GM recall worry some?

[mynetdude]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

Not trying to excuse GM for it but I wonder how many of us have had a car die while driving and managed not to crash?
I know it's happened to me a few times, timing belt break, fuel pump go out, or run out if gas, I even had a friend reach over and cut it off because he thought it's funny. I have always maintained control and got to the side of the road and stopped or even knock it into neutral and try to restart it. Do people not know what to do when their car quits while driving? Maybe before anyone gets their license they should need to know how to do that.

how do you almost crash when your car dies? You know the steering wheel is still movable? I don't know about timing belts breaking; but I've witnessed serpentine/accessory belts breaking. I've run out of gas before, yeah so you can't control the vehicle as good as if it had power but you can still control it and not crash and the brake still works you just need to use more MUSCLE (which I guess nobody really has any left cuz of our electronics in the cars?).

I am sorry but I fail to see how a car losing power can just crash unless you're not making any effort to deal with the problem while in motion. You might not be able to get it out of gear but it CAN still move just not as far as it would in neutral.

[Chevy_cowboy]

Originally Posted by fastball

To put the blame on someone having too much "stuff" on their keychain seriously hurt GM's credibility in all of this.

You don't blame people for something like this. I know people with a crap load of crap on their keychains on cars with 150,000 miles and the thing never once had an ignition problem.

GM needs to give every one of these families with victims who died from their complete lack of competence and common sense $50m. Every one of them.

heck lets give everyone who's ever crashed 50 million, its just money right?

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by mynetdude

how do you almost crash when your car dies? You know the steering wheel is still movable? I don't know about timing belts breaking; but I've witnessed serpentine/accessory belts breaking. I've run out of gas before, yeah so you can't control the vehicle as good as if it had power but you can still control it and not crash and the brake still works you just need to use more MUSCLE (which I guess nobody really has any left cuz of our electronics in the cars?).



I am sorry but I fail to see how a car losing power can just crash unless you're not making any effort to deal with the problem while in motion. You might not be able to get it out of gear but it CAN still move just not as far as it would in neutral.

I think the main concern is that some of the safety equipment doesn't work when the car is off. If the airbag sensors were active all the time, the batteries would die overnight. To be frank, I haven't been following that closely. Everyone freaked out about this recall and practically ignored that Toyota and Mazda have recalls at the same time.

[Chevy_cowboy]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

I think the main concern is that some of the safety equipment doesn't work when the car is off. If the airbag sensors were active all the time, the batteries would die overnight. To be frank, I haven't been following that closely. Everyone freaked out about this recall and practically ignored that Toyota and Mazda have recalls at the same time.

not to mention if the airbags were active all the time, you'd have thousands in airbag deployment if you car got hit while parked.


But airbags not being active when the key is off only really matters if you crash the car when the engine dies... thats the perplexing part, what causes the crash in the first place?

[motorhead]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

I think the main concern is that some of the safety equipment doesn't work when the car is off. If the airbag sensors were active all the time, the batteries would die overnight. To be frank, I haven't been following that closely. Everyone freaked out about this recall and practically ignored that Toyota and Mazda have recalls at the same time.

Did the Toyota and Mazda failures result in deaths? That could be why. The stuck throttle issue of Toyota was all trough the news.

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by motorhead

Did the Toyota and Mazda failures result in deaths? That could be why. The stuck throttle issue of Toyota was all trough the news.

While we'd all like to blame the "big, evil corporation" for every mistake and pass blame onto someone else, the vast majority of manned vehicle accidents, be they boats, planes, or cars, are a direct fault of operator error. Even in the case of a mitigating mechanical failure, the operator almost always has options to avoid a fatal incident. For example, let's say you hit the brake and turn the wheel left and your car speeds up to the right. That would be 100% on the manufacturer. Now, let's say your car abruptly turns off on the highway. You probably shouldn't steer directly into the semi next to you, but if you do, you'll blame the manufacturer for your own poor judgement, and the NHTSA would likely agree.

Deaths are always tragic. My thoughts and prayers go to those who have lost someone from these accidents. It is natural to seek retribution. Let's also remember that we've all seen our peers drive, and it's not always pretty.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by mynetdude

how do you almost crash when your car dies? You know the steering wheel is still movable? I don't know about timing belts breaking; but I've witnessed serpentine/accessory belts breaking. I've run out of gas before, yeah so you can't control the vehicle as good as if it had power but you can still control it and not crash and the brake still works you just need to use more MUSCLE (which I guess nobody really has any left cuz of our electronics in the cars?).

I am sorry but I fail to see how a car losing power can just crash unless you're not making any effort to deal with the problem while in motion. You might not be able to get it out of gear but it CAN still move just not as far as it would in neutral.

