PortlandRL

This thread is not, I repeat NOT meant to be a Toyota bashing thread. It is simply an observation that I have made after having purchased my new car in September and it's proof that Toyota's issues have made the auto industry sit up and take notice.

My new 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe has an electronic throttle but I don't mind; in fact I've quite warmed to the technology. However, I couldn't help but notice the increase in warnings about floor mats, either. Not only did the 2010 model get two retention posts for the mat instead of one from previous years, the carpeted mats that came with the car included a bright orange warning label that stated not to stack floor mats and to make sure they are secured. The rubber mats I bought for the winter season also came with this label that also insisted I not remove the warning. I did it anyway. I don't stack mats and I know how to fit them, thank you very much.

The precautions don't end there, either. Hyundai adjusted the position and changed the shape of the accelerator pedal, as well. It is shorter and positioned higher up now and even when fully depressed, leaves a great deal of clearance between the edge of the pedal and the floor. Clearly this is done to prevent an unsecured floor mat from jamming up underneath the pedal. There is also a greater distance between the two pedals, I'm assuming to avoid driver confusion and panic should a UA incident occur. Not only that but it now comes with a brake override that I discovered out of curiosity. If the gas pedal is depressed beyond a certain point and the brake pedal is pressed, the throttle immediately goes back to zero. The brake pedal must be released before the throttle will respond again.

I found this rather interesting and it's proof that the car industry does pay attention to these things.

1StGenCL

I'm sure they have learned, these issues really really hurt Toyota as we all know (seems they have bounced back tho).

The brake and gas pedal thing is very cool. I was hit a while back when an employee at Circuit City hit the gas instead of the brake while he was doing a car stereo install and ended up crashing through the wall, running over his manager, and cutting off half my pinky while I was looking at CDs. CC said it was GM's fault since the pedals were too close but that didn't stick

O/T - What happened with your paint? I remember the thread but missed the follow up

Costco

I still don't know what truly happened in the cases where people have perished as a result of "unintended acceleration" and again, with respect to the deceased, there are some people who Darwin haven't gotten a chance to take care of yet. Sadly, this ultimately shows as you notice in some newer cars, the brake pedal is spaced out further from the gas pedal. On an automatic car, it's not big deal, but IMO when you essentially have to twist your whole body in order to heel toe, it sucks.

Still, the safety override for simultaneously depressing gas and brake pedal is something that should have always been there from the start. I don't know for sure if they were or not, but yeah.