• 19 FEB 10
    • 0

    #1220:Extensive report on Toyota vehicle recall

    Sent in by Alasdair Philips, Powerwatch:

    First page from the 9 page report:

    Link: http://www.nutwooduk.co.uk/downloads/Toyota.doc

    Toyota “sticking pedals” recall is a smokescreen

    Their sudden unintended acceleration problem is caused by electronics
    either due to EMI, lead-free soldering or software “bugs”

    By EurIng Keith Armstrong FIET, C.Eng, ACGI, www.cherryclough.com,
    phone/fax: +44 (0)1785 660 247, 13th February 2010
    Contents
    1 US Government”™s NHTSA contacted me for advice on EMI and Toyota electronics 1
    2 CTS pedal replacement could not have saved Mark Saylor and his family 2
    3 It is difficult/impossible to stop a runaway vehicle with the brakes 2
    4 EMI generally leaves no trace of a “defect” after an incident 2
    4.1 Why no “defect” can be found afterwards 2
    4.2 “Latch-up” as a possible cause 3
    4.3 What kind of misoperations can occur? 4
    4.4 “Black Box” data recorders 4
    4.5 Redundancy 4
    4.6 Lack of evidence proves nothing 4
    5 Complex electronics cannot be reliable enough for safety-critical systems 4
    6 EMC testing cannot prove EM immunity for safety-critical systems 5
    7 Auto electronics do not employ safety principles that have been commonplace, even mandatory, in many other industries for decades 6
    7.1 “Fail safes” must be independent systems 6
    7.2 Making the driver the back-up for vehicle control failure is bad practice 7
    8 Standards 7
    9 Lead-free soldering 7
    9.1 Tin whiskers 8
    9.2 Brittle solder joints 8
    9.3 Tin Pest 8
    9.4 Higher soldering temperatures can weaken components 8
    10 Software 9
    11 References 9

    1 US Government”™s NHTSA contacted me for advice on EMI and Toyota electronics
    The US Government”™s National Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA) has been wanting to speak to me for some weeks, to discuss the EMI implications of Toyota”™s spate of sudden unintended acceleration incidents. They said they wanted to speak to me because they had no-one on their staff with my experience or knowledge of EMI and EMC.
    I imagine the fact that I”™ve been presenting IEEE EMC Symposium papers on EMC and Functional Safety since 2001, including one addressed to the auto industry at a symposium in Detroit in 2008, played a part in their decision.

    SNIP

    Full report at: http://www.nutwooduk.co.uk/downloads/Toyota.doc

    Leave a reply →