Cruise Control FAIL

[btm]

http://www.smh.com.au/national/cruise-control-terror-for-freeway-driver-20091215-ktxn.html

Cruise control terror for freeway driver

A routine road trip became half an hour of horror for a Melbourne man this afternoon when his four-wheel-drive's cruise control malfunctioned on the Eastern Freeway.

In a scene reminiscent of the blockbuster thriller Speed, the Ford Explorer's cruise control jammed on at 80km/h as attempted to take the Burke Road exit from Kew to Greensborough, in Melbourne's north-east, at 12.40pm.

The 22-year-old called triple-0 to report his predicament and two police vehicles used lights and sirens to clear a path along Eastlink as the driver struggled to stop his vehicle.

Senior Constable Adam West said the man attempted to stop the four-wheel-drive by braking, knocking the four-wheel-drive out of gear or removing the keys - all to no avail.

During the driver's ordeal, police even contacted Ford to find a way to stop the runaway vehicle.

Desperately trying to avoid a crash, the driver crossed over the road into oncoming traffic to avoid banked-up traffic outside the Monash University's Peninsula Campus.

In a last frantic attempt to stop the vehicle, the man jumped up and down on the brakes and pulled the handbrake, finally coming to a halt on the wrong side of the road, just over a railway line, at Frankston around 1.10pm.

The motorist was taken to hospital in shock.

[btm]

took the keys out and still didnt stop though?!?!?!

[Vectracious]

See I dont understand this....

How could he not turn the car off by turning the keys?
How could he not knock the gear leaver into neutral/depress the clutch?

Something tells me its more an incompetent driver rather than the car...... :rolleyes:

[DWS 92]

Surely knocking it out of gear would have stopped it aswell? Either that man was completely incompetent or it's made up.

[DWS 92]

Beat me to it Pete :P

[guy 27]

See I dont understand this....

How could he not turn the car off by turning the keys?


most older cars you can pull the key out while the car is running.

[Vectracious]

most older cars you can pull the key out while the car is running.

and he couldn't put them back in again to turn the car off??? and normally if you pull the key out it will activate the steering lock - which means he would have lost steering and crashed...

[Jerram]

maybe he watched the rather poor '80s made for television movie "runaway car" and thought "yeah, I could make some money out of that"
anyone else seen it lol?

[mania]

Has to be fake. Else I really want his engine - because I'm fairly certain mine would lose to my brakes in a fight.

[ROCCO]

no apparently it was a big ass...ECu failure...he tried turning it off at the stalk...braking...changing gears....even removed the keys....the ecu shit itself and wasn't responding to anything...prolly a flash gone bad.
If i was in his shoes...there is plently of grassy places along eastlink...move to the side and do a die hard and jump outta the car

[mania]

And what, the brake booster went at the same time? I dunno, 30 minutes until finally being able to stop it whilst stuck travelling at 80kmh just seems a bit hard to believe..

[xplosv57]

It's was a 2002 Ford Explorer, i believe the computer failure (aka big heap of sh1t)

Also remember that "Runaway Car" movie, so B grade but i always rented it when i was at the video store!!

[AfterBurner]

Obviously it was an Auto...

Sounds a bit sus i reckon, surely the ignition would supply power to the ECU, hence turning off the power in turn disables the ECU???

Couldn't he have also adjusted the speed down with the stalk???

Hmmm...:confused:

[Vectracious]

I wouldn't have throught a shitty old Ford explorer would have something as fancy as a ECU controlled ignition - you turn the key, the car turns off.

I still reckon he was some nancy boy Emo who started crying when the cruise control shat itself, causing his mascara to run rendering him even more useless than what he was to begin with...

[hazrd]

not cool

but im with pete on this one....

[btm]

always wanted to use this one :emo:


:D

[btm]

more here - http://www.news.com.au/national/driver-taken-to-hospital-in-shock-after-miracle-escape-when-cruise-control-jammed-on-eastern-fwy/story-e6frfkvr-1225810814610

speed how now increased to 100km/h

"She told me to jump on the brake and pull the handbrake at the same time, which I did,'' a still shaken Mr Weir said.

"I just shut my eyes. I could hear the tyres skidding on the road for what seemed like forever. I thought I was dead.

[Vectracious]

"I just shut my eyes. I could hear the tyres skidding on the road for what seemed like forever. I thought I was dead.


