Posted on 02/23/2010 6:39:27 AM PST by mwilli20
Auto Professor (Dave Gilbert of Southern Illinois University) Says Defect in Toyota's 'Fail Safe' System for Acceleration Creates Dangerous Condition
Video demonstration at site
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
It’s the damn sunspots I tell ya...
Damn...Steve Wozniak (Apple inventor)was RIGHT 6 weeks ago! She said it had to be a software bug and that pedal fixes would mean nothing. GO WOZ!
Correction...Woz is a HE, not a She (sorry Woz)
This has been an ongoing problem, documented as far back as 1999, and investigated by the Feds in 2004.
I posted to a thread all the links to those stories, but I was summarily beaten about the head and body by the “my Toyota has 6 million miles on it...” crowd.
Toyota does make a good car, I like Toyotas. They should have acknowledged this and been up front about a long time ago. It would be an non issue right now.
Toyota had runaway sales, which was too much to bear on the new owners and managers of GM/Chrysler. So, these guys found a way to stop the runaway toyota [sales].
How about the safest route possible. STOP interfacing the gas pedal through the computer. Take out the mechanism that allows the carburetor mixture to be controlled by the computer. But oh that might add some pollution to the air, better to kill people than pollute.
my problem is that this was demonstrated by abc, the same joint who blew up a chevy pickup to show how it reacted to a side impact, when it didn’t burst into flames on its own.
that said, I clearly recall how it was a very similar situation that caused Audi to pull out of the USA for a decade or so. Audi is back now, but NOT the A-5000. Of course, I still don’t trust them...
Good engineering practice, well known for many years, include an evaluation of what happens when ANY circuit is shorted to ground. When the circuit involves a critical safety function, there may also be redundant facilities that detect the anomaly, and demand correction (restoration of redundancy) before continuing to operate.
The exact same design that Audi was pilloried for, was present in VW (same maker). While Audi was being reported to have such and so rate of incident, the exact same design in a VW was not reported to have trouble.
The moral? The public's perception of design flaw is driven by media reports, and not by true facts.
Didn’t take a Wozniak to figure this one out. Anyone who has an education in hardware could tell you the plate fix was a band aid on the real problem.
Without knowing the details, I’m guessing the plate is to keep the pedal from going to a range that confuses the software.
I would have bet on the software bug being the issue a long time ago.
A 1 insead of a 0 problem again.
According to this morning’s Automotive News, Toyota is claiming electronics is not the cause:
WASHINGTON — Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President James Lentz plans to stick to his guns and tell skeptical lawmakers today that the company’s unwanted acceleration problems do not stem from electronic defects, a copy of his testimony shows.
Lentz’s reiteration of Toyota’s longstanding position suggests that top company executives were unmoved by sharp criticism of that stance yesterday by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman.
“We are confident that no problems exist with the electronic throttle control system in our vehicles,” Lentz says in 2½ pages of written testimony prepared for delivery to the House panel. “We have designed our electronic throttle control system with multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure.”
His testimony adds that the company’s “extensive testing of this system” has “never found a malfunction that caused unintended acceleration.
An advanced copy of Lentz’s testimony was provided by Toyota.
Waxman, D-Calif., wrote a letter to Lentz yesterday saying a preliminary review of Toyota documents suggested that the company “consistently dismissed the possibility” of electronic failures as a cause of unintended acceleration.
I’d just like to note that if this is the problem, and it may well be, that we got here because of government-imposed CAFE and emission standards. Those are the reasons that software is even in the mix here.
>>my problem is that this was demonstrated by abc, the same joint who blew up a chevy pickup to show how it reacted to a side impact,
Uh, don’t look now, but that was NBC.
http://wiki.gmnext.com/wiki/index.php/GM_vs._NBC,_a_New_Wave_of_Employee_Pride
oops! my bad;-)
Please. We’d have digital computer engine controls even without those laws, as it is simply a superior way of controlling a car engine than analog electromechanical controls.
My 2008 Jeep is DBW and it’s totally safe. If the throttle and brake are both pressed, it gives the brakes priority and sets the throttle to idle.
I have verified that the over ride system works.
It has redundant circuits, and a limp mode with an indicator light if there are any faults.
It’s smart enough to allow brake torquing and off roading manuevers as well.
When you shift into 4low, it recalibrates itself to be less senstive and give you better throttle control for off-roading.
Chrysler picked up this DBW system from Mercedes during the merger.
It’s excellent.
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