[Familyguy]

Hi! I have a two month old 2019 bolt premier. One day in September I had a scary issue. I was alone in the morning in town I just fast charged it at a mall. My wife and two sons were visiting my wife’s sisters new baby. In town at 50 kms per hour I let the accelerator pedal off. I like driving it in one pedal mode. (L). It momentarily hesitated. I realize if it’s fully charged it doesn’t decelerate until I have used some battery power. I had been disconnected by a rude fellow at the mall. He said I should have disconnected it at 80 percent. So he did it for me then plugged his car in. I was getting a gift for the new baby so didn’t think of it as being a problem for any one that I was not out there. Any way I was only at 87 percent charge. I thought maybe it had to much charge and that’s why it didn’t decelerate. But in the back of my mind it wasn’t normal. Then I picked the family up and we headed home. A drive of three hundred kilometres. We were 20 minutes out of town on an expressway. I had the cruise on and I thought it was set at 103 Kms per hour. My wife said I was at 108. I was in the slow lane, and a Tesla pulled up beside my in the fast lane. He stayed there without passing and a long line of cars were behind him, wanting by. So I decided to accelerate so he would get in the slow lane behind me and everyone could get by. I jumped to 123 quickly and then let off. At this point I released the pedal. But it didn’t slow down. It kept accelerating. I hit the brake and it slowed down momentarily but went back up as soon as I let go of the brake. Then I told my wife I am not doing it. The boys starting screaming for me to slow down. I tried braking hard, I tried disconnecting the cruise control. I tried lifting the accelerator pedal with my toe behind it and bringing it back to an off position. It didn’t work I was now doing 140 Kms per hour and had both hands on the steering wheel as I was trying to stay in control. I decided I would just have to brake until they gave out and hope. Unknown to me my wife who is smarter then me. Pushed it into neutral. So I braked hard and came to a stop thinking it was me. But I think she saved us. When we stopped it was smoking I thought we might be on fire and told everyone to be ready to jump out. I got out, and looked it over and it was the brakes smoking nothing else. I called onstar for a diagnosis and they said everything was ok. I called the local Chevy dealer in the town twenty minutes back and they said they can’t help they don’t work on them. Only in Toronto is there a dealer who does. That’s where I got it. I tried calling them but they weren't available at the time. So I talked it over and my wife said she put it in neutral. So we tried driving it again slowly and exited the highway. Everything worked fine. So we tried a few other things incase it did it again. To make sure we could stop it and it always stopped. So we limped slowly home at first eventually I got it up to 100kms per hour again it never reappeared. We took it to the dealer we bought it from they kept it for two weeks and said they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. They said maybe my foot got on both pedals at the same time. I know that’s not the case as when I let off the brakes it rocketed back up to a high speed.
I guess in telling this story I hope I can give others who might encounter it, a heads up. Two pushes towards the dash board on the gear shift puts it into neutral. It was a good lesson I am glad my family is alive. I am thankful my wife was there. Any constructive thoughts would be appreciated. And no it wasn’t the floor mat.

 

[GregBrew]

All I have to say is....YIKES!

 

[Eriamjh1138]

This story is written in some interesting prose. Maybe it’s because he is Canadian.

So how about some new details? What do you mean, you tried “disconnecting” the cruise control? Hitting brakes does that. Did the cruise control light say it was on?

You said you tried lifting up the accelerator. Was it stuck down or was it sprung back up and (of course) wouldn’t lift up any more. Did you try tapping or pushing on the accelerator and releasing again (like a jab)?

 

[Familyguy]

Yes. Indeed. I am not exactly sure if that was my response. Until that moment I thought it was the best vehicle I have ever had. Now ,I still think it’s amazing but with great caution.
My personal opinion. We were some how hacked. The mechanic says that’s slmost impossible. But my iPhone SE was plugged into the USB port by the shifter. After the incident my phone wasn’t working. I had to do a hard reboot to get it to work again. That hasn’t happened before. I did mention it to the mechanic but they dismissed it.

 

[Familyguy]

In response to the cruise control I tried disconnecting it on the steering wheel. By pressing the off button. I am unsure if I saw whether the green cruise light was illuminated or if it was white, and off. But The brake application should have disconnected it. The accelerator pedal was all the way up as far as I could bring it with my foot. I did not try stepping on it again to free it. It seemed to be sending a max down pedal signal to the engine because when I released the brakes the car accelerated rapidly up to the 140 km per hour. Hey the truth is I was scared,and tried my best to troubleshoot it but I obviously missed things, like shifting it to neutral.

 

[GJETSON]

I obviously missed things, like shifting it to neutral.

Pressing the blue on/off button would probably have worked too. Hard to say if I would have had the presence of mind to try it though.

 

[MikeyBolt]

Never heard of this before. Having worked on some other GM throttle position sensors (but not the Bolt), they normally have two variable resistors and when one doesn't agree with the other, it throws a code. So if the mechanical armature that drives the resistors got stuck, given that it is spring-loaded, it may not pop back even if you lift the throttle with your foot. If the mechanical part has a catch in it somewhere, it is possible it could happen again when you enter that area of throttle position. If, for example, there's a catch at the 65% throttle position, it might not stick unless you get the throttle to 65% and then slowly release the throttle at that point. I hope the dealer at least monitored it on a scan tool while trying various throttle positions to be sure it isn't sticking anywhere.

