerated on its own; but our inspection of her vehicle did not reveal any evidence to support her allegations."

Bobette Riner's experience wasn't much better. When her Prius died in front of the parking lot, she composed herself and started the car again because she desperately needed to make her sales meeting. The Prius sputtered along for about a quarter-mile before shutting down again "at a spot where people coming from the Galleria couldn't totally plow into me." The Toyota dealership where she'd bought the car sent a tow truck and the driver took Riner to her meeting.

Courtesy of Elizabeth James

Elizabeth James says her Prius surged out of control near Lawson, Colorado, sending her plunging into a river.

Details

This story was prepared by SW's sister paper, the Houston Press. It includes reporting by SW intern Evi Sztajno in Seattle.

Trading Their Porsche for a Prius: Celebrity Quotes

Slideshow: Before the Prius: 10 Compact Cult Cars

"I ended up being an hour and 20 minutes late, and only one guy stuck around, so I missed that opportunity," Riner says.

The next day she went to the dealership to find out what had happened with her car, and the technician told her, "We know what's wrong with it; you were out of gas."

Riner was shocked because she was certain her gas tank wasn't close to empty, and she wasn't concerned that the Prius had shut down; it was the sudden jolt of speed that scared her.

"That was more than being out of gas," Riner says. "How do you explain it suddenly being 84 mph?"

Stories from other Prius owners involving unintended acceleration are fairly common, and one of the first places to publish them was the Web site www.consumeraffairs.com, which each day collects about 400 complaints that are read by editors and stored in an online database.

"One of the trends we started to see was that there were odd things going on with the Prius, not only with the acceleration but with loss of traction on slippery surfaces," says Hood, the former Associated Press writer who now owns the Web site. "The Prius was something a little different when it came out, so we paid a little more attention to it than if it was a brand-new pickup or something."

The site's automotive writer, Joe Benton, wrote about unintended acceleration for the first time in the summer of 2007, telling the story of a woman in Everett whose Prius took off while she was on the freeway and wouldn't slow down even as she repeatedly pumped the brakes.

Hood received hate mail from Prius owners when the negative story was posted. "They're zealots and religious about their cars," Hood says. "Quite honestly, we don't give a damn about anything. If people want to drive those things, fine by us, but our job is to criticize and nitpick."

Then other horror stories rolled in.

One came from Richard Bacon, a Tacoma resident who wrote, "This week our 2008 Prius tried to kill me twice." First, Bacon's Prius died while he was driving up his snowy driveway, causing him to slide into oncoming traffic "that just missed hitting me broadside."

Then, driving with his wife and merging into traffic at 45 mph, he crossed a patch of snow. The Prius locked up, and Bacon lost control and skidded toward a 30-foot drop down the side of the road. "Only a snowbank kept my wife and me from serious injury or death," he wrote.

Toyota sent out the caution about the Prius's floor mats about two months after the first story on Hood's Web site. [This sentence has been corrected since it was first posted. See correction described above.] From a company press release: "If properly secured, the All Weather Floor Mat will not interfere with the accelerator pedal. Suggested opportunities to check are after filling the vehicle's tank with gasoline, after a carwash or interior cleaning, or before driving the vehicle. Under no circumstances should more than one floor mat ever be used in the driver's seating position: The retaining hooks are designed to accommodate only one floor mat at a time."

But floor mats don't explain why many of the Priuses took off, including the case of the Houston man who parked his Prius in his driveway but left the car running as he walked toward his house. The Prius surged forward through his garage door, slamming into the back of his Nissan Altima.

"It was a pretty rough accident," says Markus Drunk, a mechanic who worked on the Prius at Autohaus K&H in Houston. "He was lucky that the Altima was parked there, because his backyard is not too long, and the neighbors had a family gathering. It would've ran right into all those people, and he was a little shook up over the situation."

Then there's Kevin McGuire, who test-drove a Prius one afternoon last fall—a year after the safety notice—at Dorschel Toyota in Rochester, New York.

"There was a wait list to buy one, but they happened to have one in the showroom for me to drive," he says. "The saleswoman was very knowledgeable on the vehicle, and I was impressed with the car. Everything seemed to be in order."

