From MSNBC
NASA and the National Academy of Sciences are joining the government’s effort to figure out what caused the sudden acceleration problems that led to Toyota’s massive recalls.
NASA scientists with expertise in electronics will help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study potential electronic ties to unintended acceleration in Toyotas. NASA’s knowledge of electronics, computer hardware and software and hazard analysis will ensure a comprehensive review, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday.
In a separate study, the National Academy of Sciences will examine unwanted acceleration and electronic vehicle controls in cars from around the auto industry, LaHood said. The National Academy is an independent organization chartered by Congress.
The academy study, expected to take 15 months, will review acceleration problems and recommend how the government can ensure the safety of vehicle electronic control systems.
“We believe their outside expertise, fresh eyes and fresh research perhaps can tell us if electronics have played a role in these accelerations,” LaHood said.
Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide, including 6 million in the United States.
LaHood has told Congress the department will dig deeply into what has caused hundreds of complaints of unwanted acceleration in Toyotas.
NHTSA criticized
LaHood said he has asked the Transportation Department inspector general to review whether NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation has what it needs to identify and address safety defects.
Some lawmakers have criticized NHTSA for failing to investigate Toyota complaints earlier and more thoroughly.
“Carmakers have entered the electronics era, but NHTSA seems stuck in a mechanical mindset,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said last month. “We need to make sure the federal safety agency has the tools and resources it needs to ensure the safety of the electronic controls and on-board computers that run today’s automobiles.”
Toyota has attributed the problem to sticking gas pedals and accelerators that can become jammed in floor mats, and has cited no evidence of an electrical problem. The company has noted that other manufacturers also have had reports of cars surging forward.
Consumer groups contend electronics could be the culprit, and dozens of Toyota owners who had their cars fixed in the recall have complained of more problems with their vehicles surging forward unexpectedly. Regulators have linked 52 deaths in Toyotas to crashes allegedly caused by accelerator problems.
No problems found in recent crashes
Reviews of some recent high-profile crashes have failed to find a mechanical or electronic problem.
A police investigation of a March 9 accident in suburban New York involving a 2005 Prius found that the driver, not the car, was to blame. Tests following a March 8 incident in San Diego in which a driver reported the gas pedal on his 2008 Prius got stuck, leading to a 94 mph ride on a freeway, found that the hybrid’s gas pedal, backup safety system and electronics were working fine.
NHTSA’s review of Toyota’s electronic throttle control systems is expected to be completed by late summer. The safety agency, with NASA’s help, is looking at electronic systems used in Toyotas and whether they have flaws that would warrant a defect investigation.