So I guess our cars are "drive by wire". I know what this means in airplanes, but does it apply the same way to our cars? What exactly does the system entail? Someone in a thread said that the car adds throttle if you're in too high a gear/not giving enough gas and tries to prevent a stall. Is this true? I think I can feel it when I'm coming up my driveway.

 

drive by wire is another term for electronic throttle control. you have 2 sensors on the gas pedal (its a redundant setup for failsafe) that send a signal to the pcm, the pcm commands the throttle blade to open. the drive by wire system does a lot more than just open and close the throttle when you step on the pedal. the pcm will only open the throttle so fast to prevent wheel spin (torque managment), will limit the throttle when certain codes are set, reduce throttle in overboost conditions, and in the case of traction control, when the wheels start slipping it closes the throttle.

 

Yeah... it basically means that your throttle inputs are a suggestion to the computer rather than a command directly to the throttle plate. So if your suggestion is outside of the limits of the PCM settings, the car will not honor your inputs.

 

Thanks guys, that helps.