The weather was crisp and sunny, and with the saleswoman along for the ride, McGuire drove the Prius away from the city to a hillside road without much traffic. As he recalls the conversation:

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Comments (38)

Alexander 02/22/2010 6:54:06 PM

In light of current Prius recalls, some of the comments are absolutely hilarious! Thank you for the laugh! A sample size of one or two is not representative of the overall quality of a product. Just because YOUR Prius didn't have problems doesn't mean there weren't problems. Conversely, if only one or two people had unintended acceleration, than it might not be a problem -- but the whole point of the article was to try and establish a trend by showing a sample size larger than one. Turns out the article was right. Eat crow and be glad your Prius didn't misbehave?
jo 02/09/2010 1:48:30 AM

Every single prius needs to be banned crushed and destroyed. Who on earth would market such and ugly, fugly awful terrible, stupid looking car. Every time I see one, I would like to crush them with a giant hammer. Darrrnn, those are some ugly @ss thingies. Just dumb and stupid, why would anytone be seen driving such and ugly piece of junk, sorry, but those cars annoy me badly, I don't know what it is, but everytime I see one I feel irritated, sounds crazy, but I just don't know why, they are truly Fugly. They are as horrible as the old Plymouth Pacer in the 70's. Recall all of those ugly Priuses and crush em'. Geeze, what idiot made up that design, he/she should be fired!
Irene 08/05/2009 11:16:40 AM

Dont believe these stories........they are all lies...from other car companies. They dont want competition. None of these stories even make sense, blue smoke coming out from the brake? stepping w/ you left foot on the emergency brake? the prius has a button for the emergency brake not a pedal, and where the hell do you get blue smoke from the back? the prius brakes in the front first and then the back...FAKE STORIES
Sandy 06/28/2009 3:50:04 PM

I call BS to most of this article , I have owned 2 so far and non of these things have ever happened to me or any others on my forum, I think the need to learn how to drive.
Mitch Friedman 05/18/2009 11:01:39 AM

I don't know why the writer has so much attitude or grudge, but this article is awful. I am right now selling a 2002 Prius on which we put almost 200,000 flawless mile. The car ran great, runs great, still gets over 50 mpg, is still on its original electronics (including battery), and the only part we've had to replace was front brakes. Permormance, safety, efficiency, comfort - it has it all. I'm selling the 2002 because we just bought a 2009 model. After reading this article, I tested to see whether, with the fancy electronic transmission, I can shift into neutral while driving. NO PROBLEM! In other words, if my (or any) Prius ever gets some ghost in its accelerator, the driver can simply shift it out of gear and coast. There. Done. 95% of this bogus article is now mute. What's left of the article? Apart from the suggestion that Prius drivers are smug, or that Toyota might be guilty of actually promoting this quality product it had the wisdom to design, there's the minor issue of the article suggesting that the manufacture of the Prius is so energy-intensive that it cancels out the benefits of its operating effeciency to have a net carbon footprint rivalling an SUV. That's a huge accusation. It's something I'd want to know a lot more about. But no, the writer didn't support that bomb with any fact, studies, references, links. So consider this: If we had driven those same 200,000 miles in a car that got half the mpg that our '02 Prius got (which would still be better than most SUVs), we would have burned an additional 4,000 or more gallons. My advice to the author: shut up and buy my old Prius.
Kay 05/06/2009 8:10:45 PM

I own an 1983 Mercedes diesel and I've owned cars made in Japan. The cars made in Japan were a huge headache and not that well made. I spent tons of money on repair bills. I"ll stick with German engineering or American engineering. One reason why the German car makers offer diesel cars is because there is no oil in Germany. One of Hitler's goals was to secure the Middle Eastern oil. My Mercedes gets great mileage and it can run on biodiesel. I can drive to Denver 400 miles on one tank of diesel. I've got 181k on my engine so it should last another 400k miles before it needs a rebuild. What America needs to do is develop biodiesel from switch grass, alagee or hemp and make a fuel that doesn't pollute. I don't need to convert my car to run on biodiesel. I could convert my car to run on recycled fast food grease too, but I need to save up for the kit. This electric car stuff seems to be a big hassle and a waste of energy to develop.
Bob W. 05/04/2009 12:47:09 PM

