When driving on the freeway at night in intermittently foggy conditions, I attempted to adjust the automatic high-beam controls on the center console screen in the vehicle. During this attempt, as I was selecting to deactivate the auto lighting function, ALL of the vehicle lights shut off at once, and the console and screen-based instrument cluster went completely black. I attempted to stop the vehicle as quickly as possible and struck a small reflector post at the side of the road. The instrument panel and lights restarted, but his incident could have easily resulted in a catastrophic loss of control, endangering myself and others. To my knowledge, no incidents or recalls of this sort have been reported for this model, but a recall for a similar malfunction was issued in late 2023 for some models of the Chevrolet Trax, Buick Envista, and Buick Encore GX. This vehicle has not yet been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others as of yet, but an insurance claim has been issued, so such an inspection may be forthcoming. No warning lamps or warning signals preceded this complete blackout of all the vehicle's lights and the main screen/instrument cluster. This malfunction appeared without warning and, in this case, during extremely dangerous, nighttime driving conditions.

- Bozeman, MT, USA