Customer: "Car won't exceed 50 km/h"

"Dunnik" (dunnik) 04/27/2014 at 16:10 • Filed to: RENTAL CARS, TIPTRONIC, CHEVY CRUZE

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You guys will just love this. I work as a vehicle transporter for a major rental car company. I took my group of drivers downtown to pick up 5 cars to be returned to our distribution facility. The attendant said that there may be a problem with one of the cars we were supposed to pick up, a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze.

"What's the problem?" I asked. The attendant replied that the customer returned the vehicle just after renting it, and said that the car "would not exceed 50 km/h" (31 mph). By the plate of the vehicle I can tell it's one of our newest cars, and the odo confirms this: less than 3500 km on it (2174 miles).

I raise then quickly dismiss several theories - does the humble Cruze have a limp home mode? Can't be. Can the tachometer tell me anything? It idles normally, I give it a couple rev's, everything seems fine. I check the car's on-screen diagnostics. Engine temp is good, and the car isn't displaying any warnings. How's the transmission? Applying the e-brake, I shift through each of the gears as if I'm buying a used car. But nothing's wrong with the transmission...oh! The transmission !

It seems the most plausible explanation was Operator Error. I think our customer shifted into Drive, then inadvertently knocked the lever over into Tiptronic mode, probably while in 2nd gear. I guess the customer didn't notice the tach had gone to near the redline. Or the painful sound of a small engine screaming like a banshee as it holds its revs just below the limiter.

Sometimes, "There's something wrong with the car" really means, "There's something wrong with the driver".

Photo Credits: General Motors v2

Brian Silvestro > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:11

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jkm7680 > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:12

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Hahahaha, Wrong Tiptronic thing. Any person who spends time around modern cars should be able to figure that one out. What I wonder is that if he/she pulled over and put the car in park, that she couldn't just stick it back into the actual drive.

Horkin' Up Dangle Hams > Brian Silvestro 04/27/2014 at 16:16

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Soloburrito > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:20

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I had a minor derp moment in a previous gen escape rental.

I put it in low gear to merge onto a highway from a stop light. As I turned onto the highway, the motor pulled up to its non-existant redline (seriously no redline on the tach, it just goes up to 8k) I shifted from L to D.

I dd a manual so I shift with some conviction. Well it turns out nothing should be done with conviction in an Escape. I accidentally shoved the selector to P. I was initally surprised it let me do that at speed. It locked me in P while I pulled over and slowed to a stop.

Moral of the story, save the manuals.

Team6.1 > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:25

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PEBSAW ? Problem exists between wheel and seat

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:33

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Troubleshooting skills are in very short supply these days.

duurtlang > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:36

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[insert facepalm]

How disconnected from the whole experience of driving do you have to be to not get this? I'm glad the vast majority of rentals where I live are still manuals...

Bad72AMX > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:37

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This will be an Enterprise certified used car in 6 months! Although really, its likely that the high revs didn't do any damage at all.

sellphones2493 > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:47

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I used to work for Carmax - I had a lady come with her son in to test drive (and eventually purchase) a near-perfect 2011 Pearl White Malibu LTZ. During the test-drive, this actually happened.

Son : "How does the steering feel? Is it tight?"
Mother : (Grabs the steering wheel trying to pull it off) "Yeah, it's on there pretty tight!"

I couldn't keep a straight face.

The Transporter > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 16:51

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I've had this exact same thing happen with that exact same make and model of car. The customer's purse accidentally knocked it into sequential mode.

Have you had any customers complain of "gear slipping" in Nissans with CVTs? To be fair, I'll give that one lady props for at least recognizing that there was something different about the transmission.

Nibby > Brian Silvestro 04/27/2014 at 17:00

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Brian Silvestro > Nibby 04/27/2014 at 17:01

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This is amazing.

Dunnik > The Transporter 04/27/2014 at 17:30

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Nope, not yet. Surprisingly.

Nice 2001 reference heh.

monkeyracing > Dunnik 04/27/2014 at 18:35

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I have an aunt that did this in a rental car. She thought the car was a raging POS. Turns out, modern shifters are confusing for some.

nafsucof > Team6.1 04/27/2014 at 19:15

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pebwas...