NHTSA Complaint #10584725 — 2002 CHEVROLET TAHOE

I RAN OUT OF GAS ON THE FREEWAY GOING 65 MPH WITH MY 5 YEAR OLD SON IN THE CAR. APPARENTLY WHEN A CHEVY TAHOE RUNS OUT OF GAS IT SHUTS DOWN THE ENTIRE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM INCLUDING POWER STEERING AS WELL. I'M UNSURE OF THIS ------> BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THE BRAKES ARE AFFECTED TOO. I HAD A VERY DIFFICULT TIME MERGING OVER TO THE RIGHT HAND SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY (I HAD TO CROSS THREE LANES AND MERGE WITH ON-RAMP TRAFFIC), GIVEN THAT I HAD VERY LITTLE STEERING CONTROL AND HAD TO USE AS MUCH MOMENTUM AS I ALREADY HAD TO GET OFF THE ROAD TO SAFETY, WITHOUT BEING HIT BY SOMEONE TRAVELING OVER 50MPH. PLUS OTHER CARS WERE NOT LETTING ME OVER. I CAN SEE THIS BECOMING A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. GM JUST RECALLED A BUNCH OF TAHOE YEARS FOR THIS ISSUE BUT NOT MY YEAR (2002). I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM ADDRESS THIS ISSUE IN MY VEHICLE, BUT RIGHT NOW THE MECHANIC AT THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THERE ARE "CURRENTLY NO RECALLS ON [MY] VEHICLE" AND I WOULD HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET TO DIAGNOSE/FIX THIS PROBLEM. ALSO WHEN I FIRST GOT MY CAR IN 2009 I WAS WAITING IN LINE TO BOARD A FERRY BOAT IN WASHINGTON STATE, AND TURNED THE ENGINE OFF, HAD THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, I THOUGHT I WOULD "COAST" DOWN THE RAMP, THIS IS WHEN I FIRST LEARNED THAT THIS MAKE/MODEL DOES NOT STEER OR BRAKE PROPERLY WHEN THE ENGINE IS OFF/DEAD. THERE WAS NO INCIDENT AT THIS TIME BECAUSE I WAS ONLY GOING 5 MPH BUT I DEFINITELY FELT THAT I DID NOT HAVE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. *TR