Toyota Sudden Acceleration Fix: Brake Override

Toyota Sudden Acceleration: Brake Override by San Antonio, Texas Sudden Acceleration Lawyer Justin A. Hill

It started with a floor mat fix.  Then, Toyota began bolting rods onto the gas pedals of their recalled vehicles in an attempt to fix the deadly sudden acceleration defect.  In late February, Toyota carved out a portion of the recalled vehicles that would be equipped by brake override systems.  The New York Times Wheels Blog reports:

When Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a Congressional committee Tuesday, “We are looking at the possibility of recommending the brake override system in all newly manufactured automobiles,” he was giving weight to a technical solution to sudden acceleration that is on some cars, but by no means all of them.  “We think it is a good safety device,” Mr. LaHood said, though he stopped short of saying that it would be mandated. His comment was about recommending the safety device, but many news stories interpreted that as possible regulation. “I was playing ‘whack a mole’ with that because the idea that it would be required had already gotten out in the ether,” said a Transportation Department’s spokeswoman, Olivia Alair. “’Recommend’ is correct.”  Override systems, long favored by German manufacturers like BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, and also used by Chrysler and Nissan, take over when the throttle is racing and the brake pedal is pushed hard, returning the engine to idle. Since most people instinctively brake when their cars go out of control, brake override systems could largely eliminate throttle problems on new vehicles.  On Feb. 22, Toyota said it would install brake override systems on the 2005-10 Tacoma, 2009-10 Venza and 2008-10 Sequoia “to provide an additional measure of confidence.” By the end of 2010, the company said, overrides would be incorporated into the future production of most models in the United States.  Toyota had earlier announced that the 2007-10 Camry, 2005-10 Avalon and three Lexus models would be so equipped. In a November press release, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said, “N.H.T.S.A. is particularly pleased that Toyota is taking this additional step.”  For some carmakers, brake override systems are part of the architecture. BMW was the first carmaker to use an electronic throttle — on the 750 model in 1988 — and it has had them on every car since 2001. Brake override systems have accompanied the company’s electronic throttles from the beginning, and the latest version of the technology was introduced in 2005. The BMW system has no hardware component — it’s all software“heel-and-toe” driving. “We didn’t want it activated if you just touch the brake,” Mr. Plucinsky said. “So all those factors were worked into the programming.”  Despite being a supporter and installer of brake override systems, BMW is wary of regulations requiring them. “Regulations tend to be restrictive on how the engineering can be done,” Mr. Plucinsky said.  David Champion, director of automobile testing at Consumer Reports, agreed that mandating specific technology might not be a good idea. “A regulation could say that, in the event of a stuck throttle, the car has to be brought to a halt in a reasonable distance,” he said. “It would be mandating that the car has to perform in a certain way, not setting a specification.”  Mr. Champion said he has tested brake override systems in the Mercedes E-Class, the Volkswagen Jetta, Audi A4 and the Dodge Ram 1500, and all performed well. “I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “It works, and it’s effective.” He cautioned, however, that brake override systems are of no use in cases of drivers confusing the brake and gas pedals. — but despite that a company spokesman, Thomas Plucinsky, estimates the cost is “in the low hundreds” of dollars per car. “Software is expensive,” he said.  The brake override system is sophisticated. BMW wanted to allow for racing starts that include brake and gas applications at the same time, and for performance-oriented