# Unintentional acceleration / throttle sticking



## cruzegirly (Nov 21, 2013)

I have a 13 Cruze LS. I have had nothing but problems with this thing. I've tried to get GM to help me figure this car out since 4K miles. With now 42k the throttle on the car stuck causing an accident. Luckily no one was hurt and it only involved my car and a power pole. I'm just wondering if this is a known issue and what I should do about it? I will be contacting GM once again in the morning but I'm just wondering if anyone knows what I should expect? Has this happened to anyone else?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

First incident I've heard of with the Cruze. Do you have the GM floor mats or an after market floor mat?


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## cruzegirly (Nov 21, 2013)

Everything on and in that car is original or fixed at dealer. The floor mats are what came with it when I bought it new.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Can't believe anyone would put up with a bum car for 42k.

You are the first ever reported throttle to stick on this forum.......I suspect you will be the only.

Since there haven't been any failures there is nothing the dealer can check other than obvious things like non secured floor mats or bunched carpeting.

Cut your losses.....get rid of the car.

Rob


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## cruzegirly (Nov 21, 2013)

I'm waiting for my insurance to contact me tomorrow. I had to report it cause I'm pretty sure the thing is totaled. Whole front end is smashed. This just happened Friday. The only reason I still have the **** thing is because I owe to much to get rid of it =\


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Sorry to hear. But it doesn't sound like anyone was hurt and you now have a chance to make a clean break from this car. 

Best wishes with whatever you chose to drive in the future.


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## au201 (May 18, 2013)

Strange. The Cruze has a throttle override when the brake and throttle are pressed simultaneously. You should've been able to stop the vehicle...interested to see how this turns out. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

Been down your road before, but without the accident. I was 18 months into a five year loan and as financially painful as it was to rid myself (and SWMBO) of the odious vehicle, it was better in the long run to have it out of our garage and lives. Good luck with the insurance company.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Strange. The Cruze has a number of safeguards against such a thing. The gas pedal has two sensors - a code will set if they disagree. There's also a sensor on the throttle body to insure that it's doing what the computer tells it to do. 

I tend to suspect this is a low-tech problem, like a pedal that won't spring back.


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## cruzegirly (Nov 21, 2013)

I wasn't in the car when it happened. My fiancé was. He is one of the best drivers I know. He said he didn't even have time to react before the thing was taking off like a rocket and taking out the power pole. All I know is Chevy is getting a call tomorrow morning and I fully expect some more help then they have given me recently. After fully checking all the damage done by this (I will get a proper quite tomorrow) but it's looking like a lot more damage then what the thing is worth. Sad. I actually love that stupid car. So sad it's been nothing but trouble for me =\
I'm just glad my children weren't in the car and no one was seriously hurt.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

obermd said:


> First incident I've heard of with the Cruze. Do you have the GM floor mats or an after market floor mat?


I almost died with OEM mats sold by a Hyundai Dealer not designed for my year model, which I knew about. I found myself headed for a Tree, a Power Pole, or oncoming Traffic, my choice. Interesting when I turned the key off my steering wheel locked (as designed) yet all the G.M. Horror ignition Switch stories don't mention any locking of the wheel?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Robby said:


> Can't believe anyone would put up with a bum car for 42k.


I don't know about you but I certainly would put up with a car until I was at least coming out ahead or little loss, so yes people who like their money would put up with a POS for more than 42K. Remember this is a chevy and it devalues so fast if one is behind on value it will take most of the payments to catch the diminishing value. Would have to put $5000+ down on even a LS cruze just to stay ahead of the value over the life of the loan.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Eddy Cruze said:


> Interesting when I turned the key off my steering wheel locked (as designed) yet all the G.M. Horror ignition Switch stories don't mention any locking of the wheel?


The wheel only locks when you turn the key all the way off(and you attempt to turn the wheel), On the cruze if the car is in gear you can't turn the key back that far. My 2004 Cavalier ignition worked the same way so I would assume the Cobalt was also designed this way(the cobalt being the most mentioned ignition recalled car). 

You can safely test this next time you park your car, with your foot on the brake before you put the shifter in park turn off the ignition. It will not turn back all the way and will not let you take out the key until you shift to park.


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## cruzegirly (Nov 21, 2013)

After talking with GM and my insurance I am going to have to let GM take the vehicle and do whatever they have to on it. Insurance told me to let them. Waiting on a call from the product assistance claims to start the process. I truly hope it was just my car and not any other cruzes. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

spacedout said:


> The wheel only locks when you turn the key all the way off(and you attempt to turn the wheel), .


 Oh no, not in the Sonata. I carefully cut the Engine while exiting the roadway at a high speed (no brakes either) and because I was very familiar with that part of the roadway I was ok and the Car was ok too, loved that Sonata!


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

cruzegirly said:


> After talking with GM and my insurance I am going to have to let GM take the vehicle and do whatever they have to on it. Insurance told me to let them. Waiting on a call from the product assistance claims to start the process. I truly hope it was just my car and not any other cruzes. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy.


