Remember the good old days when you could squeal the tires on your parents’ front-wheel-drive automatic transmission car by “brake torquing”? You would put your left foot on the brake pedal and hit the gas. At the moment the torque converter locked up you would release the brake. Those days are over.
Most vehicles sold during the past 10 years come with a system that will limit the engine’s power if it detects the gas and brake pedal are being applied at the same time. Some vehicles during the same period do not have these systems for some unknown reason.
These override systems are nothing more than code in the computers of the car. Some systems close down the throttle. Some cut of the ignition and limit the engine to 2,000-3000 RPMs.
NHTSA is planning to make these override system mandatory equipment.
Federal regulators want brake-override systems in all cars
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposes a requirement that automakers include a brake-throttle override system in all their cars and light trucks to prevent sudden acceleration.
WASHINGTON — More than 21/2 years after the fatal crash of a Lexus in suburban San Diego led to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles, federal regulators are taking their most significant step to prevent future vehicles from accelerating out of control.