Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
EA08005GENERAL MOTORS CORP.02/14/200810/14/2008STUCK THROTTLE VALVE
 To date, the office of defects investigation (odi) is aware of 29 non-duplicative complaints/field reports and 52 warranty claims related to the alleged defect affecting 69 unique subject vehicles.because the alleged defect condition is most likely to occur during winter months when ambient temperatures are below freezing, odi upgraded this investigation to an engineering analysis on february 14, 2008 so that it could continue to monitor the field experience during the 2007/2008 winter season.by letter dated may 22, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) supplemented its previous information request response with field data received by gm through may 1, 2008.according to gm, when moisture freezes in the positive crankcase ventilation (pcv) system and/or the engine air intake tract it is most often observed as a hard to start/no start condition, throttle stuck closed, rough running engine, stalling at idle, or oil leakage.of the 29 complaints related to stuck throttle, odi identified 5 reports that allege unwanted acceleration, 13 reports describe an apparent high-idle condition at start up or when slowing the vehicle to a stop without any allegation of unwanted acceleration or diminished braking performance, and the remaining 11 reports describe ambiguous allegations of stuck throttle without regard to severity or consequence.odi analysis of field incident data shows that the complaint and warranty trends appear to be in decline, with only 1 additional complaint and 6 warranty claims related to the alleged defect received by gm since april 2007. a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation has been closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
PE07051GENERAL MOTORS CORP.10/19/200702/14/2008STUCK THROTTLE VALVE
 On october 19, 2007, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate alleged stuck throttle incidents due to ice formation within the engine air intake tract in certain model year (my) 2004-2005 chevrolet aveo vehicles manufactured for sale or lease in the united states.this investigation was prompted by a safety recall campaign (05f-069) conducted by general motors corp. (gm) involving substantially similar vehicles manufactured for sale or lease in canada.at that time, gm issued a technical service bulletin (tsb #05-06-04-065) to address the alleged defect condition in u.s. vehicles.gm subsequently revised the canadian recall campaign to include more detailed instructions after it discovered certain vehicles were not properly serviced under the original recall campaign.gm revised the canadian recall campaign a second time to include more substantial changes to the throttle body, intake manifold, positive crankcase ventilation (pcv) and engine cooling systems to further reduce the likelihood of icing within the engine air intake tract.again, gm issued a technical service bulletin (tsb #08-06-04-009) to address the alleged defect condition in u.s. vehicles using the revised procedure.odi is aware of 28 non-duplicative complaints/field reports and 46 warranty claims related to the alleged defect affecting 63 unique subject vehicles.the alleged defect condition is most likely to occur during the winter months when ambient temperatures are below freezing.however, the information provided in gm's response to odi's information request letter dated november 2, 2007, does not capture events that may have occurred during the most recent winter months.accordingly, this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea08-005) to further study the frequency of the alleged defect.

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
12/17/20070110/25/2006
 As soon as i started backing out of my apt. parking place, the accelerator jammed sending my 2004 chevy aveo backwards into an apt. across the street. the deputy estimated the speed at 40mph. my car was totaled. the damages to apt. building required the tenants to move to another apt. that day. there was nothing i could do to stop it. i received minor injuries. *tr
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL - ACCELERATOR PEDAL
07/12/2004206
 While pulling out from a stand still consumer attempted to drive up a slight incline and depressed the accelerator, but vehicle would not go up the hill. after about 30 seconds vehicle accelerated and climbed the incline. this problem occurred numerous times in the last nine days. dealer examined the vehicle, and claimed that the air conditioner was the problem.*ak