NHTSA Complaint #10909521 — 2010 BUICK ENCLAVE

WHEN ACCELERATING TO MERGE ONTO HIGHWAYS, WHEN ACCELERATING TO OVERTAKE VEHICLES AND WHEN DEPRESSING THE GAS PEDAL TO CLIMB STEEPER HILLS THE CAR ENGINE WOULD NOT RESPOND. THIS WAS AN INTERMITTENT ISSUE AS ONLY OCCURRED OCCASIONALLY. HOWEVER, ON AT LEAST 2 OCCASIONS THERE WERE NEAR CRASHES OF VEHICLES INTO THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. ONE TIME WHILE MERGING ONTO A HIGHWAY AND DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR THE ENGINE WOULD NOT INCREASE SPEED AND STAYED AT 45MPH. A TRANSPORT TRUCK IN THE RIGHT HAND LANE CLOSED DISTANCE AND HAD TO BRAKE AS THEY COULD NOT MOVE TO THE CENTRE LANE AND I WAS UNABLE TO GET TO SHOULDER AS I STILL THOUGHT THE ENGINE WOULD RESPOND. I EASED OFF THE GAS AND THEN ACCELERATED AGAIN WHICH THEN KICKED IN THE ENGINE. ANOTHER TIME A SIMILAR INCIDENT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS CLIMBING A STEEPER GRADE ON THE HIGHWAY. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESPOND AND KEEP SPEED AND STARTED TO LOSE SPEED AND I MOVED TO THE RIGHT HAND LANE. I COULD NOT GO TO THE SHOULDER AS THERE WAS A GUARD RAIL ALONG AN ESCARPMENT. AGAIN, A TRANSPORT TRUCK CAME UP RIGHT BEHIND ME ANTICIPATING I WOULD BE KEEPING SPEED. OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS THIS HAPPENED TO MY WIFE AND I A COUPLE TIMES A WEEK AND HAD TAKEN THIS INTO A GARAGE TO BE CHECKED OUT. AT THAT TIME THERE WERE NO INDICATOR LIGHTS ON OR CODES AND THE GARAGE FOUND NOTHING. ABOUT 3 WEEKS AGO THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON AND WE TOOK IT TO THE GARAGE WHERE THEY ADVISED US TO TAKE TO A DEALER AS IT WAS A TIMING CHAIN PROBLEM. UPON DIAGNOSIS THE DEALER SAID IT WAS A STRETCHED TIMING CHAIN. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THIS ISSUE AND WHAT I FOUND AND WHAT REALLY BOTHERS ME IS THAT GM WAS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND ACTUALLY ISSUED A TSB FOR 2009 MODELS. MY CAR WAS BUILT IN MODEL SWITCH OVER TIME AS A 2010 MODEL IN AUGUST 2009 BUT WITH THE SAME PARTS AND TIMING CHAIN. THE COMPANY OBVIOUSLY KNEW THAT THE VEHICLES COULD HAVE ISSUES AND FAILED TO NOTIFY.