Word: carli
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...Monday, Toyota released preliminary findings related to its investigation into the case of James Sikes, the driver of a 2008 Prius who said his car ran away from him on a San Diego area freeway, an incident recorded in a 22-min. 911 call as well as by dramatic pictures...
...Monday's press briefing, the automaker raised several questions about Sikes' account. Michels said the car's accelerator pedal was found to work normally, as was the pushbutton power switch, which "shut the vehicle off when depressed for three seconds, as the 911 operator advised Mr. Sikes to do." Michels also said the car's gear-shift lever worked properly under testing...
...what about the car's software? According to preliminary findings, there were no diagnostic trouble codes found in the power-management computer, Michels noted, nor was the dashboard's malfunction-indicator light activated; also, the floor mat was in the correct position. Toyota has identified floor mats as one cause of past sudden-acceleration problems. (See which businesses are bucking the recession...
...anomaly that Toyota's engineers couldn't explain was the heavy wear on the front brakes, which Toyota officials admitted was consistent with Sikes' assertion that he tried to brake the car...
...functions of modern automobiles, including the opening and closing of the throttle, the injection of fuel, the firing of spark plugs, even the operation of the catalyst limiting the engine's pollution. The same software also controls electronic stability by modulating the vehicle's throttle to help keep the car under control on slippery surfaces without any kind of input from the driver. Motorists aren't even aware that the software adjusts the throttle 10 times per second...