Vault: Toyota owner claims his car accelerated on its own

Summary

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The Bert Show

Episode: Vault: Toyota owner claims his car accelerated on its own
Date: June 30, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on a controversial and headline-grabbing story: a 61-year-old Toyota Prius owner, James Sykes, claims his car accelerated uncontrollably on a San Diego highway, reaching speeds of 90 mph and prompting a frantic 911 call. The Bert Show hosts and listeners discuss whether Sykes' ordeal was a genuine mechanical failure or a manufactured incident, weighing in with skepticism, personal experience, and technical insight. The conversation also touches on broader issues of public trust, opportunism, and car manufacturer accountability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. James Sykes' Claim and Public Reaction

• Host Bert introduces the story, describing how Sykes said his accelerator stuck, leading to a high-speed ordeal and an emergency call to 911.

  • “This guy that's cruising down in San Diego claims that his accelerator gets stuck and he's cruising at 90 miles an hour, man. He's on the phone with 911…” (01:01 Bert)

• Skepticism surfaces early as several callers and co-hosts express doubts about Sykes’ account and motivations.

2. Recall and Dealership Refusal

• Co-host elaborates that Sykes’ vehicle had been subject to a Toyota recall, and Sykes claimed a dealership turned him away when he sought a fix.
  • "He said that he actually was part of that recall of his Toyota Prius and that the dealership actually turned him away when he went." (01:15 Co-host)

3. Caller Skepticism: “People are looking for a quick buck”

• Joe (Caller) calls in, strongly doubting Sykes’ story and linking the case to a culture of opportunism.
  • "I think everyone these days is looking for a quick buck like the chick with the Roethlisberger thing, you know. Now this. Oh, we could go after Toyota, get a couple million dollars out of it." (01:33 Joe)
  • Suggests simple fixes (jamming brakes, turning off ignition) should have worked, criticizing the believability of Sykes’ narrative.

4. Discussion of Technical Realities and Earlier Fatal Incidents

• Host and Co-host clarify that resolving a stuck accelerator isn’t always simple and reference previous high-profile cases where similar incidents ended fatally.
  • “The police officer even said afterwards that there's a way that you hit the emergency brake and you got to do a couple of things at the exact same time to get the car to slow down enough to get the key out of the ignition.” (02:58 Bert)
  • Co-host recalls a tragic 911 call: "the Guy was calling 911 saying, My car won't slow down. The brakes aren't responding...he went into an intersection with his whole family...and they all died." (04:34 Co-host)

5. Law Enforcement Perspective

• Mark (Caller, Law Enforcement) uses his experience to cast further doubt:
  • "I've been in law enforcement 11 years and my detector is pretty well in tune…I'm just waiting for the charges on this guy to show up." (03:40 Mark)
  • Suggests any car can be shifted to neutral in emergencies and sees Sykes as driven by grievance over denied service, not victimhood:
    • "I think the guy, bottom line, went to Toyota. Toyota turned him away on the brake problem. He says, I fine, forget you. I'm gonna do what I got to do, put myself on tv, one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake. Please help me. I ain't buying it." (03:53 Mark)

6. Mechanic’s Input: The Reality of Modern Cars

• Steve (Caller, Mechanic) provides balanced technical insight:
  • Notes safety complications with modern vehicles:
    • "If you go to turn off the ignition on a car nowadays, you're going to lose power steering, you're going to lose power brakes...You literally lose the steering on the car. So that's not a safe option." (05:28 Steve)
  • Acknowledges in emergencies, panicking can prevent logical actions (like shifting to neutral).

