2017 Throttle sticking for half second?

3056 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by MikeyCVolt, Dec 17, 2017

MikeyCVolt

Discussion Starter · Oct 15, 2017

I guess I'll post this in general because I'm not convinced it is a "problem"...

Today I asked my 3 teen kids how they liked the Volt compared to the Challenger SRT that I traded and my boy says, "drift into the driveway and I'll give it respect".

So I figured just after I turned into my driveway I'd stab the throttle to at least give them a little scratch. I stabbed the throttle to the floor and released it immediately and it did exactly what I wanted: tires screeched and it lunged forward BUT: it continued to accelerate for about a half second after my foot was completely off the accelerator which also resulted in a longer screech than I was expecting.

Is this a known "phenomenon" in the Volt? I was thinking maybe the motor controller takes a half second to disengage or that maybe it doesn't cut power instantly to prevent shock on the drivetrain? The end result is basically a non-issue I guess: I was just used to ICE being more instant on the release. It was strange feeling the accelerator pedal in the full up position but the car still accelerating hard for about a half second. Also seems strange that the power came ON immediately as soon as I stabbed it but took a half second to "roll OFF".

Thanks,
Mike

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MikeyCVolt

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 16, 2017

It's a 2017 LT. I had it in D and was in Normal driving mode. It was definitely still accelerating after I released my foot. Here's a ~1 second clip of the event. When you watch (listen to) this, keep in mind that I stabbed and released the accelerator from 0-100%-0 as quickly as I could. If you do that motion with your foot while sitting at your computer, you'll realize that the tire squeal continued beyond when you lifted your foot: that was the sensation I got when driving it. Meaning that I still heard squealing for I'd say 1/4 to 1/2 second after my foot was completely off the accelerator:

https://youtu.be/RAS1v94dCdE

Mike

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MikeyCVolt

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 16, 2017

timoshev said:
Well, I hope you have a long driveway. That is not a place I would choose to floor the pedal of any car.

Not that it has any relevance, but 120 feet is plenty of room.

Mike

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MikeyCVolt

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 16, 2017

JRRF said:
I remember when my mom put our '68 Impala 4 barrel through the garage door. I guess it didn't release quickly enough either

Today almost all throttles are computer rather than cable controlled. What you describe doesn't surprise me at all. And it certainly doesn't concern me since no one actually has any need to drive like that.

Yeah, probably a good idea to put the garage door up first. Give yourself that extra 21 feet.

Like I said, just establishing a norm, not calling it a problem. If it had stuck for maybe 8 seconds and I ran out of 120 feet of driveway, another 200 feet of open field, and then hit the woodline, I'd complain.

srmarti said:
If that's the boy's attitude, I'm not so sure he should be driving.

He's not. He's 14. Have to teach them how to do a proper burnout early.

Mike

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MikeyCVolt

Discussion Starter · #13 · Oct 16, 2017

JRRF said:
My kids are even younger, and I have to be so careful now that they pay more attention. My son now loves it when I'm in a hurry and zip around a corner. And my daughter has already admonished me for driving with alacrity. I want them to understand very clearly that these things are NOT ok.

Having taught one to drive and facing teaching my youngest in about 6 months, the thing I found most helpful was to impress upon them that driving is life or death. Once they grasp the concept that lack of attention or ignoring safety due to ANY distraction could lead to DEATH, the rest of your guidance to them sinks in a bit better. The key is to get them to understand the seriousness of driving without making them scared to drive... but they do reflect on what you've told them so that just before they do that stupid thing they know they shouldn't be doing, they think back to what dad said and wonder "could this be the last thing I ever do?" Then they make the right decision.

Mike

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MikeyCVolt

Discussion Starter · #15 · Dec 17, 2017

That sounds like a different problem than what I had. In my case, I could feel (with my foot) that the pedal had returned to the up position but acceleration continued a good fraction of a second after the pedal had returned to the up position.

FWIW I've put 2000 miles on it since that time and it has never happened again. Then again, I have not stabbed the throttle and released it immediately since then either: there's just no reason to do that in a normal driving scenario. So it's possible that the "speed controller" for the motor just isn't programmed to react that quickly.

Mike

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