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Comprehensive Analysis Raises Concerns About Gilbert Congressional Testimony, ABC News Segment

    Sequence and Nature of Artificially Manipulated Faults Unrealistic,
  Televised 'Unintended Acceleration' Staged With Virtual Remote Throttle
                                  Control

    TORRANCE, Calif., March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, during a live webcast,
Toyota raised serious concerns about the validity, methodology and
credibility of a demonstration of alleged "unintended acceleration" in a
Toyota Avalon by Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University
and depicted in ABC News broadcasts and on-line segments.

    To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please
click: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/toyota/42823/

    A comprehensive analysis conducted by a world renowned engineering
group, as well as testing by Toyota, has concluded the following about
Professor Gilbert's demonstration:



    --  The vehicle's electronics were rewired and reengineered in multiple
        ways, in a specific sequence, and under conditions that are virtually
        impossible to occur in real-world conditions without visible evidence.
    --  Toyota vehicle electronic systems were actively manipulated to mimic a
        valid full-throttle condition,
    --  Substantially similar results were successfully created in vehicles made
        by other manufacturers.
    In the demonstration dramatized by ABC on February 22, Professor
Gilbert, assisted by segment reporter Brian Ross, asserted that he had
detected a "dangerous" flaw in the Toyota electronic control system that he
alleged could lead to unintended acceleration. The following day, Professor
Gilbert offered a preliminary report of his findings in testimony to the
U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight
and Investigations.

    Engineers at Exponent, one of the country's leading engineering and
scientific consulting firms, as well as Toyota engineers, have reviewed and
recreated Gilbert's demonstration with substantially similar results in
representative vehicles of other makes.

    Separately, at Toyota's request, Dr. J. Christian Gerdes, associate
professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University and the director
of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS), conducted an
independent review of Professor Gilbert's testimony and the preliminary
report presented to Congress.

    Their findings were demonstrated today at a news conference during
which the accelerator circuitry of a Toyota Avalon, as well as a sampling
of well-regarded and popular competitive makes, was rewired and manipulated
as Gilbert did in his demonstration.

    Kristen Tabar, general manager of electronics systems, Toyota Technical
Center, summarizes three of the major concerns with the artificial nature
of Professor Gilbert's demonstration.

    "First, an electrical circuit that has been reengineered and rewired
will not behave as it was originally designed and engineered," said Tabar.

    "Second, no automaker can or should be expected to design detection
strategies for artificially created events in the absence of any evidence
that such an event can occur in the real world.

    "Third, if the artificial condition created by Professor Gilbert had
occurred in the real world, it would have left readily detectable
fingerprints."

    Exponent and Toyota engineers have found no evidence to suggest that
any of the steps of Professor Gilbert's demonstration exists in the real
world. Thus, the fact that the Toyota Avalon used by Professor Gilbert did
not show a Diagnostic Trouble Code after his demonstration does not
indicate an undetectable safety defect. The same is true of the
representative vehicles of other manufacturers tested by Exponent and
Toyota.

    Professor Gilbert's reengineering and rewiring of the vehicle's
electrical system involves the following manipulations in a specific
sequence. First, the protective insulation on two separate wires that carry
the accelerator pedal position signals to the Engine Control Module must be
individually cut or breached. Next, these wires are connected to each other
through a 200 Ohm resistor.

    This contrivance, by itself, did not cause an increase in engine speed.
To cause an increase in engine speed, it is necessary to cut the insulation
on a third wire, the 5-volt power supply to the accelerator pedal, and
force a low resistance connection between the power supply and the
secondary signal wire.

    The resulting increase in engine speed is a result of the subsequent
artificial and sudden application of the 5-volt power supply to this signal
line with the rewired circuit. When subjected to similar unrealistic
reengineering and rewiring, the competitive vehicles evaluated by Exponent
and Toyota achieved substantially similar results with varying levels of
resistances.

    This manipulation of electrical components and a power source created
artificial voltages that the engine control module, or ECM, would interpret
as valid accelerator pedal signals. In essence, this test created a
virtual, remote control accelerator pedal that replicated the vehicle's own
normally functioning accelerator pedal.

    Also contrary to statements made in the ABC News story, had short
circuits of the kind artificially created by Professor Gilbert occurred in
real-world driving conditions, they would have left visible evidence such
as damage or deterioration of the wiring and components.

    As revealed in their testimony before Congress, Professor Gilbert's
Preliminary Report was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial
lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota and other automakers. Mr.
Kane also appeared on the ABC News broadcast in support of the claim that
Professor Gilbert's demonstration revealed a flaw in the electronic
throttle control system that could lead to "runaway" Toyota and Lexus
vehicles. The relationship between Mr. Kane, Professor Gilbert and the
trial lawyers who support Mr. Kane's advocacy was not revealed by ABC News
during the newscast, nor was Toyota offered an opportunity to view the
demonstration or given time to respond.

    Toyota believes that the public and Congressional committees have been
misled by Professor Gilbert's demonstration and the dramatization of it by
ABC News. This has cast unwarranted doubt on the safety of Toyota and Lexus
vehicles. Toyota remains confident in the integrity of the electronic
throttle control system in its vehicles and there has been no reliable
evidence of any kind to the contrary presented to the media or to Congress.
Toyota's electronic systems have multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off
or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure. Extensive testing
of this system by Toyota has not found any sign of a malfunction that could
lead to unintended acceleration.

    Toyota has commissioned Exponent to conduct a comprehensive analysis of
the electronic throttle control systems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. No
limitations of any kind were imposed on Exponent by Toyota. This evaluation
is ongoing. An interim report of Exponent's findings has been provided to
Congress and establishes the functionality of the electronic throttle
control fail-safe systems. The final results of Exponent's exhaustive
analysis will be made public when completed. As with all such reliable
engineering analyses, Exponent's final results will provide the data and
information necessary for others to validate Exponent's conclusions.

    Exponent, Inc. is a leading engineering and scientific consulting firm
with expertise in over 90 technical disciplines. Exponent has a full-time
staff of over 900 located in 23 international offices. Exponent's
multidisciplinary organization of engineers, scientists, physicians and
business consultants, addresses complicated issues facing industry and
government today. The firm's consultants provide product design analysis,
development, and testing; analyze failures and accidents to determine their
cause and prevent their recurrence; and evaluate environmental and human
health concerns to find cost-effective solutions. Exponent is certified to
ISO 9001 and is authorized by the General Services Administration (GSA) to
provide professional engineering services. For information about Exponent
capabilities and credentials visit http://www.exponent.com.

    Visual demonstrations of Toyota and Exponent testing, as well as
detailed information regarding Toyota's electronic throttle control system
operation and testing for electrical and electromagnetic interference can
be found at toyotanewsroom.com.