Patent ID: 8382642

Claim:
A vehicle control apparatus, comprising: an automatic stop and restart control unit which stops and restarts an engine of a vehicle; a brake fluid pressure control unit controlling wheel cylinder pressure by using a brake system, which intensifies brake manipulation force by a brake booster to cause master cylinder pressure in a master cylinder while the engine is in operation, the brake booster generating vacuum pressure, and which transfers the master cylinder pressure to wheel cylinders to cause the wheel cylinder pressure, the brake system including an actuator which automatically increases pressure in the wheel cylinders irrespective of the brake manipulation force; a negative pressure detection unit which detects the vacuum pressure; a first determination unit which determines whether or not the vacuum pressure detected by the negative pressure detection unit is equal to or less than a first threshold while the engine is stopped; a restarting unit which allows the automatic stop and restart control unit to restart the engine when the first determination unit determines that the vacuum pressure is equal to or less than the first threshold; a second determination unit which determines whether or not the vacuum pressure detected by the negative pressure detection unit is equal to or less than a second threshold; and a braking boost unit which allows the brake fluid pressure control unit to automatically increase the pressure in the wheel cylinders when the second determination unit determines that the vacuum pressure is equal to or less than the second threshold.