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2008 SCION TC — VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 637184 · 2007-09-04

Vehicle

Make
SCION
Model
TC
Year
2008
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

Severity

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

Narrative

1) THIS IS NOT A FAILURE DUE TO AN EVENT BUT A DESIGN FLAW ON THE SCION TC WITH ELECTRONIC THROTTLE "DRIVE-BY-WIRE". THE THROTTLE RESPONSE IS DELAYED BY 1/2 TO 1 FULL SECOND UPON LAYING FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. 2) AS A RESULT OF THIS DESIGN FLAW, THE CAR IS VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL WHEN DRIVING BECAUSE THE CAR REACTS TOO SLOWLY IN COUNTERACTING ANY HAZARDOUS ROAD CONDITION ONE MAY FACE. WHEN THE SITUATION CALLS FOR ACCELERATION, THE CAR DOES NOT RESPOND TO THE DRIVER STEPPING ON THE ACCELERATOR. THE CAR BEGINS TO REACT 1/2 TO 1 SECOND LATER WHICH CAN BE CRUCIAL TIME WASTED TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THE LAG IN THROTTLE RESPONSE. FOR INSTANCE, I WAS FORCED TO APPLY MY BRAKES ABRUPTLY DUE TO THE TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF MY CAR. I IMMEDIATELY SAW THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME APPROACH ME AT A FASTER THAN NORMAL PACE BECAUSE THE DRIVER REACTED LATE. I WAS FORCED TO DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR SLIGHTLY TO MAKE MORE ROOM FOR THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME TO BRAKE AND THEREFORE REDUCING THE IMPACT OF OUR CARS OR TO AVOID IT COMPLETELY. HOWEVER, THIS WAS UNAVOIDABLE BECAUSE MY CAR DID NOT RESPOND FAST ENOUGH TO MY ACCELERATION. LUCKILY, MY REAR BUMPER SUFFERED NO VISIBLE DAMAGES. *JB

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10201880
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown