An extensive 10-month federal investigation has shown that electronic conditions did not lead to reported acceleration problems with Toyota vehicles.

The news comes as Toyota is poised to release Entune telematics service with five apps, later this year, in select Toyota models.

On Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) presented conclusions of the study it undertook at the request of Congress, and noted how it used NASA engineers to see if electronic systems or electromagnetic interference contributed to reports of unintended acceleration.

In a statement released  by the NHTSA, officials said that “NASA engineers found no electronic flaws in Toyota vehicles capable of producing the large throttle openings required to create dangerous high-speed unintended acceleration incidents.”

Accelerator pedals that stick and accelerator pedals getting “trapped by floor mats” are the “known causes” for unintended acceleration. The two causes led to Toyota recalling nearly 8 million vehicles in the United States.

“We enlisted the best and brightest engineers to study Toyota’s electronics systems, and the verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a press release on Tuesday.

NASA engineers reviewed electronic circuitry in the Toyotas and analyzed more than 280,000 lines of software code, according to the Department of Transportation.

At the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, “Engineers bombarded vehicles with electromagnetic radiation to study whether such radiation could cause malfunctions resulting in unintended acceleration,” the DOT said.

"NASA found no evidence that a malfunction in electronics caused large unintended accelerations," reports Michael Kirsch, principal engineer at the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC).

The NHTSA may propose new rules during this year. These include:

• Require brake override systems.
• Standardize operation of keyless ignition systems.
• Require event data recorders in all passenger vehicles.
• Begin research on the reliability and security of electronic control systems.
• Research the placement and design of accelerator and brake pedals, as well as driver usage of pedals.

In other Toyota News, CNET reports that Toyota Motor Sales USA will roll out Entune telematics service with five apps later in 2011 in select Toyota models. Entune is expected to offer voice-controlled access to smart phone apps, such as Internet radio, making restaurant reservations and purchasing movie tickets.

Toyota also offers more traditional telematics through products developed by ATX.

Versions of the Entune applications are expected to be available for Android, BlackBerry (News - Alert), and iPhone phones.

Toyota Motor Sales launched the Toyota Entune multimedia system at the recent Consumer Electronics Show, according to TMCnet.

Chris Daniels, general manager of Bing for Mobile at Microsoft (News - Alert), added in a statement that, “By bringing Bing Maps and Bing for Mobile technology to the car, we are helping Toyota enhance the overall in-vehicle experience to be as rich and robust as possible, which means personalizing the information to each driver's needs."