This past Friday (May 1), my 2006 Prius suffered unintended accelaration. I was stopped at a traffic light. When I began to lift my foot from the brake, the engine revved and the car tried to accelarate. Fortunately, I jammed my foot back down on the brake. I then tried letting pressure off again. The same thing happened. I checked the floor mat. It was nowhere near the gas pedal. Finally, I toggled the cruise control on and off. The problem stopped. This isn't the first time I have had this problem. This has occured several times in the past. On those occasions I was at the ramp control light on I90 and when the light turned green, I took my foot off the brake and the car surged forward. Later, I chalked it off to me not realizizing I hit the gas. Last Friday, I had no such illusion. The car is at the dealer today. The service manager verifed that my floor mat could not cause the problem. The challenge the dealer faces is reproducing the problem. I doubt they will be able to. This leaves me with a serious lack of trust with my car. I really do love the Prius. It's a joy to own and drive. I hope this problem can be solved.
Chris 05/03/2009 2:16:52 PM

So if I am understanding correctly, a driver that does not like to drive in the rain is driving in the rain, is in a hurry to get to a meeting, and is driving at 60 MPH. The driver is fixated on the meeting in the dash to the point where she doesn't even take care of the basics such as minding her fuel levels. The car speeds up as if it was hydroplaning but she somehow knows for certain that she wasn't hydroplaning, the the car goes dead because it had no fuel, but she somehow knows for certain that it did have fuel. Then when given a chance to meet at the dealership to discuss the matter, she said no. Um. Yeah.
dave 05/01/2009 2:31:46 PM

The Toyota Prius = the Barack Obama of cars...
TERRY DE EULIS 04/28/2009 9:39:46 PM

WHAT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE HERE IS THAT TOYOTA KEEPS SAYING THAT IF THE BRAKES DON'T WORK, YOU'VE RUN OUT OF GAS. DO YOU SEE THAT? THEY ARE SAYING THAT IF A PRIUS RUNS OUT OF GAS, THE BRAKES WON'T WORK. WHAT A STUPID WAY TO DESIGN A CAR!
Gabriel 04/28/2009 4:27:23 PM

Responding to #19. I don't know a whole lot about the Ford and Saturn Hybrids but I have been a Toyota technician, parts consultant, and service advisor. I don't know where in the world you got the information on the lifespan of the hybrid batteries but we routinely get Priuses with 150k+ on them with no hybrid batteries needed (excluding collisions...) Having said that, it does have a large carbon footprint and you can buy an efficient car for less. The Toyota Yaris starts about 13k and gets 40+mpg. We paint more Prius bumpers than any other car. The drivers seem so thrilled with the interactive screen they don't watch the road. This article implies the car is likely to drive itself to it's own demise which is untrue and ridiculous.
Gabriel 04/28/2009 4:27:21 PM

Responding to #19. I don't know a whole lot about the Ford and Saturn Hybrids but I have been a Toyota technician, parts consultant, and service advisor. I don't know where in the world you got the information on the lifespan of the hybrid batteries but we routinely get Priuses with 150k+ on them with no hybrid batteries needed (excluding collisions...) Having said that, it does have a large carbon footprint and you can buy an efficient car for less. The Toyota Yaris starts about 13k and gets 40+mpg. We paint more Prius bumpers than any other car. The drivers seem so thrilled with the interactive screen they don't watch the road. This article implies the car is likely to drive itself to it's own demise which is untrue and ridiculous.
priusowner 04/28/2009 1:43:29 PM

As a owner of two, I do have a few observations: 1) The tires that toyota supplies are a danger in the rain I replaced my with a different model and have had no problems since 2) The power switch/key, throttle, and shift are all soft switches, if the computer were to flake out, none of them would respond. The brakes are hydralic and should still work, but the traction control might interfere somewhat. without getting out of the care and under the hood, I have no idea how to shut it down if all of the above were to fail. 3) I had several friends with audis..great cars all errors there were either user error or deliberate fraud by CBS, so I am more than a bit skeptical here as well.
Joe 04/28/2009 10:57:27 AM

