Vehicle Defect Causes Unintended Gear Shifts

Case Overview

This case takes place in California and involves a series of incidents involving several different vehicle models from the same manufacturer. The issue in question pertains to the vehicles’ tendency to randomly switch gears at improper and inopportune moments due, in part, to a malfunction in the software and computer systems used by these particular vehicles. The unintended shifts have caused several issues in the affected vehicles, such as transmission damage and other automotive mechanical problems.

Questions to the Software expert and their responses

Do you have any specific experience dealing with the affected vehicles?

I was part of the team that investigated Toyota's Engine Control Module to search for software based unintended acceleration. I was the engineer that discovered the principal flaw that was at the center of Toyota settling its class action lawsuit, and also the recent jury verdict in OK that has caused Toyota to recently announce they are entering intensive settlement negotiations.

Have you ever served as an expert witness?

I was the coauthor of an 800 page report that was used in these litigations.

About the expert

This expert has over 30 years of experience as an engineer. His expertise includes the hardware and firmware design of embedded systems. He served as part of a team that investigated Toyota for software-based unintended acceleration. He currently serves as President for an embedded systems consulting company, which he founded.