Incident: Faulty Fuel Gauges in GM SUVs Due to Engine Control Module Software Glitch

Published Date: 2016-10-12

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving faulty fuel gauges in 2014 models of Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia due to a glitch in the engine control module software happened between March 26 and August 15, 2013 [49263].
System 1. Engine control module software [49263]
Responsible Organization 1. The software failure incident was caused by a glitch in the engine control module software, as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Article 49263. [49263]
Impacted Organization 1. General Motors [49263]
Software Causes 1. The software causes of the failure incident were a glitch in the engine control module software, leading to faulty fuel gauges in 2014 models of Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia [49263].
Non-software Causes 1. Faulty fuel gauges in the 2014 models of Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia [49263].
Impacts 1. The software failure incident in General Motors vehicles led to faulty fuel gauges misrepresenting the amount of gas in the tank, increasing the risk of running out of gas or stalling, which in turn raised the risk of accidents [49263].
Preventions 1. Regular software testing and quality assurance procedures during the development phase could have potentially identified the glitch in the engine control module software before it caused a widespread issue [49263].
Fixes 1. Reprogramming the engine control module would fix the software failure incident in the affected vehicles [49263].
References 1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) [49263]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring unknown (a) The software failure incident related to faulty fuel gauges in 2014 models of certain SUVs from General Motors is a unique incident mentioned in the provided article [49263]. There is no mention of a similar incident happening again within the same organization. (b) The article [49263] does not mention any similar incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident in this case is related to the design phase. The article mentions that the problem with the faulty fuel gauges in certain SUV models is due to a glitch in the engine control module software. This glitch causes the fuel levels to be misrepresented, leading to potential risks for drivers such as running out of gas or stalling, which increases the risk of accidents [49263]. The need for reprogramming the engine control module to fix the issue indicates that the problem originated in the design or development of the software system.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) The software failure incident in this case is within_system. The article mentions that the problem with the faulty fuel gauges in the GM vehicles is due to a glitch in the engine control module software [49263]. This glitch within the software is causing the fuel gauges to misrepresent the amount of gas in the tank, leading to potential risks for drivers such as running out of gas or stalling. The fix for this issue involves reprogramming the engine control module, indicating that the root cause of the problem lies within the system itself.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident in this case was due to non-human actions. The article mentions that the problem with the faulty fuel gauges in certain SUV models was caused by a glitch in the engine control module software. This glitch led to the misrepresentation of the amount of gas in the tank, increasing the risk of running out of gas or stalling, which could potentially lead to accidents [49263].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware, software (a) The software failure incident in the article is attributed to a glitch in the engine control module software, which is a hardware component. The glitch in the software causes the faulty fuel gauges in the affected vehicles, leading to misrepresentation of the amount of gas in the tank [49263].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident in this case is non-malicious. The article mentions that the problem with the faulty fuel gauges in certain SUV models is due to a glitch in the engine control module software. This glitch causes the fuel gauge to misrepresent the amount of gas in the tank, leading to potential risks for drivers such as running out of gas or stalling, which could result in accidents. The issue is attributed to a software flaw rather than any malicious intent by individuals [49263].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions The software failure incident mentioned in Article 49263 was due to a glitch in the engine control module software, which caused faulty fuel gauges in certain SUV models manufactured by General Motors. This glitch led to the misrepresentation of the amount of gas in the tank, increasing the risk of running out of gas or stalling, thereby potentially causing accidents. This incident aligns more with the category of "accidental_decisions" as it was a mistake or unintended consequence of the software programming rather than a deliberate poor decision [49263].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence (a) The software failure incident in this case is attributed to development incompetence. The article mentions that the problem with the faulty fuel gauges in certain SUV models from General Motors is due to a glitch in the engine control module software. This glitch causes the fuel gauge to misrepresent the amount of gas in the tank, potentially leading to drivers running out of gas or stalling, increasing the risk of accidents [49263]. This indicates that the software issue was a result of a lack of professional competence in the development process.
Duration temporary The software failure incident mentioned in Article 49263 is temporary. The article states that the problem with the faulty fuel gauges in the GM vehicles is due to a glitch in the engine control module software. This glitch causes the fuel gauge to misrepresent the amount of gas in the tank, leading to the risk of running out of gas or stalling. The fix for this issue involves reprogramming the engine control module, indicating that the failure is temporary and can be resolved through a software update [49263].
Behaviour value, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in this case is not described as a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. The issue with the faulty fuel gauges in the GM vehicles is related to a glitch in the engine control module software that misrepresents the amount of gas in the tank, potentially leading to running out of gas or stalling [49263]. (b) omission: The software failure incident is not attributed to omission where the system omits to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Instead, the issue is specifically related to a glitch in the software that causes incorrect fuel gauge readings [49263]. (c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions correctly but at the wrong time. The glitch in the engine control module software in this case does not involve timing errors but rather misrepresentation of fuel levels [49263]. (d) value: The software failure incident is related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. The glitch in the engine control module software causes the fuel gauges to inaccurately display the amount of gas in the tank, potentially leading to safety risks [49263]. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident is not described as a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The issue with the faulty fuel gauges is attributed to a specific glitch in the software that causes a consistent problem of misrepresenting fuel levels [49263]. (f) other: The software failure incident in this case is specifically related to a glitch in the engine control module software that causes the fuel gauges to provide inaccurate readings, leading to potential safety risks. This behavior does not fall into the categories of crash, omission, timing, or byzantine failures [49263].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence harm, theoretical_consequence The consequence of the software failure incident mentioned in the article is the potential harm to individuals due to the faulty fuel gauges caused by a glitch in the engine control module software. This flaw may lead drivers to believe they have more fuel than they actually do, increasing the risk of running out of gas or stalling, which in turn could lead to an accident [49263].
Domain transportation (a) The software failure incident reported in the article is related to the transportation industry. The affected vehicles, including Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia, had a faulty fuel gauge issue due to a glitch in the engine control module software, which could misrepresent the amount of gas in the tank, potentially leading to running out of gas or stalling while driving [Article 49263].

Sources

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