Update: To see all of TTAC’s related articles on the subject of Toyota gas pedals, go here:
In yesterday’s post , we offered a bounty for anyone to open up both the CTS (bottom) and Denso (top) Toyota gas pedal assemblies. No one took us up, and no one anywhere else has done it, so we took it upon ourselves . Here they are, both e-pedal assemblies taken apart and examined, in our quest to understand if and what the significant differences are, and how Toyota’s possible “shim” fix would work. On initial observation, it appears that the CTS may be perceived as being the more solidly engineered/built unit, in that the pedal pivots on a traditional and solid steel axle whose bearings are brass or bronze sleeves. The Denso’s whole pivot and bearing surfaces are relatively flimsy-feeling plastic. But that can be deceptive, and we’re not qualified to judge properly if it is indeed inferior or superior. So the question that goes beyond the analysis of these e-pedals is this: are these units really the full source of the problem, or are they scape goats for an electronics and/or software glitch? Pictures and tear down examination and analysis follows:
Update #2: It’s clear to me now that the CTS unit I took apart already had the side cover plates (sheet metal) removed before I examined it. One can see where they fit, and are obviously intended to protect the exposed axle pivot and bushing seen above and below:
(Update #3: Also see our follow-up stories on Toyota’s fix and our replication of the fix and its results)
Tagged as Analysis of toyota gas pedals, CTS, cts gas pedal, cts gas pedal analyzed, cts gas pedal taken apart, CTS pedal, CTS pedal insides, CTS pedal taken apart, Denso, denso gas pedal, Denso pedal taken apart, gas pedal, gas pedal design, gas pedal engineering, gas pedal taken apart, how a gas pedal works, Paul Niedermeyer, Recall, toyota e-pedal, toyota gas pedal fix, toyota gas pedal recall, toyota gas pedal torn apart, toyota recall, toyota recall fix, toyota shim fix for gas pedal, toyota sudden acceleration, toyta pedal recall
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