ety ▁Administration ▁( N HT SA ) ▁and ▁the ▁National ▁Aer onaut ics ▁and ▁Space ▁Administration ▁( N AS A ), ▁aim ed ▁to ▁identify ▁the ▁main ▁cause ▁of ▁sudden ▁acceleration ▁in ▁Toy ota ▁and ▁Lex us ▁models . ▁The ▁study ▁was ▁requested ▁by ▁the ▁U . S . ▁Congress ▁and ▁" en list ed ▁NASA ▁engine ers ▁with ▁expert ise ▁in ▁areas ▁such ▁as ▁computer ▁controlled ▁electronic ▁systems , ▁elect romagnet ic ▁inter ference ▁and ▁software ▁integrity ". ▁The ▁most ▁common ▁problem ▁was ▁drivers ▁hitting ▁the ▁acceler ator ▁ped al ▁when ▁they ▁thought ▁they ▁were ▁hitting ▁the ▁bra ke , ▁which ▁the ▁N HT SA ▁called ▁" ped al ▁mis application .” ▁Of ▁the ▁ 5 8 ▁cases ▁reported , ▁ 1 8 ▁were ▁dismiss ed ▁out ▁of ▁hand . ▁Of ▁the ▁remaining ▁ 4 0 , ▁ 3 9 ▁of ▁them ▁were ▁found ▁to ▁have ▁no ▁cause ; ▁the ▁remainder ▁being ▁an ▁instance ▁of ▁“ ped al ▁ent rap ment .” ▁One ▁investig ator ▁says ▁most ▁of ▁the ▁cases ▁involved ▁“ ped al ▁mis application ” ▁– ▁that ▁is , ▁“ the ▁driver ▁stepped ▁on ▁the ▁gas ▁rather ▁than ▁the ▁bra ke ▁or ▁in ▁addition ▁to ▁the ▁bra ke .” ▁The ▁report ▁concluded ▁that ▁the ▁two ▁mechanical ▁safety ▁defect s ▁that ▁were ▁originally ▁identified ▁by ▁N HT SA ▁are ▁known ▁causes ▁of ▁dangerous ▁un int ended ▁acceleration . ▁▁ ▁Lit ig ation ▁▁ ▁Cons um ers ▁in ▁the ▁U . S . ▁and ▁Canada ▁have ▁file d ▁numerous ▁class ▁action ▁law