Ray LaHood, Transportation Department Secretary, recently announced that a 10 month study of Toyota vehicles, conducted primarily by NASA, found no software code errors or electrical defects which could account for the thousands of reported "unintended acceleration" cases that have plagued Toyota for the past decade. According the LaHood, the study concluded that the only viable factors that could account for Toyota's woes were either faulty floor-mats that jammed gas pedals or the gas pedals themselves, which could have become stuck.

Unfortunately, these findings, which have come after almost 100 deaths, more than a hundred reported injuries, and over 11 million recalled vehicles, have done little to improve consumer trust in Toyota, even though the corporation has found solace in the affirmation that there is no defect in the performance or design of their largely electronic-based engine systems.

NASA's study, which cost roughly $1.5 million, examined 9 vehicles that were repurchased by Toyota from owners who claimed to have problems with unintended acceleration. Commencing last March, the study included an examination of 280,000 software code lines under electromagnetic radiation. A little more hesitant than LaHood, Michael T. Kirsch, leader of the NASA study, said that although they cannot say it's "impossible" that the acceleration is due to an electric malfunction, the NASA team found it very "unlikely."

  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also conducted a study of 58 reported cases of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles and found that roughly 2/3 of the cases were caused by the driver pressing the gas instead of brake pedal.

What consumers say about NASA's Study

Many consumers are upset with NHTSA and NASA's findings, and insist that a problem greater than driver error or poorly manufactured floor-mats and gas pedals exists.

Rhonda Smith, a woman who was almost killed in her Lexus ES after the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated, called the NASA report "very upsetting" and insists, after witnessing the acceleration and clearly affirming that the floor-mat was not interfering with the gas pedal, that "there's still something else out there."

Improved Vehicle Safety Standards

Regardless of the NASA's findings, the NHTSA has begun taking steps to improve vehicle safety, such as considering a rule to require a brake-override systems (which will cut off the engine when the driver puts their foot on the brake pedal), and requiring new cars to be sold with black boxes which will record events and help determine the cause of accidents.