We're handling a runaway 2009 Chevy Traverse case now and in the last few days there are news reports out about a runaway 2008 Chevrolet Equinox too.
A Kentucky woman frantically called 911 as her Chevrolet Equinox increased beyond 90 mph on Interstate 64, with her two young children in the back seat. Applying the brakes did nothing to slow it down, she said. Her panic call went through the vehicle's OnStar system and she was told to try to shift the vehicle into neutral and apply the emergency brake and physically lift the accelerator pedal with her foot, but nothing worked.
With the driver in tears, State troopers eventually stopped the vehicle by pulling in front of the Chevrolet and slowing to a stop. Turns out the stop was just in time, only a few miles from a construction zone with clogged traffic.
The driver, Marlene Taylor, hasn't filed a lawsuit and (like many Toyota owners) is only asking GM to investigate the problem and find the cause. Like Toyota, General Motors eventually responded by saying they could find no evidence to back up the driver's story, according to reports published by local Louisville station WHAS.
You can watch the WHAS local news report and listen to the 911 call by clicking here.
Later, GM reported that they had looked at the vehicle and found that an after-market floor mat on top of the vehicle's floor mat could be the cause and that there were no trouble codes in the vehicle's computer.
Does "no problem found" sound familiar to you, too? How about "could not duplicate"? If you listen to the woman's voice on the news, it's clear that her panic is no joke.
There's no word yet on whether or not GM's explanation is the real cause of this runaway incident. Still, it's important to make sure that you don't put a floor mat on an existing floor mat in your car. And be sure you know how to control and slow down a runaway car if it happens to you. Meanwhile, others are reporting of similar runaway incidents.