Breaks and Gas pedal reversing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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notimpressed

Member
Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
7
Sunday my husband was driving our Spark, 2800 miles respectively, and turned into a parking spot. All of a sudden he was accelerating while pressing on the break! I told him initially, he was mistaken and had to have slid off the break and onto the gas pedal! There were four people crossing this parking spot and he nearly ran into them! I yelled at him to stop! He was very confused and questioned what happened. Rode home just fine.

Then Tuesday, just 48 hours after this incident, I took it out. I was behind a huge truck and the same thing happened!! I nearly ran into the back of it! I pushed the car into park as when I took my foot off the break it still continued to accelerate! OMG!!! I called the dealership after I got home and told them to come and tow this thing out of my yard!! I was terrified! My husband was relieved to know he had not almost plowed down 4 people!

They did come tow it and of course called today and said it did not do it for them. No surprise! They checked all kinds of things and will drive it tomorrow to see if it will do it.

Funny thing, about two months before this happened, I was driving and the gas pedal would not accelerate! I even turned the car off and then back on, still wouldn't hardly move! Did this at two red lights in a row and never did it again.

We are now too afraid to drive this car or any other Spark! I told the service dept that even if they told me it was repaired, I could never drive it or even ride as a passenger again! I told them what if my husband would have hit these people? We would never get over that! I'll keep this updated.

Had it not nearly a year, only 2800 miles, very scary! I came inches from hitting that big truck and drove it home terrified!

Any others having similar problems!?
 
You mean "brake", not "break".

Since I'm assuming you took it to your dealer, that could count as a report to the manufacturer. In the absence of user error (e.g. pressing the wrong pedal, floor mat or object on top of the accelerator, etc.), perhaps you should also contact Chevy at and open a case via http://www.chevrolet.com/contact/call-us.html?

If you are unsuccessful in getting a repair done or they do succeed, eventually, I'd file a safety complaint at http://www.safercar.gov/. Again, this is assuming this was not user error.

What if you shift into Neutral when this event happens?

BTW, don't take this the wrong way as I have no idea of your ages, but I'd read http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/smart-pedals-won-t-put-the-brake-155530 long ago, during the whole Toyota SUA ("sudden unintended acceleration") PR fiasco.
 
notimpressed said:
We are now too afraid to drive this car or any other Spark! I told the service dept that even if they told me it was repaired, I could never drive it or even ride as a passenger again! I told them what if my husband would have hit these people? We would never get over that! I'll keep this updated.

Had it not nearly a year, only 2800 miles, very scary! I came inches from hitting that big truck and drove it home terrified!

Any others having similar problems!?

Thank you for the warning!

I am considering driving it in "L" from now on :(
 
Your first post and it's this? I call troll. This kind of thing just does NOT happen. If you're not a troll, prove it. Post your VIN number.
 
I second the call on this troll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fourteen exclamation points on the initial post title?
Oddly vague term of ownership (not nearly a year?)
Too low mileage for an actual user.
The grammar is very alarmist/ reactionary as well.

Well, 'NotImpressed'? Any other details you'd like to share?
 
First post, with a "notimpressed" handle?

If you're not a troll, you will post again, give us a VIN number, location, dealer name.

Wait a minute. "Breaks and gas pedal" as in "breaks pedal"? How old are you?

Usually a misplaced foot (in the accelerator vs brake) results in the car crashing into something. How did your "confused husband" get the car to stop? There are too many inconsistencies here. Keep your day job -- your fiction won't sell. :D
 
I do not know what a troll is for all the suspicious idiots on this site! I put that many exclamations because of the terrifying experience we had. We are middle aged. No we BOTH didn't misplace our foot on the gas instead of the break! Excuse me for misspelling a few words too, I'll make sure to edit my typing so all you perfectionist will pick on something else. All I have been trying to do is warn other people about this Spark I own and the potential danger mine is! I am so thankful to God that my husband didn't hurt anyone!

The dealership is Crews Chevy on Rivers Ave, North Charleston SC. We also got a recall for the air conditioning to replace the compressor by April 30, 2016. I told them I would never drive it or be a passenger in it again. I was told they may do a "buy back". Never heard that term either, we'll see.

For those of you who sent information to help us know what to do and where to go to record the danger we are experiencing, my sincere thanks!

Cynthia H.
 
The deaded drama queen, perpetual victim and/or a troll.
I was engaged to one of those and broke it off. She went and married my best friend, never met the guy until years after their marriage . The guy saved me decades of grief or a divorce . He never used to drink a lot.
Back to the vehicle . Fat Footed fumbles do happen .It's a human thing and does not make you a bad person to have mistaken the pedals. Ask any driving instructor with an auxiliary brake pedal. Time and time again the instructor has the brake pedal shoved to the floor as the terrified driver is squashing the accelerator through the floor boards.
Learner driver will swear on a stack of bibles and their Mother's honour that they were pressing the brake. The driver instructor gets some odd looks when they tell the driver to look at their feet.
Some people remove the dead pedal to make room for both feet in the cramped foot wells of econo sized vehicles and vans.
Myself I never use the right foot on the the brake, left foot only. Right foot is only for the throttle.
Person who developed the Brake lock to take vehicles out of park. They should be awarded some sort of human decency award.
 
notimpressed said:
I do not know what a troll is for all the suspicious idiots on this site! I put that many exclamations because of the terrifying experience we had. We are middle aged. No we BOTH didn't misplace our foot on the gas instead of the break! Excuse me for misspelling a few words too, I'll make sure to edit my typing so all you perfectionist will pick on something else. All I have been trying to do is warn other people about this Spark I own and the potential danger mine is! I am so thankful to God that my husband didn't hurt anyone!

The dealership is Crews Chevy on Rivers Ave, North Charleston SC. We also got a recall for the air conditioning to replace the compressor by April 30, 2016. I told them I would never drive it or be a passenger in it again. I was told they may do a "buy back". Never heard that term either, we'll see.

For those of you who sent information to help us know what to do and where to go to record the danger we are experiencing, my sincere thanks!

Cynthia H.
Cynthia, my apologies for being so rude. I hope you can understand our doubts, since this is an ELECTRIC Spark forum, and often people will post negative things just because they are electric, and are so different.

I appreciate your naming the dealer. I looked up the number, called and spoke to a service manager, and verified that your story is indeed true. You have had those experiences, and the service department has been driving and testing your car for several days.

And for everyone else: Her car is a gasoline burning version, not the EV (Electric Vehicle) version.

I sure hope you can find a car that is less prone to causing you such terrifying moments! Please be safe, and best of luck.
 
Thanks Steve. I do understand. I didn't realize this was for the electric version. It's too bad I really loved that car! :( Now it is just too scary for us to drive. It may never happen again but I may have gotten one that has a computer glitch that could harm someone someone or even us. I called GM today after going in to see Chris Huge the manager and seeing what can be done to resolve the problem. Weird thing is they have driven it 50 miles and cannot get it to replicate the acceleration when breaking or slowing when applying the gas, go figure.
 
There are numerous safety checks, interlocks, redundant sensors, etc., that are designed to prevent this sort of thing from happening. IF true, this story will be one hell of a set of coincidental failures! I'm not holding my breath though.
 
There is such a thing as human and computer error, geek. I really do not care if you believe or not! I was trying to find out if anyone else had this problem so together we could approach GM with a flaw in this car! Didn't realize as I told Steve this site was for electric cars and this will be my last post on here, you folks are ignorant!
 
So does someone have to have thousands of posts not to be called a troll? I can definitely identify particular trolls on this site who think they know everything and post very often....so frequency means nothing.

If anything, the average joe will not post here or any auto forum until they have an issue. So it's reasonable to assume this OP has a legitimate issue or has accidently performed an error thinking they have a legitimate issue.

Either way, we need to give people a break when they come here for help.
 
nozferatu said:
So does someone have to have thousands of posts not to be called a troll?
...
If anything, the average joe will not post here or any auto forum until they have an issue. So it's reasonable to assume this OP has a legitimate issue or has accidently performed an error thinking they have a legitimate issue.
On Priuschat, we get hit and run trolls who "toss a grenade and run" by posting a single very questionable first post the vast majority of the time, never returning.

