普锐斯曝突然加速事故丰田计划召回
Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that the Prius involved in a highly publicized acceleration incident on a California freeway along with hundreds of thousands of others will be recalled to prevent floor mats from pinning down the gas pedal.
But the recall hasn't been issued because Toyota 'hasn't developed the remedy yet,' said Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons.
In November, Toyota recalled several models including the Toyota Camry and Avalon sedans and the Lexus ES sedan to reshape the floor and gas pedals to prevent unsecured or ill-fitting floor mats from entrapping the pedal in an open position.
As part of those recalls, Toyota said Prius hybrids from the 2004 to 2009 model years would be recalled in the future to address the same issue. The company advised owners of those Priuses to remove their floor mats in the meantime to prevent the gas pedal from becoming trapped, said Mr. Lyons.
Toyota sold about 745,000 Priuses from the 2004 to 2009 model years, according to Autodata Corp.
On Monday, James Sikes, 61 years old, called 911 for help after his 2008 Prius raced to more than 90 miles per hour near San Diego and he couldn't slow it down.
'I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny ... it jumped and it just stuck there,' Mr. Sikes said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press. 'I was trying the brakes ... it wasn't stopping, it wasn't doing anything and it just kept speeding up,'' Mr. Sikes said, adding he could smell the brakes burning.
A California Highway Patrol officer caught up to the Prius and advised the driver to apply both the brakes and emergency brake. Eventually, Mr. Sikes was able to shut the engine off and stop the vehicle. The patrolman pulled his car in front of the Prius as a precaution. Mr. Sikes was unhurt.
Toyota is sending engineers look to look at Mr. Sikes's car, the company said Tuesday. The Transportation Department is also sending an investigator to inspect the vehicle and gather information on the incident.
The incident took place a few hours after the auto maker concluded a detailed media presentation intended to rebut critics who suggest electrical problems could be causing its vehicles to speed up without drivers depressing the accelerator.
Reports of unintended acceleration have prompted Toyota to recall more than six million vehicles in the U.S. The recalls fix floor mats and gas pedals that can get stuck-the cause, according to the company, of the sudden-acceleration complaints.
For weeks, Toyota has tried to tamp down concern about the safety of its vehicles and rebut suggestions it did not react quickly enough to reports of sudden acceleration, including some that involved fatalities. But news of new, unrelated recalls and tense testimony by Toyota executives before Congress last month have kept the company on the defense.
'Toyota learned of a report that a California Highway Patrol (CHP) unit was dispatched in response to a 911 call from a motorist driving a Prius on Interstate 8 in San Diego County who said the accelerator pedal was stuck,' the company said in a brief statement.
丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Co.)周二表示，为了防止地垫卡住加速踏板，公司计划日后召回数万辆普锐斯汽车。这款混合动力车日前在加州公路上发生的突然加速事故被媒体广泛报导。
不过，丰田汽车公司发言人莱昂斯(Brian Lyons)说，因为丰田尚未制定出维修计划，因此目前没有发布召回通知。
丰田在11月召回了包括凯美瑞(Camry)、亚洲龙(Avalon)、雷克萨斯(Lexus ES)在内的数款轿车，替换地板和加速踏板，防止不稳固或尺寸不合适的地垫卡住加速踏板。
作为召回方案的一部分，丰田汽车表示，为解决同样的问题，公司日后将召回2004-2009年款普锐斯混合动力车。莱昂斯说，公司建议车主移除地垫，以防卡住加速踏板。
汽车销售数据研究机构Autodata Corp.称，丰田共销售了约74.5万辆2004-2009年款普锐斯混合动力车。
周一，61岁的詹姆斯?赛克斯(James Sikes)报警求救，他驾驶的2008年款普锐斯在圣地亚哥附近一条公路上失控加速，时速超过了90英里（约合145公里/
小时），而且他无法将速度降下来。
据美联社(Associated Press)报导，赛克斯在新闻发布会上说，我当时为了超车而踩下了加速踏板，接下来车子表现很奇怪，它跳了一下，然后就卡在那里了；
我拼命踩刹车，可是它根本不停，这辆车不再执行我的任何操作，就是一个劲加速、再加速。赛克斯说自己可以闻到刹车片过热的焦糊味。
加州公路巡逻队(California Highway Patrol)的一名警官随后追上这辆失控的
普锐斯，他建议赛克斯同时采用脚刹和手刹。最终赛克斯设法熄灭了发动机、停下了车辆。为小心起见，那位巡警将自己的车停在了这辆肇事车前面。赛克斯本人并未受伤。
丰田公司周二表示，已派出几位工程师检查赛克斯的车辆。美国运输部(Transportation Department)也指派了一位调查员检查那辆普瑞斯，并收集事
故信息。
就在这场事故发生前几个小时，丰田公司刚刚结束了一场内容详尽的媒体展示会，意在反驳批评人士有关电子故障会导致车辆在驾驶员未踩加速踏板的情况下突
然加速的说法。
围绕车辆发生暴冲事故的报导已迫使丰田公司在美国召回了逾600万辆汽车。召回这些车辆是为了维修地垫和加速踏板，丰田公司认为突然加速的原因是地垫卡住了踏板。
过去几周，丰田公司一直在努力平息人们对其车辆安全的担忧，并反驳有关公司对此类已造成人员伤亡的暴冲事故响应不够迅速的说法。不过，其他最新不相关召回事件的发生以及上月丰田高管在国会艰难的作证已经让公司摆出了防御姿态。
丰田汽车在一份简短的声明中表示，公司已经得知加州公路巡逻队响应了一位驾驶员的报警；据司机表示，他所驾驶的普瑞斯汽车在圣地亚哥8号州际公路上发生了加速踏板被卡住的事故。