<VV> American cars - trans shifting, ECUs & runaway cars

[Tony Underwood]

At 08:46 PM 5/30/2010, Charles Lee wrote:
>I figure people whose cars run away on them should simply shift into neutral
>?



The problem there is, according to some engineers who have 
investigated these issues, if the software controlling an 
electronically shifted automatic transmission gets glitched, it might 
not LET you shift into neutral when the car is moving and the 
throttle is applied.



Common logic would suggest that someone like the police officer 
killed in a Lexus would have tried that, along with shutting off the 
ignition which, according to other engineers' comments regarding 
glitched electronics, could also become an issue if the computer 
decided that those pushbutton starts and stops would suddenly become 
inop.   ...like the throttle software.


Toyota began replacing electronics after their "rug caught in the gas 
pedal" and pedal replacement "fix" resulted in continued 
runaways.    It also remains a fact that the gas pedal Toyota uses is 
not a Toyota part, it's a 2nd party contracted piece also used in 
other manufacturers' vehicles and to date not one of them has had a 
problem with the pedal.


Go figger...


My Corvairs all have linkage connecting the skinny pedal to the 
carbs.   And, when I twist the key to the left, I know the engine is 
gonna stop.   And, the brakes on every 'Vair here will stop the car 
even with the throttle wide open.

Ya know, it seems I recall there being a mandate by the DOT that a 
car certified to function on US highways be able to be stopped with 
its own brakes even with the throttle stuck wide open in low 
gear.   Likewise a mandate that it be illegal to coast a vehicle in 
Neutral on the highways, out of gear...

How many cars out there have electronically controlled transmissions 
that won't let you shift into neutral with the car rolling and 
throttle applied?   (seriously, I don't know and would like to)



tony..