On may 11, 2016 while driving on I -81, my car with 86,000 miles on it suddenly started to weave back & forth across the interstate. I thought the tie rod had broken. I was able to slow down and pull off the road. Then I called a tow truck and had it taken to the nearest repair shop..no warning lights came on until the gm mechanic plugged in his code reader. Then lots of lights lit up. He said that the electronic control unit went haywire and caused the ABS system to fight with the stabilitrak system. All I know is that a extremely dangerous failure happened. If we had been in heavy traffic, or on slick rainy or snowy roads a serious accident would have occurred this failure reminds me of the problem toyota had years ago with their vehicles suddenly accelerating out of control.. My pontiac vibe is made by toyota. Please investigate toyota electronic control units. The part the gm dealer replaced is part # 19205576 :sl -n - module. It's price is $1,171.98 work was done at bachman - bernard chevrolet buick gm cadillac inc. 3365 east andrew johnson hwy greeneville, tn 37745. Phone # 423‑639‑4441. The mechanic's name is [xxx] . Service advisor is ..-[xxx]. R/o # 6063277. I do not have a scanner to upload the repair invoice. If you need any other information please email me at [xxx] or call [xxx], or [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2009 Pontiac Vibe: sudden unintended acceleration
15 of the 528 complaints about the 2009 Pontiac Vibe describe sudden unintended acceleration.
- owner complaints
- 15
- of this car's complaints
- 3%
- typical mileage
- 29,000
- recalls
- 2
Sudden unintended acceleration by model year
What owners say
I own a 2009 vibe . Recall has been completed re: sudden acceleration. They removed drivers floor mat over a year ago. I had first episode today. Fortunately it was at about 10mph. When I engaged the brake the engine revved and the brake pulsated like the anti-lock feature had been activated. The engine revved for 3 to 4 seconds the car accelerated. When the engine revving stopped the brake engaged properly and the car stopped. Fortunately I was on a street where the speed limit was 25 MPH and I had coasted down to about 10-15 MPH approaching the stop sign. Had this been a high speed or emergency stop the results could have been deadly. Please contact me about this as this vehicle is not safe to drive. I will also be contacting the federal safety agency. The above is a copy of information I sent to general motors via their pontiac web site.
When coming to a stop, occasionally the vehicle will lunge forward. I have noticed this on many, many occasions since purchasing the car in july 11. When coming to a fast stop (such as when someone pulls out in front of you or someone suddenly stops in front of you -- ABS is not being used as these are not panic stops) the brakes will work as they should until the car is almost stopped and then the car will lunge forward and I suddenly need to apply more force to the brakes to make the car stop. I suspect that the computer in the car is using engine braking to assist in slowing down the car and when the car hits a certain speed (or some other variable) the engine braking is turned off which causes the amount of pressure that I need to apply to the brakes to suddenly increase which gives the impression that the car is lunging forward. Regardless of what is causing this issue to occur, it is a safety issue. I have grown used to this issue and now can compensate for it, but it is still distressing when it occurs. I have talked to other vibe/matrix owners and they all state that they have the same issue. I believe that this is a significant safety issue as it could easily lead to an accident.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 pontiac vibe. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, an unexpected increase in the acceleration occurred without warning. The contact engaged the brake pedal; however the vehicle failed to stop and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. In addition, the air bags did not deploy. There were no personal injuries. A police report was filed in regards to the incident. The vehicle sustained severe damages and was towed to an authorized dealer for body repair. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of failure. Also, the vehicle was repaired for two recalls associated with the federal safety agency campaign id numbers 10v018000 (vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal) and 10v024000 (vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal). After the recall remedy repairs were performed, the unintended acceleration malfunction recurred on two different occasions. The vehicle was taken back to a dealer where they could not diagnose the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000. The VIN was unavailable.
On tues. Morning, aug. 31, 2010, at 6:51 a.m. (per receipt), I was stopped at the precinct line & hwy 183 starbucks drive-through window. My 2009 pontiac vive was in drive & my right foot was on the brake as it would be at a stop light. As my transaction proceeded, I heard a terrific, loud racing of an engine that sounded like a race car & then felt my car begin to move forward. I thought it was the car behind me doing something weird or being somehow out of control. I pushed harder on my brake to protect myself, but my vive started to surge forward. I then realized that this was the "toyota problem" happening to me & I, therefore, put the car in park & turned the engine off. As I put the vive in park, the engine raced wildly & I noticed the tachometer bouncing crazily up the scale. I exclaimed to the workers that my car was doing the "toyota thing." they just stared at me with wide eyes. I tried turning the car on again, this time with both of my feet on the brake; the engine raced wildly once again, & the tachometer bounced wildly. My feet remained extremely firm on the brake pedal. The brake pedal felt strangely weak, as though I was able to push it further to the floor than normal. I turned the vive off a second time & told the starbucks workers that I didn't know what to do, in that I was in their drive-through lane & I was afraid to turn the engine on to try to move away. I was panicked; they remained wide-eyed and speechless at the noise and spectacle. I decided to try a third time; this time the engine acted "normally" but sounded and acted weak. I was very scared as I drove away & was unsure of what the car would do next. I called my husband to meet me at work a few miles away to pick up the car that I no longer trust to drive. The starbucks manager and drive-through window barista who witnessed this event gave their names & phone numbers to us & are willing to confirm the event. Recall 10038 was performed 6 days prior to this occurrence.
I have a 2009 awd vibe which will, at times, upshift after braking causing the car to lurch forward for a second due to the upshift and upon taking my foot off the brake and then applying the brake again apparently does the same thing again. It only does this at about 30 to 40 miles an hour and mostly when going down a moderate hill I come upon no my way home from work. I have advised the dealer of my concerns but they seem to be unable to duplicate the problem and have no idea how to address it. The problem is concerning enough to me that I won't let anyone else drive the vehicle. I have not had the transmission reprogrammed as it doesn't seem to help from what I have read on other complaints. I have had all the other unintended acceleration issues addressed and it is not related to that problem.
My fiance and I have experienced the sudden acceleration problem in her 2009 pontiac vibe both before and after the factory retrofit a shim in the throttle. Both times we were going slowly (<20 MPH) as we approached a stop sign and releasing pressure on the throttle did not cause the engine to slow. Each time the problem persisted for 2-3 seconds. Case I: clear day in february 2010 with good road conditions on level ground. The engine did not throttle back when linda took her foot off the gas and put it on the brake. For perhaps 2 seconds the engine raced. I had time to look at the tachometer and saw it was about 2500 RPM, with the gas pedal released and her foot firmly on the brake. Perhaps two seconds after she released pressure from the gas pedal and applied the brake, the RPM dropped and the car came to a speedy halt. This pushed the car about 3 feet past the white intersection demarcation line before it stopped. The day before this happened, linda and I had removed the driver side floor mat. Linda promptly took the car to her dealer and had the warranty repair to the throttle mechanism completed within a few days. Case ii: friday july 9, 2010, was a clear day in july, much warmer, with excellent road conditions on a newly paved road. This time the transmission did not "gear down" as one would expect under normal operation, which I believe, kept the engine from racing. Again as in the first case, for perhaps 2-3 seconds after linda had taken her foot off the gas and applied the brake, the vehicle resisted her attempt to make it slow smoothly. Then the engine sound diminished suddenly, as the transmission executed a "hard shift" down and the vehicle came to a controlled stop, also several feet past the intersection demarcation line, but not really out into the intersection. Last week, pontiac replaced the throttle assembly.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 pontiac vibe. The contact stated that on june 4, 2010, while at a traffic light, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a wall. The contact sustained major injuries and was hospitalized. A police report was filed. The contact had previously been complaining about the transmission but the dealer refused to repair it. The contact called the manufacturer who referred her to back to the dealer. The current and failure mileages were approximately 50,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 pontiac vibe. While attempting to shift into the drive gear the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning, causing the contact to crash into a nearby pole. The contact suffered minor injuries yet a police report was not filed for the incident. The vehicle was not diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. The VIN was not available. The current and failure mileages were 30,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 pontiac vibe. The contact was driving 2 MPH when he applied the brakes and the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The contact was forced to drive the vehicle off of the road in order to slow it down. He shifted the vehicle into park and was able to stop the vehicle from accelerating. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer. The dealer called the manufacturer who stated that they would send an investigator to inspect the vehicle; the investigator had not inspected the vehicle when the complaint was filed. The dealer stated that they could order a new accelerator pedal to repair the vehicle. The contact did not want to drive the vehicle due to the safety risk. The current and failure mileages were approximately 18,500. Updated 11/03/10.
