TSB for ebony cloth material

[sgmstr]

Formal Complaint sent to GM on Execssive lint seats

Complaint letters were sent to GM consumer affairs, G. Richard Wagoner (GM Chairman and CEO), Frederic Henderson (GM President & COO) and Robert Lutz (GM VP and Global Product Development).

Told them I would make this public if it is not resolved very soon (i.e. within few months). Don't know if they will even care about my letter. I requested that they respond within 30 days from today. I will keep everyone posted.

 

[Jamesta]

Gave up.

I gave up on waiting for a resolution from GM and had another talking with my service tech at the last oil change. He said that he knew the ebony cloth was horrible and a guy had just left with a 07 Avalanche with the same problem. I told the guy that all i wanted was leather installed at dealer cost. The dealer agreed and did the deed for 1150 (1300 was list). The seats are Katskin and look great.

Anyways.. good luck guys. HOpefully you won't have to wait much longer!

-James

 

[falconetti]

I gave up on waiting for a resolution from GM and had another talking with my service tech at the last oil change. He said that he knew the ebony cloth was horrible and a guy had just left with a 07 Avalanche with the same problem. I told the guy that all i wanted was leather installed at dealer cost. The dealer agreed and did the deed for 1150 (1300 was list). The seats are Katskin and look great.

Anyways.. good luck guys. HOpefully you won't have to wait much longer!

-James

i want to go to your dealer

 

[bvilchez]

I gave up on waiting for a resolution from GM and had another talking with my service tech at the last oil change. He said that he knew the ebony cloth was horrible and a guy had just left with a 07 Avalanche with the same problem. I told the guy that all i wanted was leather installed at dealer cost. The dealer agreed and did the deed for 1150 (1300 was list). The seats are Katskin and look great.

Anyways.. good luck guys. HOpefully you won't have to wait much longer!

-James

Where exactly is your dealer located? He just might see some more business from others.

 

[ucsbguy19]

I think everyone will be visiting James' dealer once he tells us... Katzkin installed for $1150 works for me.

 

[Jamesta]

Dealer

I dunno where you folks are, but the dealer that helped me out is Bill Heard Chevrolet in Kennesaw GA (north of Atlanta). I believe the list price on the install was 1300 per the installer. The dealer basically put me in touch with their installer and gave them the go ahead to charge cost. This price was for 3 rows. I think it would have been 850 for just 2.

We've had the leather for a little over a week and so far we're very satisified.


Best of luck to you all!

-James

 

[sgmstr]

Update

I received a response on my June 11, 2008 letter to GM CEO, G. Richard Wagoner, Jr. I received a telephone call today from the Executive Offices of G. Richard Wagoner, Jr.

She was very kind to let me know that they are aware of the issue and the engineers are currently working on it to resolve this issue. Duh~~~ I told her that I already know about it and the reason I sent the letter is to demand GM to resolve this issue immediately as this has been going on for almost a year. I basically told her I am sick of the seats and they disgust me that I do not even want to sit on anymore. I even mentioned many Chevy forum sites, including www.tahoeforum.com, so that she can visit and find out how serious this problem is and if nothing is done very soon, it can seriously ruin GM’s reputation.

I actually demanded an upgrade to the leather seat (not the aftermarket Katzkin, but THE OEM). I went really strong on this. She said although the dealers are instructed not to do anything on the seat until further instruction, but she will call me back next Monday if she can do anything on this.

I will pretty much have GM take care of this no matter what it takes to teach them a lesson. I am sick of big giant corporations bullying weak consumers. I will keep everyone posted.

 

[sboston4]

I have Cashmere and it sucks! If there is an upgrade offered I'm in as well.

 

[ZX1100F1]

I resolved my lint issue with a lint brush, not kidding; I leave one in the center console and give the seat a few swipes every so often.
Nice thing about the cloth is that I never have to worry about going into a meeting with lint on my cloths as the seats capture every last particle.

 

[sgmstr]

Update

Got a call from GM executive office. They can't do much until the engineers can come up with a solution or alternatives. GM notified the dealership where I bought my car to give me a free interior cleaning and smart kit for 2yrs/24,000 miles. (i.e. free oil change, tire rotation and chasis lubrication). That's all they can do at this time.

I actually spoke with an attorney specializing in Lemon law. Per the attorney, this is a design defect and might qualify for a class action. Although I can bring a class action alone on behalf other Tahoe owners, I thought it would be a good idea if you guys want to also participate so we have a better chance of winning. This way we can force GM to come to a resolution faster. Per the attorney, there will be no legal fees as this is a class action law suit. I am going to have to do some research on this though.

Anyone interested in participating this, e-mail me at sgmstr @ yahoo. com. You must have ebony cloth seats. Please leave your name, e-mail and state of residence so the attorney can contact you to get started.

 

[ZX1100F1]

Legal action over lint???
Give me a damn break and butch up.

 

[Gambler]

Legal action over lint???
Give me a damn break and butch up.

Seriously. Every lemon law I've read states that the defect has to significantly reduce the value of the vehicle. I highly doubt that seat covers fall under that category.

I'm on your side in a way, I do think GM should provide you all with lint brushes free of charge...

