Very frustrated with Chevy upholding warranty

[airplaneman777]

I have a 2011 Suburban with 33k miles. A while back (around 10k miles), my passenger side mirror started going from the settings I had it set to, to the full out position intermittently when using the remote to unlock the doors. I took it to the dealership (Robbins Chevrolet in Houston, TX), and the service manager (Tony) saw it do it himself. They told me to switch remotes (I was using the #2 remote instead of #1, but both of the memories were set to the exact position) and they thought they solved it. It continued to be an issue sparingly, but not all the time. Now, at 33k miles, its doing back to doing it a lot.

I took it back to the dealership today and they have refused to fix the problem because I have a aftermarket Alpine radio installed. When this issue was first brought up, everything was completely factory. Factory radio as well. So, this was an issue before and after a aftermarket radio has been installed.

Not only has the service manager (Tony) has seen this issue himself, the service advisor (Alex) saw the mirror go to the full out position as well today when I brought it in.

Chevrolet is refusing to fix this issue because there is the aftermarket radio installed, even though this issue was occurring before anything extra was put in there. Instead of fixing the problem, they're coming up with excuses and reasons as to why they won't fix it. That is the most frustrating part, I have had this issue before anything was in there, and they refuse to fix it.

I write this to caution any prospective buyers out there that Chevrolet will do anything it can to get away from honoring their warranty. I am in the market for a new truck, but this has steered me far away from buying another GM product.

I don't know where to go from here, I will keep climbing the ladder until I can find someone in GM that can understand that this issue was here before anything extra was put on!

Again, I write this to caution everyone out there from buying a GM product, as they will do ANYTHING to not cover what should be warrantied.

 

[Kunihiro]

I have not encountered any warranty issues when taking my cars into the dealer for some warranty work. However, I have read a few horror stories when it comes to vehicle owners taking in their "modded" vehicle to the dealer for some warranty work.

The consumer is protected by a federal warranty act:

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
The relevant legislation here, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty - Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1975, protects consumers from being wrongfully denied warranty coverage by new car dealers.

Here is a link to educating yourself about this particular trade commission act:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/keeping-your-mods-warranty-intact.html

An important note to consider is: "Further, under the act, aftermarket equipment that improves performance does not automatically void a vehicle manufacturer's original warranty, unless the warranty clearly states the addition of aftermarket equipment automatically voids your vehicle's warranty, or if it can be proven that the aftermarket device is the direct cause of the failure."

In other words, the dealer must prove that your aftermarket radio or install caused the specific malfunction to occur.

If the dealer does not want to assist you regarding your warranty, you may wanna take your concern to the next level and contact a Chevrolet Regional Customer Services representative.

Here is a link to the Chevrolet Customer Services website:

http://www.chevrolet.com/help/contact-us.html

Just my .02 cents

 

[airplaneman777]

Thank you. I will definitely be going up the ladder to get this taken care of. I'm absolutely amazed how they try to blame everything else. I will also be reading the article and I wont stop fighting until this gets taken care of.

This really shows me just how horrible GM is about honoring the warranty they provide.

 

[Kunihiro]

I hope that information helps. I would I could have offered you more info.

but the links should arm you with enough information to put up a reasonable argument.

 

[airplaneman777]

It does help. I will go back to the dealer, also call customer service and see what they are willing to do. I will post back here with results and see if they actually uphold the warranty!

 

[airplaneman777]

I have contacted GM customer service and have opened up a case with them. They are supposed to get a hold of Robbins Chevy Monday and find a resolution. Hopefully, GM comes to their senses and fixes the problem! I should not be having to deal with this!!!

 

[airplaneman777]

I got a call from Dennis today, saying that it is being escalated to a specialist. I have taken two videos showing exactly what the mirror is doing. It is only doing it on the #1 remote, the #2 remote works just fine. Hopefully they will honor the warranty and take care of their customer. It's ridiculous that it even has to get this far!

 

[airplaneman777]

Just an update. So far it has been escalated to tier 2 in GM's customer service which has been on Monday. I got a call yesterday and today saying they are working on a solution. I'm not to sure what is taking so long, but the resolution just needs to be they are going to fix the issue. So I should be getting a call tomorrow with the resolution. If they don't decide to fix it, I will post every bad review on google and dealerrater. Also, I will get the BBB involved.

