As the use of computers increases, programming is becoming a greater safety and quality problem.
The ongoing computerization of vehicle systems has caused safety recalls at GM and Toyota. In the latest round of software malfunctions, new 2013 model Chevrolet Malibu cars can blow up the roof rail airbag for no reason or prevent the air bags from going off in a severe accident.
Toyota’s Lexus luxury division is recalling its 2013 model GS performance sedans because a sensor can cause the electronically controlled steering wheel to be wildly out of place to where the front wheels are actually pointed. The Lexus recall is global.
The Chevrolet Malibu and Lexus GS 350 have computer programming that is the cause of the safety defects. In both cases, the safety defect was discovered during internal testing after the vehicles were on sale. The required National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filings, no accidents or injuries were reported by General Motors or Toyota.
General Motors initially tried to classify the problem as a service action, but NHTSA instead on a safety recall, apparently because of the seriousness of the potential consequences of defective airbags. The growing use of electronics in automobiles, not always reliable as computer programming recalls mount, begs the question as to why NHTSA does not require standardized data recordings in automobiles. Transient glitches are suspected in many problems but are virtually impossible to detect after the fact.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
