Also contrary to statements made in the ABC News story, had short circuits of the kind artificially created by Professor Gilbert occurred in real-world driving conditions, they would have left visible evidence such as damage or deterioration of the wiring and components.
As revealed in their testimony before Congress, Professor Gilbert’s Preliminary Report was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota and other automakers. Mr. Kane also appeared on the ABC News broadcast in support of the claim that Professor Gilbert’s demonstration revealed a flaw in the electronic throttle control system that could lead to “runaway” Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The relationship between Mr. Kane, Professor Gilbert and the trial lawyers who support Mr. Kane’s advocacy was not revealed by ABC News during the newscast, nor was Toyota offered an opportunity to view the demonstration or given time to respond.
Toyota believes that the public and Congressional committees have been misled by Professor Gilbert’s demonstration and the dramatization of it by ABC News. This has cast unwarranted doubt on the safety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota remains confident in the integrity of the electronic throttle control system in its vehicles and there has been no reliable evidence of any kind to the contrary presented to the media or to Congress. Toyota’s electronic systems have multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure. Extensive testing of this system by Toyota has not found any sign of a malfunction that could lead to unintended acceleration.
Toyota has commissioned Exponent to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the electronic throttle control systems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. No limitations of any kind were imposed on Exponent by Toyota. This evaluation is ongoing. An interim report of Exponent’s findings has been provided to Congress and establishes the functionality of the electronic throttle control fail-safe systems. The final results of Exponent’s exhaustive analysis will be made public when completed. As with all such reliable engineering analyses, Exponent’s final results will provide the data and information necessary for others to validate Exponent’s conclusions.
As revealed in their testimony before Congress, Professor Gilbert’s Preliminary Report was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota and other automakers. Mr. Kane also appeared on the ABC News broadcast in support of the claim that Professor Gilbert’s demonstration revealed a flaw in the electronic throttle control system that could lead to “runaway” Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The relationship between Mr. Kane, Professor Gilbert and the trial lawyers who support Mr. Kane’s advocacy was not revealed by ABC News during the newscast, nor was Toyota offered an opportunity to view the demonstration or given time to respond.
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| Dr. J. Christian (Chris) Gerdes of Stanford University (photo: Toyota) |
Toyota believes that the public and Congressional committees have been misled by Professor Gilbert’s demonstration and the dramatization of it by ABC News. This has cast unwarranted doubt on the safety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota remains confident in the integrity of the electronic throttle control system in its vehicles and there has been no reliable evidence of any kind to the contrary presented to the media or to Congress. Toyota’s electronic systems have multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure. Extensive testing of this system by Toyota has not found any sign of a malfunction that could lead to unintended acceleration.
Toyota has commissioned Exponent to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the electronic throttle control systems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. No limitations of any kind were imposed on Exponent by Toyota. This evaluation is ongoing. An interim report of Exponent’s findings has been provided to Congress and establishes the functionality of the electronic throttle control fail-safe systems. The final results of Exponent’s exhaustive analysis will be made public when completed. As with all such reliable engineering analyses, Exponent’s final results will provide the data and information necessary for others to validate Exponent’s conclusions.