Toyota finally releases computer code necessary to interpret electronic data

Unlike Ford and General Motors, historically Toyota Motor Corp. has not shared the source code essential to interpreting the electronic data collected in Toyota vehicle "black boxes."  With its recent sudden acceleration and other reliability difficulties, Toyota last year cooperated with law enforcement authorities for the first time by revealing codes, however, it continued to refuse to share source codes with engineers outside law enforcement.  This month the source code was finally produced for examination by the attorneys and engineers representing persons alleging  sudden acceleration injuries or deaths.  They anticipated spending about 1.5 million dollars over 12 months, in an effort to independently identify a glitch in the electronic throttle.  A federal government report released in 2010 concluded that  there was no electronic defect, however, the attorneys and engineers supporting purported victims claim that the latter study was "biased and incomplete."