OP, again, I've already outlined steps you can take to formally document the issue with your ICE Spark w/GM and NHTSA.
 
cwerdna said:
nozferatu said:
So does someone have to have thousands of posts not to be called a troll?
...
If anything, the average joe will not post here or any auto forum until they have an issue. So it's reasonable to assume this OP has a legitimate issue or has accidently performed an error thinking they have a legitimate issue.
On Priuschat, we get hit and run trolls who "toss a grenade and run" by posting a single very questionable first post the vast majority of the time, never returning.
Trolling is particularly common in EV forums because, for some reason, there are some people who just have a VERY strong anti-EV reaction and want to see them fail. Why, I don't know. But I've seen it on PriusChat, MyNissanLEAF, the Tesla Forums and here too.

OP, I'm simply saying that there are multiple redundancies in place to prevent this very sort of thing, both hardware and software. Sure, there is machine failure and human error, but you would have to have MULTIPLE bugs/failures in MULTIPLE systems. The statistical odds of this happening are practically nil. On the other hand, drivers stomping on the wrong pedal happens all the time. If you apply Occam's razor, you can't help but believe that's the cause.

Tell you what - if Chevy finds that your car did, indeed, do as you say and has a flaw (and you provide verifiable documentation to that effect), I will pay you $1,000. Just PM me the details.
 
Probably too late to matter on this discussion from 5 years ago, but today I just had exactly the same thing happen to my 2014 Spark EV, 9,400 miles on the odometer.

I had similar events in the past, but always dismissed assuming it was just a minor glitch or myself being over sensitive since this was my first EV.

The circumstances it happened (at least twice since I got the car 1.5 years ago, are identical and precisely what is described here: you turn left while parking and as the car is at a 45 degree angle to the cars you're trying to park in between, at that moment the car launches forward, no matter how hard you push down the break pedal. The acceleration only stops after you straighten up the steering wheel.

In the past the events only lasted a fraction of a second and I always managed to stop before hitting the curb or the pillar in front of me. Not today: most likely given the wet road (it is sprinkling here in San Diego) the car kept going forward, the ABS kicked in (break pedal vibrating) and the traction control sign appeared on the dash, since the front wheels were spinning as the front wheels were now 'driving' over the wet vegetation.

Already scheduled an appointment with Chevrolet, and also called ONStar to see if any event has been recorded (none were).

I've been driving all sorts or cars since 1974, from very powerful/fast cars (500+ HP) to my original 1974 VW bug. Done some crazy things, even a NASCAR car on the track, but nothing comes close to this event.

I sincerely hope Chevrolet can have a very good explanation of why this happens, since at this moment, the trust on the car is gone!
 
Hello CamaroZ28guy! I was sent a notification of your comment and was glad to hear from you even after this long time. When I posted about the Spark, I am a woman and did not know what "EV" even stood for. :D I was also accused of being something called a "troll." Now, I know what that is too. :eek:

Anyway, the Spark I purchased, cash, was a regular gas model. It scared me so badly when this happened to us! We weren't going fast, just pulling into a parking space, so I guess the curb stopped us. When it happened to me the second time, I nearly hit the big truck in front of me. I stepped on the break so hard that I broke three toes! The orthopedic surgeon I went to said that normally toes are broken in the two upper joints, but mine broke at the base of my foot. He said that it was obvious I meant to stop that car! I actually held my presence of mind to shove it into park, praying that this would also stop it!

Chevy had it all summer and came up with nothing. What?? Twice the brake accelerated and once the accelerator stopped the car! Something is wrong!!

We eventually sold the car to Carmax. We lost money on the deal, believe me.... I told Chevy I would keep the vin number and all the paperwork in case there was a lawsuit and I'll be right there to give my testimony. I sorta felt bad for the next owner that I had put them in danger.

I am so sorry that you are having problems too. When that happened there were so many vehicles that were being recalled for different problems, we didn't know what to buy. Well, we have now been the proud owner of a Lexus 350 and couldn't be happier! What a great car! We splurged, but it was well worth it and........ now, I'll always own a Lexus! ;) Owned Chevys before, but will never own another.

Let us know how you make out.

Jim and Cynthia
 
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