I bought a brand new 2006 2500HD Chevrolet Silverado with 6.6L Duramax Diesel engine and 6 speed Allison Transmission thinking that this would be a great truck for my contracting business when I got out of the army. I did not expect that after surviving Afghanistan I would come home to be almost killed by my own truck!
In December 2007, I was driving on the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) when the accelerator left my foot and dropped almost to the floor, on its own, causing the truck to accelerate uncontrollably. Luckily there was no traffic and I had the time to put the truck in neutral, pull over, and stomp on the pedal until it popped back up. I brought it in to Hickman Motors, 85 Kenmount Road, St. John’s, Newfoundland, the local dealer, and explained the situation. They took the truck to have it serviced, after which they gave it back to me “ready to go!”.
Yeah it was ready to go.....full speed on its own when I least expected it! It did exactly that on the TCH in April 2009 and I remedied the situation the same as the first time. Of course I brought the truck back to Hickman Motors, but this time when they gave it back to me they told me they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. I took it back because I desperately needed it for a job.
Well, a month later I was stopped at a traffic light on one of the busiest streets in St. John’s during the work hours. When the light changed to green the truck accelerated uncontrollably directly at a Suzuki Sidekick with three children in the back. I swerved onto the sidewalk to avoid the SUV but when I hit the curb the front tires bounced off the ground causing me to lose my steering and most of my braking power. The truck then launched through a retaining wall and into a light pole. The pedal stayed down through the whole ordeal, and luckily for me, was still down when the police wrote their accident report and when it was towed into Hickman Motors.
It wasn’t until September that GM contacted me and told me I had to sign a waiver to get my truck back. Before I signed anything, I went to Hickman Motors and asked them to guarantee me that my truck wouldn’t accelerate uncontrollably again. I was told that they guarantee nothing with regards to their maintenance, and because it only happened periodically they didn’t really know why it was happening. I told them that I was neither signing a waiver nor taking the truck back if they couldn’t guarantee me it wasn’t going to happen again.
I explained that the truck obviously isn’t safe since I almost smashed a vehicle with a backseat full of children, and almost seriously injured myself in avoiding that situation. I made them a fair offer to purchase the truck back from me, as I believed this to be the only fair resolution to the situation. . GM pointed out that I didn’t hit the vehicle full children, nor was I injured myself, and they flat out refused my offer. I guess it will take someone getting seriously injured, or worse, before GM owns up to this problem.
So here I am, an Afghan war vet who came back home to start up my own business, but I can’t because the truck I need for my job (and that I paid approximately $60,000 for) is sitting in Hickman Motors parking lot. At times like this, I am so glad that I risked my life for this wonderful country.
THAT’S NOT ALL......
Besides accelerating uncontrollably, there has been a variety of problems with this vehicle, such as brakes and rotors (a common problem with GM vehicles), transmission oil leak, transmission overheating in extreme cold temperature, heater fan not working, and last but certainly not least, the door would become unlocked when I closed it. No wonder the truck only has 55,000 km, it was always in the shop.
I didn’t think that fixing a manual door lock would be that difficult, but it took Hickman Motors six attempts to fix that. Upon reviewing their maintenance notes, I noticed that after I brought it in because it came unlocked all they did was wipe it off. That’s the first thing I do when something breaks: I wipe it off and expect it to work! Who are these guys?
It is obvious that the only way I can settle this problem is to use my own money to take GM to court and have them explain to a judge their complete disregard for the quality of their service, the safety of their vehicles, and the well-being of motorists and pedestrians of the general public. If you have had similar problems with GM/Hickman Motors’ lack of commitment to quality, service, and especially safety, post a comment because if there’s enough of us maybe we could file a class-action lawsuit!
In December 2007, I was driving on the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) when the accelerator left my foot and dropped almost to the floor, on its own, causing the truck to accelerate uncontrollably. Luckily there was no traffic and I had the time to put the truck in neutral, pull over, and stomp on the pedal until it popped back up. I brought it in to Hickman Motors, 85 Kenmount Road, St. John’s, Newfoundland, the local dealer, and explained the situation. They took the truck to have it serviced, after which they gave it back to me “ready to go!”.
Yeah it was ready to go.....full speed on its own when I least expected it! It did exactly that on the TCH in April 2009 and I remedied the situation the same as the first time. Of course I brought the truck back to Hickman Motors, but this time when they gave it back to me they told me they couldn’t find anything wrong with it. I took it back because I desperately needed it for a job.
Well, a month later I was stopped at a traffic light on one of the busiest streets in St. John’s during the work hours. When the light changed to green the truck accelerated uncontrollably directly at a Suzuki Sidekick with three children in the back. I swerved onto the sidewalk to avoid the SUV but when I hit the curb the front tires bounced off the ground causing me to lose my steering and most of my braking power. The truck then launched through a retaining wall and into a light pole. The pedal stayed down through the whole ordeal, and luckily for me, was still down when the police wrote their accident report and when it was towed into Hickman Motors.
It wasn’t until September that GM contacted me and told me I had to sign a waiver to get my truck back. Before I signed anything, I went to Hickman Motors and asked them to guarantee me that my truck wouldn’t accelerate uncontrollably again. I was told that they guarantee nothing with regards to their maintenance, and because it only happened periodically they didn’t really know why it was happening. I told them that I was neither signing a waiver nor taking the truck back if they couldn’t guarantee me it wasn’t going to happen again.
I explained that the truck obviously isn’t safe since I almost smashed a vehicle with a backseat full of children, and almost seriously injured myself in avoiding that situation. I made them a fair offer to purchase the truck back from me, as I believed this to be the only fair resolution to the situation. . GM pointed out that I didn’t hit the vehicle full children, nor was I injured myself, and they flat out refused my offer. I guess it will take someone getting seriously injured, or worse, before GM owns up to this problem.
So here I am, an Afghan war vet who came back home to start up my own business, but I can’t because the truck I need for my job (and that I paid approximately $60,000 for) is sitting in Hickman Motors parking lot. At times like this, I am so glad that I risked my life for this wonderful country.
THAT’S NOT ALL......
Besides accelerating uncontrollably, there has been a variety of problems with this vehicle, such as brakes and rotors (a common problem with GM vehicles), transmission oil leak, transmission overheating in extreme cold temperature, heater fan not working, and last but certainly not least, the door would become unlocked when I closed it. No wonder the truck only has 55,000 km, it was always in the shop.
I didn’t think that fixing a manual door lock would be that difficult, but it took Hickman Motors six attempts to fix that. Upon reviewing their maintenance notes, I noticed that after I brought it in because it came unlocked all they did was wipe it off. That’s the first thing I do when something breaks: I wipe it off and expect it to work! Who are these guys?
It is obvious that the only way I can settle this problem is to use my own money to take GM to court and have them explain to a judge their complete disregard for the quality of their service, the safety of their vehicles, and the well-being of motorists and pedestrians of the general public. If you have had similar problems with GM/Hickman Motors’ lack of commitment to quality, service, and especially safety, post a comment because if there’s enough of us maybe we could file a class-action lawsuit!
