GM Ignition-Switch Defect.

"Roberto G." (roberto-g)
03/12/2014 at 17:56 • Filed to: LIKEINCLASSACTION

When Brooke Melton took her car to a GM dealership, the service report said "Customer states engine shut off while driving, please check."

Technicians cleaned the fuel injection.

Melton got the car back on March 9. She was killed March 10.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

DISCUSSION (13)

jkm7680 > Roberto G.
03/12/2014 at 17:57

Lots of lawsuits are coming their way. That's a sad story.

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > Roberto G.
03/12/2014 at 18:02

Even though mine is a 2008 I am now nervous to drive mine.....

area man > Roberto G.
03/12/2014 at 18:06

The article doesn't state how her accident happened - all it says is that she lost power and was then hit on the side. Other articles say she lost control and was hit. I'm not absolving GM AT ALL, but I feel like tenuous connections like these will bolster their case. Even if you're doing 60 on the highway (which she was), losing power brakes and steering shouldn't send you spinning.

LappingLuke > Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT
03/12/2014 at 18:08

At least if it shuts off you know why and what to do...others who unfortunately experienced the worst possible outcome of this issue were helpless because they had no idea why it happened or what they could do because the key turning back is something that would never naturally come to your mind in a panic situation unless you already knew that was a problem.

Also, unless I'm mistaken (I haven't read through every detail of the recall thoroughly but I believe this is the case) this happens when a heavy ring full of keys pulls the key to the off position after hitting a bump. I would just use my car key by itself to try to mitigate the risk.

Casper > area man
03/12/2014 at 18:13

You mean like every hysterical meltdown people have with cars. Just look at the not-so-real accelerations Toyota had and that destroyed the Audi 5000.

I have no doubt these are faulty (the entire car feels like it was made from a parts bin in Mexico) and I have no doubt you could die (if it did this pulling across several lanes of fast traffic it would be fatal easily), but I also think there is a lot of hype/stupid intermingling.

yamahog > Roberto G.
03/12/2014 at 18:17

This infuriates me. I think I've mentioned here before that a coworker has a Cobalt affected by this condition. It has shut off on her before, starting years ago. When this whole thing finally came out, she took it to the dealer, who said they wouldn't have the parts to fix it until April earliest.

Yesterday afternoon, she was talking to her boss about working from home today as there was a big snowstorm predicted and she didn't want to be driving her car in that weather. Not only had he not heard of the issue (we work in the auto industry, come on!) but he was almost giving her shit about it, asking what made it more dangerous than driving it any other time. Really?? I keep telling her to sell it, hope GM gets that fix out real quick.

area man > Casper
03/12/2014 at 18:22

That's true. And obviously airbags not deploying in a head-on crash is a big fuck-up from GM. But I agree that driver error is just slightly more involved than people want to believe.

I know it's impossible to predict how you'd react in that situation (even though the post makes it clear she knew this was a problem and it had happened to her before, presumably at lower speeds), but one time I was doing around 60 on a connecting highway when my friend accidentally bumped the gear stick (auto trans) into low. The car bucked violently and the engine sounded like it was about to explode, but I had a good grip on the wheel and without thinking or even realizing what happened I threw it into neutral and coasted into the shoulder to collect myself/kick my friend out of the car.

People don't get enough education on how to act in extreme situations. That's a big part of it.

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > LappingLuke
03/12/2014 at 18:26

My only key isn't weighted too much, but its still the slight paranoia of I'm gonna die while driving my car....or the car I have way too much time and money into is going to be destroyed and leave me potentially injured....

I've heard that they used different tumblers in the 2008+ Cobalt.....but I have not confirmed it, nor do I honestly trust peoples word...

Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Roberto G.
03/12/2014 at 18:42

Well maybe if the Cobalt was a safer car there wouldn't be as many deaths hmm

Your move, GM

JACU - I've got bonifides. > Roberto G.
03/12/2014 at 19:06

One of the first things I taught my daughters was what to do if the engine in their car stops working, as that can be one of the most likely scenarios they would encounter. We'd go to a local football stadium parking lot, build up a head of steam and I would shut the car off. They learned how to steer and brake without assist and generally understand the dynamics of the situation.

One of the first things my wife and I do with a vehicle purchase is go out and learn what the car feels like under emergency ABS stops and no power situations. I'm convinced that playing these scenarios in the real world, and examining it in one's mind prepares one to be more likely to deal with it if/when it happens.

And don't even get me started about driver's ed...

Roberto G. > JACU - I've got bonifides.
03/13/2014 at 14:58

I approve!

Roberto G. > JACU - I've got bonifides.
03/13/2014 at 14:58

I approve!

Roberto G. > Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur
03/13/2014 at 15:03

Here there's a big fault of the dealer's mechanics as well, since they didn't ask the customer for better explanations, and behaved superficially. Not all the customers are morons full of bullshit... sometimes they tell the truth!