If it were my car, I think I'd get an OBDII scanner and test throttle positions: I think you can do that while the car is in park. Move the throttle to 5%, then slowly release. Next, move it to 10%, then slowly release. Keep going until you get to 100%, seeing if it is slow to release or catches at any position.

Mike

 

[Jennybopeep]

Hi! I have a two month old 2019 bolt premier. One day in September I had a scary issue. I was alone in the morning in town I just fast charged it at a mall. My wife and two sons were visiting my wife’s sisters new baby. In town at 50 kms per hour I let the accelerator pedal off. I like driving it in one pedal mode. (L). It momentarily hesitated. I realize if it’s fully charged it doesn’t decelerate until I have used some battery power. I had been disconnected by a rude fellow at the mall. He said I should have disconnected it at 80 percent. So he did it for me then plugged his car in. I was getting a gift for the new baby so didn’t think of it as being a problem for any one that I was not out there. Any way I was only at 87 percent charge. I thought maybe it had to much charge and that’s why it didn’t decelerate. But in the back of my mind it wasn’t normal. Then I picked the family up and we headed home. A drive of three hundred kilometres. We were 20 minutes out of town on an expressway. I had the cruise on and I thought it was set at 103 Kms per hour. My wife said I was at 108. I was in the slow lane, and a Tesla pulled up beside my in the fast lane. He stayed there without passing and a long line of cars were behind him, wanting by. So I decided to accelerate so he would get in the slow lane behind me and everyone could get by. I jumped to 123 quickly and then let off. At this point I released the pedal. But it didn’t slow down. It kept accelerating. I hit the brake and it slowed down momentarily but went back up as soon as I let go of the brake. Then I told my wife I am not doing it. The boys starting screaming for me to slow down. I tried braking hard, I tried disconnecting the cruise control. I tried lifting the accelerator pedal with my toe behind it and bringing it back to an off position. It didn’t work I was now doing 140 Kms per hour and had both hands on the steering wheel as I was trying to stay in control. I decided I would just have to brake until they gave out and hope. Unknown to me my wife who is smarter then me. Pushed it into neutral. So I braked hard and came to a stop thinking it was me. But I think she saved us. When we stopped it was smoking I thought we might be on fire and told everyone to be ready to jump out. I got out, and looked it over and it was the brakes smoking nothing else. I called onstar for a diagnosis and they said everything was ok. I called the local Chevy dealer in the town twenty minutes back and they said they can’t help they don’t work on them. Only in Toronto is there a dealer who does. That’s where I got it. I tried calling them but they weren't available at the time. So I talked it over and my wife said she put it in neutral. So we tried driving it again slowly and exited the highway. Everything worked fine. So we tried a few other things incase it did it again. To make sure we could stop it and it always stopped. So we limped slowly home at first eventually I got it up to 100kms per hour again it never reappeared. We took it to the dealer we bought it from they kept it for two weeks and said they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. They said maybe my foot got on both pedals at the same time. I know that’s not the case as when I let off the brakes it rocketed back up to a high speed.
I guess in telling this story I hope I can give others who might encounter it, a heads up. Two pushes towards the dash board on the gear shift puts it into neutral. It was a good lesson I am glad my family is alive. I am thankful my wife was there. Any constructive thoughts would be appreciated. And no it wasn’t the floor mat.

