Chrysler and Honda screw-ups

Chrysler spokesman Max Gates said the automaker had received about 20 complaints of vehicles experiencing a delay in braking when drivers tried to come to a stop after coasting uphill. To fix the problem, the computer connected to the antilock brake system will be reprogrammed.

My reference for this is:

Jeff

Yes I did - but I just can't imagine having a tough time stopping while going UP. You don't coast uphill, you hit the gas - at least *I* do.

Natalie

In most cars and trucks, the brakes have some electronics that control them. And the electronics are controlled by software. There was obviously a little glitch in the software that controls the brakes.

It makes perfect sense that coasting uphill when the vehicle is already slowing down would be one place where the software would mess up, especially because this is probably one of the places where the software would be least tested. It is like the computer already thinks the brakes are on because the vehicle is slowing down. And the antilock stuff kicks in to prevent the brakes from locking up. It's almost like the car thinks the brakes are locking up when they aren't even on.

Apparently, this delay caused one crash. It must be a few seconds. And pretty scary.

With this type of delay, not only would there be skid marks on the street when from when the brakes finally engaged, but there might also be skid marks in my underwear (or something bigger).

Jeff

coasting uphill? maybe when the throttle is depressed while going uphill the car keeps on going and stepping on the brakes doesn't immediately stop the car. Again, we go back to the earlier post (lexus issue) that didn't they ever figure out to put the gear in Neutral in a panic situation = )

According to Chrysler, it is a software issue. And it caused a crash.

Jeff

So it that brake-by wire? I've read they have a shift-by-wire in the Frankfurt Autoshow by Jaguar

A mudslide perhaps =)

No, it is brake with modulation by wire. The modulation by wire part is controlled by the antilock brake software, which is buggy.

Jeff

I'm hopelessly old-fashioned, but my sense is that in the braking system of an automobile is the very LAST place I want to find software, whether or not it works! We've come to the place where we have tiny circuits doing the thinking for us, and as often as not, a thinking human being is a little more knowledgeable about what's needed than a circuit board or chip. I'm thinking of the incredibly stupid system which has cost millions to buy and implement which is supposed to pay the employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Month after month, several thousand employees receive incorrect paychecks, or none at all. For the money spent, they could likely employ some low-tech human check writers to make out the checks in longhand. A hundred humans writing 400 checks each could do a more accurate job of it than machines with no reasoning capabilities. Sometimes computers and software are the problem and not the solution.

Airplanes have been using computer systems in their brakes for decades. It's called anti-skid and works very effectively.

Cars have more safety features than airplanes I guess, I never found planes that have airbags = )

My brother has it on his 95 Previa and it works well. However the anti-skid on my old 95 S-10 was a cheap POS, just like the truck.

Charles of Schaumburg

Airplanes have seat belts. Airbags are not needed in airplanes.

No Crash testing and side impact beams?

You wouldn't have to. They'd probably explain it to you as "too fast for conditions".

If your wheels locked up in the sand, there would also be little directional control or stopping force available.

I don't like or need ABS.. Once I'm used to the brakes, I have my own built in ABS.. I modulate the brakes with my foot if needed. I don't need no stinking puter messing things up for me and causing a braking behavior I'm not expecting. MK

Do you have cruise control or heated seats on your legs too?

Are heated seats an option in the corolla? I've never had them. I wonder if you can pee all over that seat and not have it short out... Yes, I have cruise, and use it most all the time.. Now, how this relates to ABS, I dunno... MK

It sort of depends on the insurance co. I think. A few years ago, my wife "softly" rearended a little pickup truck in the mountains on a long downhill grade, and as I recall, bent his bumper a bit, no major damage. (I hadn't been with her at the time). She told me her brakes faded on her which I found unlikely because discs are not supposed to fade, right? But about the time the insurance company was ready to charge her with an "at-fault" accident, I found in a library book about brakes that "drum brakes tend to fade with long application, but disc brakes fade LESS "(or similar words) It laid open the possibility that disc brakes indeed were capable of fading. I photocopied the page and the book's title page and sent it off to the insurance adjuster, and lo and behold, they agreed with me that it could happen and relieved her of fault in the small collision! So all you can do is lay your best cards on the table and beg for mercy...and sometimes it works.