[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" <rlandman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 09:10:45 -0800
How can we get through to a reliability engineer within Toyota to tell
them that electronic glitches such as these are known to be caused by
lead-free solders and thus more brittle solder joints, the required
higher-temperature processing of circuit boards causing more circuit
failures, and also by tin whiskers?
Steve Smith
BL> good follow on article at LA Times
BL>
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-pedal30-2010jan30,0,790073,full.story
BL> "The Times has previously reported that consumer complaints of
BL> unintended acceleration surged in the years after the automaker
BL> introduced electronic throttles, by fivefold in some cases.
BL>
BL> The electronic throttle system uses sensors, microprocessors
BL> and electric motors, rather than a traditional link such as a
BL> steel cable, to connect the driver's foot to the engine.
BL>
BL> In recent interviews, two former NHTSA administrators, Ricardo
BL> Martinez and Joan Claybrook, have said they believe that some
BL> kind of electronic glitch may be causing the Toyota problems.
BL> Similar conclusions are being drawn by independent automotive
BL> safety experts, forensic mechanics and automotive electronics
BL> researchers, as well as many consumers."
BL> Bob Landman _____
BL> From: Bob Landman [mailto:rlandman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
BL> To: tinwhiskers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, '(Leadfree Electronics Assembly
BL> Forum)' [mailto:Leadfree@xxxxxxx]
BL> Sent: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:05:03 -0500
BL> Subject: [tinwhiskers] Perfect opportunity for tin whiskers
BL> induced failures - Toyota did not install brake override systems despite
complaints
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
BL> agent was, but I have heard recently of brand new autos showing up
BL> at dealers that will not start. That cause has been linked to tin whiskers.
BL>
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>
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>
BL> And people will die, make no mistake about that.
BL>
BL> Bob Landman
BL> Life Senior Member, IEEE
BL> President, CTO
BL> H&L Instruments,LLC
BL>
BL>
BL>
BL>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/28/AR2010012803971.html?wpisrc=nl_pmheadline
BL>
BL> Toyota did not install brake override systems despite complaints
BL>
BL> By Peter Whoriskey
BL> Washington Post Staff Writer
BL> Friday, January 29, 2010; A16
BL>
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>
BL> The brake override systems allow a driver to stop a car with
BL> the footbrake even if the accelerator is depressed and the vehicle
BL> is running at full throttle. The systems are an outgrowth of new
BL> electronics in cars, specifically in engine control.
BL>
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>
BL> Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz also install such
BL> systems in at least some of their cars, the companies and industry
BL> experts said, some as far back as 10 years ago. General Motors
BL> installs brake override in all of its cars in which it is possible
BL> for the engine at full throttle to overwhelm the brakes.
BL>
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>
BL> Toyota did not respond Thursday to questions about its
BL> decisions involving brake override.
BL>
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>
BL> The precaution comes too late, however, to forestall a tsunami
BL> of negative publicity that has engulfed the company since it
BL> halted production and suspended sales of eight popular models
BL> after reports of unintended acceleration. For a company that
BL> famously aimed to become the largest automaker in the world by
BL> touting a reputation for reliability and safety, it has been a striking
turnaround.
BL>
BL> The company has blamed the accelerations on faulty floor mats
BL> and their installation, as well as defective accelerator pedals,
BL> which they are seeking to redesign. The brake override systems,
BL> when they come, will provide a measure of redundancy.
BL>
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>
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>
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>
BL> Automotive experts said that in at least some of those
BL> incidents, a brake override system could have prevented harm.
BL>
BL> In the accident that has drawn perhaps the most publicity, a
BL> 2009 Lexus ES 350 raced through San Diego, weaving at 120 miles an
BL> hour 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>
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>
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>
BL> Had a brake override system been at work, the engine would have
BL> been depowered -- not turned off, but slowed.
BL>
BL> Until recently, an accelerator pedal opened the throttle
BL> mechanically. But newer pedals control the engine via sensors and a
computer.
BL>
BL> The new throttle electronics and software have often themselves
BL> been the focus of some suspicion in the runaway crashes.
BL>
BL> Whatever the causes of accidents, engineers noted that there
BL> are 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>
BL> Toyota, moreover, is not the only automaker to eschew the fail-safe
technology.
BL>
BL> In an e-mail, Honda spokeswoman Christina Ra said that "Honda
BL> and Acura vehicles do not apply any override logic between brake
BL> and accelerator pedal inputs. . . . We continue to accept
BL> application of the accelerator and brake pedals as representing the
driver's intention."
BL>
BL> But experts said that the value of the brake override systems
BL> is that they can mitigate acceleration problems no matter where
BL> they come from. Toyota, as well as the NHTSA, appear to have
BL> struggled in diagnosing exactly what is causing the trouble.
BL>
BL> "A brake override system can paper over a multitude of mistakes," Kane
said.
BL>
BL>
BL>
BL> __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of
BL> virus signature database 4821 (20100130) __________
BL> The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
BL> http://www.eset.com
--
Best regards,
Steve mailto:steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.consultingscientist.us
http://www.pickensplan.com/
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