NHTSA Complaint #10314087 — 2004 SATURN ION

OUR 4 CYLINDER 2004 SATURN ION HAS HAD UNINTENDED SUDDEN ACCELERATION PROBLEMS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. I AM A PATENT HOLDING SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE ENGINEER AND I CAN STATE ABSOLUTELY AFTER OBSERVING THE BEHAVIOR OVER AT LEAST 4 YEARS THAT THIS IS A SOFTWARE ISSUE AND/OR A SENSOR ISSUE AND NOT A STICKING MECHANICAL CONTROL. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO EVEN TOUCH OR MOVE THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IN ORDER FOR THIS TO OCCUR. UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY, EITHER SOME SENSOR MALFUNCTIONS OR SOME CONNECTOR BECOMES INTERMITTENT OR THE SOFTWARE MISREADS SOMETHING. AT STARTUP THE ENGINE RUNS AT AN UNUSUALLY HIGH IDLE (~800 RPM), AND AS SOON AS YOU PUT IT IN GEAR, THE CAR LUNGES FORWARD OR BACKWARD HARD AND YOU HAVE TO PUT IT IN NEUTRAL TO AVOID HAVING IT RUN AWAY WITH YOU - ALL THIS WITHOUT TOUCHING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN YOU PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL THE ENGINE RUNS AT BETWEEN 3,000 AND 4,000 RPM ON THE TACHOMETER FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN SLOWLY DROPS BACK TO AN IDLE (~800RPM). AS SOON AS YOU PUT IT IN GEAR AGAIN, THE CAR LUNGES ONCE AGAIN - THROW IT IN NEUTRAL - 3,000 - 4,000 RPM, SLOWLY RECOVERS. AFTER TWO - THREE MINUTES THE ENGINE STABILIZES AND THE PROBLEM IS GONE. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS ALL WITHOUT TOUCHING THE ACCELERATOR - EVER! THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS COLD AND USUALLY DURING HIGH HUMIDITY OR RAINY CONDITIONS. IT IS SO UNPREDICTABLE THAT I HAVE NEVER SOUGHT HELP FROM A DEALER. IT IS NOT REPEATABLE IN A WAY THAT THE DEALER WOULD BE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE SINCE IT HAPPENS FAIRLY RARELY (SOMETIMES A COUPLE OF TIMES A WEEK - SOMETIMES ONCE A MONTH) AND INCONSISTENTLY. IF I WAS AN INEXPERIENCED DRIVER AND IF THIS WAS A MORE POWERFUL CAR, I WOULD NO DOUBT HAVE HAD A SERIOUS ACCIDENT BY NOW. I HAVE LEARNED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE MOTOR WHEN I FIRST START THE VEHICLE. IF IT SOUNDS LIKE IT IS IDLING A BIT FAST THEN I KNOW IT WILL TRY TO RUN AWAY WITH ME WHEN I PUT IT IN GEAR SO I JUST WAIT FOR IT TO IDLE DOWN TO NORMAL BEFORE PUTTING IT IN GEAR. *TR