Stabilitrak fails = 1080 through 4 lanes of traffic & rail guard

[GTAwheelman]

you hydroplaned is what it sounds like. i dont know how that is GM's fault, fact is you should have reduced your speed if you felt so unsafe.

[xXSilencerXx]

Glad you're ok man, life is worth more than the car.

Originally Posted by blizzpat

Glad you're okay.

One question though, if you felt something wrong and you were fighting it why didn't you just slow down? Not trying to jack this, I'm just wondering... Also my pirellis were pretty bare after about 15 months... This was with taking it to the track, burning rubber, driving the hell out of my car (24,000mi in about a year)... Tires could have been a huge factor and I don't know how the warranty/gm/insurance company will deal with that.

Hopefully they can find out what went wrong and you can get a new one! Good luck and happy you're safe.. Life > cars.

I wondered this also. After having the TA for years and knowing how bad it can be in the ran, I wouldn't consider driving the Camaro fast either. Seen too many stories like this.

[lawman007]

Sorry to hear. Glad you made it ok! I crashed my F-150 a few weeks back. I know what it's like to have your ride taken from you. It's a matter of these cars/trucks are basically made for one thing. To get you through one major crash virtually unharmed. It looks like that happened. As for the cause, only you know for sure, as we were not there. You might have to look a little deeper on that. Get the Insurance money and get a new one or something else you fancy. Still glad you made it.
Troy Lawson

[mtcwby]

Originally Posted by blizzpat

Stabilitrak needs to have contact with the asphalt to work. When you hydroplane there is no contact. The guy was driving too fast for the conditions. Thank god he is okay and he did not kill anyone. People need to learn to drive and stop relying on technology for everything.

Originally Posted by Number 3

OP, first know that everyone on this site is glad you made it through. It's pretty scary to lose control let alone spin.

Let your insurance buy you a new Camaro, that is what it's for.

Here is what GM says about Stabilitrak:

StabiliTrak

GM is committed to continuously improving the crashworthiness and crash avoidance of our vehicles, and one of our technologies is StabiliTrak®, a stability enhancement system that makes our already safe vehicles even better.

StabiliTrak with Traction Control offers enhanced safety in adverse driving and road conditions. StabiliTrak is standard on many GM cars, trucks, crossovers, SUVs and vans. These vehicles meet or exceed government safety standards and GM's own strict internal requirements.

StabiliTrak helps drivers maintain control of vehicles during certain difficult driving conditions such as:

Ice

Snow

Gravel

Wet pavement

Uneven road surfaces

Emergency lane changes or avoidance maneuvers




Notice it says "helps" and "enhances" not eliminates or prevents.

I had chance to drive an SRX through horrid rain in WV last week. I had a couple of cases where the vehicle hydroplaned horribly. TC and Stabilitrak did nothing. And I can also assure you if I had done anything other than lift off the throttle, I would have been in deep #$%^&*. Any quick jerk to the wheel to get back on track would have likely had some pretty frightening consequences.

If you did any quick input to the steering wheel in this very quick event, you can still spin the car, electronics or not.

I've had case to spin out in vehicles with TC and Stabilitrak in Michigan winters. You can very easily get behond the ability for these two great safety features to real your car back in.

Again, sorry for your pain and sorry for the loss of your Camaro. But what you've described, and I can only judge by that, Stabilitrak didn't cause nor could it have prevented your accident.

Here is a nice summary of what ESC is and does.

http://cars.about.com/od/thingsyouneedtoknow/a/ESC.htm

Note this comment in the post:

If my car has electronic stability control, does that mean I can't lose control of my car?

NO! Even with ESC, it is still possible to lose control of the car. Excessive speed, slick roads, and excessively worn or improperly inflated tires are all factors that can reduce ESC's effectiveness.

EXACTLY!! I have noticed on my car, that if I excessively spin my tires that the Service Stabilitrac light comes on. That is normal since I have exceeded the capabilities of my traction Control and Stabilitrac. I don't blame GM. I just shut off the car and reset the system and go on with life. All these traction features on our cars are not a substitute for learning how to not over drive the road conditions. How you do 3 - 360's at 50 mph is beyond me except that the rear tires were probably spinning alot higher than 50. Also, 2yrs on the PZeros is really pushing it. The PZeros are pretty good rain tires when new, but when they get worn to less than 50% tread then they don't do much. If you live in a rainy area like Seattle, I would suggest not letting your tires get below 50% tread life. And learn how to drive without depending on the electronic systems on the car.
All these government mandated safeguards on the new cars is doing nothing but create a whole new breed of drivers that have no skills of their own.
Nobody knows how to back up a car anymore without rear view cameras and sensors. Whatever happened to knowing how to use mirrors and knowing what is around you?

