New generation of defects for a new generation of high technology cars- unintended acceleration in Audi 5000S

The Audi 5000S, considered to be one of the best-built automobiles in the world, is the center of a controversy around a problem, called "unintended acceleration". Unintended acceleration is a phenomenon marked by an unplanned and uncontrollable movement by the vehicle. The driver would be totally unable to stop the car no matter how hard he or she may apply pressure to the brake pedal.

The Audi 5000, first introduced in 1978, it was the flagship model for Audi's American distributor, Volkswagen of America. In just seven years its sales were more than doubled in the U.S, so were the consumer complaints. The consumers complained of an unexpected sudden acceleration without notice.

• Audi 5000 drivers complained, the car would accelerate, often with devastating results
• Since the late 1970s hundreds of Audi drivers in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe have reported sudden acceleration problems with the Audi 5000 series or its foreign equivalent
• There have been 1500 sudden acceleration accidents reported in Audi 5000s and more than 400 people have been injured when their Audi 5000s sped out of control in the United States. Seven people have died
• The accidents have been strikingly similar

The car idles normally in the "park" position, but when the automatic transmission is shifted into "drive" or "reverse," the car suddenly accelerates without warning. Drivers try braking, but the car fails to stop before hitting cars, trees, walls or people.

• Audi AG - the West German affiliate of Volkswagen that makes the Audi 5000 - has steadfastly denied that the car is defective. Instead, Audi has
• Consistently blamed the cars' drivers for the accidents and
• Exonerated the Audi's sudden acceleration.

Accidents continued increase in numbers with Audi sudden acceleration problem in the 19781987 Audi 5000 cars.

• The Audi 5000's sudden acceleration occurs more frequently than any auto defect ever investigated by the U.S. government.
• By 1987, one out of every 170 Audi 5000s had had a sudden acceleration accident, according to the Center for Auto Safety (CAS), a national consumer organization.
• By comparison, the infamous Firestone 500 tires were recalled with an accident rate of 1-in15 000.

The Audi 5000 series, at $23,000, was designed to compete with the Volvo, BMW, Cadillac and other luxury cars. It was Marketed under the slogan, "Audi - The Art of Engineering," after the car was redesigned in 1984. There are an estimated quarter of a million Audi 5000 cars on the road in the United States.

By early 1982, 107 consumers had complained to Audi about a sudden acceleration accident. At the behest of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Audi conducted the first of five recalls to diffuse the problem.

• Audi theorized to NHTSA that a floor mat stuck underneath the accelerator pedal could cause the accelerator to stick while decelerating
• To remedy this, Audi proposed installing a plastic device to keep the pedal clear of the floor mat
• In April, 1982, NHTSA agreed and all 1978 to 1982 cars were recalled

By installing a floor mat device Audi could give the appearance of fixing the car to the government, but denied that there was any mechanical problem with the cars.

CAS reported receiving accident reports on the Audi 5000, after the floor mat recall, NHTSA once again put pressure on Audi to take action.

• Audi argued that drivers unfamiliar with the car may have been unknowingly stepping on both the brake and the accelerator pedal when they applied the brake
• In late 1983 Audi initiated a second recall of the car to installed a plate: This is to elevate the brake pedal above the accelerator pedal
• They hoped to make it more difficult for a person to step on the two pedals at once without realizing it
• The device was installed on all 1978 through 1983 cars and incorporated into the later models

Despite the floor mat and the staggered pedals, however, Audi sudden acceleration accidents continued.

http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1987/05/wathen.html

Toyota Motor will issue a recall for at least 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles. This is to fix a potential safety problem caused by a car's floor mat jamming the accelerator leading to an "unintended acceleration".

The Audi 5000S, considered at the outset one of the best-built automobiles in the world, is the center of a controversy of unintended acceleration.

Unintended acceleration is a phenomenon marked by an unplanned, uncontrollable movement by the vehicle. And the driver will be totally unable to stop the car no matter how hard he or she may apply pressure to the brake pedal.

This recall for unintended acceleration is the largest in Toyota's history. This follows a crash last month in San Diego in which a mat was suspected of snagging a gas pedal on a runaway Lexus, resulting in a fiery crash that killed four family members.

A minute before the crash, the driver called police to say the car had no brakes, the accelerator was stuck and the car was doing more than 120 mph. It hit a sport-utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. The car, equipped with all-weather floor mats, was on loan from a dealership while the driver's own vehicle was being repaired.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged the following list of vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration:

• 007-2010 Camry
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2004-2009 Prius
• 2005-2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350
• 2006-2010 Lexus IS 250
• 2006-2010 Lexus IS 350

The affected vehicles accelerate rapidly after release of the accelerator pedal:

• More than 2,000 complaints have been made about General Motors models built between 1973 and 1986
• Owners of Toyotas, Renaults, Mercedes-Benzes and Nissans have also reported unintended acceleration incidents
• The Audi 5000 has the highest percentage of acceleration incidents, about 1 in 400 cars built
• Just about every single car model available with an automatic transmission since 1987 has had reports of unintended acceleration

Unintended acceleration is partly due to use of unsecured mats and particular configuration of the accelerator pedals in the affected vehicles:

• In cars with keyless ignition, a driver must hold the on-off switch for three seconds in order to shut off the engine
• Pedal placement in the Audi 5000 which contributed to its unintended acceleration problem
• Because of the extra space needed by the 4-wheel drive systems, the pedals in the Audi were offset slightly to the left, putting the accelerator pedal almost directly
• Under the center point of the steering column, and the brake pedal off to the left
• The Jeep Cherokee’s unintended acceleration is likely due Jeep's pedals that were placed much like the Audi's, offset to the left

A statistical analysis of all claims of unintended acceleration indicated:

• The position of each car's brake pedal in relation to the steering column
• Significant positive relationship between left offset of the pedals and reports of unintended acceleration
• Cars with brake pedals directly under, or to the right of the steering column have very few complaints against them.
• Cars like the Audi and Jeep have hundreds and thousands complaints against them

Toyota orders inspection of mats after runaway car crash in Santee that killed CHP Officer Mark Saylor, his wife, brother in-law and daughter, have lead authorities to think it may have been the car mat that caused the crash.

It was brought to the attention of The National Highway Safety Transportation Administration because of a 2007 recall on after-market floor mats which could slip and catch on the accelerator.

Toyota will order 1400 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide to:

• Inspect their cars for mismatched floor mats to approximately
• Make sure all their cars have the right floor mats
• Ensure they are properly secured

The public is encouraged to inspect their floor mats also.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-18953-San-Diego-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m9d15-Toyota-orders-inspection-of-mats-after-runaway-car-crash

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/29/automobiles-toyota-recall-business-autos-toyota.html?partner=executive_picks_newsletter

http://www.digest.net/bmw/archive/v7/msg13110.html