[thstone]

Right now, no one knows anything for certain - except Toyota and their not really talking. All we know is what some people claim and we know what Toyota claims. That's it. The case for and against Toyota is all based on opinions at this point.

Until an independent party inspects the actual ECU code, it will be impossible to determine whether an error in the ECU exists. Its nearly impossible to find a programming or logic error by empherical vehicle testing. Its not like looking for a needle in a haystack, its like looking for a needle in a hay field.

Toyota has repeatedly refused to provide their ECU code to anyone but their own investiagating team and their paid consultants. NASA did not have access to this data nor has the NHTSA nor any other government or non-Toyota investigators.

If Toyota is innocent, they should simply release the ECU code to an independent analyst who can perform the required testing at the code level using simulation inputs. This way they can test all of the millions of possible input parameter combinations to see if they get any erroneous output commands to the throttle.

For reference, I have a degree in guidance and systems control and wrote control algorithms for various military cruise missles for about 15 years.