There is no way I am going to lay down on this. It is still within the warranty and it needs to be fixed by GM. I'm still amazed at how we even have to go this far to get something that is clearly wrong fixed. Absolute shame on GM and Robbins Chevrolet.

 

[aktahoe08]

Hope everything works out bud. The suspense is killing me hahaha. Hopefully they come to there senses and fix this problem.

 

[airplaneman777]

Ya no kidding. It shouldn't even have to come to this! Makes me never want to buy another GM product again. And to think, we bailed them out!!! haha

 

[SmoknLS1]

sounds like a lazy dealer, they don't know how to fix it so they just blame it on the first reason they find not to fix it. In all the cars I have owned GM dealerships have had the worst customer service. When I owned a Corvette, I literally had to take them the car and tell them what to fix (after forum research). Otherwise they would just start replacing things.

 

[airplaneman777]

I just got off the phone with GM and the tier 2 of customer satisfaction. I spoke with Jacky initially, then Colby, her supervisor.

They came to the decision that they were going to do NOTHING. As long as I have my aftermarket radio in, they will not touch anything on it. The reasoning they gave me is because the aftermarket radio could be causing this problem.

That makes absolutely NO sense because all of this was happening before anything was ever installed. I then spoke with Colby, her boss, and he reiterated the same thing.

They don't seem to get that this issue was happening before anything was ever installed. If it was fixed right from the start, there would be no issue now. He said I should have brought it in more often when it was happening sparingly, but he said they would do nothing because they wouldn't be able to duplicate the problem. So, even though they wouldn't fix it, I should've brought it in more often, rather than waiting for it to be actually seen to the dealership.

I asked to speak to Colby's boss, but he said he is as high as customers go and there is noone else for me to talk to. Unreal. Since GM won't cover it, I went back to Robbins Chevy and got the phone number of the boss of Robbins Chevrolet. I have left him a message.

I will fill out the google review and will also start a case with BBB. I'm absolutely blown away at GM's refusal to fix the problem when it was seen before ANYTHING was ever aftermarket on the truck.

 

[aktahoe08]

im really not a gm fan, I have a 04 ford expy eddie bauer with no serious issues like yours. she runs good. but i just bought this 08 tahoe ltz cause it was a steal of a price. hope i dont have any issues with it. good luck keep us updated.

 

[airplaneman777]

Both of these are videos I have created of the problem. Again, Robbins Chevrolet and GM both refuse to fix this issue that has been happening since 5k miles!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK_Bv2r6JZQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[airplaneman777]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPdxRf8KPxA

 

[Tex99Tahoe]

Man, that is maddening. Complex systems, this is a lot more than a simple bad ground. It's like the mirror control module is receiving bad command for one of the personalized settings. Maybe a firmware problem, or bad memory bit(s) in that section of personalized memory. Could try resetting both personalized values, to something ridiculous, test with the remotes, then repersonalize to desired value and retest, hopefully clearing bad bit...

 

[airplaneman777]

Ya I've tried changing the memories hoping it would change it, but to no avail. And it only does it on #1 remote. I'm either thinking its the remote or the module in the driver side door (bcm?). Either way, unreal that GM won't fix their own issue.

 

[airplaneman777]

So I was able to get the mirror to go to the full out position just by using the memory buttons on the drivers side door. Even if it doesn't go to the full out position, when you press memory 1 (and already on #1 memory position), the mirror moves just a tad forward then back....it doesn't do it on the #2 position. Any ideas?

 

[airplaneman777]

Well apparently its in another tier of GM engineering now and I'm supposedly going to hear something now by Thursday...it never ends with GM! I don't understand why it's so hard for GM to just fix the problem! They're losing a customer for life with all the hassles and trouble this is.

Hopefully, it's making you second guess the buying of a GM vehicle with how ridiculous this is!

 

[airplaneman777]

GM called me today again to tell me they will not cover anything under warranty because of my radio! Unreal GM, unreal. You have lost a customer for life!