NASA engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center and the the NASA Engineering and Safety Center examined the Toyota automobile models implicated in episoides of sudden unintended acceleration. So did engineers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Verdict: no design flaws in the Toyota electronic throttle control. There were no electronic causes of the acceleration episodes.
More:
“Toyota recall investigation: NASA says electronics are not to blame,” Clara Moskowitz, Christian Science Monitor
“U.S. Department of Transportation Releases Results from NHTSA-NASA Study of Unintended Acceleration in Toyota Vehicles” (U.S. DOT press release)
“Technical Assessment of Toyota Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) Systems,” NHTSA Executive Summary
“Technical Support to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the Reported Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Unitended Acceleration (UA) Investigation,” NASA Engineering and Safety Center Technical Assessment Report — Executive Summary
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Tags: acceleration, auto safety, automobiles, cars, electronic throttle control, ETC, NASA, NESC, NHTSA, safety, space, SUA, sudden unintended acceleration, throttle, Toyota, unintended acceleration
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February 9, 2011 at 2:47 am
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February 9, 2011 at 3:28 am
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February 12, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Anyone who has not experienced sudden unintended acceleration is not qualified to render a valid judgment on this tecnologically complicated conundrum. My 2007 Toyota 4Runner (not a recall vehicle) suddenly lurched into an intersection with oncoming cars with my foot firmly on the brake–period. I was very lucky there was no collision and I instantly pushed the gear shift forward, it then actually moved through neutral into reverse and the wheels spun backwards–but I was already in the intersection. No problem showed up in the onboard computer. Continuing to try to identify the problem by looking at onboard computers expecting to find the problem is insanity as NASA proved. Uncontrolled cars are lethal weapons despite the financial liability of the car maker. Denial of the problem and blame of drivers (documented experiences are numerous) or of carpet or sticky pedals is unethical and many lives continue to be endangered by this “proven nonproblem.”
February 12, 2011 at 4:18 pm
accelerated wrote:
Anyone who has not experienced sudden unintended acceleration is not qualified to render a valid judgment
So doctors who have not had cancer are not qualified to diagnose it? Hardly. These were qualified and experienced engineers specializing in this type of investigation.
No problem showed up in the onboard computer or … carpet or sticky pedals
So where do you postulate the problem to be?
documented experiences are numerous
First-person recollections? Anecdotes are not “evidence.”
February 24, 2011 at 2:36 pm
UPDATE:
“Toyota Motor Corp. recalled 2.17 million vehicles in the United States on Thursday to address accelerator pedals that could become entrapped in floor mats or jammed in driver’s side carpeting, prompting federal regulators to close its investigation into the embattled automaker.”
— “Toyota recalls 2.17 million vehicles in US,” Ken Thomas, AP via Washington Post.
June 2, 2012 at 11:28 pm
Toyota Wallpaper…
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