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2010 WHEEGO WHIP LSV — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 1162709 · 2015-03-05

Vehicle

Make
WHEEGO
Model
WHIP LSV
Year
2010
Manufacturer
Wheego Electric Cars, Inc.
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Miles at failure
1,000
Speed
30 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

CINCINNATI OH, ON JANUARY 21, 2015, THE SAME DAY AS AN OVERPASS COLLAPSE THAT PARALYZED THE CITY AND NECESSITATED THE FULL DEPLOYMENT OF ALL AVAILABLE POLICE PERSONNEL TO DIRECT TRAFFIC, MY 2010 WHEEGO WHIP LSV VEHICLE REGISTERED A CODE 73 AND SUFFERED AN IMMEDIATE AND TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE FUNCTION WHILE TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF TRAFFIC. A CINCINNATI POLICE DETECTIVE WHO HAPPENED TO BE PRESENT AT THE SCENE PUSHED THE CAR INTO A LOT. THE DETECTIVE NEEDED HELP FROM TWO PASSERBYS TO MOVE THE VEHICLE DUE TO EXCESSIVE RESISTANCE. THE COMPUTER MALFUNCTION HARD- ENGAGED THE REGENERATIVE BRAKES. WHEEGO TECH SUPPORT REPORTED THAT A CODE 73 ERROR IS CAUSED BY FAILURE OF THE VEHICLE COMPUTER TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE OR MORE OF THE FOUR TACHOMETRIC SENSORS THAT REPORT TORQUE. THE WHEEGO WHIP LSV, UNLIKE MOST CARS, IS PROGRAMMED TO IMMEDIATELY CEASE MOTOR FUNCTION IF COMMUNICATION WITH THE TACHOMETER IS LOST. THE WHEEGO WHIP LSV UTILIZES OPTICAL TACHOMETRIC SENSORS, WHICH ARE KNOWN TO BE LESS RELIABLE THAN MECHANICAL TACHOMETRIC SENSORS. WHEEGO REPORTS THE TACHOMETRIC SENSORS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE A LIMITED SERVICE LIFE (THEY ESTIMATE ABOUT 1-3 YEARS, INCLUDING SHELF LIFE - THIS VEHICLE HAD 1000 MILES OF LIGHT DRIVING ON IT WHEN THE SENSOR FAILED) AND ARE PRONE TO SUDDEN AND RANDOM FAILURE, AN EVENT WHICH CAUSES THE ENGINE TO INSTANTLY SHUT DOWN. THIS IS INHERENTLY EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT THE FAILURE OF A PART KNOWN TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO RANDOM FAILURE WILL CAUS

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10692227
Machine
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