NHTSA Complaint #10764201 — 2007 SATURN VUE

UPON A COLD START, WHEN THE VEHICLE HAS ROLLED ABOUT TEN FEET, FORWARD OR REVERSE, WITH NO INPUT ON THE ACCELERATOR, THERE IS A WHIR FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, AKIN TO A STEPPER MOTOR NOISE, AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATES ON ITS OWN. IN REVERSE, APPLYING THE BRAKES STOPS THE CAR, AND THEN SELECTING DRIVE, THE VEHICLE RESPONDS TO THE ACCELERATOR CORRECTLY. THE SAME THING HAPPENS IN FORWARD, BUT IN MOST CASES THE ACCELERATOR IS ENGAGED TO MOVE FORWARD. THE PROBLEM DOES NOT SEEM TO OCCUR WHEN THE CAR IS WARMED UP AND BEING DRIVEN UNDER NORMAL USE. IN REVIEWING THE SHOP MANUALS, THERE IS AN ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL MOTOR, WHICH I ASSUME IS A STEPPER TYPE MOTOR, IN THE THROTTLE BODY ASSEMBLY. THIS IS CONTROLLED BY THE THROTTLE ACTUATOR CONTROL(TAC) AND THE POWER CONTROL MODULE(PCM). I ASSUME THAT THE MOTOR IS FAILING, BUT HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A REDUCED ENGINE POWER MODE OR ENGINE SHUTDOWN MODE EVENT. IF THIS PART IS FAILING IT SHOULD BE COVERED BY THE EMISSION WARRANTY OF 8 YEARS/80,000 MILES, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE CAR IS 9 YEARS OLD. I WILL APPROACH MY DEALER AND SATURN ABOUT POSSIBLE COVERAGE UNDER WARRANTY, BUT HAVE HAD DIFFICULTY WITH THEM IN THE PAST. I FEEL THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, AS IT CAN CATCH A DRIVER UNAWARE AND CREATE A POSSIBLE ACCIDENT SCENARIO.