A Note on Automobile Cruise Control Faults and Sudden or Unintended Acceleration

by Dr Antony Anderson C.Eng FIEE

• November 25TH 2015 NEWS 5
• DEPEKTO SA MONTERO SPORT, WALANG BASEHAN AYON SA MITSUBISHI MOTORS

DEFECTS IN MONTERO SPORT, NO BASIS CLAIM MITSUBISHI MOTORS

AKSYON | Pinaiimbestigahan na ng isang kongresista ang umano'y depekto ng Montero Sport ng Mitsubishi Motors. Nag-ugat ito sa reklamo ng ilang customer na bigla-bigla raw humaharurot ang SUV kahit di inaapakan ang gas. Pero ayon sa kumpanya, wala itong basehan. May mga isinagawa na raw kasing test pero lahat ay nagnegatibo sa sinasabing "sudden unintended acceleration." Ulat ni Benjie Dorango. (Video uploaded by James Relativo; Manuscript edited by Pepher Operio. For any concerns, you may e-mail us at newsfiveeverywhere@gmail.com)

ACTION | A congressional probe of the alleged defects of the Montero Sport Mitsubishi Motors. This stemmed from a complaint filed by some customers suddenly raw speeding SUV even if stepped on the gas. But according to the company, it has no basis. Have taken longer a test but all have tested negative to the alleged "sudden unintended acceleration." Dorango Benjie's report. (Video uploaded by James Relativo; Manuscript edited by Pepher Operio. For any concerns, you may e-mail us at newsfiveeverywhere@gmail.com)

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• November 25th 2015 Philippine Daily Enquirer article by Amy R. Remo  MANILA, Philippines      — The Department of Trade and Industry has created a team that will investigate cases of “sudden and unintended acceleration” of a car model being manufactured by Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC). Based on Memorandum Order No. 15-2580 issued on Nov. 25, the DTI has created a panel composed of three trade officials who will investigate reports of the mechanical defects of the Mitsubishi Montero covering the period 2010 to 2015. This move was in accordance to Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines. Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said in the order that the team must issue notices within 48 hours from issuance of memorandum to get the views of all the stakeholders concerned.

• The trade officials have been instructed to submit a report and recommendations in two weeks including the issuance of the appropriate order for its mandatory product recall, prohibition, or seizure from public sale or distribution of the said model, he added.

  Froilan Dytianquin, first vice president for marketing of the Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC), meanwhile stressed that they have tested Montero cars while investigating the reports of unintended acceleration and the results have shown that the Montero Sport would still be safe for use. “We welcome the move by the DTI. We were supposed to have a press conference this Friday to show the results of our investigation in the latest case involving the sudden and unintended accelerations. We were able to get in touch with the complainant who allowed us to check his unit. We will come out with the findings by next week,” Dytianquin said in a phone interview. “But for us, we stand firm that there is nothing wrong with the Montero Sport. It’s a safe vehicle and we have tested it. We have already addressed some 97 cases here and for all the testings and investigations we’ve done, the results showed that there were no defects as far as the electronics and mechanical (aspects of the car) are concerned,” he further stressed.

  Dytianquin said they have even involved MMC of Japan, which has conducted extensive testing and investigation of all submitted claims of unintended acceleration, in the absence of an automotive third party testing facility in the Philippines. “We started selling the Montero in the Philippines in 2008. And this model, which is produced in Thailand, is being sold in more than 90 countries. Except for five isolated cases in Australia and New Zealand, there has been no incident of unintended acceleration elsewhere except the Philippines,” Dytianquin said. “In terms of having same specifications, the model being sold in the Philippines is also being distributed among Asean countries like Thailand and Indonesia. There were no other incidents reported in these countries except the Philippines and that’s why even our principals in Japan are puzzled by these developments,” he added.

  
  
  
  

• November 25th 2015  'Sudden unintended acceleration' Mitsubishi Montero Sport    Report by Dominic Almelor shwoing sudden acceleration in Police Car park on 7th September 2015
  

• November 25th 2015  DTI creates panel to probe accidents involving Mitsubishi Montero Sport

  by Business Mirror By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz and Catherine N. Pillas

• November 24 2015 Lawmakers seek probe on 'defective' Monteros (with 2:34 min video segment)

  MANILA - Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares wants a congressional investigation into why government has not cracked down on allegedly defective Mitsubishi Monteros in the market.Colmenares said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is empowered to go after faulty vehicles.

  House Resolution 2531 that Colmenares filed with Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate also wants to stop the sale of Monteros in the country. The resolution arises from reports that Monteros suffer from frequent sudden unintended acceleration incidents, which he claims were due to the failure of the DTI to conduct safety inspections.

  "We take as emphasis the recurring and persisting incidents of unintended sudden acceleration suspiciously involving only certain brands of vehicles, specifically Mitsubishi Montero SUVs. This issue have caused alarm mostly because lives have been taken and put into risk and moreover, because despite these bludgeoning irregularities, DTI did not initiate any investigation or measures to address the same," the resolution said.

  Colmenares said in May 12, 2015, in a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Trade and Industry regarding the issue, it was verified and admitted by the Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC), that there were 97 reported cases of unintended sudden acceleration.Six people have reportedly died because of the issue.