Hi! I have a two month old 2019 bolt premier. One day in September I had a scary issue. I was alone in the morning in town I just fast charged it at a mall. My wife and two sons were visiting my wife’s sisters new baby. In town at 50 kms per hour I let the accelerator pedal off. I like driving it in one pedal mode. (L). It momentarily hesitated. I realize if it’s fully charged it doesn’t decelerate until I have used some battery power. I had been disconnected by a rude fellow at the mall. He said I should have disconnected it at 80 percent. So he did it for me then plugged his car in. I was getting a gift for the new baby so didn’t think of it as being a problem for any one that I was not out there. Any way I was only at 87 percent charge. I thought maybe it had to much charge and that’s why it didn’t decelerate. But in the back of my mind it wasn’t normal. Then I picked the family up and we headed home. A drive of three hundred kilometres. We were 20 minutes out of town on an expressway. I had the cruise on and I thought it was set at 103 Kms per hour. My wife said I was at 108. I was in the slow lane, and a Tesla pulled up beside my in the fast lane. He stayed there without passing and a long line of cars were behind him, wanting by. So I decided to accelerate so he would get in the slow lane behind me and everyone could get by. I jumped to 123 quickly and then let off. At this point I released the pedal. But it didn’t slow down. It kept accelerating. I hit the brake and it slowed down momentarily but went back up as soon as I let go of the brake. Then I told my wife I am not doing it. The boys starting screaming for me to slow down. I tried braking hard, I tried disconnecting the cruise control. I tried lifting the accelerator pedal with my toe behind it and bringing it back to an off position. It didn’t work I was now doing 140 Kms per hour and had both hands on the steering wheel as I was trying to stay in control. I decided I would just have to brake until they gave out and hope. Unknown to me my wife who is smarter then me. Pushed it into neutral. So I braked hard and came to a stop thinking it was me. But I think she saved us. When we stopped it was smoking I thought we might be on fire and told everyone to be ready to jump out. I got out, and looked it over and it was the brakes smoking nothing else. I called onstar for a diagnosis and they said everything was ok. I called the local Chevy dealer in the town twenty minutes back and they said they can’t help they don’t work on them. Only in Toronto is there a dealer who does. That’s where I got it. I tried calling them but they weren't available at the time. So I talked it over and my wife said she put it in neutral. So we tried driving it again slowly and exited the highway. Everything worked fine. So we tried a few other things incase it did it again. To make sure we could stop it and it always stopped. So we limped slowly home at first eventually I got it up to 100kms per hour again it never reappeared. We took it to the dealer we bought it from they kept it for two weeks and said they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. They said maybe my foot got on both pedals at the same time. I know that’s not the case as when I let off the brakes it rocketed back up to a high speed.
I guess in telling this story I hope I can give others who might encounter it, a heads up. Two pushes towards the dash board on the gear shift puts it into neutral. It was a good lesson I am glad my family is alive. I am thankful my wife was there. Any constructive thoughts would be appreciated. And no it wasn’t the floor mat.

I had the same issue happen twice , once on the expressway and recently 2 weeks ago when I was on the freeway , except I wasn't in cruise control . I took it to the dealer and of course, they found nothing wrong . I don't feel safe in this car anymore . I fear for my life and others around me that could have been harmed. More people should be bringing up this issue if they have it and it has nothing to do with the floor mats . I don't even have the floor mat on the driver's side.

 

[Sean Nelson]

I had uncontrolled acceleration happen to me in the Bolt once and it startled me, but the brake pedal cut it off immediately. Turned out that the accelerator pedal had got stuck behind the mat.

@Familyguy - I'm glad you and your family made it out of that OK. I'm sure it was a terrifying experience. While I have your attention I just want to note that it is considered rather selfish to charge beyond 80% at a DC Fast charger. That's because charging speed slows down quite drastically at that point and it will take typically an hour or more to get all the way to 100%. I wouldn't unplug someone who was beyond 80% myself, but I wouldn't be particularly surprised if someone unplugged me.

I sometimes charge beyond 80%, but I try to do it only when I'm staying with the car so that I can unplug if someone else shows up who wants to charge.

 

[ARob]

While I have your attention I just want to note that it is considered rather selfish to charge beyond 80% at a DC Fast charger. That's because charging speed slows down quite drastically at that point and it will take typically an hour or more to get all the way to 100%. I wouldn't unplug someone who was beyond 80% myself, but I wouldn't be particularly surprised if someone unplugged me.

I sometimes charge beyond 80%, but I try to do it only when I'm staying with the car so that I can unplug if someone else shows up who wants to charge.

Herein lies the nexus of many complaints about EV models sold with Free charging. I try to talk to ID4 owners when I am charging at EA, more often than not, they are local and using EA instead of home charging, because hey, it's free. And many times, they are charging >80%, because hey, it's free. I understand newer models are being sold with 30 minute limits, but I don't think there is a limitation on starting a second session. More often than not, there are other EVs waiting to use the site. Same with some of the other models that offer free charging.

I like how Ford did it, limited free charging. That takes most of the incentive away from locals using the plugs instead of charging at home.

I put the free charging squatters up there with the 80%+ folks, it adds to the difficulties with an increasingly over utilized infrastructure. And sure, there are some who have no option to charge at home, but that is probably more of an edge case.

I get it, these owners are entitled to the free charging, I put more of the blame on EA and OEMs for an inconsiderate sales tactic. I bet if these owners were getting subsidized charging instead of free, that put the cost closer to that of charging at home and they wouldn't bother going to EA sites.

Unfortunately there are times when >80% is necessary. On my coast to coast trip, I had 3 sessions where I had to charge to 95-98% just to reach the next site. Extreme weather conditions were mostly to blame, 75MPH headwinds, near freezing temps and altitude all contributed. Fortunately, all three of these sessions were at EA sites with 4 stalls, and I was the only EV at the site the entire time, so I didn't feel like I was obstructing anyone.

In the 9 months since that, there are new DCFC sites that have gone online that would have helped break up those sections of the route. Sure, more stops, but at the faster end of the curve would have made a huge difference. NEVI will clearly help reduce some of the 100-130 mile gaps and reduce the need to charge to such high levels.

I wish more DCFC sites had L2 as well. Particularly for EVs that can charge at higher AC levels, a few 11.5 or 19.2kW L2 plugs would be as fast, if not faster than staying on the DCFC plugs in many cases, and would give those in line at busy sites another option while they wait.