All Entries Tagged With: "unintended acceleration"

NHTSA and NASA Say Toyota Electronic Throttles Are Just Fine

Today, NHTSA announced that Toyota’s electronic throttles aren’t responsible for any instance of unintended acceleration – at least not any instance that NHTSA could study. According to Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood:

“The jury is back. The verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas. Period…Our conclusion — that Toyota’s problems were mechanical, not electrical — comes after one of the most exhaustive, thorough and intensive research efforts ever undertaken.” [From Detroit News]

Let me say that one more time: after one of the most exhaustive, thorough, and intensive research efforts ever undertaken, NHTSA couldn’t find one flipping thing wrong with Toyota’s electronic systems.

This news comes as no surprise – in July 2010, early results from the NHTSA investigation were leaked to the New York Times. These early results showed that, in the vast majority of cases, unintended acceleration was caused by “pedal misapplication” (that’s safety-nerd-speak for “foot on the wrong pedal.”

NHTSA’s team of investigators, working with experts from NASA, couldn’t find one single shred of evidence to support accusations of electronic throttle problems.

Not one.

It turns out that the early analysis offered – over-sized floor mats, improperly placed floor mats, the rare “sticking pedal”, and driver confusion – were indeed the cause of all of these complaints. The questions are, now that this crisis is over:

1. What will Toyota do to put this information in front of the public?
2. How many people who argued that Toyota was at fault – or at the very least got caught up in all this mindless hysteria – will admit they were wrong?
3. How many people will ignore this information because it suits their financial purpose?

Sean Kane, a supposed “auto safety” consultant, continues to say that Toyota’s electronics are at fault (link). This is the same Sean Kane who gets his checks from product liability lawyers suing Toyota for billions…but why is anyone listening to him now that he’s clearly been proven wrong?

Toyota Motions to Dismiss Electronic Throttle Lawsuits

Citing that no defects have ever been found in their electronic throttle systems, Toyota has asked the judge overseeing a nationwide lawsuit to dismiss the case (link). We discussed this lawsuit back in March, citing experts who predicted Toyota would have to pay as much as $10 billion in total damages if they lost this case.

According to Toyota:

NHTSA Blocking Release of Study Says Former Official

Last week, The Wall Street Journal interviewed recently retired National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) official George Person who alleges that:

1. NHTSA’s investigation of so-called “runaway” Toyotas is complete
2. After studying 40 alleged instances of sudden, unintended acceleration, NHTSA determined 23 of these reports were plausible
3. After reading the engine data recorder in each of these 23 vehicles, EVERY recorder showed that the vehicle’s throttle was wide open at the time of the crash

If this former head of NHTSA’s recall division is correct, NHTSA’s study is done…and it has found that Toyota has no electronic throttle problems.

Who’s Lying – An Anonymous NHTSA Employee or The WSJ?

Last week, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the early results of the NHTSA investigation into “runaway” Toyotas found that the problem was driver error. This wasn’t shocking information – we’ve been saying that driver error is the cause of these incidents for months.

However, this story has taken an interesting turn. An anonymous source at the Department of Transportation (the branch of the government that oversees NHSTA) told Just-Auto.com last week that the story in the WSJ was planted by Toyota.

Mike Ramsey, the reporter at the WSJ, has denied this allegation and said that he viewed NHTSA data when making his report. Toyota has denied these allegations as well.

The facts are that either:

1. An anonymous NHTSA employee incorrectly claimed that Toyota planted a story, or
2. A reporter at The Wall Street Journal did someone at Toyota a favor and ran a story that was completely false

The question is, who’s lying?

NHTSA Study Shows Toyota Throttles Are Just Fine

As we have been saying for the better part of a year, so-called “runaway Toyotas” with electronic throttles are actually driver error. From the Wall Street Journal:

The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in accidents blamed on sudden acceleration and found that the throttles were wide open and the brakes weren’t engaged at the time of the crash, people familiar with the findings said.

The early results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyotas and Lexuses surged out of control were mistakenly flooring the accelerator when they intended to jam on the brakes.

Wow! No kidding?! If only we had all listened to noted safety expert Richard Schmidt back in November 2009, who said that

…the problem almost always lies with drivers who step on the wrong pedal. “When the driver says they have their foot on the brake, they are just plain wrong,” Schmidt said. “The human motor system is not perfect, and it doesn’t always do what it is told.”

It turns out that Toyota’s electronic throttles are just &$%^&# fine, thank you.