Millions of Toyota cars recalled, but many drivers still fear software glitch

Toyota
Let's just cut to the chase.

The biggest fear that most Toyota driver's have is that their cars will accelerate out of control like THIS horrific Lexus accident.

It should be noted that this crash involved a Lexus and an entrapped floormat.

Toyota says that the sudden acceleration problems with the recalled cars are due to one of two potential problems:

1) Floormats that can get stuck under the accelerator or

2) Sticking accelerator pedals.

Toyota has issued massive recalls for both of these problems involving millions of cars worldwide.

Take a look at the complete list of recalled Toyota cars HERE.

And click HERE for a video demonstration of what to do if your car accelerates out of control.

The fix for problem number one is to either remove the floormat on the drivers side, or take the car to the Toyota dealer and have them perform the suggested repair which involves a technician cutting down the size of the accelerator pedal to shorten it so that the floormat cannot get stuck underneath it.

The fix for the second problem is a bit more tricky in that it involves Toyota either replacing the gas pedal assembly, or shimming the existing assembly so that it cannot potentially get stuck.

But let's be honest here and admit that what many drivers fear is that the problem is not a mechanical issue, but instead a problem that involves the drive-by-wire software.

The New York Times explained the problem the best:

"The pedal sensor is part of a so-called drive-by-wire throttle
system, in which the gas pedal has no direct connection to the engine
through a cable or mechanical linkage. A sticking pedal in an older car
with a cable or mechanical link would typically be solved with a squirt
of oil or dab of grease, a straightforward task for a handy car owner.
"

So as stated in modern cars there is no direct link between the gas pedal and the engine, but instead the car's software controls the engine speed based on the gas pedal's location.

It seems to us that many drivers fear that Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute are only address the potential mechanical problems of the recall and ignoring the software issue.

Toyota spokesman John Hanson claims that, "After man years of exhaustive
testing we have not found any evidence of an electronic (software)
problem that would have led to unwanted acceleration
."

However recently Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, claimed that his 2010 Prius (not involved in either recall), "goes wild but only under certain conditions of cruise control."

"This is software. It's not a bad accelerator pedal. It's very scary, but luckily for me I can hit the brakes," he added.

Wozniak went on to say that he tried to contact the the National Highway Traffic Safety Institute and Toyota without any success.

So is the solution to the current problem only a mechanical one?

We'll have to resort to a well worn cliche, but in this case it seems very fitting: time will certainly tell.

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