 

[Poe1983]

I resolved my lint issue with a lint brush, not kidding; I leave one in the center console and give the seat a few swipes every so often.
Nice thing about the cloth is that I never have to worry about going into a meeting with lint on my cloths as the seats capture every last particle.

I've been wanting to post a msg asking why you guys just don't use a lint brush but I held back before everyone thought I was trying to be a smart ass. What's the big deal? Wipe off the lint a couple times a month. No way you're gonna get a decent class action lawsuit because your cloth seats collect "too much" lint. But all power to you. My fellow GM vehicle owners.

 

[sgmstr]

First of all, I am not doing this just to get them to fix it but, also I want to send them a message there are consumers who will actually exercise their rights. I've been tagging this with them for a long time even before TSBs were issued and only two answers I received was either they are working on it or "I don't know what you are saying."

Let me clarify. Talking to a Lemon Law attorney does not mean that I will bring a cause of action against GM under Lemon Law because as you said, the car's condition does not significantly decreases its monetary value. Instead, the action will be under the implied warranty of fitness. Shortly, it's not serving its purpose of a PREMIUM cloth car seat (as they mention in the sticker and website) and there are just too much to list why it's not serving its purpose.

Oh yeah, I can use lint rollers every morning to get those off and waste at least 10 minutes of my f***ing time. I seriously did not buy the $40K Tahoe to do this damn f***ing thing.

 

[Poe1983]

First of all, I am not doing this just to get them to fix it but, also I want to send them a message there are consumers who will actually exercise their rights. I've been tagging this with them for a long time even before TSBs were issued and only two answers I received was either they are working on it or "I don't know what you are saying."

Let me clarify. Talking to a Lemon Law attorney does not mean that I will bring a cause of action against GM under Lemon Law because as you said, the car's condition does not significantly decreases the its value. Instead, the action will be under the implied warranty of fitness. Shortly, it's not serving its purpose of a PREMIUM cloth car seat (as they mention in the sticker and website) and there are just too much to list why it's not serving its purpose.

Oh yeah, I can use lint rollers every morning to get those off and waste at least 10 minutes of my f***ing time. I seriously did not buy the $40K Tahoes to do this damn f***ing thing.

Okay. I understand your argument. It's very fair and well thought out. As far as your last paragraph. You're telling me that if you were to clean your seats with a lint BRUSH one day, you're gonna have that much lint on it the next morning? The lint problem is THAT BAD? How can anyone buy any vehicle with cloth seats and not expect lint especially BLACK CLOTH seats. I don't care how much you paid for the vehicle. I just don't believe that the seats are getting that caught up with an overwhelming amount of lint.

 

[sgmstr]

Okay. I understand your argument. It's very fair and well thought out. As far as your last paragraph. You're telling me that if you were to clean your seats with a lint BRUSH one day, you're gonna have that much lint on it the next morning? The lint problem is THAT BAD? How can anyone buy any vehicle with cloth seats and not expect lint especially BLACK CLOTH seats. I don't care how much you paid for the vehicle. I just don't believe that the seats are getting that caught up with an overwhelming amount of lint.

I do not expect the seats to be clean as you pointed out. It's black cloth after all. What I am disappointed about is that these seats are not PREMIUM. If you just look at the seats, they look like they came from Aveo. They are worse than my wife's Honda Odyssey black cloth seats. Even my first car had better quality than this. (1987 Buick Regal). GM misled the consumer with their false advertisement and I will hold them accountable.

I do clean my seats everyday as I carry two big dogs that shed and a 5-year old boy in the back. It literally takes me 10 minutes. Hell, I even take it to a carwash to clean the interior once in a while because the seats are so disgusting.

Poe1983: I meant $40K MSRP.

 

[sboston4]

Any updates?

Hey sgmstr,

Any update on the resolution that GM promissed?

I talked to my dealer today and they were unaware of anything on the subject.

 

[sgmstr]

Hey sgmstr,

Any update on the resolution that GM promissed?

I talked to my dealer today and they were unaware of anything on the subject.

I was advised that all dealers were told not to do anything. All they said is that the GM Engineers are currently working on this issue. They just told me to wait. They gave me this smart kit which includes free oil change, tire rotation/balance, and chasis lubrication for 24mo/24,000miles.

I actually wanted to bring a cause of action to GM, but I need at least 10 people for the class action. I only have four so far including me. I guess not many people are interested in this. Maybe guys here are OK with the seat problems. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[sboston4]

I think it is a worthy cause but I have the Cashmere cloth seats which I don't think is going to be treated with such high priority or interest.

No doubt, the cloth is eating our clothes and spitting them back out but I bet it is only 1/2 as bad as what you are experiencing with the ebony.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[rksportinc]

I was advised that all dealers were told not to do anything. All they said is that the GM Engineers are currently working on this issue. They just told me to wait. They gave me this smart kit which includes free oil change, tire rotation/balance, and chasis lubrication for 24mo/24,000miles.

I actually wanted to bring a cause of action to GM, but I need at least 10 people for the class action. I only have four so far including me. I guess not many people are interested in this. Maybe guys here are OK with the seat problems. Let me know if you are interested.

I am interested, I can stand this problem, this is the first time i read about it.
I only had my Tahoe for 2 months now, i bought it used from a dealership, and they sure made the seats look great. After a trip to Vegas, the kids Blanket it all over the back seats. i can't get it off.

What Do i need to do next