University professor takes on Toyota. Toyota threw fits and withdraws university funding.

This is a story of a university professor, who literally applied what he has learned in academic into the real world. And along the way he made Big T, the big Toyota upset. Very very upset. David W. Gilbert, PhD is a professor of automotive technology in Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Gilbert is an owner of 2010 Toyota Tundra, one of the models affected by Toyota's recall for "sticky accelerator pedal." The growing concern on Toyota vehicle quality prompted him to do some investigation on his own. While Toyota have always maintained that the problem of sudden acceleration is a mechanical issue and is not related to electronics, Professor Gilbert thought otherwise.

My curiosity in the Toyota electronic throttle control system began simply with a search for the truth concerning sudden unintended acceleration. I recently purchased a 2010 Toyota Tundra, and with the growing attention in the media to what seemed to be increasing events of sudden unintended acceleration, I made the decision to investigate the foundation of these claims on my own. Based on my working knowledge of electronic throttle controls, I did not expect to the system to be easily fooled without detecting a circuit fault and setting a diagnostic trouble code. It was late one evening when I made a startling discovery; electrical circuit faults could be introduced into the electronic throttle control system without setting a diagnostic trouble code. This discovery opened a window of opportunity within the electronic throttle control system for a potential problem with no code.

Without a diagnostic trouble code set, the vehicle computer will not logically enter
into a fail‐safe mode of operation. All vehicle manufacturers have recognized the
importance for electronic throttle control systems to perform exactly as they intended. Read more of David Gilbert's testimony to the US Federal government during the congressional hearing here.

Toyota have since withdrawn funding to the university, and in an email obtained by Associated Press, Toyota contacted the university chancellor, reminding him of Toyota's annual $100,000 donation to the university programmes, and demanding to know how can one of its professors be allowed be criticise the company openly and even suggested that he should not be employed by the university. Fortunately the chancellor replied that "faculty are allowed to research independently and publish their findings, while observing ethical and conflict-of-interest guidelines."

Toyota has even sent its lawyers to meet up with Dirk Gilbert, which Gilbert says was a move to intimidate him. But Dilbert stood firm by his testimony, and commented "it seemed like an awful large amount of effort to be extended by a company to dispel something." Which begs the question why try so hard to silence someone if the company is sure that it is not true? It is a bad PR move, and between the university and Toyota, the public is more likely to trust that the good professor than Big T. Although detractors might argue that Gilbert might be an opportunist seeking compensation for the loss of value of his Tundra truck. But to me, even if that is true, so what? His selfish interest does not in anyway redeem Toyota from the crime of covering up known critical defects, which in Gilbert's limited capacity as a third party, have been able to replicate the faults and back them up with sound technical evidence.

Read more here.

To date, the "smoking gun" evidence pointing to the root cause of Toyota's sudden acceleration has yet to be found.