Sudden unintended acceleration: my experience (or lack, thereof)
THE SUA or sudden unintended acceleration issue has swept the media like a hurricane. People are up in arms over the situation. Social media is equally ablaze over it, would-be experts and armchair critics posting various “evidences” over the Mitsubishi Montero Sport going wild. On the other hand, staunch supporters of the brand and the vehicle itself are equally posting their side and personal experience with the car.
But let’s review the facts. As fair and honest journalists, we believe one is innocent until proven guilty. We deal with facts that are proven, all-encompassing, consistent and repeatable.
Fact: The Mitsubishi Montero Sport is made in Thailand and most recently in Russia for the Central European markets. For the Asean and the rest of the world, it is Thailand which is the source of our Montero Sport. As of Oct. 15 this year, there have been over 88,000 units of the Montero Sport sold in the Philippines since its introduction in 2008, and another 260,000 sold elsewhere worldwide. The Montero Sport is also known as the Pajero Sport in Bangladesh, India, China and some other Asean markets, the Challenger in Australia, Pajero Dakar in Latin America and
Nativa in parts of Latin America and the Middle East.
Fact: Of the 88,000 units sold in the Philippines, 60,000 were automatics. That’s a staggering number, but the Philippines is after all, Mitsubishi’s eighth largest market in the world. You can establish how important the Philippine market is, small as we are (320,000 cars sold for 2015 is the best industry estimate).
Fact: With the Montero Sport being sold all over the world, it begs the question: Why is the SUA phenomenon only being experienced in the Philippines? There have been ZERO incidents of such reported anywhere else in the world.
The most common statement of the so-called victims of SUA was that the car accelerated wildly despite no throttle application. Talking to ECU experts (from the aftermarket industry background), these experts tell us that when a fault code is detected by most ECUs (there are only a handful of OEM ECU manufacturers: Denso, Bosch, Siemens and Magneti Marelli to name a few) that has anything to do with the engine, the ECU will automatically go into limp mode. On drive-by-wire vehicles, this prevents the throttle plate from opening beyond a small percentage (no more than 30-percent throttle opening, usually less) precisely to avoid any sudden unintended motion. While the people I spoke to could not immediately verify if the Montero Sport’s ECU has this safety feature, it’s not far from the truth.
Second most common statement is that when the Montero Sport accelerated aggressively, the drivers could not stop the vehicle even when they depressed the brakes fully, or so they say. My experience? During the Montero Sport’s dynamic launch held at Clark International Speedway a few years ago, Mitsubishi Racing factory works driver Hiroshi Masuoka, the legendary Paris-Dakar rally driver, took me along with three other passengers for some hot laps around a makeshift auto-cross track which consisted of the CIS Short Course plus some muddy infield sections. As we rounded out the final corner, the Montero Sport leaned heavily on its right side, with Masuoka accelerating full-on, riding the curbs on the apex, and slamming onto the brakes to make the tight left-hander back into the muddy dirt infield. Despite the tires being covered in mud, the Montero Sport, with five full-size occupants, stopped on a dime from roughly 150 kilometers per hour then turned left to enter the narrow dirt infield. I repeated the exercise numerous times on the track, and despite much chassis pitching (as is typical for a big, heavy 4WD vehicle), the Montero Sport never experienced fade and always stopped consistently, repeatedly.
Fact: The Montero Sport’s brake pedal has what is called a brake switch. The switch is an independently operating device which gets its signal when the brake pedal is depressed. When the brake switch is activated, the brake switch triggers the rear brake lights to illuminate. Theoretically, the brake lights should be triggered by the brake switch even if the brake system itself is inoperable. Hence, this dispels hearsay that the brakes did not work in the infamous white Montero Sport which reversed wildly, slamming into a row of parked motorcycles, then accelerating forward vigorously, slamming into a bunch of parked cars ahead, as caught on CCTV. It’s obvious that the driver DID NOT depress the brake pedal during the supposed SUA incident, as prior to switching drivers, the brake lights were functioning perfectly, allowing the Montero Sport to stop and switch drivers.
Fact: Of the early SUA incidents Mitsubishi investigated, the drivers’ statements were in direct contradiction to what by-standers and witnesses say.
Fact: It was pointed out that the SUA phenomenon was caused by EMI interference on the Montero Sport. Mitsubishi flew in experts from Japan and camped out beside a TV station’s main antenna tower to measure EMI levels. TV stations emit the most powerful EMI in a nonmilitary use, but according to the Mitsubishi experts, the EMI measured was negligible to affect the Montero Sport’s ECU operation.
Fact: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is a department filled with incompetent idiots. They obviously do not know anything about the technical side of the automotive industry. This is normal. I do not profess to be an expert either. But like most people with common sense, I ask around and look for professional opinion from real experts. The guys and gals at the DTI obviously did not get the memo. Or is common sense not so common after all? They asked around and found an “expert” who said car-washing might be a factor in SUA. The DTI is an idiot for finding someone like this fellow, who is also an idiot, and calling him as an “expert.” Thank goodness I am not an expert. The lack of a real, technical expert or technical support is also what has killed the lemon law, as the DTI has yet to establish a real expert monitoring board to adjudicate on technical matters. Mind you, the motoring media is always willing to help the DTI people, just don’t call us experts.
Fact: Our family has owned two Montero Sport SUVs. We were one of the first to acquire a 2010 3.2 GLS and the later 2012 2.5 GTV, both automatics. Both vehicles served our family for three years each. In addition, we also owned a 2011 Strada GLS Sport V pickup which shares the same basic powertrain as the Montero Sport. None of the three vehicles ever gave us problems. All three vehicles were religiously maintained by a certified Mitsubishi Service Center (Diamond Motors in C5 Pasig). The cars were driven by a variety of drivers—my dad, our family drivers, my three other brothers, my sister and a handful of friends—with zero incidents. Today, the Montero Sport 3.2 GLS is owned by a lawyer friend of ours, while the 2.5 GTV is owned by a business partner of ours. Zero incidents on both. And they use it everyday.
I even modified the Strada with a TMC Motorsport ECU reflash which yielded an additional 20 horsepower and 94 pound-foot (127 Newton-meters) of torque measured on a Dyna Pack hub dyno. I also installed an Opposite Lock 2-inch suspension lift kit. Increasing the power and raising the center of gravity should have exacerbated the situation. Instead, the Strada became more enjoyable to drive and handled even better than before after these upgrades.
There are some niggles admittedly: The brake pedal is somewhat close to the accelerator pedal, and on the same level unlike other brands which have the brake pedal set higher to allow you to fully utilize the full braking force; and the footwell is small such that if your feet are bigger than a 10 EE, you’ll snag something down there. You can also shift from P to R to N to D simply by pressing on the transmission lock switch but without stepping on the brake pedal, a safety feature common on other cars, particularly European and American vehicles.
Lastly, and this isn’t exclusive to Mitsubishi, floor mats sliding underneath the pedals have been known to prevent full depression of both the brake and accelerator pedal. Revised Montero Sport and Strada models thus introduced a clip/hook on the floor mats to prevent it from sliding underneath the pedals and preventing full depression. Unfortunately, many Filipino motorists make it worse by adding more layers of aftermarket matting which slide underneath the pedals, making it impossible to fully utilize the braking as well as acceleration.
What is most disturbing is how certain media outfits have gone out on a holy war to destroy and demolish Mitsubishi’s reputation on the eve of the launch of their next model. The timing is just so perfect. The news team even went as far as to show that all Mitsubishi Montero Sport accidents were caused by SUA, showing a variety of overturned, damaged and destroyed Mitsubishi Montero Sports. That is a complete lie, a perversion of the truth, misleading the people and causing widespread panic. I know because I saw two of these accidents myself on a road trip, and when I asked the bystanders back then what had happened, they said that the driver lost control on slippery road conditions.
Having driven almost every car sold on the road from lowly A-segment cars to hypercars only available abroad, and having extensive experience in technical automotive matters thanks to my involvement in the aftermarket and motorsports scene, working closely with car manufacturers and OEM suppliers alike, I truly and sincerely believe that SUA is caused by driver error. But don’t worry, I’m not an expert. I just know cars well, and crucially, have access to people who work on cars. I deal with facts, like true journalists, and don’t bother twisting the truth to suit my own selfish agenda.
Let it be known that I wrote this not to support Mitsubishi but to find the truth by reviewing the facts. Without listening to hearsay and rumor.
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