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Cosmic rays and little green men
The Toyota acceleration fiasco is starting to remind me of alien abduction stories. Like tales of failing car parts, spaceship stories seem to come in waves, too. Is it possible that thousands of people have been abducted even though no real evidence exists to support their claims? Is it possible that all of these runaway Toyotas from various model years have decided to act up all at once?
I don't know the answer, but sticking with the outer space theme, the Detroit Free Press suggests cosmic rays might be behind the Toyota phenomenon.
No, seriously, this is a scientific valid possibility. For decades, electronics makers have known about "single event upsets" (SEU) -- computer errors caused by radiation from space. There's reason to believe the probability of SEUs has increased and may be affecting Toyota's electronics:
Only in the late 1970s did researchers discover that a minuscule portion of such radiation falls to earth. It's not enough to harm humans, but as circuits in computers and cell phones on the ground have shrunk to the width of several dozen atoms, the risk of errors has grown. "Five years ago, it was a problem in very few applications," said Olivier Lauzeral, general manager of IRoC Technologies, which tests chips and software for SEU resistance. "In the past couple of years, we've seen a rise in demand and interest."
In an anonymous e-mail last month to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a tipster said such an error "may be one reasonable explanation for incidents of sudden acceleration," adding that the automotive industry had yet to adapt the techniques used by aircraft firms to prevent problems from SEUs.
Toyota believes its cars are safe from radiation interference, but it doesn't believe James Sikes' story about his runaway Prius in San Diego. NHTSA can't explain the incident either. From the Detroit News:
"Toyota engineers believe that it would be extremely difficult for the Prius to be driven at a continuous high speed with more than light brake-pedal pressure, and that the assertion that the vehicle could not be stopped with the brakes is fundamentally inconsistent with basic vehicle design and the investigation observations."
NHTSA said its investigators "have not been able to find anything to explain the incident that Mr. Sikes reported."
Sikes' attorney, John Gomez, told reporters Sunday that "there's a ghost in the machine," referring to electronics problems, and it's not unexpected that NHTSA can't find the problem.
Ghosts, cosmic rays, inexplicable events. Human nature.
By the way, I don't believe anyone has been abducted by aliens.
Except me. My story's true:
I keep thinking that the vast majority of the Toyota problem is if you look for it, you will find it. Of course this statement has its obvious irony. Some may be false claims. Someone seemed a little too relaxed when he report the 94 mph car and no breaking issue.
Maybe not space alien rays or radiation from space, but what about RF interference? Some people with CB radios, power microphones (turned up too high causes lots of spurious harmonics) and illegal power amps can cause interference when you are right next to it.
I was watching a spring training baseball game on TV the other day, and they warned that there might be a break in the programming due to a radiation hit to the satellite. We know computers go haywire during periods of excessive solar activity. This is the first I heard about aircraft having equipment to prevent SEUs. Sounds like maybe its time for cars to be doing the same thing.
I obviously don't know what the deal is with this driver in California, but I hope it is not someone trying to cash in and make some money. I hope they can identify those people and bust them fast. Because it's clear that some people really did have a problem, and even died as a result. To make a cheap buck off those tragedies is reprehensible. But, sad to say, increasingly common.
So it's not just me — relief! I am honestly beginning to believe some of these people are either staging these situations or just flat-out lying in the hopes of getting a little media attention and, in their dreams, a fat "hush money" check from Toyota. I have a 2007 Prius and it's never given me a moment's worry. By far the best car I've ever owned, not to mention the most reliable. I'm sure glitches do pop up in some cars, but I find the sudden rash of calamities (all of which coincidentally seemed to begin just as the recall was hitting the headlines) most suspicious.
FWIW: I have a 99 Cherokee Sport with a 4.0L inline 6 cylinder engine. I had a sensor go out this winter that caused the engine to think the throttle was wide open. its common on jeeps like mine.
Fortunately I was getting off the interstate when it happened. I was able to mash on the brake and keep it down, with much consternation and an extreme level of white knuckling. I kept my car stopped but lurching forward at the stop light. I made it home safe but a nonplused by the even to say the least.
In this case, I was driving a car with a great deal more horse power, far less sophisticated braking ability and good bit more inertia and mass than a prius. I was able to come to a stop. I find it a bit absurd that he couldn't even slow the car down a bit.
I have a 98 Wrangler with the same engine setup. If this happens again you can turn the key 1 click left. This shuts off the engine but leaves the steering column unlocked. The steering column does not lock unless you hold in the button behind the ignition switch and turn it one more click back. Or if you out of habit end up punching that button and locking the steering anyway, once the motor is off you can turn the key back to on and the motor will still be not running. Just don't turn it to start.
I wonder if the same procedure works for Toyotas?
