NHTSA Complaint #11472843 — 2017 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE

I purchased this vehicle in June, 2021 and had noticed that it sometimes lurched forward a few feet when I applied the brakes. I made an appointment to have the vehicle’s brakes checked. While merging onto 12th Street in Rochester, MN at less than 15 mph, I had to apply brakes suddenly to avoid stopped car in front of me. The brakes worked but the car also accelerated and smashed into the stopped car in front of us, leaving a dent in that car’s rear fender, smashing our headlight shield, and making it difficult for our driver side door to open because the fender and door had to space between them. There were 6 similar complaints about 2017 Chevrolet Traverse vehicles at carcomplaints.com, where I also posted. I called the national phone line for General Motors because I was concerned about safety. GM sent an investigator to my home to take photos and electronic codes. They set up a claim for me, although I was only looking for a potential safety recall. Weeks later, they contacted me to say my claim was denied. When I asked for more details, they told me the engineers had concluded that I stepped on the gas rather than the brake. This didn’t make sense to me since both the brake and the accelerator had engaged. The gas pedal is recessed far closer to the floor than the brake pedal. While it is possible that my boot could have pressed on each of them at the same time since I reacted quickly, it's unlikely. I also wonder if the cruise control had engaged since, on this vehicle, it doesn't turn off and require you to turn it on again when you stop the engine and restart it. I requested the engineering data, which they sent me and I kept.