Toyota to upgrade event data recorders

[FarCenter]

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it plans to upgrade its event data recorders so they record information not only related to crashes, but also to sudden acceleration and have them installed in its new vehicles.

The installation of the upgraded data recorders is aimed at completing arrangements for a structure to pursue its investigation into the cause of the sudden unintended acceleration of its vehicles, which has sparked recalls in the United States and other markets, and dispelling drivers' concerns about the safety of its vehicles and regain their trust as soon as possible.

The upgraded data recorders will be installed in new vehicles to be sold in Japan, the United States and Europe.

The device is installed in the vehicles onboard computer to control the deployment of such devices as air bags and to record information about what the vehicle was doing for five seconds before, during and for two seconds after the crash.

It records such data as vehicle speed, engine revolutions per minute and the degree to which the accelerator pedal was depressed. With the planned improvement, which is to be made by modifying the software, it will also record such data as changes in speed at the time of an excessive degree of sudden acceleration.

With these data, the automaker will be able to confirm whether a sudden unintended acceleration was a result of the application of accelerators or due to a malfunction of the car's electronic system.

Toyota is also studying the possibility of adopting a method whereby the data recorded would be transmitted to a remote location via communications system installed in vehicles and quickly analyzed so the cause of the crashes or similar developments could be investigated quickly.

For instance, following a sudden unintended acceleration, a driver could phone a call center that would check the data transmitted from the vehicle and inform the driver of the cause of the anomaly.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T100309006712.htm