The Wall Street Journal reports that accidents blamed on sudden acceleration by Toyota vehicles are most likely cases of driver error, as throttles were wide open and the brakes weren’t engaged at the time of the crash, according to people familiar with the data analysis conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) declined to comment on the findings, which haven’t been officially released yet, but early results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyota/Lexus vehicles surged out of control were flooring the accelerator by mistake, when they actually intended to jam on the brakes.
The data recorders analyzed were selected by the NHTSA based on complaints drivers had filed with the US government. The embattled carmaker hasn’t been involved in interpreting the data so these results are completely independent, produced from a third party.
These initial findings are consistent with a 1989 study that blamed similar driver mistakes for a rash of sudden-acceleration reports involving Audi 5000 sedans. Toyota has maintained that sudden acceleration cases involving its vehicles were not caused by electronic glitches in computer-controlled throttle systems, as alleged by some safety advocates and lawyers of the drivers involved. To date, over 100 people have sued the carmaker over crashes they say were the result of faulty electronics.
This development may be sweet justice for Toyota, but it does not clear the company from two other known issues blamed for sudden acceleration it its cars: sticky accelerator pedals that don’t return to idle and floor mats that can trap gas pedals to the floor. The latter was verified by NHTSA as the cause of one fatal crash on August 28 that killed a California highway patrolman and three passengers in a Lexus.
Toyota has since recalled more than eight million cars globally to fix these two issues.
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That’s the thing about driving auto. And that’s probably why we have so many cars flying off parking lots here.
Agree with that. At least engine will stop if clutch engagement timing is improper. Preventing vehicle from moving.
That car park stunts I think are because using hand phone while driving/parking.
;-)
Uh, how can anyone mistake the throttle with brakes? The feel of the pedals, not to mention the width is so different! Maybe its time for auto drivers to learn how to left foot brake…(or right foot brake for LHD cars)
When panic, cannot feel anything already. Everything tekan. :(
I think, for auto, only the right foot should be used — left or right hand drive, all the same. So that only one pedal is depressed at any one time.
Left foot is only for clutch pedal in a manual car.
Only rally/race drivers use fancy footworks. ;)
How stupid can American be. Cant they just push the auto gear to N for Neutral or tap the breaks i bet we Malaysian drivers can handle 10times better in their situation.
dont judge before knowing the real situation… now the problem has been revealed… toyota’s name is clean…. most accidents happened are mainly due to human recklessness & ppl took things for granted… when shit happens, people start to blame this car lousy that car lousy… why in the previous decades, there’s not much accidents? cars on the road cant go that fast, then people are more cautious at their driving… Nowadays, people just speed up as they like… not knowing the handling of the vehicle n speed limit… no matter how many safety features your vehicle has, its useless when u’re going too fast, over the speed limit… your car tend to loose control even the slightest turn of the steering wheel. normal cars are meant for normal driving. Racing cars are meant for racing… so… know the right situation…
pedals got stucked on the floor mat usually due to excessive rubber mat added under the pedals… those rubber mats are thick n heavy, those are the cause of stucked pedals… we’ve checked n analyse the problem that customers have always complain about…
sometimes manual are safer…
This makes for an interesting read.
http://www.theautoindustrieblog.com/2010/07/university-professor-takes-on-toyota.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FODPl+%28AutoIndustrie%29
David W. Gilbert, PhD is a professor of automotive technology in Southern Illinois University Carbondale
…. Based on my working knowledge of electronic throttle controls, I did not expect to the system to be easily fooled without detecting a circuit fault and setting a diagnostic trouble code. It was late one evening when I made a startling discovery; electrical circuit faults could be introduced into the electronic throttle control system without setting a diagnostic trouble code.
… Without a diagnostic trouble code set, the vehicle computer will not logically enter
into a fail?safe mode of operation.
They are pretty stupid. And of course, they will take whatever opportunity they can get to kill off Toyota, to ensure that GM and Chrysler cars continue to sell.
