No electronic causes for unintended acceleration in Toyota cars

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) released the results of a study by NASA engineers – experts in computer controlled electronic systems, electromagnetic interference and software integrity – of the unintended acceleration that rocked Toyota last year prompting withdrawal of several hundred thousand Toyota cars from the US market. The NASA engineers, commissioned by the US regulatory body The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), found no evidence of any electronic flaws in the cars that would have been responsible for the large openings of the throttle valve which in turn could have caused the unintended acceleration. The study was launched by the NHTSA last spring at the request of the US Congress after several accidents involving unintended acceleration of Toyota cars, some of them fatal. The results of various tests were negative. Thus the “sticky” accelerator pedals and a mechanical design flaw that caused accelerator pedals to become trapped by floor mats remain the only known causes for the unintended acceleration.