on SW bugs & ABS [zero Audi content]

[glen <gpowell@acacianet.com>]

GM: Computer glitch could affect brakes

                 General Motors' safety chief says computer coding problems for
                 anti-lock brakes on about 4 million pickups and sport-utility vehicles may
                 explain the long stopping distances many owners have experienced and
                 federal regulators are investigating. 

                 During the last three years, the National Highway Traffic Safety
                 Administration (NHTSA) has received at least 15,000 complaints about
                 the trucks' anti-lock braking systems (ABS), more than in any other
                 safety investigation.

                 Many owners say their trucks sailed through intersections after they hit
                 their brakes and activated the ABS.

                 Robert Lange, director of safety engineering, says GM has ruled out
                 corrosion in an ABS valve as a factor and is now focusing on problems
                 with computer algorithms.

                 Computers would be an easier fix, because GM could test the ABS
                 computers and repair only the malfunctioning ones rather than having to
                 replace valves in all the vehicles if the risk of corrosion were the
                 problem.

                 GM is shifting some of its earlier blame for problems from drivers who
                 weren't familiar with truck ABS to its own engineers. 

                 Lange says the engineers didn't configure the brakes to meet what
                 drivers expect in pedal feel and in response time. He says he wasn't
                 satisfied when he tested the brakes on GM Suburbans, among the trucks
                 under investigation. But he says, ''That doesn't mean they're unsafe.''

                 Not all safety experts would agree. ''Any time you increase the stopping
                 distance, you run the risk of safety problems,'' says Michael Brownlee,
                 who headed NHTSA's office of defect investigations until he retired last
                 year. ''If it happens when you're coming up to a stop sign or stoplight, the
                 middle of the intersection is no place to be.''

                 In its investigation, NHTSA has not ruled out corrosion as a cause. And
                 some mechanics think there may be more than one problem with the
                 systems.

                 Ron Catt, a master car and truck mechanic whose Huntington Beach,
                 Calif., shop has worked on ABS problems on several GM trucks, says,
                 ''The computer sure could be one of the problems.''

                 Although GM has resisted government prodding to do a recall because of
                 the ABS problem, Lange says company officials don't think they will take
                 the government to court over the matter.

                 But he thinks fewer than 1 million of the trucks would likely be affected
                 by a recall - a contention that federal officials are expected to vigorously
                 dispute. 


-glen