Cruise Control problems of the 1999 Oldsmobile Silhouette

On two occasions in 2005, we had incidences of sudden acceleration. We own a 1999 Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan and in general it has been a trouble-free vehicle. It is well-maintained by the Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealer. In the first incident my wife was driving and easing into a parking place with her foot on the brake. When about 5 feet from a car parked in front of her, the car suddenly accelerated. Since she had her foot on the brake she managed to stop the vehicle before hitting it. About a month later, I was easing the car into our garage with my foot on the brake and as I approached racks at the back of the garage, the tires squealed forward but since I had my foot on the brake I managed to stop before hitting the rack. I measured the distance from the tire marks on the garage floor and determined that the bumper was about 3 feet from the rack when the tires spun. If I or my wife had pushed on the accelerator pedal accidentally, we could not have possibly stopped in time to prevent an accident. I am a retired mechanical engineer and I can assure that this information is correct. In both cases we were using our right foot on the brake when the acceleration occurred. We suspect the cruise control which was activated in both cases. We have since been careful to keep it deactivated. Because of the tire streaks on the garage floor, I can prove that I had my foot on the brake at the time of the sudden acceleration. We have not had a recurrence since we have kept the cruise control deactivated.

I have had this vehicle since 3/99. In which time I have had to bring it back for transmission problems, electrical problems, leaking fuel injectors, brakes, non working cruise control which led to the dealer replacing the compressor. Front end leaked anti freeze which led to another major job. I am not a happy motorist here. The steering column squeeked. They greased it. Turned out there was a problem with the rackinpinion. I know something about cars and I know that for the amount I pay for this vehicle, I shouldn't be having these major problems. Bandade fixes don't cut it with me. Nlm.