Page 120 - Toyota Under Fire

THE RECALL CRISIS

In a July 2009 informational briefing for the Academy of
Sciences and NASA teams that the NHTSA engaged to conduct
the complete investigation of vehicle electronics that was released
in February 2011, the agency reported that in the preceding 25
years it had conducted 109 defect investigations related to unin-
tended acceleration, leading to 34 recalls, while manufacturers
had independently issued another 174 recalls related to unin-
tended acceleration. In each case, a specific replicable physical
defect could be found. There were no cases of problems caused
by EMI or software. In all of these investigations and recalls, the
briefing states, “No defect conditions have been identified that
resulted in a sudden wide-open throttle and simultaneous loss of
brake effectiveness.”* NASA’s later testing confirmed this find-
ing, noting that in all Toyota test vehicles, “braking systems were
capable of overcoming all levels of acceleration, including wide
open throttle” and would slow the car.†
One has to question any story that alleges that the brakes
couldn’t slow an accelerating vehicle. Edward Niedermeyer
thinks there is a much likelier explanation for such reports than
simultaneous multiple system failure: “As far as I’m concerned,
it’s proof positive that the driver was pressing the gas, not the
brakes.” Many other drivers reporting unintended acceleration
also claimed that they had shifted into neutral or reverse and/or

* NHTSA Informational Briefing, “Study of Electronic Vehicle Controls and
Unintended Acceleration,” June 30, 2010.
† Brakes will always slow a vehicle no matter what position the throttle is in and
will almost always be able to bring the vehicle to a stop in a reasonable distance.
The only exception is in the case of a wide-open throttle, NASA noted, as in
pedal entrapment, if the driver repeatedly pumps the brakes rather than apply-
ing steady pressure. In that case, the brake vacuum assist system can fail, limit-
ing the stopping ability. “Technical Assessment of Toyota Electronic Throttle
Control Systems,” February 2011 report; http://www.nhtsa.gov/UA.

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