NHTSA complaint: 2016 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE — POWER TRAIN
ENTERPRISE RENTED ME THE CHEVY TRAVERSE. I EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM WHEN I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING AREA OFF A DIRT ROAD. I'D BEEN WAITING FOR THE CAR BEHIND ME TO BACK OUT SO THAT I COULD BACK OUT. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY, WEATHER SUNNY AND WARM, MIDDLE OF THE DAY. I TURNED ON THE IGNITION, HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, PUT IT INTO REVERSE AND NEXT THING I KNEW I WAS HURTLING BACKWARDS. IT FELT LIKE BEING SUCKED BACKWARD AND THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO TO STOP IT. I SMASHED INTO THE CAR BEHIND ME AND IT WAS TERRIFYING BOTH FOR ME AND, I'M SURE, FOR THE GUY BEHIND ME WHO SUDDENLY HAD THIS SUV CRASHING INTO THE FRONT OF HIS CAR. HE THOUGHT HIS CAR WAS TOTALED. THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE HANDLING IT, BUT I TOLD BOTH MY INSURANCE COMPANY AND ENTERPRISE THAT I THOUGHT THE TRAVERSE HAD SURGED. I DID EVENTUALLY DRIVE THE VEHICLE BACK HOME (AVOIDING REVERSE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE), AND NOTICED WHEN THE CAR WAS IN CRUISE CONTROL MODE THAT SAME SURGE-FEELING IN DRIVE WHEN GOING UP A HILL--LIKE IT WAS GOING WAY TOO FAST. LATER, I SAW ONLINE A COMPLAINT OF A SIMILAR THING (REVERSE SURGE) HAPPENING WITH A 2009 TRAVERSE. I DON'T THINK THIS CAR SHOULD BE ON THE ROAD, AND THE PEOPLE HANDLING THE CLAIM FOR ENTERPRISE SAY THAT IT'S NOT (WHICH IS GOOD), BUT THEY JUST WARNED ME THAT IF THEIR INSPECTION DOESN'T SHOW A PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE, I COULD BE LIABLE FOR EXPENSES SINCE IT HAS BEEN PULLED FROM THEIR FLEET. AT THIS POINT, I'VE BEEN WAITING CLOSE TO A MONTH FOR THIS INSPECTION, AT WHICH I W
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation