#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
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