NASA to test Toyota electronics in safety probe

• Source: Global Times
• [08:28 March 31 2010]
• Comments

US auto safety regulators are turning to NASA scientists for help in analyzing Toyota electronic throttles to see if they are behind unintended acceleration, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Tuesday.

In addition to the work by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), LaHood also said experts from the National Academy of Sciences will lead a separate study of unintended acceleration across the auto industry, a broader issue raised by congressional lawmakers at recent hearings on Toyota.

"We are determined to get to the bottom of unintended acceleration," LaHood said in an interview with Reuters.

The Transportation Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is just beginning its review of Toyota electronic throttles, which have come under heightened scrutiny following the recall of more than 8.5 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles globally in recent months.

Both US safety regulators and Toyota have faced scrutiny about whether either did enough to investigate driver complaints of possible electronic throttle problems and other safety issues in recent years.

The NHTSA review is to be completed by late summer after which the agency would determine whether a formal probe of Toyota throttles is warranted.

Toyota has repeated its confidence in the safeguards built into its vehicle electronics and has seen no evidence that they have failed on the road.

Reuters