NHTSA Complaint #10532786 — 2010 GMC SIERRA 1500

SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2013, OUR 2010 GMC SIERRA K1500 CAUGHT FIRE AND WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AS MY HUSBAND WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE. AS SMOKE BEGAN TO FILL THE CAB AND THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT CAME ON, HE ATTEMPTED TO BRAKE SO THAT HE COULD ESCAPE, BUT THE BRAKES WERE GONE, AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. IMAGINE HIS TERROR AS HE REALIZED THAT AT AGE 65, HE MAY HAVE TO JUMP OUT OF THE TRUCK OR BE CONSUMED BY A FIRE. HE WAS ABLE TO DOWN-SHIFT TO SLOW THE TRUCK ENOUGH TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO GET THE TRUCK STOPPED JUST IN TIME TO ESCAPE FROM THE TRUCK AND GET FAR ENOUGH AWAY TO AVOID BODILY INJURY AS THE TRUCK AND OUR BELONGINGS BURNED COMPLETELY. WE ARE GRAVELY CONCERNED THAT THE TRUCK, WHICH WAS PURCHASED THREE YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, AND HAD ONLY 18,000 MILES ON IT, CLEARLY WAS A RISK TO OUR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS. WE HAVE THREE ADULT CHILDREN AND SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN & OFTEN HAD ONE OR MORE OF THEM WITH US AS WE TRAVELED IN THIS VEHICLE. HAD WE NEEDED TO UNBUCKLE THE BABIES FROM THEIR CAR SEATS AND/OR ASSIST THE TODDLERS IN GETTING OUT, THE OUTCOME MAY HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT, AND IT HAUNTS US TO KNOW THAT THIS COULD HAVE BEEN THE CASE. ALL HAD RIDDEN IN THIS TRUCK IN THE WEEKS PRECEDING YESTERDAY'S FIRE. AS MY HUSBAND HEADED HOME TO MONTANA AT THE COMPLETION OF HIS TRAVEL TO VISIT OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, HE ASCENDED, THEN DESCENDED "LOOKOUT PASS" ON I-90 AT THE MONTANA/IDAHO BORDER - A PASS THAT IS STEEP AND VERY BUSY WITH SUMMER VACATION TRAVEL AS WELL AS CONSISTENT HEAVY SEMI-TRUCK TRAVEL. THE CURVES ON LOOKOUT ARE TREACHEROUS: THE RATE OF ACCIDENTS AND SEMI-TRUCK ROLLOVERS ON THE CURVES IS HIGH WITHOUT AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT SUCH AS A BURNING VEHICLE. IF OUR TRUCK HAD CAUGHT FIRE EVEN THREE OR FOUR MILES EARLIER AS HE WAS DESCENDING THE PASS, THE OUTCOME IS ALMOST UNTHINKABLE. *TR