Road Reality » brake

GM to Equip all Vehicles with Brake Override by 2012

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:00:30 +0000

Hot on the heels of the NHTSA’s announcement that they’re investigating 6.2 million GM vehicles for brake failures, GM has announced that they’re going to be fitting every vehicle to roll of their assembly lines with a brake override system. Most recently talked about by Toyota, a brake override system gives priority to the brake pedal in whether to accelerate or decelerate a vehicle. GM calls theirs a “smart pedal” and says they’ll have it in all of their vehicles by 2012. At least someone’s learning from the whole Toyota debacle.

by John Suit

Source: General Motors

Uh-oh: NHTSA Looking at 6.2 Million GM vehicles over Brakes

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:00:17 +0000

It seems that Toyota isn’t the only automaker in trouble for brake problems. The NHTSA is reportedly looking into complaints of brake failures on 6.2 million GM vehicles. The Detroit News is reporting that there have been 110 complaints, 37 of which have been inspected by dealers and found brake failure. So far only 3 crashes have been reported. While this is similar to Toyota’s issues, where only a small percentage of the affected vehicles have actually had problems, if you’re one of those owners, it can be a scary thing. GM is cooperating with the investigation, so have your dealer take a look at your brake lines if you’re worried.

The problem is due to corrosion of brake lines, which leads to longer braking distances, with the pedal pushed to the floor. The investigation involves all vehicles built from 1999 to 2003, so while there were 6.2 million vehicles built, not all of them are still on the roads. The complaints include vehicles in use for 6 years and under normal driving conditions.

Could GM be the next multi-million recall automaker? The next few weeks or months should show for sure, but I’d bet at least some recall will come from this. A recall for GM definitely isn’t good news, but with the possible recall involving 7 to 11-year old vehicles, it hopefully won’t affect their current up-swing in sales.

by John Suit

Source: The Detroit News

Recall: 2003-2007 Cadillac CTS

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:00:56 +0000

Cadillac’s best-selling car, the CTS, has been a hot seller for years now, helping the Escalade to keep the company afloat. Recently, GM informed the NHTSA of a recall it was beginning to run, for the brakes on the 2003-2007 CTS. In colder areas of the US, exposure to road salt can break down the rubber brake lines closest to the wheels of the car, causing fluid leak, longer braking times, and increased risk of a crash.

From the recall notice, it seems that the road salt used to melt snow is the main cause of the deterioration. Dealers will being replacing both front brake hoses free of charge, starting in May. The list of affected states is as follows: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C., West Virginia AND Wisconsin.

by John Suit

Source: NHTSA

Consumer Reports tests Brake Override

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:00:28 +0000

Consumer Reports has a new video they’ve produced, showing the before and after for brake override systems, and it’s eye-opening. They took a new Toyota Avalon (pre recall) and a Toyota Camry (post recall) and tested them, comparing their results to previous test results on the corresponding vehicles. Click past the jump for the video and my analysis.

The Avalon is supposed to stop in about 140 ft, from 60 mph. In Consumer Reports’ test, it took 513 feet, which is almost 4 times as long! And that’s just the first test they ran on the Avalon. If you get up to 60 mph again, and this time pump the brakes one or more times, you no longer have the ability to stop a runaway car with just the brakes. That’s scary stuff.

On the Camry, the same tests were conducted, and with the brake override system in place, the car stopped just as well as if the gas pedal weren’t pushed at the same time as the brake pedal.

The brake override system is a bit of software in the car’s main computer, which ignores most throttle input in the case of the brake pedal being pushed.

A neat thing the Consumer Reports video shows is that driving enthusiasts won’t be hampered by this system, and neither will off-roaders, boaters, and other drivers who may need a little gas with their brakes.

All in all, I think it’s a great safety feature to have, and would definitely have helped Toyota’s runaway cars.

by John Suit

Source: Consumer Reports

Honda to recall 412,000 vehicles over brake issue

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:00:10 +0000

2007 Honda Odyssey

In the current recall frenzy, automakers are very quick to announce recalls, and I personally think it’s a good thing. Just yesterday, Honda announced a recall for brake issues with the Element and Odyssey vehicles. The recall includes some 2007-2008 Elements and Odysseys. Read on for more details.

Approximately 344,000 Odysseys and 68,000 Elements are being recalled, for a total of about 412,000 vehicles.

The issue stems from the Vehicle Stability Assist modulators, also known as VSA, which modulates the brakes as well as other systems to help prevent rollovers. According to Honda, a defect during the manufacturing process can cause a “miniscule amount of air” to get into the brake system during a self-check. Over time, usually months or years, those small bits of air can add up to a soft brake pedal feel, or worse, the pedal getting closer and closer to the floor before the brakes effectively slow the car.

2007 Honda Element

The reason the air causes such problems in a braking system is because of the extreme pressures in a car’s brake lines and the fact that the brake fluid used in cars compressed less than air. When the air is compressed, the driver is left with a soft pedal and required pedal pressure in order to slow the car, whereas a system with no leaks would react more quickly.

Owners should expect to be notified via mail in the second half of April. You can also go to www.recalls.honda.com or call 1-800-999-1009 and select Option 4.

by John Suit

Source: Honda

Toyota expands application of Brake Override system

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:00:28 +0000

A while back, I wrote that Toyota was installing a “brake override” system on its cars. As it turns out, they’ve also begun adding the system to recalled cars as well as ones in its sales pipeline. Today, Toyota announced that it would be expanding the lineup of cars receiving the override, to include the Tacoma, Venza and Sequoia. While the former two are getting the fix when they show up for any of the recalls, Sequoia owners will be sent a letter and will be allowed to schedule a time to get the brake override installed. Previously, only the Toyota Avalon, Camry, Lexus IS and ES cars were receiving the override system upgrade. The brake override system ignores gas pedal input when the brakes are pressed, in order to help prevent runaway cars.

by John Suit

Source: Toyota