Strange Event Friday
Went to our dealer for a courtesy 30-day followup. Essentially intended to give dealer feedback on our experiences the first month of ownership. As an incentive, we got a $25 Sunoco gift card. Had our talk. Got ready to depart. My wife took the wheel, started up and we exited the dealership.
I had been driving the Ascent exclusively for the past 2 weeks without any problems (my wife was out-of-town visiting relatives).
About 30 seconds out, the dash lit up like a Christmas tree - "Check Engine" and all the assorted lights for things that shut down when "Check Engine" activates. No strange noises, or apparent loss of power or other functionality.
My wife was a bit freaked out. Fortunately, there was a nearly empty parking lot close by, so I told my wife to pull in, park and shut down. Having read these boards, we switched places and I waited 3-4 minutes before attempting restart. Restarted fine, but the "Check Engine" light and all the other lights came back on immediately. So, back to the dealership we went. No strange noises, no loss of power, no loss of functionality on the short drive back.
Pulled to just outside the service area and turned it off. I stayed with the car while my wife went inside to find someone. She returned about 5 minutes later with the person who had spoken with us earlier. I started the engine. The "Check Engine" light and all the other lights came back on immediately. Shut it down, again.
The rep left to find a tech. About 5 minutes later, a tech arrived. I started the engine a third time. Everything was normal - no unusual warning lights.
We drove home without incident. In the next two hours, my wife went on several short errands with the car. No problems. Then, I took it to fill it with gas. No problems for me, either.
I have instructed my wife to wait at least 5 seconds after she starts the engine before moving the gearshift out of Park. I also told her that if the same lights come back on, find a safe placed to pull over, shut down, and wait 5 minutes before attempting a restart.
She's headed out-of-town Saturday to lunch with an old friend. My cell phone will be on my person the whole time.
This may have just been a one-time software glitch. Hoping it is not something more serious.:dunno: