GM took out two Pontiac Vibes this past weekend to test for braking when experiencing unintended acceleration, since the Vibe is a clone of the Toyota Matrix, which is involved in Toyota’s PedalGate. They found that the Vibe’s braking system stopped the car, and within their “internal requirement for brake performance.” They tested two Vibes, one for each recall (floot mats and sticky gas pedal). Read on for more details.
So, what fits inside GM’s braking requirements: 169 meters, or 507 feet. How fast was the car going before the brakes were applied? 60 MPH. Edmunds found that from 60 MPH, only 127 feet were required to stop their tester Vibe. That’s a four-fold increase! But, on the good side, at least it stopped. If anyone gets stuck in this situation, I just hope they have plenty of stopping room.
Toyota will be sending parts to GM dealers so they can perform the fix themselves. In the mean time, some 99,000 Pontiac Vibe owners will receive correspondence from GM as soon as they get more information from Toyota.
None of the complaints to GM have resulted from crash or injury, which is interesting, considering that before the Toyota-announced recall, GM hadn’t heard any complaints from customers for sticking gas pedals.
I’m glad to see that GM is getting out in front of this one. While they haven’t said much about the recall, they were probably waiting for a fix to be devised, and since they didn’t really design the Vibe, it’s understandable that they would have to sit on the sidelines until more was known. Good for them for recalling the Vibe and making sure their customers are safe.
If you have a Pontiac Vibe, please keep us informed of your experiences during this recall.
by John Suit
Source: GM