No suprise here… I’ve heard of recalls involving millions of Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee due to human error as well. Actually it’s more of an ergonomic issue since people are not used to pedal placement of the SUV which are different than cars. You thought you hit the brake but the car keep accelerating. Not sure about this Toyota though. Maybe someone can do a study on the location of the pedals with reference to midpoint of the driver’s body/seat?
If you look at the accelerator paddle of BMW or Merc, they are totally different from the picture shown above. I have experience before stepping on the brakes and also the accelerator paddle simultaneously when I was wearing large factory safety boots.
Whereas, if you are driving a BMW or Merc which has a different design (you will know if you are driving one) the chances of stepping on both will be remote. Therefore, drivers are not blame rather this is a design fault and only Toyota has got themself to blame.
i drive a manual kancil with safety shoe on, does that mean i m a pro?
Not sure what you’re talking about, I drive zillions of different makes and never once noticed any difference nor step on the wrong pedal.
Those who can’t tell the gas from the brake pedal should not be allowed to drive.
legally now toyota can sue so many ppl in the US…..go figure !
This is just a complot to kill toyota in the US. The they cannot accept the fact that a Japanese Company has took over the lead from GM. This politics is totally unacceptable. I drive a toyota and it is a very reliable car. They have been making cars more than 50 years and they can’t be wrong in designing a pedal ? come on….US is scared of the Japanese?
you hit the nail right on its head. the US government is the major share holder of GM, to stop Toyota from getting uppity, they play up the the kind of issue that EVERY car manufacturers has. now that the damage is done to toyota, they now come out with this? why isn’t this finding publicised earlier?
aiyaaa….toyota has paid US to blame others liao lah
By your logic, GM has paid for Toyota to be blame other liao lah
Agree with some. So logically when you miss brake for gas pedal, its the design issue. Straight forward.
Same goes to for eg. many head lamps design trend now which got the indicator lamp at the inside. Camry, Myvi, Viva, Accord, City to name a few.
Eg. at night, when you have the left side head lamp totally goes of, and the car is stopping at the middle of the road to turn right with the indicator lamp blinking… and you’re coming the other way, what you’ll see is someting akin motorcycle at the middle of the road try to turn left after overtaking. So your driving instinct was totally wrong already that time, because you’re actually expecting the vehicle you are viewing try to turn left!!!! (not right)
So this kind of simply wrong logic has going on for some time and the automotive community or their gorvning body just do nothing. Why????
Just another bit…
Maybe the gorvning body just too busy setting higher standard for crash and emission so that cars coming fr. inferior country cannot enter their market. The fact is that this very basic active safety is being blindly ignored!
I own a MYVI,it happen to me.
IT accelarate by it self,I had to shift to neutral and off the engine.
Scary Experience.
care to explain more?
becoz u put it on D rig??
conclusion..americans can’t drive.
Logically design are very important and it all comes down to cost. That is why certain car models are for Europe/America and some are for Asia.
In Europe whereby laws are stringent, these Japanese will design accordingly with ESP, EBD, DSC and 6/7/8 airbags. Most cars are rated especially with NCAP ratings. Whereas, in Asia whereby resale value and low maintenance are priority Japs will tend to launch cars with watered down specs. It makes sense because less gadgets, less maintenance costs. But it comes at a price ie. safety.
not really…count our airbags….count ur airbags in toyota J variant,sometime dey jus cut everythings jus bcos to offer the lowest price of the market.dats y i dun lyk toyota
In plain simple fact…Americans cant drive for shits!
Regardless whether Toyota is 100% blameless or still partly to be blamed, you gotta admit their quality standards now aren’t as high as during the SEG period.
Agreed.
Have anyone been in the new Vios?
I own one and I’m envious of my colleagues driving Proton Persona. The ride quality is much better…..althought that’s the only thing good about the Persona.
My Vios feels like a Perodua Viva!
American driver just like their muscle car… just good at the straight line… not good in control… lol
u pay rm1 to buy 1 bread, u pay rm2 to buy 2 breads….u pay rm 76k wit 1 airbag, u pay rm 81k wit 2 airbags….tat common sense dude.