Toyota's alleged problems with sticking/stuck throttles and uncontrolled acceleration are common knowledge in this country. Perhaps fewer people are aware that Toyota and Lexus vehicles have event data recorders associated with airbag operations. Lexus LS and GS models had EDRs in 2001. In 2002, Lexus SC and ES and Toyota Camry joined the group of vehicles with EDRs. More vehicles were added each production year; by 2007 all Toyota and Lexus vehicles in production were equipped with EDRs. All were designed to store "post-impact" information--specifically, delta-v. Most of the EDRs in the Lexus line were also equipped to show pre-crash data, including road speed, brake application, throttle position, and engine speed, from as early as the 2001 models. Although all 2007 models have EDRs, many of them do not record pre-crash information. As far as I know, all 2011 Toyota and Lexus vehicles have EDRs which record pre-crash and post-crash data. As with other airbag-related EDRs, certain acceleration criteria have to be met before any data are recorded.
As many of you may know, current Federal regulations require that, as of the 2013 model year, all vehicles which have EDR capability associated with their airbag control modules are required to store a specified, minimum set of data points and are required to have that data be accessible by non-proprietary means. Toyota has been working with Bosch to incorporate their hardware and software into the Bosch CDR Toolkit; the intention is to have at the EDRs in at least some Toyota and Lexus vehicles be accessible through the Bosch CDR system by the end of 2011. Since there are very many Toyota and Lexus vehicles on the road, that addition will greatly increase the total number of over-the-road vehicles which can be interrogated using the Bosch system.
The inclusion of vehicles of Toyota manufacture will occur in three phases. The first phase includes all of the vehicles listed in version 4.1, which list is available on this Web site. Virtually all late-model Toyota vehicles but the Corolla have modules which can be accessed with the Bosch CDR Toolkit. With passing time, the software will be developed to access data in Corollas and earlier production models which recorded data.
Please call me anytime you wish to discuss car/light-truck EDR interrogations, vehicle accident reconstruction, or any of the other vehicle-related consulting services I offer. Thank you for reading my current feature.
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