LexBob2

Thank you.

In the meantime, my all--weathers (only) are securely anchored to the floor and not going anywhere.

spwolf

some latest models have safety installed where it cuts off power when brakes and gas are pressed at the same time. It is actually feature of DBW ;-).

as to those complaints, 6 NTHSA investigations and all of them ended up with driver error explanation.

Something like DBW failure would be easy to replicate actually and it would definetly not happen on only 2000 cars (out of tens of millions sold).

I8ABMR

I wasnt aware they were cleared. whats the story on that??

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

uh, he couldn't just push the shift lever forward a half inch so it goes into neutral?

there was no issue beyond driver confusion - typically drivers who did not normally drive the audis and because the pedals were a bit closer together than most american cars at the time, they would get confused and stomp the gas instead of the brakes, but later swear up and down they were on the brakes.

there were tragic driver mistakes but no mechanical problem by audi or in this recent case, lexus.

despite salivating attorneys, hopefully lexus will not be harmed as much as audi was, mostly by the piece on 60 minutes, one of the worst pieces of journalism of all time.

FKL

Yes, when the brake switch is activated (brake pushed) when the throttle is also down, the ECM initially cuts power to the throttle and if you continue to do so, will ultimately cut the throttle altogether. You can brake torque the car from a stop as VW has programmed the car to allow throttle IF the brake was applied first. But from Gas to brake, the system activates. I know all VWs since 2001 have done this (when DBW was being standardized across the range). All Audi, BMW, Jaguars, and MBs with DBW as well. A bit unbelievable that Toyota's DBW system don't have this as I thought it was standard practice with all DBW systems...It's only a software protocol, as the brake pedal tells the ECM to cut throttle as soon as it is pushed when the cruise control is on...

IS350jet

All car manufacturers have "unintended acceleration" issues, not just Toyota. See, the problem is not with the car or the DBW ecu. In over 99% of all claims, from owners of all manufacturers, the results were exactly the same. "NO PROBLEM FOUND with said vehicle". Drivers are at fault in nearly ALL cases involving run-a-way vehicles. In a panic, the driver may think he's got all his force on the brake, when in fact, it's on the throttle. Rather than fess up to an "at fault" accident, they blame the car. "Oh.. it wasn't my fault, the car accelerated suddenly and at the exact same time, the brakes failed" Yea, right!! It's so easy to blame the car and not yourself but guess what? Upon further investigation of the car, it's the same issue over and over again. "NO PROBLEM FOUND with said vehicle"

The G Man

So you are saying that pretty much all German cars have this safety feature but all Japanese cars have overlook it. That safety feature would have the saves the lives of those in that trooper's Lexus.

IS350jet

It is a valuable safety feature, to be sure. The problem, though, is cars with DBW systems aren't actually having issues with unintended acceleration. There are "driver" issues, not electronic/mechanical malfunctions. I could still see this safety feature working in extremely rare situations, though.

The G Man

No one knows that for sure, its the driver's word vs a multi-billion dollar cooperation's. Unless the driver have definitely proof, the cooperate high price lawyers will always win . The problem is that computer or electronic glitches often are hard to trace. Many times, the problem would surface and disappear after the engine is shut off. To say that computers never fails is wishful thinking. Even NASA's computers which have back ups to their back ups have fail once or twice.

LexFather

They were cleared. This shouldnt even be on page 2.

IntegresS

iTrader: (2)

Shouldn't be, but the news/media is going crazy with these allegations of unintended acceleration.

Thanks Nightline ABC news.

The G Man

So was O J Simpson the 1st time

Gojirra99

Not a good analogy at all, the second time was a civil suit which is based on "preponderance of evidence", a much less strict burden of proof than "beyond a reasonable doubt" the first time(criminal case).

LexFather

Yeah, that analogy was way off.

The G Man

Here is a letter from a safety group in response to Toyota's letter to its customers regarding its documented sudden acceleration problem:

"Some of this is actually true. The agency has not found a vehicle-based defect that is causing unwanted acceleration. It doesn’t mean there isn’t one – it just means that the agency hasn’t found it. By any standard, the agency investigations are far from the thorough and can be accurately described as cursory by anyone with a passing understanding of defect investigation.

***

In other words NHTSA:

Talked to owners who complained;

Drove the petitioners vehicle and didn’t experience SUA;

Asked Toyota what, if any, problems existed (none of course);

Found that the throttle control system may have had a problem but couldn’t find a cause;

Had limited information to work with;

Faced with limited resources and other more easily solvable safety issues, dropped any further investigation.

The most thorough of the government investigations appears to be the agency’s Vehicle Research & Test Center analysis of a 2007 Lexus ES350. This investigation, cited by Toyota above as evidence of the lack of a defect, suggests otherwise. Here’s what else the report stated:

“To comprehend the statistical significance of the probability for this event to occur, a survey was sent to a sample size of 1986 registered owners of a 2007 Lexus ES-350 requesting information regarding episodes of unintended acceleration. NHTSA received 600 responses for an overall response rate of 30.2%. Fifty-nine owners stated they experienced unintended acceleration. Thirty-five of those responding also reported that their vehicles were equipped with rubber Lexus all-weather floor mats and several commented that the incident occurred when the accelerator had become trapped in a groove in the floor mat. Interviews with owners revealed that many had unsecured rubber floor mats in place at the time of the unintended acceleration event, which included in some cases unsecured rubber floor mats placed over existing Lexus carpeted mats.”

The report is silent on several key issues, including owners who did not comment that the accelerator pedal was trapped in the groove of an all weather floor mat. And what of the remaining 24 who didn’t have all weather floor mats? "

http://product-liability.lawyers.com...on-Defect.html

The big question is what cause the sudden accelartion of the 40% of owners who did not have the all weather mats.