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Defeating the Gremlin Theory

by Louann Van Der Wiele

September 19, 2008 10:28 AM

Louann Van Der Wiele is Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Chrysler LLC.

Few defect allegations against automakers have been more exhaustively investigated or more completely debunked than claims of sudden, unintended acceleration.

Just this month (9/3/08), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied yet another petition to investigate reports of unintended acceleration, this time related to 2006 and 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickups. One quote from the ruling says it all:

" ... we [NHTSA] have been unable to determine a throttle control related or any underlying cause that gave rise to the complaint....In our view, additional investigation is unlikely to result in a finding that a defect related to motor vehicle safety exists with regard to the Tacoma’s throttle control system ... "

Toyota argued all along that the rise in complaints against the Tacoma was inspired by media publicity, not any real defect with the vehicle. NHTSA's decision not to investigate backs up this view - as does the entire history of unintended acceleration claims, which dates back to the 1980s.

Remember the Audi 5000? Reports that the vehicle would suddenly accelerate without warning were eventually chocked up to driver error - but not before Audi's U.S. sales were devastated by a sensationalized "60 Minutes" story.

Like most automakers, Chrysler has not been immune from these baseless charges. Back in 2002, NHTSA declined to open an investigation into allegations of sudden, unintended acceleration incidents with the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee. "It appears," NHTSA stated, "that the predominant cause of sudden acceleration incidents involving the subject vehicles has been pedal misapplication." In other words: driver error.

Repeated examinations by NHTSA and auto engineers have never identified any specific defect in any vehicle that would lead to sudden, unintended acceleration. Neither have the trial lawyers and their hired experts; the best they can come up with is the Gremlin Theory that some unidentified or unidentifiable force residing deeply inside these vehicles must somehow be causing these incidents.

NHTSA's report on the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, however, didn't stop the International Carwash Association (ICA) from publishing false statements and malicious accusations about the Jeep brand on its website. Despite the fact that federal safety regulators concluded there is zero evidence that Jeep vehicles experience disproportionate incidents of sudden unintended acceleration claims at car washes (or anywhere else), Chrysler had to file litigation to compel the ICA to recant its false claims.

Although lengthy and expensive, that litigation eventually forced the ICA to remove its baseless allegations from its website and publish a "restatement" to set the record straight. The facts that the ICA acknowledged include:

The ICA's statements concerning Jeep vehicles and "sudden unintended acceleration" were not supported by any statistical analysis;

The ICA's statements concerning Jeep vehicles and "sudden unintended acceleration" were not supported by any scientific study or research;

The ICA did not perform an investigation regarding SUA incidents reported by its members.

The ICA's "restatement" also reported what automakers and federal safety regulators have long known - namely that sudden, unintended acceleration is caused by driver error, not any defect with the Jeep Cherokee or Grand Cherokee (or the Tacoma, or the Audi 5000, or any other vehicle falsely maligned). As the ICA wrote:

Some scientific studies and research have concluded that a cause of "sudden unintended acceleration" incidents is pedal misapplication by the operator. The International Carwash Association believes that the "We Care" safety practices - including placing the vehicle in park and fully depressing the brake pedal and visually verifying correct foot placement - are a car wash operator's best defense against SUA incidents and can improve safety in the handling of all vehicles.

NHTSA's ruling probably won't end all the claims against the Toyota Tacoma. Indeed, false accusations against the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee haven't stopped despite the ICA's admission that their statements concerning Jeep vehicles were not supported by any statistical analyses, scientific studies or research. But hopefully getting these facts out to the public will reduce the sensationalized reporting over these claims and encourage reporters to demand more than the Gremlin Theory when the next Tacoma or other vehicle target inevitably rolls around.

Tags: Wrangler Unlimited , Wrangler , Grand Cherokee , Compass , Commander , Patriot , Liberty , Jeep brand

Comments [8]

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8 Comments

Car_Guy Sep 19, 2008, 1:19 PM

Interesting article.... I always questioned the sudden acceleration claims given the mechanical throttle control - it's hard to imagine 'sudden acceleration' when the throttle is controlled by a mechanical cable linked to the gas pedal. With the shift to 'drive by wire' electronic throttle control, that mechanical connection no longer exists. Now that throttle is controlled by the computer, with input from the gas pedal and driving the throttle, I wonder if we're heading into a period where debunking sudden acceleration claims may be more difficult. Instead of reviewing mechanical systems, invetigators will now have to chase possible 'software glitches'.

Wolfger Sep 22, 2008, 9:08 AM

Just wanted to say (and should have said long ago) that the RSS formatting of these articles is horrible. I really don't want to leave my RSS reader and visit the site to read articles, but sometimes I just have no choice. It's really ugly.

Mike Ellis Sep 22, 2008, 10:01 AM

@Car_Guy...Actually, there are some redundant systems in drive by wire that add a safety net. This is what one of our engineers tells us.... "These redundant systems are called three layer safety systems which includes redundant throttle and pedal sensors. Redundant software that monitors the various engine inputs for coherence to make sure all the sensors are working and software that monitors computer and the operational software to make sure that they are all working correctly. These have the ability to mitigate against computer, system or sensor errors including restricting engine RPM and shutting the engine off if necessary, all within a fraction of a second. This is the same electronic strategy that is used in airplanes to control engine and flight). Lastly we have event data recorders that records vehicle systems and inputs in the event of an airbag deployment."

moparnorm Sep 22, 2008, 12:20 PM

It should be noted that in the case of Audi, drivers claimed that they had their feet positively on the brake pedal and not the gas, however when Audi moved the brake 1" further away from the accelerator the reported incidents dropped dramatically. I experienced this once while driving down a steep hill, in the Rockies, pulling a 22' travel trailer in an XJ. It turned out that the floor mat slid up under the accelerator pedal and pushed against the accelerator cable. No harm came, as I turned off the ignition and used the trailers electric brakes to stop the vehicle. Jeep now provides anchors for the floor mats, to secure them into place.

Car_Guy Sep 23, 2008, 2:01 PM

Mike, thanks for the detail on the multiple redundancy layers - great information. I wasn't suggesting that 'drive by wire' would lead to actual 'sudden acceleration' occurrences, but just that the forensic evaluation of such claims may become a more technically complicated process - trying to hunt down a perceived 'gremlin' in a software system may prove far more difficult that doing so in a purely mechanical system.

ed Jan 30, 2010, 5:36 PM

So much for that theory, eh? I guess that Toyota is recalling 6+ million vehicles to modify the accelerator pedals for no good reason?

Ak_Float_Flyer Jan 30, 2010, 5:36 PM

I have actually encountered, confirmed and repaired a car that was prone to sudden acceleration 20 years ago. It was a 1969 Lincoln Continental with a broken motor mount, that had a throttle system consisting of a steel rod running from the pedal to a bell crank, to the carburetor. When pulling away from a stop, the engine would torque over, pulling the throttle a bit further open, increasing the torque reaction and so on. As the throttle opened, vacuum dropped and the brake booster became ineffective. This would all happen within a second or two. I didn't believe it until I drove the car and had it do a nice, smokey automatic "burn-out" away from a stop sign, that required the ignition to be shut off to stop. Sure, this has little or nothing to do with Toyota's recall, but I can personally attest that "sudden acceleration", while a fluke, can happen. And yes, I own an Audi.