Don't know I you think I crashed when my car quit or you are agreeing with me.
But my point it I have had my car quit several times unexpectedly and was able to remain in control and not crash.

[shaffe]

So let me get this straight now, this problem with the ignition on the GM cars that are being recalled, the ignition fails and it shuts off all the safety systems meaning the airbags don't deploy?

If that is the case then I think that is what the problem is, I think some of you are to hung on to the fact the ignition caused the crash, where as if the above is correct that it shuts the safety systems off that it makes a crash worse.

[Chevy_cowboy]

Originally Posted by shaffe

So let me get this straight now, this problem with the ignition on the GM cars that are being recalled, the ignition fails and it shuts off all the safety systems meaning the airbags don't deploy?

If that is the case then I think that is what the problem is, I think some of you are to hung on to the fact the ignition caused the crash, where as if the above is correct that it shuts the safety systems off that it makes a crash worse.

No I think we're saying why crash simply because the engine stopped running? A car is completely controllable without airbags or onstar.

[shaffe]

Originally Posted by Chevy_cowboy

No I think we're saying why crash simply because the engine stopped running? A car is completely controllable without airbags onstar.

I get what you are saying.

[Normagene]

More ignition problems for GM. In addition to the switch being able to easily move into the off/acc position, now the recall has added "the key can be removed from the ignition while driving or in the on/acc position".

The example they gave on the CBS news, you can stop, think you put it in park, shut the car off, and remove the key. Then when you get out thinking its in park, but it's not, the car could rollaway into something.

I've actually, maybe once or twice, shut the truck off and tried to pull the key out, but it wouldn't come out. I then realized I was still in drive so I had to put it in park to get the key out. So apparently with GMs ignitions the key can still be pulled out while the vehicle is in gear.

The headaches keep coming for GM. Then again, Ford just announced a huge recall too.

[Normagene]

More trouble reported on the news today. This time the investigators are looking into whether GM tried to hide info from stock holders/investors. And the money is dropping fast. Down over a billion and close to 90% loss compared to last year.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Normagene

More trouble reported on the news today. This time the investigators are looking into whether GM tried to hide info from stock holders/investors. And the money is dropping fast. Down over a billion and close to 90% loss compared to last year.

You are leaving a lot of Information out, there is more to it.

From Motor Trend:
General Motors reported a $0.1 billion net income in the first quarter, a stark contrast to the $0.9 billion it earned during the same period in 2013, but somewhat surprising considering the massive recalls the automaker is dealing with.
The earnings reflect a $1.3 billion pre-tax charge to repair the millions of vehicles recalled so far this year, along with a $0.3 billion restructuring cost. Millions of models worldwide may have been equipped with a faulty ignition switch that could potentially turn to the "off" position when the vehicle is still in motion. The automaker also issued another recall late last month that affects another 1.3 million vehicles (many of which are already included in the ignition switch recall) for a power steering issue. GM then said it expected to spend around $750 million in the first quarter to address the recalls.
GM's first-quarter earnings were also hurt by a $400-million adjustment for the devaluation of currency in Venezuela. However, revenue increased a bit more than 1 percent to $37.4 billion compared to the $36.9 billion it collected last year.
"The performance of our core operations was very strong this quarter, reflecting the positive response of customers to the new vehicles we are bringing to market," said GM CEO Mary Barra in a release. Some of these new vehicles include the Chevrolet Trax subcompact crossover and the new 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 convertible, which were just revealed at the 2014 New York International Auto Show last week.
Source: GM

[20Camaro11]

I did not read this whole post, but I will add my own opinions or musings.

1. The loss of power steering and brakes does not necessarily render your vehicle unsafe and uncontrollable, but it absolutely will make braking and steering efforts significantly more difficult.

2. With the previous statement known, in an evasive maneuver or emergency brake scenario, (the alleged heavy key chains GM states as contributor to failure), could likely lead to the loss of said power brakes and steering and also the airbags when the driver needs all three the most.

3. Did GM conceal this problem and future financial liabilities from the bankruptcy court intentionally?


All I know, is that I have seen a Chevy Cobalt ignition fail when it was still relatively new and my friend get stiffed for the full replacement cost. I also owned a new 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo that was riddled with problems and not once did GM stand behind their product. I hope that the "new" GM is different, but this certainly doesn't give me any warm and fuzzies about wanting to go and shop for a new GM product. That disappoints me because GM has a half dozen models that I would have considered buying to replace my current vehicle. I have another year or so, and I am watching to see how GM (whether new or old) stands behind their product and makes right with the customers that have been wronged.