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by ken_railey 4613 days ago
Also not trying to blame the victim, but it seems the even more obvious/natural approach would be to use the brakes. Those are hydraulic, and plenty powerful enough to counteract any force generated by a Camry's engine.
1 comments

>Those are hydraulic

Are they hydraulic from the brake pedal to the brake pad, or is the brake pedal just a software input to a brake control system?

From one of the other articles on the Camry unexpected acceleration issue, emphasis theirs:

"Vehicle tests confirmed that one particular dead task would result in loss of throttle control, and that the driver might have to fully remove their foot from the brake during an unintended acceleration event before being able to end the unwanted acceleration".

The natural approach seems to cause as many problems as it might otherwise fix!

The brake pedal actuates the master cylinder, which is connected hydraulically to the calipers. Even if stomping on the brakes triggered more throttle problems, they are still plenty strong enough to stop the wheels from turning.
In a car with ABS and brake assist - standard features on new cars - software has the ability to completely override your input.
Ah, but what about anti-lock brake systems?
Anti-lock brake systems work by reducing hydraulic pressure at a wheel that is determined to be slipping. It doesn't affect how braking is activated.
A little black box regulates the applied pressure due to criteria X.

I submit to you that if X is buggy, the little black box may decide never to allow pressure to hit the brakes. This in turn prevents braking.