7. Broader Implications: Trust, Lawsuits, and Social Climate

• Host Bert and co-hosts reflect on how both an increasingly “sue happy” society and a culture of widespread cynicism complicate the public response to such incidents.
  • "Because we've become such a sue happy society, we've also become a very cynical society. So it's very difficult to figure out what's real and what's not anymore, you know." (03:21 Bert)

8. Continuing Debate: Toyota’s Accountability

• Co-hosts clarify that brake and acceleration problems affect different Toyota models, reinforcing seriousness and complexity.
  • “The Prius was a brake problem, not an acceleration problem. The acceleration problems was another model...” (06:16 Co-host)
• The seriousness of Toyota incidents is acknowledged—real people died, and skepticism shouldn't overshadow genuine crises.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I think everyone these days is looking for a quick buck..."
  – Joe, Caller (01:33)

• "I've been in law enforcement 11 years and my detector is pretty well in tune. And I'm just waiting for the charges on this guy to show up."
  – Mark, Caller/Law Enforcement (03:40)

• “If you go to turn off the ignition on a car nowadays, you're going to lose power steering, you're going to lose power brakes... It's not like it used to be.”
  – Steve, Caller/Mechanic (05:28)

• “I think once I play the 911 call for you guys, it'll feel more authentic...because it sure sounded like he was not in a panic, but was very scared for his life.”
  – Host Bert (06:02)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:01 – Introduction of the San Diego Prius incident
• 01:15 – Discussion of recall and dealership turning Sykes away
• 01:33 – Caller Joe’s in-depth skepticism
• 02:58 – Host Bert explains technical aspects of stopping a runaway car
• 03:21 – Cultural commentary: cynicism and litigiousness
• 03:40 – Law enforcement caller Mark breaks down the case
• 04:34 – Co-host recounts fatal 911 Lexus incident
• 05:28 – Mechanic Steve discusses technical dangers in modern cars
• 06:02 – Host Bert offers to play the original 911 call for context

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Tone & Style

The conversation is sharp, candid, and occasionally irreverent—true to the Bert Show’s reputation for authenticity and humor but underpinned by genuine concern and critical thinking.

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Summary

In this energetic, multi-perspective episode, the Bert Show dissects a sensational runaway Prius story. Listeners and co-hosts weigh in from every angle: skepticism about opportunism, insider law-enforcement views, technical advice from a mechanic, and reminders that while some claims might strain credulity, real tragedies have occurred. The discussion wrestles with the challenge of sorting fact from fabrication in an age of litigation and media spectacle, leaving listeners with lingering questions about truth, responsibility, and the limits of automotive technology.

Transcript

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[Host Bert]

This guy that's cruising down in San Diego claims that his accelerator gets stuck and he's cruising at 90 miles an hour, man. He's on the phone with 911 and they're trying to talk him into somehow some way slowing this car down. A couple of people call up think this story is total BS though.

[Co-host or Commentator]

Yeah, cuz it's his. Now we know his name is 61 year old James Sykes. And yeah, he said that he actually was part of that recall of his Toyota Prius and that the dealership actually turned him away when he went. He said that he tried everything.

[Host Bert]

Like he tried reaching down the accelerator and pulling it back up and that didn't work. Hey Joe, good Morning. You're on Q100.

[Caller Joe]

Yeah, morning, Bert. Yeah, I'm calling total BS on this one. Just what you said there. He went to get it fixed and they turned him away. He probably got all, you know, they wouldn't service his car so he decided to make some news on it. You know, it's a Toyota Prius 18 wheeler. You know, your accelerator stuck, jam the brakes, turn the ignition off, the car will stop. You know, even if you're on a hunt, it just. I think everyone these days is looking for a quick buck like the chick with the Roethlisberger thing, you know. Now this. Oh, we could go after Toyota, get a couple million dollars out of it. Yeah, we'll speed down the highway and it got stuck and they have no way of proving it.

[Co-host or Commentator]

I don't know if you can put a sexual assault case and a default

[Caller Joe]

in the same that he's not guilty I think Ben's an idiot, personally. But you know, what I'm saying is people are targets these days, big time. I work for a big corporation. The vans I drive every day, we're a target every day because of the economy. I do agree that the culture is. I think this guy was looking for a quick buck from Toyota, figured, hey, you know, it's in the news. Who's not going to believe me at this point? You know, all the cars are so.

[Caller or Commentator]

But how do you get it? How do you get paid if nothing happens?

[Co-host or Commentator]

Well, and also, I mean, and not to comment necessarily on this one case, but if you could easily just jam the brake and turn the accelerator off, wouldn't the people have done that?

