NHTSA Complaint #10448455 — 2007 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER

I LEFT MY HOUSE FOR WORK AT APPROXIMATELY 0650 HRS ON FEBRUARY 19TH, 2012. UPON EXITING MY NEIGHBORHOOD'S ENTRANCE, I ACCELERATED TO 35 MPH. ABOUT 100 YARDS DOWN THE ROAD, I BEGIN TO SMELL BURNING PLASTIC AND AS I LOOKED DOWN I OBSERVED THICK SMOKE BILLOWING FROM THE OPENINGS OF MY DRIVER SIDE DOOR PANEL. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO EXCEPT STOP THE VEHICLE AND SHUT IT OFF. EVEN WHEN OFF, THE SMOKE CONTINUED TO BILLOW UNTIL I DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY. NEEDLESS TO SAY I WAS LATE TO WORK, SO I RECONNECTED THE BATTERY IN AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE MY WAY TO WORK IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME. WHEN I STARTED MY CAR, THE DOME LIGHTS WOULD NOT TURN OFF, THE GAS GAUGE WAS INOPERABLE AND THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOWS/LOCKS WERE RENDERED INOPERATIVE. AS I PULLED INTO WORK, I GLANCED OVER AND SAW THE SMOKE EMITTING FROM THE DOOR PANEL AGAIN, BUT IT WAS NOT AS THICK AS THE FIRST TIME. THANKFULLY, MY COWORKERS WERE STANDING BY READY TO ASSIST ME AS IT HAD BEGUN TO RAIN. THIS EVENT COULD HAVE ENDED MUCH WORSE IF THE DOOR PANEL HAD ACTUALLY CAUGHT FIRE. I HAVE A NEWBORN SON WHO IS APPROXIMATELY 5 WEEKS OLD AND THE TRAILBLAZER IS OUR MAIN SOURCE OF TRANSPORT. IT MAKES ME ANGRY TO THINK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF HIM BEING IN THE VEHICLE WITH ME AND HAVING AN EVENT SUCH AS THIS OCCUR. HOPEFULLY GM WILL ISSUE A RECALL. UNTIL THEN, I HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS ON A FAULTY VEHICLE. *TR