What a drama queen

http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2009/12/16/1225810/823977-chase-weir.jpg

What a douche

[TheOperator]

The guy is full of shit and incompetent, i don't believe for a second he had to go through all that in a shitty Ford Explorer :mad:

Ford Explorers are known very will in industry as the "Ford Exploder" cause everything on them blows up and is shit and the technology in them is early 80's at best :D

So i still call bullshit cause it is not advanced enough to have the type of meltdown he "seems" to think it had ;)

[btm]

is that a hospital tag on his wrist?? escaped from somewhere perhaps :p

[hazrd]

the news woulda went to the hospital where he was being "treated" for "shock" and would have asked him to come out and sit in a car for their photo ill bet

[Vectracious]

whats the bet this idiot tries to sue Ford now for his "ordeal"

[TheOperator]

Should have seen this idiot on news last night :mad:

To quote him:

"i have never screamed so loud in my life when police opened door"

"i tried everything and it just wouldn't stop"

All the while looking like he had just escaped from a white jacket or ran from a black guy that wanted to make sexy man love to him :rolleyes:

Seems too much like that chick that cried wolf in Sydney, "boom boom" or whatever it was!!! Agreed on law suit coming to scam some money :mad:

[maloo97]

Its all crap! I dont see this happening!

He apperently moved from brisbane to melbourne and is unemployed.

Big scam for money.

[AH08]

If you were in an unstoppable car, would the first thought to come to you would be "ring Ford" and ask them what to do? Hmmm, that didn't work so I will ring 000. What a lot of shit, a looney on a suicide mission and backed out at the last minute........Wanka!

[J]

Some people would do anything just to have their few minutes of fame.

I don't know about you, but if that happened to me, I'd rather remain anonymous! The shame of it all...and to have photos taken afterwards, looking like a hero etc. too. I just smell a rat.

I don't even want to imagine what could've happened if his little stunt to quell his insecurities, ended up very, very wrong...! :yikes:

[sri guy]

mind you "suv" drivers never seem to be able to drive at the best of times

[btm]

will be interesting to see how this all unfolds

i'm sure 60 minutes or today tonight are already on the case!

[btm]

few more pics too

http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/national/cruisecontrol-freeway-drama/20091216-kv5k.html

[Vectracious]

I don't know about you, but if that happened to me, I'd rather remain anonymous! The shame of it all...and to have photos taken afterwards, looking like a hero etc. too. I just smell a rat.

Exactly!!! why would you want to have your face splashed all over the paper - maybe he thought he could be like Claire Werbeloff (chk chk boom chick) by doing this and get famous. He definately looks like a bit of a tosser...

[DWS 92]

I love it how they keep using the word 'ordeal', and the neck brace makes him look even more like a punce. Why does this shit even make the news?

[mania]

I still don't get it though - if you slam the brakes and the accelerator at the same time, besides wrecking your transmission and putting a lot of stress on everything - don't the brakes always win?

Or did he just not try braking until 000, Ford and the media had all told him to?

[Vectracious]

don't the brakes always win?



Thats what I thought too - my understanding is that even sh*t brakes will generate about 250-300Nm of torque - multiply that by 4 and you get about 1000 Nm of opposing torque - way more than the engine in the Explorer could generate.....

[goof]

Initially I was a skeptic. How hard can it be to stop a car I thought. But I saw the guy himself interviewed on Sunrise this morning. A lot of what was written above does not match what he said.

1) He was going 100, not 80.
2) He tried all the off/coast buttons.
3) He couldn't shift it out of D(rive) as the button won't go in when cruise is engaged. This is by design Ford said. He tried forcing it but no go.
4) He couldn't turn the ignition off, you can't when in motion. Again this is by design according to Ford.
5) He tried braking, but the cruise control compensated by accelerating. Eventually the brakes started to be ineffective as they got hot.

[btm]

hmmmm, could it all be legit??

[nuggz]

gosh u guys are harsh! :p

if it is all legit, i take my hat off to him. it could have ended alot worse.
(i wonder if he had an etag? will they send him a fine if he didnt? lol)

[rjastra]

So you have to ask yourself why the car was able to stop in the end just as he headed onto the wrong side of the road......

"Again this is by design according to Ford."

When you say that, did you actually hear it from a Ford representative? Or from the numbnut behind the wheel?

[AH08]

Initially I was a skeptic. How hard can it be to stop a car I thought. But I saw the guy himself interviewed on Sunrise this morning. A lot of what was written above does not match what he said.

