[brrlmakr]

I've owned a 2017 Volt Premier for just over a month - bought it as a Certified Used Car.

As I was pulling into my garage this past Thursday (6/7/2018), the car suddenly lurched forward, smashing into the front wall of my garage. When I shifted to reverse to pull away from the wall, the car flew out of the garage, across the driveway, and crashed into my neighbor's unit (we live in a condo community of quads). I suffered only very sore (and maybe cracked) ribs; but the car is in very bad shape.

I have no idea why this happened and am wondering if anyone else has had this experience. It happens very fast; so be alert!

 

[Steverino]

Whoa! That's awful. Glad you are OK.

The only thing similar has been people hitting a slick surface (ice/snow), or pothole (air) hwre the car drops out of Low (assuming you are driving in Low) and it feels like acceleration (it isn't).

What gear where you in?


Of course you know some will wonder whether you hit the wrong pedal...

 

[VoltAP1]

Is your driver's floormat fastened down securely in the clips? You sure you weren't pressing on the gas and thinking it was the brake (it's actually very common)?

 

[VoltAP1]

BTW - all drive by wire throttles/accelerator pedals have two potentiometers that go in reverse directions to provide redundancy on the measurement, and will throw a check engine light if either one malfunctions.

 

[srmarti]

Other than noting the electric drive has lots of low end torque, I'm not speculating. Let the OP elaborate on the event and tell us the result of what investigation of the incident and the car shows.

 

[Guest]

OP: Terrifying, indeed. I hope you'll have qualified people investigate this, starting first with your insurance company's recommendation with how to proceed. Since these cars are so hyper engineered, I hope nothing gets disturbed that might cause any interference with the investigation.
If I were you, I wouldn't even lock the car or plug in the charge cord. Leave it alone until someone can check it out.
I'm 64, lived through the Audi era of "Unintended Acceleration", and the mystery and hype that surrounded the various incidents. Hopefully whatever caused your incident can be identified quickly.
Good luck.

 

[BAZINGA]

Holy cow, glad no one was hurt. Hopefully GM will be able to download data from the various systems/computers to determine what happened. Please come back when you have some definative info to share.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

I too am glad the things that were damaged were mostly "things" and not people (your ribs aside). Glad you're OK. Let us know what the investigation shows!

Mike

 

[AZ EV Driver]

So you were pulling forward into your garage and hit the back wall with the front of the Volt. Then you put it into reverse and the Volt suddenly backed out of your garage, down your driveway, across the street and hit your neighbors house with the front of the Volt? How did the Volt turn around in the middle and then accelerate forward into your neighbors house with the shifter in reverse? Very strange.

VIN # B0985

 

[Guest]

AZ EV Driver: What makes you think that? He showed no photos of the rear of his vehicle, AFAIK.
Looking forward to an analysis of what occurred. I think we should all refrain from speculation, as I think this discussion could quickly get out of control, which would only color the facts as they're presented to us.

 

[N8XWB]

Wow.....what happened to the low speed auto braking? Do all 2017 Volts have tjat, or is it an option???

 

[Lug_Nut]

Driver's air bag deployed, but didn't break through the sheetrock?
Dubious.

 

[Just_Jon]

... Very strange.

VIN # B0985

Indeed. I wasn't there so I can't say what happened, but something doesn't add up.

When did the airbags deploy? That front end damage does not look like it was all caused by a straight on collision with the garage wall. Nor would I try to backup after that violent of an impact.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

Indeed. I wasn't there so I can't say what happened, but something doesn't add up.

When did the airbags deploy? That front end damage does not look like it was all caused by a straight on collision with the garage wall. Nor would I try to backup after that violent of an impact.

It looks like the steering wheel was turned to the right while backing up so it's possible that the car backed into the corner of the house at an angle: turning right while backing up (as the wheels are turned in the photo) might cause the front driver's door to impact, setting off the driver's side airbag. Hence the damage on the driver's door. At least that's one possibility. Hopefully we'll get an update.

The only thing that doesn't add up to me is that if it was "stuck" at part throttle, the brakes have enough power to overcome the motor. If it was full throttle, 300 lb/ft of torque would have surely broken through that garage wall and the car would have been inside the house. I remember when my friend was on chemo and was really not fit to drive, he was parking in his garage in his Hyundai Genesis and momentarily hit the throttle instead of the brake. They had to winch his car out of his dining room. Walls are no match for a 3500 lb car.

Mike

 

[2VoltFamily]

What it looks like to me is a troll. Brand new member posts a wild story and never heard from again. Exact same story by a new member a few years ago. Member never heard from again.

Bottom line, Volts don't do this.

 

[Qinsp]

The 2017 Volt will not walk through the brakes.

You did not push on the brake pedal. You might have thought you did, but the airbag black box will have the information stored in it.

SUA cases include nearly every model car ever made. For modern cars, they are grouped into 2 classes. Brake not used, and floormat blocking brake pedal.

 

[dannycamps]

I'd refrain from making accusations until the OP has a chance to get an investigation done. These are complex machines and who knows what may/may not have happened.

Just theorizing here for a moment: Is it possible that the OP accidentally enabled ACC with a high speed setting without realizing it and the car just took off? Probably doesn't explain the 'reverse' though. I'd be more inclined to think the floormat or something else got caught up on the accelerator pedal.

Also - for those questioning the car vs. sheetrock issue, we don't know what kind of garage this was. For all we know, that drywall was covering up a cement or brick wall. May also not have been as hard of a collision the first time.

 

[Guest]

I wish this feeding frenzy would just stop. Re-read all the responses to the OP's SINGLE POST, and notice how incredibly convoluted the discussion has become.

Moderator should just put this thread on hold, or close it, and contact the OP for further input. All this speculation is dangerously confusing.

 

[obermd]

The 2017 Volt will not walk through the brakes.

You did not push on the brake pedal. You might have thought you did, but the airbag black box will have the information stored in it.

SUA cases include nearly every model car ever made. For modern cars, they are grouped into 2 classes. Brake not used, and floormat blocking brake pedal.

The NASA report on the Toyota SUA cases not only did NOT rule out electrical-mechanical failure, it actually pointed out a single point of failure in the Toyota throttle-by-wire system that could actually cause SUA. It did determine that the Camry provided for the study didn't have SUA from an electro-mechanical failure.

 

[OhioEE]

I've owned a 2017 Volt Premier for just over a month - bought it as a Certified Used Car.

As I was pulling into my garage this past Thursday (6/7/2018), the car suddenly lurched forward, smashing into the front wall of my garage. When I shifted to reverse to pull away from the wall, the car flew out of the garage, across the driveway, and crashed into my neighbor's unit (we live in a condo community of quads). I suffered only very sore (and maybe cracked) ribs; but the car is in very bad shape.

I have no idea why this happened and am wondering if anyone else has had this experience. It happens very fast; so be alert! View attachment 154242 View attachment 154250 View attachment 154258

Just an observation but if the accelerator pedal is floored,you don't get the high revving engine feedback that you do from an ICE vehicle. Can the Gen2 be shifted from D to R without pressing the brake pedal?