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

[DarkneSS]

Strange, this the best car Ive ever driven through extreme rain + windy weather. I can easily go 70 MPH in torrential downpour, I dont, but I have tried and it was very stable.

Im not even sure how you could spin out at 50 mph even in rain without the computers on. What gear were you in?

If you were in like 3rd gear then Id understand.

[IROCanSS]

Order of operations:

Change the thread title to DRIVER FAILS... 1080 through 4 lanes of traffic... Driving too fast for conditions.

Call insurance company and make a claim.

Get a new car.

[swizz]

I'm on 39k on my original Pirelli's AND they are shot but with that being said. I've seen weird things when starting the car half/arsed (didnt turn key with conviction all the way) where I'd get a stabilitrak warning but then restarting car it went away.

Eitherway, I'd say let insurance battle for you. This car isn't full-proof. You gotta watch it and use good judgement. You have an SS which means rubberband summer tires. Based on your location, you SHOULD have switched to a more dedicated rain tire. I'm not saying its your fault, just saying should have taken that into account.

I'm in the Northeast and I already know winter tires/wheel or DON'T drive in snow when it comes to this car or any other rwd sports car and above.

Glad you're ok. Get your money and go get a ZL-1 (rain tires)

[20Camaro11]

This is why no one should depend on the eletronic nannies to save their butt as they push the limits of what the car wants to do. Clearly the OP was driving beyond a safe speed in inclement weather. I made an aggressive lane change in a downpour once and stability control saved my ass...lesson learned. Glad the OP is ok, hope the OP takes a lesson from the accident. IF the car was broken, it will show up in the computers and the inurance company and GM will work it out. People have been "erroneouslly claiming" manufacturer defect/part failures as a cause of accidents since automobiles hit the road. Those claimes are debunked a good majority of the time by experts. I don't care if the OP's car was broken or not, driving too fast for conditions.... People don't drive like a bat out of hell in winter slamming their brakes relying on ABS brakes to bring them to a stop all the time, so why would anyone do that (lean on/rely on) with the other safety systems? If a safety system has to come on to correct what you are doing to the car.....YOU ARE OVERDRIVING THE CAR....PERIOD.

[YOUNGnRECKLESS]

glad to hear you're okay man! thats the important thing...terrifying story

[Darth_Emma]

I'm glad you're ok, but if you say you were fighting to keep the car under control in the rain, then you were driving too fast for the condidions. It sounds like the stabilitrak was trying to do its job. The light comes on when it is working.

Again, I'm glad you're all right.

[Scrappy Doo]

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

Order of operations:

Change the thread title to DRIVER FAILS... 1080 through 4 lanes of traffic... Driving too fast for conditions.

Call insurance company and make a claim.

Get a new car.

THIS.

[DevilsReject97]

Glad to see you are alive and well. I'm sure the body is bruised, the heart a little bruised, but at least you get to see another day.

Sounds like a case of bad weather and bad luck, but that's why we pay for insurance. They'll get you taken care of and you'll be driving a new car soon enough.

The insurance will do a full investigation, so I wouldn't worry about fighting with GM. If something's wrong with the car, they'll hopefully find it and pursue it for you.


As for all the pundits talking about I don't see how you could lose control..... it takes very little to lose it on water. Road conditions (concrete/asphalt/bad maintenance) added with heavy water and you could lose it doing 35mph... Add in possibly crappy/spent tires....and voila...

[fastfreddie]

Sorry to hear of your accident. Important thing is you are okay. Depending on who your car insurance is with, you'll have less headaches and be better off letting the insurance company take care it. The insurance company will be able to determine if there's any fault with GM or not and if so, they will have more success at getting money than you. Plus, you don't want to be the one fighting that battle.

FF

[Nvincent4708]

Originally Posted by blizzpat

You'd be amazed.. I remember people having to switch out the pirellis at like 15,000 miles... Mine lasted almost 25,000 and this was with about 100+ track passes, probably 50 or so burnouts and very very hard driving. They impressed me.

I have 11K on mine.. They're bald. haha. but after the cam, hp tuners and a few 450 foot burnouts... yeah thats expected. New rear tires came in yesterday. So as for longevity, no these tires don't have it. But they're rated at a 220 Treadwear with AA traction.. I didn't expect them to last.

As for the OP. Glad you're okay. Hopefully something works out for you. I don't think stabilitrack should have failed regardless.

[2010SLVRBULIT]

probable bad(bald) tires and overdriving road condtions were your primary causes, the computer was telling you that..lucky that you're alive and have insurance.

[upflying]

Sounds like Stabilitrack was working correctly. It can't overcome physics and weather. Let the insurance company take care of you.
BTW, you can upload the final vehicle telemetry from the on-board black box in the car. The insurance co will probably do that for you.
More about the collision data recorder here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event_data_recorder

[Bell040]

Originally Posted by PQ

The lights are gonna light up when the TC a ST kick in. They are supposed to. I don't see how GM could be responsible for the weather. Those features are there to assist you, but they can't prevent everything. If you went to hydroplaning (which it's obvious you did) then the nannies can't fix that. Applied breaking, wether by the computer to certain wheels or not, doens't matter if your floating or there is no traction whatsoever.

Glad you're ok. But it sounds like everything worked, but the cinditions were impossible to correct once you hit the water.

Originally Posted by upflying

Sounds like Stabilitrack was working correctly. It can't overcome physics and weather. Let the insurance company take care of you.
BTW, you can upload the final vehicle telemetry from the on-board black box in the car. The insurance co will probably do that for you.

+1

sounds like stabilitrack was trying to do its job but the road and tires were to slick and the speed was too high.

[clg_98ta]

The "Service Stabilitrack" light comes on any time the computer is confused by the sensor readings from the four wheels. Not surprising when you started hydroplaning - not a usual situation so one or more bad sensor readings was suspected.

I really doubt that GM will assume any responsibility in your case - even if there was a mechanical failure, you'd probably have to prove it in court. And the warranty would only fix the stabilitrack, but wouldn't repair and collision damage.

I agree that you are very fortunate to be alive and intact, and your insurance will replace the car - you should be very happy about the outcome.

btw, this is one reason I'm going to go with all-season tires when I replace my Pirellis. They're not to bad on damp roads, but they don't handle standing water well at all...