1) He was going 100, not 80.
2) He tried all the off/coast buttons.
3) He couldn't shift it out of D(rive) as the button won't go in when cruise is engaged. This is by design Ford said. He tried forcing it but no go.
4) He couldn't turn the ignition off, you can't when in motion. Again this is by design according to Ford.
5) He tried braking, but the cruise control compensated by accelerating. Eventually the brakes started to be ineffective as they got hot.

Well..we all may be wrong.............but he still looks like a tosser.:D

[maloo97]

so you have to ask yourself why the car was able to stop in the end just as he headed onto the wrong side of the road......

"again this is by design according to ford."

when you say that, did you actually hear it from a ford representative? Or from the numbnut behind the wheel?


+ 1

[goof]

When you say that, did you actually hear it from a Ford representative? Or from the numbnut behind the wheel?
Sorry, I thought it was obvious I was recounting what was said in the interview with the numbnut behind the wheel.

Since when do people on forums check their references? :)


If you want to know what Ford said, maybe start looking here (http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/no-link-in-recall-vic-incident-ford-20091216-kw0k.html).

[mania]

5) He tried braking, but the cruise control compensated by accelerating. Eventually the brakes started to be ineffective as they got hot.

Yet it was solved (after 54kms... wtf :p) by "repeatedly braking"?

For it to make any sense at all, surely it was one hard continuous brake til it stopped - not a fade inducing "repeated braking". The story just doesn't add up. Did they test him for drugs?

[Vectracious]

this wanker is currently on 7pm project - he looked so full of himself.....

[poita]

watching it now, wat a farkin tool.

cant even keep his eyes hardly open

[sadavidsriturbo]

And the winner of this years Darwin award goes to..............

[hazrd]

And the winner of this years Darwin award goes to..............


he didnt die :p

[poita]

hes so full of fail he cant even win a Darwin Award

[gmonkey]

seriously this happened and u realised u didnt have brakes the first thing u do is try the handbrake right?? i know i would as its cable driven in most cars....

[poita]

you would rip the handbrake on at 100km/hr in an explorer?

[pugmanic]

Yeh i would be a little concerned about ripping up the handy at 100km/h in a top heavy vehicle like the explorer.. shit aye...

My friend was telling me of a similar instance where this happened on her 2007 Astra CDX.. going through the Eastern Distributor in Sydney.. but it only lasted for a minute or two..

Anyone else had this happen to them?

[gmonkey]

wouldnt rip it completly... but if u put it on slowly and around 50-75% it would slow the vehicle down, and then do short bursts of 100% brake

[poita]

wouldnt rip it completly... but if u put it on slowly and around 50-75% it would slow the vehicle down, and then do short bursts of 100% brake

he didnt seem teh brightest, he rang ford before he called emergency services.

[scotty_gsi]

shudda found a wall and just ground along it the car wudda stopped would be a right off but it wudda stopped

[rjastra]

Sorry, I thought it was obvious I was recounting what was said in the interview with the numbnut behind the wheel.

Since when do people on forums check their references? :)


If you want to know what Ford said, maybe start looking here (http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/no-link-in-recall-vic-incident-ford-20091216-kw0k.html).

So... did you actually read it?

No where does it mention:

3) He couldn't shift it out of D(rive) as the button won't go in when cruise is engaged. This is by design Ford said. He tried forcing it but no go.
4) He couldn't turn the ignition off, you can't when in motion. Again this is by design according to Ford.


Yeh i would be a little concerned about ripping up the handy at 100km/h in a top heavy vehicle like the explorer.. shit aye...

The parking brake isn't called the "e" or "emergency" brake in the USA for nothing ;)
Why would it cause the Explorer to fishtail or crash if applied?

[MatsHolden]

He went from the Burke Road exit on the Eastern to Monash Uni Peninsula Campus in Frankston in half an hour when his car was traveling at between 80kmh to 100kmh? Doesn't add up.

[hazrd]

lol

funny u ask that... i was looking it up about half an hour ago...

[MatsHolden]

I reckon he's a bullshit artist.

I might go for a fang down eastlink at 150 and say my throttle is stuck and get a police escort and everything...

[goof]

So... did you actually read it?

You seem to be making a real effort to misread what I originally said. Please read this bit again, slowly:


Sorry, I thought it was obvious I was recounting what was said in the interview

I didn't read it, I don't have references, I didn't make the claim. In case it's still not obvious... I was recounting what was said in the interview.

Anyway, take it to PMs if you feel the need.

