NHTSA Complaint #10606890 — 2014 CHEVROLET IMPALA

AS A RENTAL VEHICLE TO USE WHILE WARRANTY REPAIRS WHERE BEING PERFORMED ON MY TRAVERSE; I HAD BEEN RENTED A 2014 IMPALA. TO MY SURPRISE THE FOLLOWING MORNING I CAME TO A STOP AND THE ENGINE QUITE, THERE WAS A CLEAR LANE WITHIN SITE THAT I FIGURED I COULD PUSH THE DEAD VEHICLE TO. I OPENED THE DOOR, WHILE KEEPING MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND POSITIONED MYSELF IN THE DOOR FRAME TO PUSH. THEN I REMOVED MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE TO REACH IN AND PLACE IT INTO NEUTRAL AND START PUSHING. TO MY SURPRISE THE VEHICLE STARTED BY ITS SELF AND ACCELERATED AWAY FROM ME, THE DOOR FRAME ALMOST KNOCKING ME DOWN, YET LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO CATCH THE CAR AND GET BACK TO THE BRAKE BEFORE THE CAR CRASHED. I CAME TO FIND OUT THAT THIS WAS AN ECONOMIC FEATURE ON THAT VEHICLE. I FEEL GREAT CONCERN THAT THIS CAR STARTED WHEN MY SEAT BELT HAD BEEN REMOVED AND DOOR OPENED, WOULD THEY HAVE AT LEAST CONSIDERED SOME SORT OF PRECAUTION FROM THIS OCCURRING. PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUS, I KNOW THAT I WAS NOT ADVISED OF THIS FEATURE, AND HAD I NOT CAUGHT THE CAR OR GOTTEN KNOCKED DOWN AND RUN OVER, THE OUTCOME WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE SERIOUS. *TR