Over the past 30 years, Prof. Pecht and his team at the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) have been engaged with the auto industry and the Center for Auto Safety, headquartered in Washington DC. The Center for Auto Safety, founded in 1970 by Ralph Nader and the Consumers Union, advocates on behalf of consumers on issues such as auto safety and quality, fuel efficiency, and emissions. Accomplishments of the Center for Auto Safety include enactment of lemon laws in all states, exposure of several car reliability and safety issues, implementation of safety and highway standards, publication of books and manuals for consumers, and litigation against manufacturers and government agencies. Clarence Ditlow, the current executive director of the Center, has also been instrumental in petitioning the government to recall vehicles from several manufacturers due to quality and reliability issues.

One particular effort that Prof. Pecht engaged in with the Center for Auto Safety was the co-authoring of the book Sudden Acceleration: The Myth of Driver Error, which studied unintended acceleration cases going back more than 20 years, and reported NHTSAs failure at that time to recognize and deal with the problems. The book was helpful in changing the awareness of electronics reliability and safety in automotive vehicles.

Recently, as a result of litigation concerning automotive electronic reliability, filings were made with the Federal District Court and money was allocated for research. With support from Clarence Ditlow, $750k was given as a gift to CALCE. Under this gift, CALCEs research will focus on the design and test of electronic systems that are used in automotive vehicles.

Design issues for electronic components and systems in automotive vehicles include supply chain creation, component selection, rating, and derating. Test issues include the development of more effective qualification, acceleration factors, and screening methodologies to reduce the risks of failure over the life of the vehicle. Specific technologies of research include the durability assessment of lead-free alternatives, analysis of no-fault-found issues, and battery safety and reliability. The need for reliable lead-free alternatives is particularly important, as the End of Life Vehicle Directive 2011/37/EU in the European Union will require automobile manufacturers to eliminate lead-based products from automotive electronics by January 2016.

Intermittent failures will be studied due to the large no-fault-found rate in warranty returns. CALCEs battery analysis will focus on methods to test and analyze battery safety. Recommendations will be developed for the manufacturers and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address the reliability and safety risks of new practices and technologies.

For more information on CALCEs research, including its research on automotive electronics, please visit: www.calce.umd.edu.