[tinwhiskers] Re: Perfect opportunity for tin whiskers induced failures - Toyota did not install brake override systems despite complaints
- From: Steve Smith <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Bob Landman <tinwhiskers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:19:51 -0800
Runaway cars are no fun; most people panic, and in a panic state
intelligence goes to zero; they forget that they can stop the thing by
just turning the ignition key to OFF.
Steve Smith
BL> Just as I predicted, the increased use of electronics in
BL> automobiles when mixed with RoHS can make for a deadly cocktail.
BL> We don't know (this article doesn't say) what the causative agent
BL> was, but I have heard recently of brand new autos showing up at
BL> dealers that will not start. That cause has been linked to tin whiskers.
BL> I cannot fathom how foolish the industry was to rush to adopt
BL> lead-free manufacturing without first solving the well known risks
BL> such as tin whiskers. When I read comments such as "SAC405 is
BL> known to suppress whisker growth" I have to laugh. There is so
BL> much misinformation being cast about, it's ludicrous.
BL> Toyoda better do as they've been advised if they are using
BL> lead-free manufacturing (and even if they are not as the parts are
BL> lead-free now so even IF you use SnPb solder you still will be
BL> subjected to tin whisker induced failures.
BL> And people will die, make no mistake about that.
BL> Bob Landman
BL> Life Senior Member, IEEE
BL> President, CTO
BL> H&L Instruments,LLC
BL>
BL>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012803971.html?wpisrc=nl_pmheadline
BL> Toyota did not install brake override systems despite complaints
BL> By Peter Whoriskey
BL> Washington Post Staff Writer
BL> Friday, January 29, 2010; A16
BL> Toyota Motor began facing complaints of runaway cars years ago,
BL> but the company did not install "brake override" systems in those
BL> vehicles, even as several other automakers deployed the technology to
address such malfunctions.
BL> The brake override systems allow a driver to stop a car with the
BL> footbrake even if the accelerator is depressed and the vehicle is
BL> running at full throttle. The systems are an outgrowth of new
BL> electronics in cars, specifically in engine control.
BL> "If the brake and the accelerator are in an argument, the brake
BL> wins," a spokesman at Chrysler said in describing the systems,
BL> which it began installing in 2003.
BL> Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz also install such systems
BL> in at least some of their cars, the companies and industry experts
BL> said, some as far back as 10 years ago. General Motors installs
BL> brake override in all of its cars in which it is possible for the
BL> engine at full throttle to overwhelm the brakes.
BL> "Most other automakers have adopted this technology," said Sean
BL> Kane, a former researcher at the Center for Auto Safety who now
BL> works at Safety Research and Strategies. Not adding the systems
BL> "is one of the mistakes that created this perfect storm for Toyota."
BL> Toyota did not respond Thursday to questions about its decisions involving
brake override.
BL> But at the Detroit Auto Show in December, Toyota North America
BL> President Yoshi Inaba said the company would begin equipping its
BL> vehicles with brake override. His comments followed a November
BL> statement from the company that the override system would be made
BL> standard on Toyota and Lexus vehicles starting with some models in January
2010.
BL> The precaution comes too late, however, to forestall a tsunami of
BL> negative publicity that has engulfed the company since it halted
BL> production and suspended sales of eight popular models after
BL> reports of unintended acceleration. For a company that famously
BL> aimed to become the largest automaker in the world by touting a
BL> reputation for reliability and safety, it has been a striking turnaround.
BL> The company has blamed the accelerations on faulty floor mats and
BL> their installation, as well as defective accelerator pedals, which
BL> they are seeking to redesign. The brake override systems, when
BL> they come, will provide a measure of redundancy.
BL> It was not immediately clear how much it would cost to install
BL> the brake override systems, and industry experts said the costs of
BL> the control technology are difficult to measure.
BL> "There's really no cost, but it's a critical skill issue -- we
BL> can only find so many people who can do this kind of work," said a
BL> senior engineer at a major automaker, who spoke on the condition
BL> of anonymity. "It would require a bunch of software and
BL> development people to design it, but spread across lots of cars,
BL> the money involved would be negligible. . . . No one wants a runaway."
BL> As far back as 2004, government investigators were looking at
BL> 2002-2003 Toyota Camrys and Solaras and Lexus ES 300s to determine
BL> whether they were defective, gathering information about 37 owner
BL> complaints of sudden acceleration, according to the Center for Auto Safety.
BL> Automotive experts said that in at least some of those incidents,
BL> a brake override system could have prevented harm.
BL> In the accident that has drawn perhaps the most publicity, a 2009
BL> Lexus ES 350 raced through San Diego, weaving at 120 miles an hour
BL> through rush-hour freeway traffic. Veteran California Highway
BL> Patrol officer Mark Saylor was at the wheel, with his wife,
BL> teenage daughter and brother-in-law aboard.
BL> "We're in trouble. . . . There's no brakes," Saylor's
BL> brother-in-law told a police dispatcher over a cellphone. As they
BL> approached an intersection, and the end of the road, the
BL> passengers could be heard urging each other to pray. All four died.
BL> Afterward, investigators said that it appeared the brakes had
BL> been applied for so long that the brake pads melted, according to
BL> a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
BL> Had a brake override system been at work, the engine would have
BL> been depowered -- not turned off, but slowed.
BL> Until recently, an accelerator pedal opened the throttle
BL> mechanically. But newer pedals control the engine via sensors and a
computer.
BL> The new throttle electronics and software have often themselves
BL> been the focus of some suspicion in the runaway crashes.
BL> Whatever the causes of accidents, engineers noted that there are
BL> trade-offs in using brake override systems. For example, some
BL> customers prefer to be able to apply the brake and step on the
BL> accelerator without reducing power to the engine, especially in
high-performance driving.
BL> Toyota, moreover, is not the only automaker to eschew the fail-safe
technology.
BL> In an e-mail, Honda spokeswoman Christina Ra said that "Honda and
BL> Acura vehicles do not apply any override logic between brake and
BL> accelerator pedal inputs. . . . We continue to accept application
BL> of the accelerator and brake pedals as representing the driver's intention."
BL> But experts said that the value of the brake override systems is
BL> that they can mitigate acceleration problems no matter where they
BL> come from. Toyota, as well as the NHTSA, appear to have struggled
BL> in diagnosing exactly what is causing the trouble.
BL> "A brake override system can paper over a multitude of mistakes," Kane said.
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--
Best regards,
Steve mailto:steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.consultingscientist.us
http://www.pickensplan.com/
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