I have never owned a Pirus but I have owned two Toyota cars. As someone said eariler they are machines and will break. Both of the Toyota cars i owned gave me problems, one was a constant fight to keep it from overheating and the other had an oil pump failure in the first 1000 miles from new. Toyota is not perfect. I own a Chevy Cavalier and get 40 mpg all day long on the interstate if I use the cruise, I paid half of what a Pirus costs, can get it worked on anywhere, have over 140,000 miles with $600.00 total in repairs for the life of the car. Buy the expensive hybrid if you wish but I will continue to drive a poor quality, wastefull bad american made chevy for pennies per mile.
Mark Fefer 04/28/2009 10:52:42 AM

#11 you are right: "Toyota never recalled the floormats on the Prius." Thank you for pointing out this error. We will correct the story.
Momma 04/28/2009 9:23:14 AM

I love everything about the Prius, except for: having to pay several thousand dollars more than a non-hybrid equivalent; the pollution I save by driving a Prius is offset by the pollution created in building a Prius; the pollution and cost savings I may have gained over 7-10 years are again offset when I have to pay $3,000 for a new battery; unexpected accelerations and abrupt engine shutdowns out of nowhere; and dealing with an automaker that will stonewall any discussions about these problems. Other than that, the Prius is great, if I was in the market for a small, overpriced 5-seater. The Prius is the perfect symbol of image over substance.
Tom 04/28/2009 9:07:29 AM

Nice. My favorite line is..."the manufacturing is so complex and uses so much energy that the Prius stomps out a troublingly deep carbon footprint." It's all I can do to keep my accelerator on my Yukon XL(not some sissy flex fuel one either) from sticking whenever I have a Prius in front of me!!!
Matt Sobel 04/28/2009 7:23:52 AM

This smells of 60 minutes.... funny how they don't pick up on this story to help them feel better about their Audi 5000 fiasco. More Prius owners with these problems because they know less about cars then the average Audi owner did... as in which pedal is to go and which is to stop.
Bob 04/28/2009 6:12:27 AM

I'm an engineer and have more than 30 years of driving experience. The idiots are the ones blaming the drivers. This problem sounds like the "drive by wire" electronic throttle, which is essentially a potentiometer (variable resistor) gone haywire. It happens. That's why I won't buy a car with this system. And I've had what appeared to be a stuck throttle, but was in fact a stuck AIS (Air Idle Speed) motor on the throttle body. The car ran for more than a mile on level ground at 40 mph without touching the throttle. Fortunately I know what to do and put the clutch in (you can also put it in neutral). It then revved over 3000 RPMs for more than 30 seconds before gradually slowing down. Toyota has a history of hiding and denying problems to appear to be the best in quality. I'm amazed that these people continue to drive their products after this experience.
JuanPablo 04/27/2009 8:50:04 PM

To slightly change the subject, still focusing on gas-electric hybrid vehicles, will anyone comment about these: 1) Those large batteries average a REcharging-life of about 4-to-6 years. 2) Those large rechargable replacement batteries, depending on specific vehicles, can (replacement) cost 4000 to 6000 dollers. 3) Seems to me that that 4000 to 6000 bucks could purchase a heck of alot of actual fuel than what a hybrid owner would be able to "save" over a 4 to 6 year time period of owning a similar-size NON-hybrid vehicle. Inquiring minds would like to know; I am consider for purchase the hybrid Saturn, Ford Escape, and Mercury Mariner.
Joe 04/27/2009 8:09:28 PM

BEAUTIFUL ARTICLE!!! Congratulations on taking on Toyota's golden child. Challenging the untouchable Prius. For too long has our country been brainwashed by this false sense of "quality", and worse yet; the "green" value of the Prius. It's ALL FALSE. Studies have shown that the car does more harm to the environment just during the manufacturing process than a Hummer does in it's entire operational life. On top of that, now the demonic car drives on its own!! Wake up AMERICA!!! Toyota is not perfect. The butt-ugly Prius is not perfect...it's a farce, a lie, and too many have fallen for it! Wake up!!! All cars are machines liable to break due to the inherent errors in the human species that developed them. Toyota, Honda, etc are no exception. All cars will last for hundreds of thousands of miles if you take care of them. Given that FACT -- why not support your own country instead of the one that attacked Pearl Harbor 50 years ago? Buy AMERICAN! Again - GREAT article. I hope to see many more like it very soon.
LibsRNuts 04/27/2009 7:43:47 PM

Charlie had it right, most drivers are idiots, particularly the smug libs who buy a Prius. Libs are never satisfied, always sniveling about something. Funny this story never mentioned the complaining of just a few years ago about the Prius not getting the mileage as advertised. One thing I have yet to read about the Prius is what will be done with the batteries when they need to be changed. Will they end up as a toxic mess somewhere? With libs suing claiming they didn't know? How many libs will pay to have them replaced? or will this just become another throw away item because it is too expensive to fix? Hopefully this will not become the next "stimulus" plan...some liberal demanding a check from the taxpayers to replace their batteries.
Jeanne 04/27/2009 7:04:39 PM

I work in a Toyota service department and see hundreds of Priuses each month. My colleagues and I discussed this article today, and none of us have encountered this acceleration issue from any of our clients. I have, however, personally encountered customers whose engines were racing (both hybrid and non-hybrid) because the rubber floor mat had shoved forward and was causing the gas pedal to stick down with friction. Similarly, the brake pedal may not respond if the floor mat is wedged under the pedal, preventing the pedal from having its full range of travel. These perceived acceleration problems can happen with any kind of vehicle, as the many comments about Audi in the 80's prove. The difference with the Prius is that folks are paying closer attention. It is newer technology. It is different technology. We tend to jump to conclusions when something is new and different.
Waldo 04/27/2009 1:42:42 PM

Looks like a lot of people trying to defend their precious Prius. These things happen, I had that problem ONCE in my 2001 Mitsubishi Galant, I put the car in neutral, shut the engine off, waited a bit, and it ran fine after that. A relative of mine had a similar problem with a Crown Vic. Same solution. People need to think for themselves, and remember emergency procedures for the car. No it is not good for the car to put it in neutral and have that engine redline - but that is better than being an idiot and killing someone.
Rhonda Dorian 04/27/2009 12:54:49 PM

I have to say that this is one of those claims that I want to see happen. I own a Prius live in the rainy Norhtwest and drive 50+ miles per day. Not only have I not ever experienced this, I have driven in rain, snow, sleet and hail without ever experiencing a single problem. I have had to swere out of trouble on numerous occasions and felt very safe. I fill up once a week and drive 400 mile per tank which is less them many get but I am a very happy Prius owner. Cost of ownership is less than any car I have owned and believe Toyota is to be commended for their outstanding engineering.
Randy 04/27/2009 9:54:37 AM

A question to the people who posted comment. Who is a paid blogger and who is not?
Andy 04/27/2009 8:28:32 AM

The worrying thing about this is that unlike other cars (including the infamous Audis from the 80s) almost every control is electronic. The ignition and gear selector have no actual physical connection that you can rely on. If the electronics go goofy, they will do nothing at all no matter how much you try. Even worse than that is the dealer's response: "A Toyota technician told her she ran out of gas" One can only hope that the tech was making this up. Otherwise are we to really accept a car that will not stop if you run out of gas?!?
Gabriel 04/27/2009 8:25:34 AM

This article is beyond hype and well into inaccurate and misleading. I have worked in a Toyota service dept. since 2004 and would like to inject some reality. First, the Prius has a bladder in the gas tank and when the gas gets very low it is possible for people to run out of gas when they often think they have a little left. This bladder tank is to be more green. When the car runs out of gas it will stop. Breaking news! So will every other car. Second, Toyota never recalled the floormats on the Prius as the poorly researched article stated. The all weather floormats on the Camry were recalled and I have had gas sticking complaints on the Camry, Corolla, Avalon, and Prius when people put in 2, 3, or even 4 sets of floormats. Again a driver caused issue not specific to the Prius. As an example, the last complaint I had about a vehicle taking off by itself and causing damage to the vehicle was a Tundra. The guest was very upset and proceeded to demonstrate the problem as his tilted sideways foot was pressing both the gas and the brake when only the brake was intended. I'm thinking that it's not unsafe hybrid technology that was causing his problem.
JR 04/27/2009 7:29:39 AM

I've owned a Prius since early 2004 and have never had a hint of the problems expressed in this article. I would expect that there would be reproducable evidence of the condition if in fact it was a manufacturing defect....
Bobcat 04/27/2009 4:16:55 AM

