10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 32 / 3
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 121 / 3
- Average Mileage:
- 65,599 miles
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« Read the previous 20 complaints
I was driving my 2006 Chevy Cobalt when I was taking a friend to the airport. I was on I-495 N in the lane leading to the exit that takes you to the airport toll road. I applied my brakes and the car did not slow down. Hoping to coast down the exit and pull off to the side of the road, I turned the steering wheel to veer the car left. The car kept going straight. I kept hitting the brakes and turned the steering wheel to the left, but the car did not stop, nor did it turn. We crashed into the guardrail at about 50 mph. The airbags did not deploy. Turns out the car shut off while I was driving it. This was the second time this had occurred. It happened back in May 2006 and I took it in to the dealership. They kept it for a couple of days and said it was fine. Apparently not.
- Alexandria, VA, USA
2-incidents of sudden acceleration at freeway speeds: The first time the cruise was activated and on hitting resume the car took off on it's own. The coast function did not slow the car and turning off the cruise did not slow the car. I was in fairly light traffic and was able to steer and brake out of trouble until the accelerator returned to normal[the brakes only partially slowed the car because of the high speed involved]. about an hour later I was entering a freeway and at about 40-45 mph the accelerator went to the floor on its own again and I had only partial control of the car's speed. The cruise was off this time and again after a few minutes and miles the engine revved down to normal on its own. Again traffic was fairly light so I was able to steer and brake through without a crash but in heavier traffic this would be a serious problem. The dealer test drove the car for about 18-miles but could not replicate the incident which is random and intermittent and their diagnostic tests showed these incidents never happened but believe me this is a real problem when these computers or electronic systems malfunction. General Motors has opined that this is impossible which is a cover up since everything is controlled electronically. This is particularly dangerous since it happens at freeway speeds and the pedal goes to the max.
- National City , CA, USA
- Avondale, AZ, USA