Government investigators have ruled out electronic problems as the causes of unintended acceleration in millions of Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
The U.S. Department of Transportation released the findings of a 10-month study Tuesday to try to determine if there were any electronics-related scenarios with Toyota’s eight million recalled vehicles other than the two reasons the automaker has maintained all along — “sticking” accelerator pedals and the interference of floor mats with accelerator pedals.
The study was undertaken at the request of members of Congress in February 2010, after NHTSA and DOT officials as well as Toyota representatives testified in the wake of a massive recall and news reports of out-of-control vehicles which caused fatal crashes.
The DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration enlisted NASA engineers to review Toyota’s electronic circuitry, software code, and to use electromagnetic radiation — anything that could cause electronic-based problems.
“NASA found no evidence that a malfunction in electronics caused large unintended accelerations,” said Michael Kirsch, Principal Engineer at the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), in a press release posted online by NHTSA.
Toyota paid $48.8 million in civil penalties in response to NHTSA’s claims that Toyota did not notify the agency soon enough about problems with its vehicles.
Toyota greeted the news as a confirmation of the position it has taken for more than a year.
“Toyota welcomes the findings of NASA and NHTSA regarding our Electronic Throttle Control System with intelligence (ETCS-i) and we appreciate the thoroughness of their review,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota’s Chief Quality Officer for North American, in a statement posted on Toyota’s web site. “We believe this rigorous scientific analysis by some of America’s foremost engineers should further reinforce confidence in the safety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. We hope this important study will help put to rest unsupported speculation about Toyota’s ETCS-i, which is well-designed and well-tested to ensure that a real world, un-commanded acceleration of the vehicle cannot occur.”
The announcement Tuesday doesn’t close the book from the government’s perspective, however. NHTSA is conducting an industry-wide review of unintended acceleration and electronic vehicle controls. It is also considering proposing new requirements for brake override systems and event data recorders in all passenger vehicles as well as researching the placement and design of accelerator and brake pedals to avoid potential driver “misapplication,” that is to stay, stepping on the wrong pedal.
Read more:
NY Times: Electronic Flaws Did Not Cause Problems (2/8/11)
Washington Post: U.S. report finds no electronic flaws in Toyotas that would cause acceleration (2/9/11)
USA Today: Safe to drive: No flaws found in Toyota electronics (2/8/11)
