Turning the X5 off in an Emergency

[ABMW]

Originally Posted by mbarrett635

My '96 850Ci is drive by wire; all the 8 series have been, since they were first developed in 1989. So were all the V12 seven series cars (-1988 on). Not a single incidence of unintended acceleration in any of them, that I've ever heard of.

You said "that I've ever heard of" in your remarks above. That's a key statement.

You never heard of unintended Toyota accelerations until August when floor mats were recalled, despite rumblings about it since 2004.

Single individuals can only make so much noise, and "investigative reporters" on the nightly news are usually local in nature.

It took 400 complaints before Toyota informed the world there was an issue.

I don't know if 1989 model cars were Drive-by-wire (DBW) equipped, but things like the Internet have sped communication drastically. If there was a problem in 1989, one would have had to write the NHTSA a type written letter, on a type writer or by hand, look up the mailing address at a library or call information and document their complaint.

That's quite a bit of effort. How then would the next person who had such an incident know about it, back in 1989? They would likely have had to make a formal request for information, and would have had information send back to them via snail mail. Point being, times have changed.

Many similar issues may have taken place, without the knowledge of the public due to issues with the dissemination of information.