2024 Chevrolet Trax

On Tues 11/19/24, my son left home about 10 mins prior headed back to school in our 2024 Chevy Trax purchased in 5/2023. On his way to school, he and his friend heard a loud pop sound, followed by all the lights on the instrument panel flickering like crazy, smoke coming from under the hood, and then the car slowing to a stop, still in the road. Luckily they were able to get out because all the doors, except the driver door, locked including the trunk. The smoke got worse until it caught on fire. Good Samaritans stopped to help my 17 yo son and his friend and there was an off duty responder that turned around to put out the fire with the extinguisher he had on him, ahead of the fire department arriving on scene. This could have been very detrimental and had a very different outcome and GM/Chevy need to make sure this doesn’t happen to another family. This car was serviced and had very low mileage of less than 12k in 1.5years.

The affected component is the design of the cruise control engagement button, and yes it is available for inspection. While the vehicle is below a certain (unknown) speed, if the cruise control engagement button is pressed, the cruse control engages at a relatively high rate of speed, and the vehicle lurches forward. This is especially problematic due to the design of the switch, which is a protruded lever-type mechanism that is easily swiped while the steering wheel turns. Due to this design, a significant risk is posed for injury and fatal accidents. I have had several instances where this has occurred and I was forced to react quickly to avoid an accident. And I've only owned the vehicle for 9 months. This problem seems to be inherent in the design, and is likely reproducible on any 2024 Chevy Trax, and perhaps other Chevy models with the same design. This vehicle has never been inspected. There are no warning lamps or other symptoms, besides the design of the cruise control system. This has happened since I bought the car brand new from the dealership.

The contact owns a 2024 Chevrolet Trax. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the brakes became inoperable. The braking system failure message was displayed. The vehicle failed to exceed 42 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the codes were cleared, and the electrical system was updated. The dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. While driving, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to another local dealer, Shakopee Chevrolet (1206 1st Ave. E., Shakopee, MN 55379). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.