Ford offers fix for Fusion hybrid brake glitch

[RedEarth]

Source: Reuters

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it would fix up to 17,600 hybrid sedans that could suffer braking problems as its largest rival, Toyota Motor Corp, grapples with reported braking flaws on its market-leading Prius hybrid.


The Ford announcement came as Consumer Reports said one of its engineers ran a stop sign in a residential area when the brake pedal on a Fusion hybrid sank further than normal and warning lights lit up the dashboard. The car coasted to a stop with minimal brake feel, Consumer Reports said.

Ford said a software glitch on Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids built on or before October 17 could cause drivers to perceive a loss of braking as the car shifts unnecessarily from regenerative braking into the conventional mode.

The automaker said it had received a handful of reports about the issue. It had heard reports of one minor accident, but no injuries as a result, a spokesman said. Ford said it would upgrade the software on the vehicles and notify customers by mail that the fix is available at dealerships.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61369I20100204

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The Perfect Storm May Rain 1's and 0's

Toyota's uncontrolled acceleration issues probably arise from a perfect storm of factors, including gas pedals that stick down too far, pedal linkages that wear prematurely, customers installing floor mats that are too thick and plenty of cases of plain driver error.

But the storm may have another front: A software bug. And this one could really make some rain.

The idea that a software glitch could be causing at least part of Toyota's nightmare has been kicked around – and utterly dismissed by Toyota – almost from the beginning. But a couple of days ago early Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told an audience he was convinced a bug was making his Prius decide to run up to 97 MPH on its own at times (quite a feat for a Prius, intentional or not.) And a day later, the U.S. NHTSA confirmed it is looking into the possibility electromagnetic interference is causing a digital glitch in some Toyota electronic throttle controls.

Now an already scary story has a spooky, virusy, cyber-something flavor added to it. Umm, did we forget to tell car buyers that they don't really control their cars any more – computers do?

Your car is a collection of local area networks and a dozen or two microprocessors that happen to have an engine, wheels and body shell connected to them. And if that makes your car sound a lot like a commercial jetliner, that's not too far off the mark.

One of the big differences is the enormous pains taken to create redundant, self-checking digital systems in commercial jets; you couldn't afford your car if the same pains were taken with it.



http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/04/cooley_oncars/entry6173520.shtml

[blue_onyx]

1. Good

Nice to see an automaker simply fix a problem and not spend months blaming the consumer.

[LittleGirl]

2. Who makes these brakes?

Is it a bosch brake? If it is indeed a software glitch, then the question is moot. But I still wonder.

[ingac70]

13. It isn't the brakes....

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/10/business/ford-to-use-toyota-s-hybrid-technology.html?pagewanted=1

[FarCenter]

3. If you google the name of your favorite hybrid and "brake failure" you'll get plenty of hits

It appears that "drive by wire" braking systems that work smoothly to balance regenerative braking by the motor and friction braking by the pads/discs, that operate under control of the anti-lock braking system and automatic stability control system, and that provide auxiliary braking for parking are not quite perfected yet.

Hybrids are too complicated to be worthwhile.

[DesertDiamond]

4. Ford Fusion hybrid brake glitch

Source: Reuters

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it would fix up to 17,600 hybrid sedans that could suffer braking problems as its largest rival, Toyota Motor Corp, grapples with reported braking flaws on its market-leading Prius hybrid.

U.S.

The Ford announcement came as Consumer Reports said one of its engineers ran a stop sign in a residential area when the brake pedal on a Fusion hybrid sank further than normal and warning lights lit up the dashboard. The car coasted to a stop with minimal brake feel, Consumer Reports said.

Ford said a software glitch on Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids built on or before October 17 could cause drivers to perceive a loss of braking as the car shifts unnecessarily from regenerative braking into the conventional mode.

The automaker said it had received a handful of reports about the issue. It had heard reports of one minor accident, but no injuries as a result, a spokesman said.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61369I20100204

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I don't believe in coincidences - why are two different auto makers having brake problems at the same time?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

5. No conspircy, just common suppliers,

Most automakers buy parts from the same OEM's - much like many computer makers will be impacted by the same battery recall.

[high density]

6. Given the Ford issue is a software problem, it sounds like an easy fix

Adjust the threshold which is causing the "unnecessary" deactivation of the regenerative braking and that's it.

[Atman]

7. Do you really think they each totally re-invented the wheel? ...er...brake?

Prius was out for a while. I'd guess Ford bought a couple and reversed-engineered, and thus adopted the same issues.

That's why I'm surprised people were shocked to hear the Lexus hybrids had the same problem the Prius had. Ferchrissake, it's made by the same company! Do people really think they had engineers come up with a totally different brake design for Toyota's Lexus division? FUCK NO! Toyota designed a brake for its hybrids, and used that design in ALL it's hybrids. SURPRISE! High-end models have the same problem as the Prius -- because they use the same damned brakes!

Why does this shit surprise anyone? Saabs are based on GM platforms, Volvos are Fords, Lexuses are Toyotas...it just amazes me that people still don't realize that this shit goes on!

.

[zbdent]

8. reverse-engineered ...

I was thinking the exact same thing ...

[mantis49]

14. I didn't realize that a Lexus

was a high end Toyota until a couple of months ago.

[OhioChick]

9. Ford offers to fix up to 17,600 Fusion hybrid brake glitch

Source: Reuters

DETROIT: Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it would fix up to 17,600 hybrid sedans that could suffer braking problems as its largest rival, Toyota Motor Corp, grapples a reported braking problem on its market-leading Prius hybrid. The Ford decision came the same day US safety regulators opened a formal probe into consumer complaints that brakes on Toyota's 2010 Prius had momentary problems after motorists rolled over potholes or bumps, allegedly causing four crashes.

Toyota has faced criticism for not notifying consumers about suspected problems with the brakes on its Prius right away, but Ford waited until Thursday to announce possible braking issues though it had known about them for months. The Ford announcement came as Consumer Reports said one of its engineers ran a stop sign in a residential area when the brake pedal on a Fusion hybrid sank further than normal and warning lights lit up the dashboard. The car coasted to a stop with minimal brake feel, Consumer Reports said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration database has a complaint from a motorist claiming that the Fusion hybrid brakes offered minimal resistance. The administration has no formal investigation into the Ford vehicles. Ford said a software glitch on Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids built on or before Oct 17 could cause drivers to perceive a loss of braking as the car shifts unnecessarily from regenerative braking into the conventional mode.

Ford was not treating the matter as a full-on recall because the automaker did not see the result of the software glitch as a brake failure. Ford said on Thursday it would upgrade the software on the vehicles and expects to notify customers by mail that the fix is available at dealerships. Consumer Reports said that with the regenerative braking disengaged, as happened in the incident near their track, the brake pedal needed to be pushed more than an inch farther down to engage the conventional brakes.


Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International-Business/Ford-offers-to-fix-up-to-17600-Fusion-hybrid-brake-glitch/articleshow/5537371.cms

[Robb]

10. So Ford will be criticized

...for not characterizing a software problem as a brake failure. While Toyota was criticized for not characterizing a brake failure as a software glitch?

[apnu]

11. At least Ford didn't f**k around with the problem and went straight to "fix it"

Toyota, tried, unsuccessfully, to hide and deny the problem. Both the floor mats and this breaking/sudden acceleration issue.

Rule one in engineering (physical or software) aught to be: if there's a design flaw, drop everything and correct the problem. Don't mess around with denying problems, it never ends well for the engineer.

[ingac70]

12. Ford uses Toyota's technology.

from 2004....

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/10/business/ford-to-use-toyota-s-hybrid-technology.html?pagewanted=1