Thursday, May 19, 2005
Prius hybrids buggy software downfall
Well, nuts! It looks like the (offshore) software in the Prius is not performing as well as it should. Cars suddenly turning their engines off at highway speed in order to switch over to the electric motor? Not good, sounds like some of the folk on the PA Turnpike.
- The newspaper reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has logged 13 reports of the engine shutdowns, while Edmunds.com, a popular vehicle-information and shopping site, has had 13 individuals post complaints in a Prius forum. Some of the cars that shut down had to be towed to the shop before they could be restarted.
The newspaper quotes an official from Toyota as saying the stalling problem is due to a software glitch in its sophisticated computer system.
The car has both a gasoline engine and an electric motor, which is set to provide it with power during certain driving conditions, particularly in city driving. The gasoline engine is supposed to be shut down or run at a very low level when the car is driving slowly or idling but provide most of the car's power when it is cruising at highway speeds.
- Toyota spokesman Sam Butto told the newspaper the auto manufacturer identified a "programming error" in the computer systems of 23,900 Prius cars last year and sent owners a service notice advising them to bring the cars into dealers for an hour-long software upgrade.
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