Toyota dismisses Calif. man's runaway Prius report

[March 16, 2010]  SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. was quiet last week when James Sikes told reporters how the gas pedal got stuck on his 2008 Prius, leading him on a wild ride on a Southern California freeway.

Caption: Bob Waltz, left, vice president of product quality and service support for Toyota Motor Sales USA, speaks during a news conference Monday in San Diego as Mike Michels, vice president of communications, looks on. Toyota held the news conference to share preliminary findings of the company's technical investigation into an alleged incident of unintended acceleration involving a 2008 Toyota Prius driven by James Sikes. (AP photo by Denis Poroy)

Now the Japanese automaker is talking at length about how its tests don't support Sikes' version of events, and the driver is quiet.

Toyota says its tests showed the car's gas pedal, backup safety system and electronics were working fine. It was unable to replicate the stuck gas pedal that Sikes reported.

The automaker said Monday that it found Sikes rapidly pressed the gas and brakes back and forth 250 times, the maximum amount of data that the car's self-diagnostic system can collect. That account appears to contradict Sikes' statements -- backed by the California Highway Patrol -- that he slammed the brakes, even lifting his buttocks off the seat.

Toyota officials said they believed Sikes hit the pedals lightly, which would have prevented a brake-override system from kicking in. Under the Prius design, engine power is cut if the brake pedal is pressed with moderate force.

Toyota stopped short of saying that Sikes fabricated his story.

"We have no opinion on his account, what he's been saying, other than the scenario is not consistent with the technical findings," spokesman Mike Michels said at a news conference.

The episode March 8 was among the highest-profile headaches Toyota has suffered in recent months. It recalled more than 8 million cars and trucks worldwide because gas pedals can become stuck in the down position or be snagged by floor mats. Dozens of Toyota drivers have reported problems even after their cars were supposedly fixed.

The company had no explanation for discrepancies with Sikes' account but confirmed the brakes were overheated and the pads worn. Bob Waltz, vice president of product quality and service support at Toyota Motor Sales USA, said the front brakes were "metal to metal."

Toyota said it believes a CHP officer's account that he smelled burning brakes while guiding Sikes on the freeway. Officials said repeatedly pressing the pedal could have overheated the brakes but were unclear why the car didn't stop sooner than it did.

"That is the puzzling aspect of this," Michels said in an interview. "All we know are the engineering facts. We looked at all the components, they all work."

Toyota said its tests showed the car's electronics were working fine.

"If there were some kind of electronic problem, you would think it might actually stay permanent," Michels said. "When your TV goes on the fritz, when electronic stuff goes on the fritz, it doesn't just do it once and never do it again."

Sikes, 61, has said his car raced to 94 mph on Interstate 8 east of San Diego. He said he reached down with one hand to try to pull the pedal back, while keeping the other hand on the wheel. He called 911 but did not respond to repeated instructions from the dispatcher to throw the car into neutral.

The CHP officer eventually helped bring the car safely to a stop by telling him over a loudspeaker to hit the emergency brake and foot brake simultaneously.

Sikes spoke to reporters shortly after the incident but has since kept a low profile. He did not respond to phone messages Monday.

John Gomez, Sikes' attorney, said Monday that he would not comment on the episode until a government investigation was complete. Gomez has noted previously that Toyota has never been able to replicate stuck accelerator.

"This problem is sort of a ghost in the machine that is the Toyota system," he said Sunday. "It doesn't leave a fault code, it doesn't leave a footprint, and you can't make it happen upon demand."

The 2008 Prius is subject to a recall for floor mats but not sticky accelerators.

[Associated Press; By ELLIOT SPAGAT and TOM KRISHER]

Krisher reported from Detroit. Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.

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