[scythezo6]

Going 50mph in water higher than 1 inch in pirellis?!.... That's absolutely nuts!
I'm sorry for your loss and glad you are alive, but come on man you cant drive that fast in rainy weather. Even with brand new tires its possible to hydroplane. Enough speed will cause your car to press down onto a column of water under the tires and ride on it ---> loss of control. The instant you noticed you couldn't keep the car steady at the speed you should have slowed down. I dont mean to lecture I'm just amazed people don't understand this.

[macwest]

First glad you are alright. On your questions

1) Do you all think GM will accept this is a manufature defect? Will be under warrenty? Will they replace the totaled car?
No, to prove a manufactuing defect will be tough and GM has deep pockets. Also, conditions point to driving to fast for conditions. Look at sudden acceleration under toyota. Toyota won its case this year.

2) Should I just go through my insurance and have the two of them duke it out?
This is what insuranceis for. If the insurance company really thinks it is a design defect they will take on the issue. However, based on the story they will look at it as a weather conditions.

3) Has anyone else had issues with their stablitrak/traction control "not working" and making them fishtail all the time? I can safely say yes I messed up my satabi track after doing my headers damm wires were too close oops however it never made my car fishtail but sure as heck made all my warnings and buzzers sound as I drove it to the shop. Thought I was either killing or stealing my car. Wont do that agian.

[SilverIceman]

Glad you're OK

Slow down next time. Or get some all weather tires.

Not GM's fault.

Hope you have good insurance.

[need4spd]

Originally Posted by CAPT D

Glad your ok, but like everyone is saying spining out of control going 50 is hard to believe, ive drivin snow going that fast and had no problems, but i wasnt there so maybe something did go wrong.

he might be doing 50mph but with the engine revving and tires spinning on a wet surface

[blizzpat]

Just for some perspective... my old girlfriend once hit an ice patch at 40mph and we did 1 360.... to do 3 360s you must of been going MUCH faster, OR you decided to hit the accelerator mid turn to try to correct it.

[DarricSS]

Sounds like someone driving in a heavy rainstrom with Cruise Control on...

[nomadicdogg]

glad your ok as well, but heres the thing... stabilitrack cannot steer your car. If you felt the roads were unsafe, pull over, slow down ect ect.
when you start to fishtale, it is up to YOU to drive the car. If its out of your ability, maybe you need to re-think the car you drive, or visit a driving school such as bonerout ect....

[fielderLS3]

Originally Posted by Shadowmind

Evening everyone...

I totalled my 2010 tonight. Not a happy camper as its one of the first VINs.

It was pouring cats and dogs this evening on the ride home. I was fighting the car at 50 mph to keep it in a straight line the whole way home, then BAM... Orange lights, Service Stabilitrak, and I go immediately into a fishtail through 4 lanes of traffic doing 3, 360s. I am extremely lucky to be alive... Im baffled how I managed to spin between a heavy load of traffic doing 50...

Now... I have always been affraid of this beast in rain. Its never, ever felt safe to drive in heavy rainpours, and tonight, I was sweating bullets the whole way home because I just felt something was going to happen. But I did not expect this...

So here's my questions for the group...

1) Do you all think GM will accept this is a manufature defect? Will be under warrenty? Will they replace the totaled car?
2) Should I just go through my insurance and have the two of them duke it out?
3) Has anyone else had issues with their stablitrak/traction control "not working" and making them fishtail all the time?
4) Tires... Yes I still had the Pirrelli's on the car from when I bought it 2 years ago. Is anyone else seeing an abnormal wear and tear on their tires after 2 years of normal driving?

Body hurts, head hurts, but sadly... my heart is broken... I really loved that car. :(

The most important part is that you walked away. The car can always be replaced.

That said, it's disappointing to see someone trying to blame GM for a situation like this rather than accepting personal responsibility. Don't even bother asking GM to pay for this. You have no case against them, and they will do nothing for you. You were the driver of the car, and you alone are responsible for losing control of the car. The car didn't spin itself out. This is an insurance issue, end of story. When the insurance check clears, you may want to look into an LT if you can't handle the SS.

[pogiskier]

The other week I was playing in a large empty parking lot in a down pour. at first I forgot to turn off the TC and stablitrak, as I pushed the car harder into a turn the lights came on and then as I spun into a 180 a bunch of lights came on. then once I stopped, and drove slow it all turned off. TC then seemed to function normal. I then turned it all off and played for a few, it was fun and I learned in a controlled environment how easy it is to get these camaros to spin around. once you hit a point and it's not near as far as i thought your back end will swing right around on ya. SO drive safe have fun and learn about your cars abilities.

[derklug]

Sometimes it just sucks to be stupid. Everyone does it, but usually the consequences are less.


As I sit here with 10 stiches in my thumb.