Prius owners are mental.....I knew it!!!!!

NEW YORK -- Reports of sudden acceleration in the Toyota Prius have spiked across the country. But that doesn't mean there's an epidemic of bad gas pedals in the popular hybrid.

Experts on consumer psychology say Toyota's relentless attention since the fall makes it much more likely that drivers will mistake anything unexpected for actual danger.

"When people expect problems, they're more likely to find them," said Lars Perner, professor of clinical marketing at the University of Southern California.

In just the first 10 weeks of this year, 272 complaints have been filed nationwide for speed control problems with the Prius, according to an Associated Press analysis of unverified complaints received by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Only 74 complaints were filed last year, and eight the year before that.

Even stranger are problems with the brakes, rather than the gas: 1,816 this year, versus 90 in 2009 and fewer than 20 every other year of the last decade. Toyota recalled 440,000 Priuses because its anti-lock brakes seemed to fail momentarily on bumpy roads.

This week came one of the most high-profile Toyota cases: A man driving on a Southern California freeway said his 2008 Prius reached 94 mph before a patrol officer helped him bring it to a stop.

Investigators are looking at that and a New York case, and authorities have questioned either's legitimacy.

Toyota has continually said that it has found nothing wrong with its electronic throttle controls and that it is confident that they work properly.

The automaker recalled 8.5 million vehicles because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius. Regulators count 52 deaths linked to crashes alleged to have been caused by acceleration.

Electronics experts say the computers, sensors and wires that control the throttle can be compromised by electronic interference. Toyota has a "quite lengthy" procedure for its specialists when they evaluate cars, including a diagnostic check, an oscilloscope to test electronics and a checklist of potential problems, spokesman Brian Lyons said.

The 2008 Prius in the California freeway runaway would have been equipped with a backup mechanism designed to cut power to the wheels if the gas and brake pedals are depressed at the same time, Toyota says.

 

This is the first I've heard of any unintended acceleration recalls.

 

Like I posted before on a similar post, it is amazing how many people hear "Toyota Recall" and automatically think all toyotas suck now. Also think of the majority of people that own a Prius....... lets just say many are a little "silly" and don't know much about cars.