NHTSA Complaint #10525619 — 2009 CHEVROLET AVEO

THE AVEO LT WAS ON I-85 RAMP DOWNTOWN ATLANTA TRYING TO BUILD SPEED WHEN IT STALLED AT AN AREA WHERE THERE IS LITTLE SIDE ACCESS. CAR COOLED OFF AND WAS RE CRANKED AND BROUGHT TO NORTH END OF ATLANTA FOR FURTHER INSPECTIONS TO SEE IF THE PROBLEM COULD BE DUPLICATED. CAR RPMS WERE NOTED TO VARY UP AND DOWN AND THEN STALLED WITHOUT WARNING AT A MAJOR INTERSECTION WHERE IT WAS ALMOST T-BONED ON PEACHTREE INDUSTRIAL BLVD NORCROSS, GA WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT WAS 55 MPH. MULTIPLE OBD CODES WERE EXTRACTED ( A TOTAL OF 6 ) . CAR WAS FURTHER EXAMINED BY ASE MECHANIC SHOP THAT STATES THAT THE VEHICLE ECM LOSES COMMUNICATION WITH SENSORS AND OTHER COMPUTERS UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. ASE MECHANIC STATES THAT ECM SHOULD BE REPLACED. GM CAR DEALER ( RICK HENDRIX GMC - DULUTH, GEORGIA ) STATES THAT GM PROCEDURE IS TO APPLY SB PIP4789C REPLACING FRONT O2 SENSOR AS A STARTING POINT TO REPAIR CAR USING A NEWER O2 SENSOR THAT WAS MADE LATER THAN A CERTAIN DATE AND TO UPDATE ECM WITH NEWER SOFTWARE. GM DEALER STATES THERE IS NO NEED TO DRIVE THE CAR TO DUPLICATE PROBLEM AND TO REVIEW USING A SCANNING TOOL AS THE GM PROCEDURE IS TO BE USED AND WILL BE ADEQUATE. THIS SITUATION IS CLEARLY DANGEROUS. IF A SIMPLE O2 SENSOR COULD SUDDENLY COULD CAUSE A KNOWN PROBLEM OF THIS TYPE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GM SB THEN IT SHOULD BE COVERED BY THE 8/80K EMISSIONS WARRANTY. IF THE ECM CAN LOSE COMMUNICATIONS WITH OTHER ESSENTIAL ITEMS AND CAUSE A PROBLEM OF THIS TYPE THAT SHOULD NOT ONLY BE COVERED UNDER THE EMISSIONS BUT IT SHOULD ALSO BE PLACED ON RECALL. AS AN ENGINEER WITH 36 YEARS EXPERIENCE I AM APPALLED.AT A FAILURE OF THIS TYPE. A PERSON CAN BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY CONDITIONED THAT THEIR CAR IS RUNNING FINE AND THEN AT THE NEXT MOMENT IT COMPLETELY STALLS AND MAY NOT ALLOW THEM TO CLEAR AN INTERSECTION. *TR