Hyundai Now Includes Brake Override Technology on All New Cars
By Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports
Note: Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on MSN.
In the wake of the sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) crisis that rocked Toyota's safety reputation in 2009 and 2010, automakers have sped up implementation of smart-throttle technology, also known as brake override. With this safety feature, should a stuck throttle problem occur, the driver can intuitively apply the brake pedal and the engine management system will reduce the power, allowing the vehicle to quickly stop. The full Hyundai line starting with May production will come standard with brake override.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is considering a mandate to require such technology, a move supported by Consumer Reports. (Read: "How to Improve U.S. Car Safety.") Other automakers, including General Motors, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen have already deployed this seamless technology across their portfolios.
Without a smart throttle, applying the brakes will not necessarily bring a car to quick or even a complete stop. (Read:"Consumer Reports demonstrates how 'brake ovveride' stops cars".) While the potential causes posited for SUA during the Toyota investigation ranged from floor mat entrapment to an electronic glitch, simply having the brake pedal override the throttle would help the driver to come to a complete and controlled stop in most conceivable scenarios.
This is a good move on Hyundai's part, and we hope other automakers likewise roll out the technology to their full model lines.
Read more from Consumer Reports...
This override should be mandatory on vehicles using drive by wire systems.
While I basically agree with you, the problem is that if you believe the Toyota party line, most of these "stuck gas pedal" incidents happen because people are stepping on the gas pedal while they think they're stepping on the brake pedal. The override system doesn't address that scenario because you have to be stepping on the brake to activate it.....which makes me wonder whether it should be mandated at all......if you believe Toyota......who has now decided to make the override system standard in most of their cars.....which makes you wonder if they really believe their own propaganda about all those runaway Toyotas being caused by driver error. Also makes you wonder why Toyota owners have had a disproportionately high number of unintended acceleration incidents compared to other makes. Is there something deficient about the intellect/skill of Toyota drivers that causes these incidents, or is it really something about the design of the vehicle's systems that hasn't been revealed yet?
Calling dead people names shows a lot of maturity Beltway. I wonder if you would have responded any better than a police officer that was trained to operate a vehicle under stressful circumstances, wife and kids screaming and crying.
We would all like to think we would have responded accordingly but most are not educated about how their cars work and what can shut them down in an emergency.
What are the lawyers for those idiots going to claim happened when they try to sue the manufacturers now?
Another case of an additional expense for an additional nanny mandated by the government because it was demanded by safety groups and the insurance industry because the average driver is not capable of driving a car. The simply truth is that the average car is not able to overpower its brakes. Car & Driver proved that one or two years ago in a test with a Mustang GT. Floor the throttle with the right foot and stand on the brakes with the left foot and the car came to a stop, admittedly over a long distance, but it still stopped..
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