Auto Electronic Faults May Be ‘Untraceable,’ U.S. Panel Says

U.S. regulators were justified in closing a probe into unintended acceleration of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles without finding electronic causes, a National Academy of Sciences panel said while emphasizing it wasn’t ruling out such failures in the future.

Software and other electronic failures may not leave traces that investigators are equipped to find, so the Washington-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration must “become more familiar with and engaged in” setting automotive-electronics standards, the panel said today in a report.