SAN DIEGO - 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.
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.