[Host Bert]

He couldn't. The police. The police officer even said afterwards that there's a way that you hit the emergency brake and you got to do a couple of things at the exact same time to get the car to slow down enough to get the key out of the ignition.

[Co-host or Commentator]

But what I'm saying is not his case. The previous Toyota, you know, all the people that died in these wrecks, that has brought this to light for Toyota, I mean, if it was as easy as slamming the brakes and turn the ignition off, I'm sure they tried that.

[Host Bert]

I think because we've become such a sue happy society, we've also become a very cynical society. So it's very difficult to figure out what's real and what's not anymore, you know. Hey, Mark, good morning.

[Caller Mark]

Good morning, guys. Love the show. Hey, I gotta tell you, I'm. I'm glad I'm not the only person waving a giant BS flag on this guy.

[Co-host or Commentator]

Okay?

[Caller Mark]

I've been in law enforcement 11 years and my detector is pretty well in tune. And I'm just waiting for the charges on this guy to show up.

[Co-host or Commentator]

What is different about him than the other people who've been Toyota victims, for lack of a better term.

[Caller Mark]

Well, I don't necessarily think that's. People who have been victims are wrong or making things up. This guy here is upset Toyota wouldn't fix his car. The previous recall was a brake problem, not an accelerator problem. And every car in the United States is designed with the transmission that you can bump it to neutral in case it stalls or intersects. You pop the neutral, restart it, put it back in drive and go. Every car is designed by that. That's a Nissan thing. So any car you've got, you can bump it in the neutral. Now, whether he doesn't do that or not is on him. But I think the guy, bottom line, went to Toyota. Toyota turned him away on the brake problem. He says, I fine, forget you. I'm gonna do what I got to do, put myself on tv, one foot on the gas, one foot on the brake. Please help me. I ain't buying it.

[Caller or Commentator]

But I think. I mean, I don't know if I believe this guy or don't believe this guy, but the statements that you just step on the brake or bump it into neutral, like, there have been. I think this whole Toyota thing came to light when there's. I mean, there's a pretty frightening 911 call from a family, and I think they're an Alexis, and they did what originally started. And the Guy was calling 911 saying, My car won't slow down. The brakes aren't responding, because if you floor it, even if you step on the brakes and the accelerator's still down, you'll eventually just wear those brakes down and keep moving. And this guy on the phone went into an intersection with his whole family in his car and got what is called one got killed, T boned, and they all died. And it's. He's not faking it. Like, I'm sure he tried to step on the brakes.

[Host Bert]

Hold on a sec. Because here's Steven. He's a mechanic. Hey, Steve.

[Caller Steve (Mechanic)]

Hey, how y' all today?

[Host Bert]

Okay, man.

[Caller Mark]

A lot of.

[Caller Steve (Mechanic)]

I don't know if I believe the guy or not. I'm not going to judge him. But I do know that a state trooper in that position, you know, he said they got over 100 miles an hour at one point. And he certainly isn't exaggerating. But if you go to turn off the ignition on a car nowadays, you're going to lose power steering, you're going to lose power brakes. And it's not like it used to be where you didn't have power steering. You literally lose the steering on the car. So that's not a safe option. And you might be able to put it in neutral, but that's really not a good idea either, because people panic in those situations.

[Caller Joe]

I got.

[Co-host or Commentator]

I would.

[Host Bert]

I think once I play this, I think once I play the 911 call for you guys, it'll feel more authentic to some of those people that don't believe it because it sure sounded like he was not in a panic, but was very scared for his life.

[Co-host or Commentator]

Now, I do agree with the trooper that, yeah, the Prius was a brake problem, not an acceleration problem. The acceleration problems was another model. So he is correct in that. But I do feel uncomfortable with it. I mean, there's a reason why this Toyota incident and Toyota itself is under investigation because these were serious incidences and these were not. Like I'm not gonna blame the driver because their car started going 100 miles an hour and they didn't shove it into neut. They tried. You know what I'm saying? Like I. Yeah, so people died in this. So. And I'm not going to blame them for their own deaths.

[Host Bert]

You know, I'm gonna play that 911 call for you guys here in a little bit and you can have a better. I think you'd be able to make a better judgment if the dude is acting or not because I don't think he's acting.

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