The interim report, dated February 4, 2010, notes that Exponent was unable to induce unintended acceleration in any of the ETCS-i equipped Toyota and Lexus vehicles it tested. In all cases, the vehicle either behaved normally or entered a fail-safe mode where engine power was significantly reduced or shut off, a press release states.

However, Exponent’s testing and evaluation is ongoing. Its first phase evaluation was performed by a team that included both engineers and technicians with specialized knowledge in mechanical, electrical, and automotive engineering and involved extensive testing on multiple vehicles and individual components under a variety of normal and abnormal conditions.

A Reuter's report indicates that Toyota will conduct another review as it tries to show that there are no problems with the system - using additional external experts.