Akio Toyoda testified before congress today, claiming recent failures were due to floor mats and pedals again, but claims the fix includes pedal replacement, floormat replacement, and electronic reprogramming. They did not directly say that electronic failures were a cause, only a consumer concern. Nice.  Two issues come to mind…

First, one of the victims of Toyota accelerator failure said something very interesting. When these stories first came out a year ago (before the story exploded), I showed my wife (who drives a Toyota) how to shift-out of drive in an emergency. She didn’t know that was even possible, and it’s such an easy fix. However, this week’s testimony included a story from a woman who claimed that she SHIFTED OUT OF DRIVE, AND STILL OBSERVED ACCELERATION.

This is important. Important to all of us.

It’s important because it should be physically impossible. If this is true, it means a fundamental change in the way vehicles are built. For 100 years, transmissions have been mated to user controls through mechanical linkages. When you put your hand in the shifter, you mechanically connect yourself to the engine, transmission, and the wheels of your car. Though clunky and old-fashioned, it provides direct level of control over the mechanical operation of the car.

There exists another way of operating a vehicle. Fly-by-wire technology has existed for decades, as well. It allows mechanical changes to the vehicle to be performed by computers or relays, rather than direct manipulation by the operator. The operator makes requests to the electronic system, and the system performs the mechanical action. This allows for control of remote systems in large vehicles (like planes) and a smoother ‘feel’ to the controls. These types of systems are now common in passenger vehicles. Accelerators, steering, heating/cooling, all have had some version of fly-by-wire in the market at one time or another. But, transmissions? It’s not unprecedented. Diesel rigs have had push-button transmissions in the past. But commercial vehicles also have brakes that can overcome the engine, regardless of what it is doing. This is by design.

Now, passenger vehicles are being built with engines that can overcome their own brakes (nothing new) AND NO MECHANICAL LINKAGE TO THE DRIVER? That’s new!  Are car builders manufacturing passenger vehicles with fly-by-wire transmissions? Is this happening now?

Electronic systems fail. Failure is, unfortunately, normal. Even predictable on a large enough population.  Automated systems are inherently dangerous because of this. How can Toyota build this with no failsafes? Equipment manufacturers have been forced to equip machines with EMERGENCY STOPS (e-stop switches) on all machines that have the potential to cause harm to the operator. An e-stop is a MECHANICAL switch that cuts complete power to the machine in case of an emergency through a MECHANICAL disconnect.  Not some electronic “request.”

Sound useful?

If this is how they are going to build cars now, how do they get away with having no mechanical cut-out, like every other machine made since, well, forever? This is such an easy, obvious, fix.. regardless of whatever failures may occur on all fly-by-wire vehicles: E-stops and non-electronic emergency brakes that can actually stop the car.

It should have been a NHTSA law since these types of systems were introduced. Having built and maintained million-dollar machines for years, I don’t understand how this could have been ignored by the auto industry and regulators. Especially when machine builders aren’t allowed, by law, to ignore anything. Here, a 5-dollar switch, and the problem is solved. I hear rumors that this is being investigated by Toyoda now, but they’re only rumors.  I’m talking about an obvious piece of standard equipment for an entire class of vehilce that should have been mandated years ago.

Secondly, I can’t help but notice that Toyota only began having these problems when they ramped-up production in the U.S…. U.S. Toyota cars with U.S. auto workers. Suddenly, ..problems. Now, American Toyota cars have the same reputation around the world as Ford And GM products.

I can’t help but notice the coincidence. I’m proud to be an American worker and proud of what i’ve produced in places i’ve worked. But, there is an undeniable pattern of quality and reliability failure in the American auto industry when compared to vehicles built around the world (except maybe ex-soviet bloc regions). No amount of american pride can overcome the numbers. Now comes the claim the Americans have ruined a good-quality foreign company by building their cars ourselves. Even if it’s an unfair characterization, how can we respond to this, given our track record?

This one, I have no solution for.