Runaway 2008 Chevrolet Equinox reported in Louisville

This link has a video. The trooper has to get in front and hit the brake.

Mother's 911 calls from runaway car | WHAS11.com | Louisville news, Kentucky news & breaking news | WHAS11.com | News for Louisville, Kentucky

 

Since GM is FEDERAL government owned ... it would be prudent for Media outlets that want to get their FEDERAL communications commission license renewed to keep this on the down-low.
Nah ... stuff like that never happens.



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Ah, GM found an aftermarket floor mat directly on top of the gas pedal, and no DTC's found. Hmmmm

I guess they don't teach drivers how to shift into N anymore, or turn the key off. She was smart enough to use her cell phone though

I've tried some experiments with my '07 FJ in an empty parking lot, where it is safe to do so. From a dead stop, floor the gas pedal. That 4 litre V6 is ballsy, you take off like a rocket

Then shift into N.

Motor screams and hits the rev limiter. Apply brakes and quickly stop

I then tried flooring it from a dead stop, but instead of shifting into N, turned the key from On to Acc. Motor immediately quits, so does the power steering. Plenty of assist from the electric assist brakes to quickly stop

I'm now curious about the credit rating of this woman who claimed she couldn't stop her Equinox. Wonder if her house is in foreclosure?

 

It won't get the same amount of media attention.

Without stirring up conspiracy theories the feeding frenzy surrounding Toyota's and "Death Cars" in general has died down.

It is funny though:

"complaints of runaway vehicles have been lodged against nearly every automaker under the sun."

Hmm...that reality seemed to be universally ignored throughout most of the media just a few months ago.

 

1. Anna's cute.
2. She's going to Shelbyville. We all know about Shelbyville. They drink Fud beer.
3. The trooper thought she would be smart enough to run into his back bumper. Jeez. She's not smart enough to shift into neutral so why would you think this? When she passed he should have run her into the guardrail.
4. I hope those kids take after Dad--and that he's smarter.
5. Now we know how to beat a speeding ticket in Kentucky.

The 1st comment says it all: The story is just that, a story. We're expected to believe that not only did the cruise control get stuck, but the transmission then failed, then the e-brake failed, and the brakes failed. Despite many people's fears of a ghost in the machine, these systems are tested heavily and have safeguards built into the code. The first rule of engineering is to do the public no harm. Also, shifting a car into reverse will NOT roll the vehicle. The transmission won't engage, it will just grind away. Mythbusters did this a few years back. Shifting into neutral at any speed is a safety feature that no good transmission engineer would take away. The only way it would not work is due to a mechanical failure of the shifting mechanism. These are the things that need to be taught in driver's education classes instead of the endless "drunk-driving is bad" lesson plans that kids get nowadays. Everyone needs to have a basic understanding of how the 2-ton death machine they are driving works.

 

When does the Senate investigation on the cover up begin?


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Stupidity at it's finest these days....... People have zero common sense anymore on how to control a vehicle.

I actually had this happen on my 99 S-10. Too much carbon crap built up on the throttle body blade. It stuck open, Right away I pushed the clutch pedal in, Shut it down and used the brakes to stop the truck. I then grabbed some Ether out of the tool box and cleaned it up on the side of the road.

 

Proper protocol would suggest first taking a hit off of the ether to calm your nerves.

Tom

 

lol

 

As an aside, my 2000 GMC Sierra with the Vortec 5.3, I soon learned to clean the IAC and throttle butterfly every spring and fall. Cold temps down to -40, and very short trips, meant a lot of vapor from the PCV in the intake

The idle would get choppy and I knew it was time for a cleaning. With the shop manual, motor already warmed up, it was easy to take the IAC off the TB and use a 3M Throttle Body Cleaner to spray out the passages.

I also sprayed off the back side of the blade, which tended to have a black gooey substance on it. This stuff was also found on the IAC pintle valve. It was crucial to not actually touch or try to move the pintle valve while off the TB housing, as the manual warned the stepper motor inside could be damaged

Then put everything back together, start it back up, and go through the Idle Learn Procedure: 5 mins in Drive with all accessories off, 5 mins in Park, key off for 30 secs, restart

Nice smooth idle again