2009 pontiac vibe. Consumer states unintended acceleration. *tgw the consumer stated the vehicle accelerated out of control which caused her to crash into a light pole. The consumer stated when the vehicle was first purchased, it accelerated while she was driving into a garage. She was able to get the vehicle under control. *jb the consumer stated her vehicle was recalled due to sudden acceleration problems. Weeks prior to the accident, the consumer inquired about the recall and was informed the repairs would be made once the parts arrived. While waiting for the parts, the consumer had an accident. Updated 05/05/10.*jb updated 05/28/10.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 pontiac vibe. While the contact was driving 1 MPH the vehicle had suddenly accelerated without warning.in order to stop the acceleration the contact had shifted the vehicle into neutral. One month prior to the recent failure the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the federal safety agency recall# 10v024000: vehicle speed control, accelerator pedal was performed on the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the contact was informed that the failure could not be reproduced. The failure mileage was at 7000 and the current mileage is 18000. Updated 05/13/10.
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal
- What is wrong
- General motors is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 pontiac vibe passenger vehicles. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.
- Risk
- A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- General motors will notify customers when a recall remedy is available for recall 10038: floor mat interference and accelerator pedal. Gm requests that customers take out any removable (carpeted, all-weather, or other) driver's floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat, and place it in the trunk until the floor mat interference and accelerator pedal recall remedy is ready and implemented. In the event that owners choose not to take out their removable floor mat, general motors strongly recommends that owners use only floor mats designed specifically for the model and model year of their vehicle, and that it is properly installed and secured. Do not use a mat that is flipped over with the bottom-side up, and do not stack one floor mat over another. In addition, check the operation of the accelerator, brake, and clutch (if applicable) pedals to assure that the floor mat does not interfere with them. Owners may contact pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall number 10V024000 · Recall details
Vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal
- What is wrong
- General motors is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 pontiac vibe vehicles. Due to the manner in which the friction lever interacts with the sliding surface of the accelerator pedal inside the pedal sensor assembly, the sliding surface of the lever may become smooth during vehicle operation. In this condition, if condensation occurs on the surface, as may occur from heater operation (without A/C) when the pedal assembly is cold, the friction when the accelerator pedal is operated may increase, which may result in the accelerator pedal becoming harder to depress, slower to return, or, in the worst case, mechanically stuck in a partially depressed position.
- Risk
- The accelerator pedal may become hard to depress, slow to return to idle, or, in the worst case, mechanically stuck in a partially depressed position, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a reinforcement bar in the accelerator pedal which will allow the pedal to operate smoothly. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin early february and be completed in late april 2010. Owners may contact pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall number 10V018000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2009 Pontiac Vibe sudden acceleration
Is sudden unintended acceleration a common problem on the 2009 Pontiac Vibe?
15 of 528 owner complaints about the 2009 Pontiac Vibe (3%) mention sudden unintended acceleration. The model year with the most reports is 2009.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2009 Pontiac Vibe?
There are 2 recalls and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2009 Pontiac Vibe
Airbag light 18Oil consumption 17ABS 12Stalling 12Check engine light 9No deployment 7Jerking 7Engine failure 5Pulling 5
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