I've owned 1/2 a dozen Toyotas since the 70s. They've been good cars and trucks. Toyota has had minor problems and stonewalled or used "secret warranties". I've never owned a Prius but known lots of people who do. I've not heard acceleration or brake failure stories but that's not to say they don't happen. This is a complex vehicle with more computer control than most vehicles. There could be software issues. Toyota had better not blow this off, scolding people for floor mats, running out of gas, stomping the wrong pedal or nt paying attention. This issue already has legs.
Tom Foxx 04/27/2009 3:45:27 AM

I saw a common thread with most of these, even the uncontrolled acceleration. what sort of TCS does this have? it sounds like the Traction Control is faulty in some rare cases. if it's locking out the brakes on slippery surfaces, then there's that. if it's keeping brakes from engaging, that could also explain going faster than one thinks. Toyota, you're my second favourite car company. don't brush this off!
HoosierPrius 04/27/2009 3:13:10 AM

I am really glad to see that so many people recall the "Sudden Acceleration" issue that ended up being total bs. It was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the headline. This is not proof by any means but our Prius is nearing 5 years old with over 150k miles and never a single mechanical or electrical issue. That makes it difficult for me to believe the stories of the people in this article.
AS 04/27/2009 2:03:58 AM

Another "journalist" trying to create hype by introducing another Audi situation to destroy a good car company. You could set back hybrid adoption another 10-15 years with all the dopes who will believe your story. Shame on you.
Hybrid Downer 04/26/2009 11:09:22 PM

Wow, this article says a lot more about Prius drivers than it does about the cars. Quiz time: Your throttle sticks open, do you: A) Turn off the engine, which keeps the car from "surging" at the expense of your power steering and boosted brakes? B) Take the gear selector in your hand and move it to NEUTRAL, disconnecting power from the drive wheels and keeping your power steering and boosted brakes? C) Stomp on the brakes like a monkey with a sugar rush, accomplishing absolutely nothing while destroying your brake pads and making them utterly useless? This isn't new, I remember this exact question in driver's education many, many years ago. Cars then had just as many issues as they do now, and piloting 3500 pounds of metal, plastic and rubber is not something to take lightly. Consider the ones who decide the best course of action is to jump on the parking brake when they discover their car isn't doing what they want. DON'T EVER DO THIS. If your parking brake is adjusted properly, your back tires will lock and you will most likely spin. Even if they don't lock up, all that heat will probably cause them to instantly fade, giving you the braking power of a spoon whipping around in a bowel of pudding. I can't say I'm too surprised, though. Drivers who pick a vehicle because it makes them feel smug (as the first person was quoted in the beginning of the article) are not going to be very serious about how to properly drive what amounts to a weapon. Oh, and the correct answer is "B".
Charlie 04/26/2009 4:45:45 PM

This article is bunk! I live in the Prius "capitol" of the Pacific Northwest (most Prius registrations per capita) and I have never heard of any untoward incident with a Prius. I know many (at least a dozen) people with Prius' from all years (including the firt year) who drive their cars EVERY DAY with nary an incident worth mentioning ever occuring. The bottom line here is that some drivers are idiots! Fortunately most are not.
Ari 04/26/2009 12:31:47 AM

Everything old is new again. This is just the 21st century equivalent of the unintended acceleration fiasco that unjustly plagued Audi in the 1980s. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/in-defense-of-the-audi-5000/ It was sensationalism back then and it is sensationalism now. Replace gas pedal placement with a real time display of gas mileage and the source of the problem nonetheless remains: the object between the driver's seat and the steering wheel.
Rich 04/24/2009 10:03:38 AM

interesting article, but definitely over-hyped. I've owned my 2nd generation Prius since it came out late 2003 and had only minor quirky problems with it. When the battery is fully charged after you come to a stop at the bottom of a hill, the engine will keep turning on and off continuously until you start moving again, which is strange but not dangerous in any way. Given there are almost a million of the cars on the road now and there are less than a dozen cases dug up for this story, people reading it will likely get the completely wrong impression about the car.
David 04/23/2009 1:30:55 PM

Except for the unattended car crashing through the garage into the Altima, is there a reason these people couldn't simply turn off the key when their car starts to take off? Not that I'm a fan of hybrids (I think they're a fraud on the public), but sorry, I agree with the Toyota rep...as a society, we are too preoccupied with life to pay proper attention to our driving.

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