Drive By Wire.

[ctrcbob]

This morning, in reading about the Toyota recall, (floor mats catching gas pedal), I saw that many Toyota owners say that their cars would not slow down, and it had NOTHING TO DO with their floor mats catching the gas pedal. They, and the Federal Government now say that there is something else, in addition the the floor mats catching the gas pedal. Many owners seem to think it is the engine computer, that gets its driver information by wire, not by accelerator cable. Come to find out that many Toyotas have been Drive By Wire since 2002, perhaps earlier. Our Genesis's are also Drive By Wire.

I've never been fond of Drive By Wire, ever since I saw an AirBus crash while doing a demonstration flight in Europe. AirBus uses Fly By Wire. When they interviewed the pilot, he stated that the AirBus computer over ruled him and because there was a "bug" in the program, the AirBus crashed. (Now, whenever I make airline reservations, I always choose a flight that does not use an AirBus aircraft).

The gas pedal problem with the Toyota may or may not ever be a problem with our Genesis', because the Toyota gas pedal, like most cars, hangs down from above, and our Genesis' have a gas pedal that is hinged to the floor, HOWEVER, I still wonder if this Drive By Wire all these new cars have, either has been a problem, or could become a problem with our cars in the future.

I question all these computers in modern cars.

 

[jwaters943]

While I can relate to your unease with these types of systems, the statics seem to support that in spite of their increasing complexity and reliance on powerful computers/programs (e.g. drive by wire, ESP, etc.) cars are only getting safer and more reliable. Honda (and others) have used drive by wire for years with no pattern of problems. Besides, mechanical connections in cars fail all the time and lead to accidents/deaths.

I'm not trying to dismiss your concerns because I understand where you're coming from, but if it were me I'd try not to worry about it and just enjoy the ride.