U.S. probe clears Toyota's electronic throttles

[83redmini]

Just saw this in the news today.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/20.../17197361.html

[robo5]

Thanks for posting it up.

[2006SiennaLE]

Oh no, now we'll have to find another manufacturer to bash and sue
Who's next in line?

[helenM]

I guess it's good news for Toyota and for their consumers too. Anyway, recently I was hoping to find the perfect min-SUV. The Toyota RAV4 was on the top of my list. I found it quickly. It was the vehicle I desired. It seats five people, which was all I needed. It offers four-wheel drive. That makes it easy for me to drive everywhere. The dealers were very pleasant in helping me get this vehicle. I found the dealership at http://cardealexpert.com/model/20667/2011-Toyota-RAV4/.

[fibber2]

It's kind of crazy that one branch of government says they can't find anything wrong at all, while NASA has documented a real failure mode on the pedal assembly removed from a vehicle.

http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/reference/tech_papers/2011-NASA-GSFC-whisker-failur- - - e-app-sensor.pdf

I don't expect many of you will want to get into the full analysis presented here, but trust me, as a classroom instructor at ISTFA (International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis) events, I can tell you that this is a very real electronics industry issue. It certainly doesn't explain the reported 'runaway' vehicles, but it does shed some new light on the many 'parking lot sudden lurch forward' type incidents.

[brian_bp]

It's kind of crazy that one branch of government says they can't find anything wrong at all, while NASA has documented a real failure mode on the pedal assembly removed from a vehicle.

http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/reference/tech_papers/2011-NASA-GSFC-whisker-failur- - - e-app-sensor.pdf

... It certainly doesn't explain the reported 'runaway' vehicles, but it does shed some new light on the many 'parking lot sudden lurch forward' type incidents.

That's an interesting report - thanks for the link.

I think it is important to note that this very specific type of failure is nothing at like the science-fiction scenario produced by the quack that made all the news about pedal problems, and - as fibber2 has said - has nothing to do with alleged runaway vehicles. From the report:

In all cases, releasing the accelerator pedal closes the throttle, and brakes
are fully operational

Drivers trying to escape responsibility for their incompetence have alleged some sort of electronic problem which causes full engine power, disables the brakes, locks the transmission in gear, and prevent the engine from being shut off... in other words, stops them from doing all of things that they failed to even try. That's the kind of electronic problem that doesn't exist.