NYT: Did U.S. Miss an Early Warning on Toyota Acceleration? (2003)

[Omaha Steve]

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/did-u-s-miss-an-early-warning-on-toyota-acceleration/

April 20, 2010, 4:11 pm
Did U.S. Miss an Early Warning on Toyota Acceleration?
By CHRISTOPHER JENSEN

Late in 2003, an investigator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that the newly adopted drive-by-wire gas pedals of Toyota Camrys might be a cause of unintended acceleration.

Steve Chan, the safety agency investigator, was looking into sudden-acceleration complaints about Camrys from the 2002-3 model years. The inquiry was prompted by what he saw as an increase in sudden acceleration complaints in 2003.

He looked at several possibilities. A driver with a big foot might be pushing on the brake and gas pedals at the same time, he wrote, although the pedals were an adequate distance — three inches — apart.

Another possibility was that the engine control module had a software problem, Mr. Chan said, noting that Toyota had sent a technical service bulletin to dealers telling them it might be necessary to reprogram the computer on some vehicles.

“Last but not least,” Mr. Chan wrote, was the drive-by-wire throttle system, which replaced the traditional cables with electronics in the 2002 model.

“Being a new feature, there is a reasonable probability that the drive-by-wire throttle system may have a defect that could result in an U.A.,” he wrote, referring to unintended acceleration.

FULL story at link.