Footbrake Problem

[rov1200]

As you know Toyota are in the news about their footbrake problem. A new problem has emerged where the Prius has a software problem. It causes the brake to momentarily come off when hitting a bump in the road.

Is this problem restricted to the Prius hybrid.? We have a Suzuki with similar shortcomings. Hitting a bump and for a fraction of a second the ABS seems to disengage losing some efficiency. The ABS when active also makes a tremendous rattle. It has been inspected by the garage about 2 months ago. Are we the only Suzuki owners to have this problem?

[Hymie]

Using software to control safety critical devices is not a good idea – unless there is some independent back-up system. That is why commercial aircraft have 3 independent computers, operating on a majority rule basis.

If I designed a regenerative braking system – should the regenerative braking fail for any reason, normal hydraulic braking would take over automatically. Perhaps Toyota needs me as a safety design consultant.

Not that the above answers your question.

[rov1200]

Yes I agree. Having once worked in the software industry you realise that no software is bug free and there is always a glitch somewhere. Witness Microsoft's continual updates of its operating system.

Failsafe devices seem to take a back seat to clever software so like you say there should be adequate backup.

[123everton]

It's a common problem on the Volvo B10 b and Dennis Lance, in fact all Dennis' between 1981 and 1995 seemed to have this defect.
Still.