I don't think it's that simple. In fact, I think this report raises as many questions as it answers. Note that there are two reports on the NHTSA website. One is the NHTSA report (77 pages); the other is the NASA report (177 pages). http://www.nhtsa.gov/UA http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/NASA-UA_report.pdf The NASA report is very clear about the presence of tin whiskers (page 120-123). It also noted a failed pedal assembly contained multiple whiskers, while several other pedals reviewed also contained tin whiskers, although no failures were (yet) seen. Keep in mind only a handful of vehicles were used for the analysis, which means the results might not be representative of the entire fleet of Toyotas in use. In some cases an all-tin solder was used. The CTS-built pedals lacked conformal coating on the boards (page 125). The Denso-built pedals were built with SAC solder and embedded in a "potting substance" (page 127). I find it very interesting that the number of complaints of unintended acceleration have tapered off to zero. How is it that there was such a cluster of bad drivers, and then none at all? Is Toyota designing something different (other than the shimmed pedal)? Using a different solder and/or finish? Something doesn't add up. There are a lot of unanswered questions, IMO. Not to put anyone on the spot, but I would also be curious whether the Joint Group on Pollution Prevention is planning to take any of the NASA findings into account? Best, Mike Mike Buetow Circuits Assembly w/m 617-327-4702 VIRTUAL PCB: the electronics industry's only online trade show! www.virtual-pcb.com -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stephen Pierce Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 3:36 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] NTC: Excuse me, but... where can engineers go to get their reputation back? http://tinyurl.com/ToyotaEETimes ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=E-mail-Forums for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please contact helpdesk at x2960 or [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=E-mail-Forums for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------