Implementation of Subsystem Reliability Growth Testing on a Purpose Built Electric Vehicle

The automotive industry faces increasing economic pressure to identify and resolve failure modes as early as possible in the vehicle development cycle in order to achieve customer enthusiasm cost effectively. This paper discusses the implementation of reliability growth testing (RGT) as applied to the electrical subsystem in new technology, low volume, accelerated vehicle programs.

Reliability Growth is the positive improvement in a reliability parameter over a period of time due to changes in product design or the manufacturing process as a result of the iterative process of testing, identification of design, part, and workmanship defects and correction of the causes of these defects, Figure 1.^[1]