Patent ID: 8761996

Claim:
An automated method setting a neutral position of accelerator pedal of a motor vehicle corresponding to an idle running mode of the motor vehicle, the method comprising the following steps: sensing a pedal voltage corresponding to a position of the accelerator pedal with a first sensor; communicating the sensed pedal voltage to a computer processor; determining with the computer processor a lowest pedal voltage occurring during a first drive cycle, wherein the first drive cycle includes multiple discrete periods of the sensed pedal voltage remaining at the lowest pedal voltage for at least a predetermined period of time, the multiple discrete periods occurring during the first drive cycle being separated by periods in which the sensed pedal voltage increases above the lowest pedal voltage; confirming the determined lowest pedal voltage during at least one succeeding drive cycle; setting a minimum pedal value based on the confirmed lowest pedal voltage; performing a plausibility check with the computer processor on the minimum pedal value using at least one further pedal sensor; and defining the neutral position of the accelerator pedal based on the minimum pedal value and storing the neutral position in a non-transitory computer readable memory in communication with the computer processor.