Stabilitrak Safety Issues

[VAtraveler]

I have a 2010 LaCrosse CX with 24K - purchased new in 2010.

During June, I had to make two trips across the mountains between Virginia and West Virginia. It is a two lane highway with lots of bends and hills.

On both trips, the car experienced a problem in the exact same spot. The road comes down a hill and at the bottom is a switchback to the right and then it starts up the hill in a sharp incline. When the car reaches the bottom of the hill, as I am braking, the stabilitrak light come on and the engine stalls for about 3 seconds just as I am accelerating to go up the hill. After 3 seconds +/-, the engine catches again and all is well. During that brief period, the car almost comes to a stop.

The first time it happened, I called Onstar and had them run a diagnostic report on it but it did not show any anomaly.

It seems to me that turning your engine off while traveling over a mountain road would not be the safest thing to do considering your power steering also would be diminished. 😱

I have read that there is a recall on some 2012 LaCrosse models for a similar problem:

http://carrecalls.blogspot.com/2011/08/buick-lacrosse-recall-stabilitrak.html

I have scheduled an appointment at the dealer to have them check the diagnostics error codes if they still are logged.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem with their LaCrosse? Any suggestions as to what do do besides stay off that particular highway?🙄

Thanks for any input.

 

[92sub]

Not trying to minimize your concern....just trying to clarify what is LIKELY happening:

The engine is not stalled. If it actually stalled the computer has no way of restarting it without you exercising the ignition key (or button).
Sounds like the vehicle stability system is getting tricked into thinking your in some kind of slide and has stopped the accelerator input from actually manipulating the throttle (most cars have electronic throttle these days).

IMO: Positively take it back to the dealer but in the absence of any trouble codes there might not be anything wrong.....or perhaps a better way to say it: it might not be something they can fix. Especially if it has never done anything like this on any other road under any circumstances.
Despite all the testing that manufacturers do, sometimes there are unique road situations that befuddle the best-written software.
If they can't find anything and you need to run that route again, perhaps they could give you an option-matching Lacrosse loaner for a comparison? It sounds like a stretch but if it is a road condition/software mismatch I'm not sure how else you'd know but an A-B comparison.

 

[Buick Customer Service]

I am glad to hear that you are planning to have your dealer take a look. Please keep me posted on your progress. Contact me if you need anything. Thank you.

Tricia, Buick Customer Service.

 

[VAtraveler]

Just returned from the dealer and as I suspected, there were no error codes on the diagnostics.

I talked with the mechanic and he explained that the stabilitrak was functioning as it should. The computer sensed that I was braking too much or too fast as I approached the turn and when I went immediately to accelerate for the upward climb, it cut back on the throttle.

I'm not sure I believe the mechanic or even believe in the concept. I can think of any number of scenarios where I may brake hard and then immediately accelerate again and since the computer has no way of knowing the situation I am in, how can it assume to have a better solution to the situation than the action I am taking? Additionally, if it is cutting down on the power, is it also cutting back on the power steering and/or power brakes? If my car is going to try to out-think me, where is the on/off switch for the Stabilitrak?

I think 92Subs analysis is plausible and I'm not going to be too concerned unless the same thing happens on other roads and in other situations; then I will be really concerned and vocal! I've spent the last 37 years of my life working with computers and I don't have faith or trust in them.

Thanks for your prompt feedback. I'll post any new developments here if there is a change to the situation.

P.S. Did you know that an F-18 pilot taking off from an aircraft carrier is not permitted to touch any controls until the plane is actually air born? The entire take-off is controlled by a computer. I'm not sure I could have that much faith in a system that was manufactured in someone's basement in China from rusty tin cans.

 

[H_Charles]

I may have similar issue

I chalked it up to poor tranny mapping, but this is interesting.

When I leave the office, I go down a sharp decline, then back up a hill, make a right at a stop sign and continue up a steep grade for about 50 feet.

Everytime I try to accelerate past the stop sign, I have no engine power for a second or two. Then it kicks in.

This is the only spot it's ever happened, but it does sound similar to your sceanario. Since my event is basically in a parking lot, I'm not worried about safety for it, but sounds like GM may have some sort of problem if my event and yours are related.

If it is an issue, this is really pathetic. I'm not autocrossing. Just going down what amounts to a steep driveway then accelerating up the other side before stopping. that should NEVER fool any modern safety system into cutting power. Very poor engineering if so.

 

[VAtraveler]

H Charles, your situation does sound similar to mine. Do you come to a full stop at the stop sign before turning to go up the hill? Does your stabilitak idiot light come on? It's on the tachometer cluster at about 2 o'clock and is orange.

Here's a link to a Google map if you want to do a virtual drive on the strip where my problem occurs. You may have to paste this URL into your browser:

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=V...=q0xGV0G8VOw-b66cslImmQ&cbp=12,232.39,,0,12.6 You'll want to start out going down hill into the bend. Careful your virtual engine doesn't cut out on you. 🙄

 

[Mad*Max]

Re: I may have similar issue

your engine didn't stall because in an automatic transmission it cannot restart through motion, you have to give it the ignition...

 

[mmadden2]

Are those your skid marks coming out of the bend?

 

[H_Charles]

H Charles, your situation does sound similar to mine. Do you come to a full stop at the stop sign before turning to go up the hill? Does your stabilitak idiot light come on? It's on the tachometer cluster at about 2 o'clock and is orange.

Here's a link to a Google map if you want to do a virtual drive on the strip where my problem occurs. You may have to paste this URL into your browser:

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=V...=q0xGV0G8VOw-b66cslImmQ&cbp=12,232.39,,0,12.6 You'll want to start out going down hill into the bend. Careful your virtual engine doesn't cut out on you. 🙄

My light doesn't come on that I recall, and I rarely come to a complete stop there (more rolling -- it's an office park private stop sign with no traffic ever coming other way). I have gotten the "check suspension system" warning icon a few times independent of this section of road, but no of course no codes ever showed at the dealer.

I do go down and back up the hill at decent speed, and relatively hard breaking up to the stop sign, where I make a right turn at low speed and proceed up the rest of the hill. It's there that the car just kinds sits for second, as if the throttle has been cut off.
Still possible the car just can't find the right gear I guess, and it's the tranny being fooled, but sure sounds similar to yours sans the orange warning light.