VEHICLE DIAGNOSTIC CONTROL SYSTEM

摘要

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus (10) is provided for a vehicle equipped with a drive system (12) and a controller (16) for regulating the operating speed of the drive system. The apparatus (10) includes at least one sensor (23) for sensing a vehicle parameter and producing a parameter signal in response to the sensed parameter. A diagnostic device (24) is provided for receiving the parameter signal, processing the parameter signal to detect the presence of an undesirable operating condition; determining the severity of the undesirable operating condition in accordance with a preselected strategy and responsively producing a severity level signal. The controller (16) receives the severity level signal and limits the maximum speed of the vehicle in response to the severity level signal, whereby the maximum allowable vehicle speed decreases as the severity level signal increases.