  The resolution lists the following incidents:

  • Bernardo and Avenida Bernardino's case wherein their Montero Sport flipped over. Bernardino reported the incident to DTI to no avail, as the latter did not entertain the complaint mainly because the warranty of Bernardino’s Montero Sport had expired;
  • Former Sta. Maria Mayor Jesus Mateo, who owned two Montero Sport, stated that their SUV accidentally smashed through a wall due to SUA;
  • Three documented cases were blottered at Malolos Bulacan, one of which reported to have accidentally killed three individuals;
  • Experiences by Atty. Charlie Tumaru and Jenny Pantoja

  Previously, the House Committee on Trade and Industry adopted the motion to recommend the stop in the purchase of Mitsubishi Montero Sport and urge the DTI to order and pull out the vehicle model in the market until the SUA issue has been resolved. Nothing was heard from DTI since that hearing.

  The MMPC, through an official statement, said that the sudden unintended acceleration claims insinuating that the Montero Sport is defective are without any basis and that the Montero Sport is neither defective nor unsafe to use.

  Colmenares, however, said "Self-investigation and self-inspection by MMPC as well as other concerned car producers ultimately imputes injustice to victims of unintended sudden acceleration. These are all due to DTI’s vehement neglect to properly conduct and institute safety inspection practices for vehicle products, which, in the first place, is mandated upon them by the 1992 Consumer Act."  Colmenares spelled out the part of the law authorizing the DTI to crack down on faulty vehicles.

  "It is hereby moved that the Department of Trade and Industry exercise Article 10 of the 1992 Consumer Act and recall if deemed injurious and dangerous to public safety, to wit: Article 10. Injurious, Dangerous and Unsafe Products. – Whenever the departments find, by their own initiative or by petition of a consumer, that a consumer product is found to be injurious, unsafe or dangerous, it shall, after due notice and hearing, make the appropriate order for its recall, prohibition or seizure from public sale or distribution: Provided, That, in the sound discretion of the department it may declare a consumer product to be imminently injurious, unsafe or dangerous, and order is immediate recall, ban or seizure from public sale or distribution, in which case, the seller, distributor, manufacturer or producer thereof shall be afforded a hearing within forty-eight (48) hours from such order. The ban on the sale and distribution of a consumer product adjudged injurious, unsafe or dangerous, or imminently injurious, unsafe or dangerous under the preceding paragraph shall stay in force until such time that its safety can be assured or measures to ensure its safety have been established."
  

• July 9th 2010 A Deplorable Business Policy - Article by Rita Linda V. Jimeno Manila Standard TODAY  Article concludes “Mitsubishi should stop its deplorable business policy of denying that its Montero brand, especially the 2009 to 2011 models, whether automatic or manual, could malfunction electronically, at any time; even beyond its warranty period. This clearly puts its users at grave risk. It should start installing fail safe devices in new units and offer to current owners of Montero a replacement of their vehicles. Human lives are on the line here. Profit considerations should give way to a legal obligation and social responsibility.”

• On Friday, 20 January 2012 at about 2:15 PM a driver was driving her 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander along Brandon Street, Wellington NZ looking for a disabled parking bay so that she could settle her 92-year-old mother into a wheelchair and take her shopping. Finding an angled disabled parking bay free, she turned into it and was in the last stages of bringing the car to a halt when it suddenly accelerated, mounted the pavement and crashed into the entrance of the Bayleys building, carrying a passing pedestrian with it. The pedestrian was pushed through a display window of the Kircaldie and Stains Department Store but was not badly injured. The driver and her passenger were uninjured. The vehicle came to a halt jammed between the angled window of the Department Store on its left hand side and on its right hand side against a pillar. As a result of the impact, an extensive segment of the left-hand front disc brake rotor, approximating to the span of the brake callipers, was broken off. It is presumed that as a result of the damage to the brake rotor the left wheel could no longer rotate. On the right-hand side of the vehicle the front right-hand wheel appears to have been spinning against the surface of the pillar for some time. This correlates with a witness statement that the engine continued to roar for several seconds after impact. PDF copy of Expert Witness Report on this Mitsubishi Outlander Sudden Acceleration Incident THIS IS A BIG FILE AND WILL TAKE SEVERAL MINUTES TO DOWNLOAD
  

• Mitsubishi Montero Sport Sudden Accelerations in the Philippines There have been a number of alleged incidents of sudden acceleration from at or near standstill in 2009,2010 and 2011 Model Year Montero Sports SUVs aged between 3 and 13 months and with low mileages of 3,000 - 5,000 kms. The Montero Victims Blogspot calls for Mitsubishi to re-examine its coprporate mindset and priorities. See:
  
• Jan 31st 2012 Unintended sudden acceleration theories by Aida Sevilla Mendoza Philippine Daily Enquirer
  
• Montero Victims Blogspot at: http://monterovictims.blogspot.com  for pictures of incidents
•  Videos on Blogspot 
  
• Open Letter from sudden acceleration victims to Mitsubishi & Mitsubishi Response
• Google references to Mitsubishi Sudden Acceleration Incidents
  

• August 14 2008 A CAR veered across a dual carriageway in rush-hour traffic today, smashing through a fence before slamming into a packed McDonald's restaurant. Customers looked on in horror as the Mitsubishi Shogun demolished the wall of the fast food outlet, just a few feet from where they were sitting. Hartlepool Mail http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/Drivethrough-horror.4390231.jp  See also http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/7560811.stm


• Business Week online Oct 9 2000 Issue (International Edition) :A Cover-Up at Mitsubishi? As customer complaints rise, police probe the carmaker. You could call Motohiro Kaibara a Mitsubishi man. He works as a mechanic at his family's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. dealership in Kitakyushu, a city in southern Japan. And he will only drive a Mitsubishi. But Kaibara's faith began to unravel last year. That's when a customer nearly ran down his own grandchild while attempting to park a 1998 Mitsubishi Diamante. The driver had just put the car in reverse when it lurched backward, barely missing the child before crashing into a gate.  http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_41/b3702244.htm