[Shay]

lol, saw this on the news tonight (wa news fail :p)

i call bull shit, waaaaay too much dont add up.
and if ford has a pin lock from D to N i think they have a lot to answer for, i have NEVER been in a car with that, and it seems ridiculous the would.

and if anyone has pulled apart their car enough to see the pin lock, they would know, its not the most solid bit of equipment... could easiliy be snapped with a swift manly jab (which this guy might have trouble with)...
and i hope youre also all aware the auto gearbox is controlled in no way by the ECU.

rj - you every pulled the hand brake at 80 or 100? or in a 4x4? i have, both, it would fishtail...

would have to use the handbrake similar to ABS. ie 100% and release, repeatedly...

******BULLSHIT, that is all********

[rjastra]

lol, saw this on the news tonight (wa news fail :p)



rj - you every pulled the hand brake at 80 or 100? or in a 4x4? i have, both, it would fishtail...



It wouldn't lock up as the engine is still trying to feed power to the rear wheels. So, i still think it wouldn't fishtail.

[hazrd]

AFAIK the only pin lock ive experienced (our old mazda 121, the astra, and the new cruze) is you cant pull the shifter out of 'P' unless the foot is on the brake, as for 'D' ... how the HELL are u supposed to use 4,3,2, and 1??????

and being a 4x4... those gears would be necessary for towing/overtaking etc

[btm]

looks like it could be a while before we get any info too

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/police-yet-to-examine-runaway-cruise-control-vehicle/story-e6frfku0-1225811256036

[btm]

and you can listen to his 000 call here - http://player.video.news.com.au/couriermail/#itfdlr3xOH7tegO4Ybd4VaZOCAZsfVYX

[Shay]

It wouldn't lock up as the engine is still trying to feed power to the rear wheels. So, i still think it wouldn't fishtail.

well my pajero locked and slid out at 80 when one of my mates pulled the handbrake. and i still had the power on...

[btm]

what a good mate :rolleyes:

[Shay]

what a good mate :rolleyes:

haha, its a funny game... happens to all of us...
at least i was going in a straight line.

[gmonkey]

haha, its a funny game... happens to all of us...
at least i was going in a straight line.
funny game till someone has a RWD car and is doing 60-70 entering a corner :p

[gmonkey]

and you can listen to his 000 call here - http://player.video.news.com.au/couriermail/#itfdlr3xOH7tegO4Ybd4VaZOCAZsfVYX
what a friggen moron!

he does sound retarded


on other news it was followed up about a NZ girl flashing traffic by flashing her boobs and she was pretty ugly... maybe they should have used her to stop the 4x4.

[btm]

on other news it was followed up about a NZ girl flashing traffic by flashing her boobs and she was pretty ugly... maybe they should have used her to stop the 4x4.
a car actually ran into her, and she still got fined :D

[gmonkey]

ohh snap!! nice! she did seem a pretty big bitch to roadblock traffic

'Dont setup traffic cones to block off areas just get girls to flash motorists'

[TheOperator]

I want to know how a "supposedly" unemployed guy that had moved to VIC from QLD to increase his "job prospects" (i.e. he has never had a job or held a job cause he is a waste of space or incompetent) affords what seems to be at least a 02/03 Explorer that cost anywhere from 15 to 30K still :confused:

I'm going with this is another grab for some easy cash like i'm sure this attention whore has done many times before ;)

[nuggz]

i'll go against the crowd

yes he may be a knob and yes he may juice the shit out of it now
but i reckon the situation was real.

[Vectracious]

the last bit of that recording he sounds like the turkey/ghost guy on youtube.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1nVua5y-yw

attention whore/cash grab for sure.

[Neeko]

It would be quite a frightening concept at first, knowing your car won't respond to your commands. That's the whole reason I don't like horse riding, because the ECU is still run by a brain :p

Makes me wonder how I would have handled the situation.

[Shay]

Makes me wonder how I would have handled the situation.

in an FF: veer onto huge grassed medium strip, full lock. understeer to a stop ftw, then you can yank the handbrake and hold an epic 100kmh wheel speed burn out

[Jeenous]

i think its a load of crap however

*vacuum brakes dont function to well when accelerator is on.. try pumping your brakes a few times when u got the foot down..
*hard to get car out gear when the load is on..that said clutch depress will soon fix that.. that def not electronic controlled..

thinks its mainly a mix of malfunction ecu followed by incompetent driver panicking...

[Neeko]

if the brake is applied in the barina while foot is still on the throttle the ECU instantly cuts power to the engine.

[Shay]

and it was an auto jeenous