NHTSA Complaint #10456626 — 2012 HYUNDAI VELOSTER

WHILE APPROACHING A TRAFFIC CIRCLE, THE DRIVER SLOWED THE CAR FROM 30 MPH TO ABOUT 15 MPH FOR TRAFFIC SEQUENCING. WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED, THE RPM INCREASED TO ABOUT 6000, BUT THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE FOR 3-5 SECONDS, WHICH CAUSED ONCOMING CARS TO SWERVE TO AVOID A COLLISION. A SIMILAR SITUATION DEVELOPED SEVERAL WEEKS LATER WHEN MERGING FROM ONE FREEWAY ONTO ANOTHER. SEVERAL MECHANICS HAVE TERMED THIS SITUATION AS A "FALSE NEUTRAL," WHERE THE COMPUTER CONTROLS ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE INTO WHICH GEAR TO DOWNSHIFT, IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE ACCELERATION TORQUE. WHATEVER IT IS, ALTHOUGH HYUNDAI MECHANICS SAY IT'S "NORMAL," I THINK IT IS UNSAFE AND THE PROBLEM MUST BE ADDRESSED. TIMELY AND RELIABLE ACCELERATION SHOULD BE A GIVEN IN ANY NEW VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE HAS A DUAL-CLUTCH TRANSMISSION, WHICH THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE DEALER STATED WAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DELAYED ACCELERATION, BUT WAS NORMAL. UPDATED IVOQ 05/22/12 *TR