West Hollywood, California (December 5, 2009) - Last Sunday, the Los Angeles Times published another article in its series investigating sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles. The article identifies the likely cause of sudden acceleration to be the throttles used by Toyota, not the floor mats crushed up against the accelerator pedal.
Todd “Evan” Bianco has written about cars and Los Angeles on his website acarisnotarefrigerator.com from his West Hollywood base for many years. |
My original article on Toyota Recall: Sudden Acceleration on November 2 suggested that “electronic gremlins” were more likely to be the cause of this problem and I pointed to the drive-by-wire/electronic throttles.
Some of the statistics the Times dug up are startling. Toyota first installed electronic throttles in the Toyota Camry and Lexus ES sedans starting in the 2002 model year. Sudden acceleration complaints jumped from 26 annually to 132; more than 5 times the previous rate.
In 2005, when Toyota switched to electronic throttles in the Tacoma pickup truck, sudden acceleration complaints jumped more than 20 times, on average, during the following three years.
Those are large percentage increases; but still a small number compared to the millions of Toyotas running around. Today, every new Toyota (including Scion and Lexus) uses an electronic throttle and most people can't tell the difference.
The units increase acceleration accuracy and fuel efficiency. And they are very reliable - except when they aren't.
It's nearly impossible to recreate an electronic glitch. Anyone who has used a computer knows that sometimes software just crashes and you have to reboot. There is no explanation and you can't recreate it.
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The same applies to the software, sensors and the electronic control units (ECUs) – miniature computers – in every modern vehicle.
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In my view, the most interesting and important potential cause of the sudden acceleration is found in a test conducted by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) on a Toyota throttle when researchers exposed it to a magnetic field. The throttle exhibited “unusual behavior” when the engine speed surged by 1,000 RPMs. Hum...
We live in an age where there are all types of electromagnetic radiation and countless numbers of electronic devices and high-voltage power lines around us every moment of every day – including when and wherever we drive.
We all know that area where your cell phone drops a call or static hits your radio. Satellite radio signals can be interrupted by a microwave oven. Anyone that has a Blackberry or other smartphone knows that the push email signals interfere with the speakers on your computer.
Perhaps the reason that sudden acceleration problems are higher in the Tacoma is because trucks are more often in industrial areas with higher amounts of background radiation and electromagnetic fields. Just a thought.
The companies who manufacture the throttles, referred to as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) suppliers, believe the systems are safe and reliable. Layers of shielding and multiple redundancies are built into the systems.
Three years ago, an unidentified Japanese supplier of electronic throttles for Toyota underwent tests ordered by the NHTSA and no problems were identified. But that doesn't mean an unidentified source of electromagnetic radiation couldn't affect the throttles.
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Toyota is responsible for the software that interfaces the ECUs with the hardware. And the one thing that Toyota didn't do is incorporate a safety feature that shuts off the throttle when both the brake and throttle are engaged. Bad Toyota, very bad.
The truth is that most cases of sudden acceleration are cases of human error. We are not perfect and sometimes the electronic signals from your brain don't translate properly to your feet. You think you are stomping on the brake, but you're not.
In the modern age, electronic systems can be corrupted just like your brain signals. Unlike your brain, however, engineers can rewrite software to compensate for corrupted signals in an electronic throttle.
Toyota recently announced that it will implement two fixes (aside from removing or anchoring floor mats): First it will cut off the bottom of the existing gas pedal and later install a newly-designed pedal. Second, it will add a “smart pedal” with software that cuts the engine power anytime both the accelerator and brake pedals are depressed at the same time.
In my previous article, I pointed to the software fix as the likely long-term solution to the problem. Toyota has now confirmed this.
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BMW first introduced an electronic throttle in 1988 and today the units are in common use by almost every manufacturer.
The LA Times article notes that the safety feature that cuts engine power if both pedals are depressed has already been adopted by manufacturers including Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi , BMW, Nissan and Chrysler. I believe Mercedes should also be on that list.
Automotive industry safety standards are being developed by the International Organization for Standardization, a nonprofit consortium of industry members, to protect vehicle electronic systems.
In most cases, the IOS standards are higher than governmental regulatory standards. New standards were recently issued for vehicle electronic systems.
The fact that Toyota didn't include this feature as part of its adoption of electronic throttles is a deep embarrassment to Toyota and it's going to cost Toyota dearly both in terms of dollars and reputation.
Article updated Saturday, November 5
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For many years, Todd “Evan” Bianco has written about cars and Los Angeles on his website acarisnotarefrigerator.com from his West Hollywood base.
Mr. Bianco’s focuses on the car biz and cars as they exist with us here in WeHo and Los Angeles, not in Detroit. He covers subjects as diverse as hybrid hype, the influence of the Asians in So Cal, trends, etc.
Mr. Bianco had a weekly radio show on Sirius Out-Q for a year, and returned to the air with The John McMullen Show on KNEWS AM 870 * 1140 * 1250 knewsradio.com on March 3, 2008.
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