Brakes Can Override Unintended Acceleration

In an attempt to put Pontiac Vibe owners at ease, American manufacturer GM tested two such vehicles and tried to find out whether the brakes can override the possible unintended acceleration of the cars. The conclusion: yes, braking will override acceleration.

Of course, the conclusion GM reached is somewhat common sense, as we all know, instinctively or not, that braking pretty much stops the car, regardless what the renegade acceleration pedal is doing. Still, owners of Toyota vehicles who experienced unintended acceleration say in their case braking didn't work...

Pontiac's Vibe is, as you already know, pretty much the same as the Toyota Matrix and is included in the huge recalls announced in both January 2010 and late last year. GM tested the Vibe brakes exactly for this reason.

"We ran the Vibe wide open at 60 miles an hour and the brakes were able to bring the vehicle to a safe stop within 169 meters, consistent with our internal requirement for brake performance.” said Martin Hogan, GM director of brake systems.

In conclusion, GM recommends owners of Vibe vehicles to firmly and steadily apply the brakes should their car accelerate on its own. GM says drivers should not pump the brakes, as the vacuum boost from the system will be lost.

The recent finding does not absolve Pontiac Vibe of any repairs. The recall is still in effect and any car experiencing abnormal behavior should be serviced. GM says it will notify the 99,000 Vibe owners about the manner in which the fix will be applied to their vehicles.