Your insurance wants that because GM will access the vehicle's <black box> and determine which pedals were depressed, what gear the transmission was in, the speed the vehicle was travelling, the direction the steering wheel was in and the speed the engine was turning. 

From this it will be very easy to determine if the vehicle was at fault or the driver. Either way, the insurance company's liability is reduced. 

Please let us know how this one shakes out for you.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

No doubt GM wants to look at this to make sure this isn't a new failure mode. They've seen what rumors of unintentional acceleration has done to the sales of it's competitors. They should want to nail any issue early on.

While I said before that this is unusual, I've been around computers enough to know that really weird stuff can happen.


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## cruzegirly (Nov 21, 2013)

Tomko said:


> cruzegirly said:
> 
> 
> > After talking with GM and my insurance I am going to have to let GM take the vehicle and do whatever they have to on it. Insurance told me to let them. Waiting on a call from the product assistance claims to start the process. I truly hope it was just my car and not any other cruzes. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy.
> ...



I just worry Chevy will lie to cover their ass. They have done it before. I just want my vehicle safe for my kids! GM will have my car for at least 20-30 days =\


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Just curious, what kind of problems have you had since 4K?

Good luck with the outcome. It does not sound like a good situation at all.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

cruzegirly said:


> I just worry Chevy will lie to cover their ass. They have done it before. I just want my vehicle safe for my kids! GM will have my car for at least 20-30 days =\


Why would they lie in this case? Their report will be scrutinized by the NHTSA as well. GM has been very upfront about solving safety issues with their vehicles since Mary Barra took the helm as CEO, even going so far as to recall the 2011 and 2012 Cruze for sloppy work by oil change quick lube places. (Note - I don't work for GM, just trying to understand your assertion.)


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

cruzegirly said:


> I just worry Chevy will lie to cover their ass.


I think you are wise to have such a concern - but I hope that you are also open to the possibility that there are other players besides Chevy whose interests would be served by a similar approach. 

I raise this as someone who drove for 34 years and in that time can recall at least one instance of accidentally depressing the gas pedal instead of the brake.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

The black box doesn't lie. It may reveal something you don't want revealed, though.


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## cbeau629 (Aug 15, 2018)

I had this issue happen to me and I have a 2016 Chevy Cruz only 23K miles on it. It was brand new at the start of the lease. GM is worthless. 

In 2016 I leased a brand new Chevy Cruze. One afternoon on my commute home my car suddenly got stuck at 3,000 rpms. The next light had turned red and I had one car in front of me. When I realized my car isn’t stopping. I had both feet on the break at this point begging the car to stop. I had nowhere to safely pull over. Out of desperation I put the car in Neutral and it continued to rev and buck forward. Luckily the light had turned green and before I hit the car in front of me traffic began to move. The car still was revving at 3,000 rpm I put it back in drive. I let my foot off the break to move with traffic, but when I did the car sped forward too fast. I had to put my foot on the break and let it continue to buck forward until I could pull over. I continued to fight the car for about a half mile. When suddenly I heard a loud clunk and the car went back to normal. I called my husband in tears telling him what happened. We brought the car to the dealership. The dealership said they couldn’t figure out what is wrong with the car because there is no code. I was told to continue driving the car and bring it back if it happens again. 

Then on July 20, 2018 (6-7 months later) on my commute into work during rush hour it happened again. I was in a left turn lane and was unable to stop. This time I put the car in park and turned it off. When I turned the car back on the meters on the car were going crazy and then I heard a loud clunk and everything returned to normal. I brought the car back to the dealership. Again there was no code so the dealership can’t figure out what is wrong with the car. This time I reported the issue to NHSTA in case anyone else reports the issue. Then I called GM and reported the safety issue. GM “investigated” by basically telling the dealership to drive it and try and replicate the issue, which they weren’t able to. They told me at this time they recommend I continue to drive the car and they will continue to honor their warranty should it happen again to bring it back in. I told them they are putting my safety and those driving on the roads safety at risk. I never know when the car is going to do this. It could happen while I’m driving on the highway next time. I might not be so fortunate the next time. I’m 24 weeks pregnant and often drive with my son in the car. I also have an hour commute to work every day. 

Something needs to be done this car is not safe regardless of whether there is a code or not. And why don’t they care about my life and my children’s lives that are put at risk by driving this car.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

cruzegirly said:


> I just worry Chevy will lie to cover their ass. They have done it before. I just want my vehicle safe for my kids! GM will have my car for at least 20-30 days =\


That was the last time we ever heard from Cruze Girly, very suspicious:signs065:


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## Croakes (Aug 17, 2018)

Hey, this might be a bit left field but my Son recently purchased a 2010 Cruze diesel and just this afternoon with the engine running in neutral and stationary, the diesel engine ran away. That is... it went crazy high in the RPM all by itself. Luckily it stopped when we turned off the ignition but many diesel engines that run away keep running until they self destruct even after the ignition is turned off. Perhaps yours did this?


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