New truck - Engine / Transmission issues. Going to argue for dealer to give me a new a truck - frustrated. | GTAMotorcycle.com

New truck - Engine / Transmission issues. Going to argue for dealer to give me a new a truck - frustrated.

Dr.Manhattan

Dr.Manhattan

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Just looking to see what the consensus is on this, and if anyone else has been in the same predicament. In November I bought a new 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 6.2L - $70,000+ truck. Absolutely love it, always bought GM (old man retired from the Oshawa plant) and never had an issue. Anyhow a week and a half ago just driving around town the engine light popped up, the truck stuttered up a little hill and went into low engine power mode. Thankfully I was only 2 blocks away from home, so went and parked it in the drive way. Came back out, started it up - engine light is still on but no low power mode. I shift into reverse to move it, however the engine only revs, doesn't move at all, acts as if its in neutral. Shift it back into park, wait a second and try again - shift into reverse and it doesn't move. This time however when I release the gas pedal the engine continues to rev higher and higher so I immediately just turn the truck off, call GM roadside and get it towed to the dealer. This truck has 4000KM's on it.

It sits at my local GM dealer all week - they dont have time for it because they are swamped ( I bought the truck from a neighboring town because they were the only one that had an AT4 with the options and color I wanted.) I call GM Support Care because Im not even given a rental in the meantime because the Enterprise affiliated service says they NEED to give me a GM product in order to get comped, and they don't have any (small town issues). They don't do anything and say I need to work with the dealer the trucks at. I call the dealership and speak to the Service Manager who says he can't look at the truck until later in the week, and they cannot even begin to offer a rental until they identify it as a warranty repair. So, Im riding my motorcycle to work - in the rain as it's my only other vehicle. Finally they look at it this Friday, and deem it a warranty repair - but....again, no GM vehicles at Enterprise.....so no rental. I get in touch with a mutual friend who works in the service department at this dealership that said his friend was the tech that looked at my truck on Friday and says he's never seen anything like that. It's either an engine issue or a serious transmission issue, and I should contact the dealer I bought the truck from (the other city) to see what they are willing to do for me. He goes on to say they are swamped (yea....I've heard) and with part shortages......hell it could take all summer to get my truck operating again - which is not reasonable.

So I called the dealer I bought the truck from on Saturday. The rep I bought the truck from has since retired lol. Talked to the only salesmen that was available and he said he will contact his manager on Monday and see what they can do - that he has never heard of something like this before. So..... 2 weeks it's been in the shop, for a 70K+ truck with 4000 kms and I have absolutely no rental. Is it fair to just ask for a a brand new truck? Parts and service and rental wise they are probably going to end up spending more money fixing this then what they are going to be out giving me a 2022 model. Anyone have any consumer or dealer experience to see if this is a possibility? There is no way I want to drive a rental all summer, just to get my brand newish Truck back from a major repair and expect to have confidence in it.
 
Some ('20/'21) C8's are having the same transmission problems.
Once replaced, no one has had a problem.
Their level of pissedoffness is $25K-$60K above yours, but once it's fixed, they settle down.
 
I’d want a new truck but it’s unlikely to happen. Unfortunately there is a chance of having issues with any vehicle regardless of brand or price.

Definitely hit up GM warranty directly as I feel you deserve better service overall


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Gary said:
Some ('20/'21) C8's are having the same transmission problems.
Once replaced, no one has had a problem.
Their level of pissedoffness is $25K-$60K above yours, but once it's fixed, they settle down.
Click to expand...
Im going to assume the C8's are getting preferred treatment and get repaired ASAP in this situation. Also....Im sure it's not their daily driver and they have a back up vehicle in case of no rental. Frustrating either way for sure though.

Jayv said:
The lack of rental,l(it’s an issue right now). You need to get onto twitter and air your concerns to GM. It’s their warranty, not the dealership. The squeaky wheel always gets more oil.
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Yea I've heard all about the rental shortages - being in a small town just makes that much worse (especially a tourist town in the summer). Aside from a few forums I don't use any social media, not sure GM would even give a **** about a one man angry twitter post.
 
Dr.Manhattan said:
Im going to assume the C8's are getting preferred treatment and get repaired ASAP in this situation. Also....Im sure it's not their daily driver and they have a back up vehicle in case of no rental. Frustrating either way for sure though.
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"They" (I don't know if gm, or bowling green) ship a new transmission to the dealer in about a week. Service dept takes it from there.
You need to speak with a service manager. Not a salesperson.
 
Gary said:
"They" (I don't know if gm, or bowling green) ship a new transmission to the dealer in about a week. Service dept takes it from there.
You need to speak with a service manager. Not a salesperson.
Click to expand...
Yea when I called yesterday the Service team had already left, just had the one sales person at the dealership. Said he was going to email the Service Manager and CC the Head Manager of the dealer and they should get back to me tomorrow on this. So, hopeful for a decent resolution here. Just wasn't sure if I should double down on them giving me a new truck and don't take anything else. Everyone I work with / talk too says 100% they wouldn't take anything less than that. Word of mouth in a small town travels fast too - I have friends texting me and people I work with I haven't seen at all this week contacting me and asking wtf is up. A buddy I work with who is off on mat leave texted me yesterday that he's actually looking to buy a new AT4 Duramax but wants to know about the **** Im going through currently lol.
 
You won't get a new truck - reason #1 is there aren't any, reason #2 is the warranty expressly implies GM is responsible for repair, not replace.

I went down this road many years ago.
A 4 month old GMC3500 Duramax duallie I had in my possession decided to throw an upper ball joint at 20kmh, right turn into a bridge abutment and send the front wheel down the sidewalk. Luckily it didn't kill someone or happen on the highway while towing a trailer.
$27,000 damage to the truck - GM repaired, did not replace. It took about a month.
I will never own a Chevrolet/GMC truck after that.
 
I know it’s pretty frustrating but they are going to want to try and repair it before even entertaining the idea of buying the truck back and getting you a new one.

Talk to the GM or service manager at the originating dealer. They are more likely to give you a loaner (vehicle they own not a rental) then the 2nd dealer you have it at for repairs. You spent the $70g’s with them not the second place, they are more inclined to help you out IMO.

If the repairs aren’t successful and you don’t get what you want from the dealer or GM you can always try the Canadian automotive manufacturers arbitration program. www.camvap.ca they do require that you give the manufacturer time to repair the vehicle, and go over all your options with GM’s warranty department. This really only works if they have tried a few times to fix it and still can’t get the issue correct.
 
TK4 said:
You won't get a new truck - reason #1 is there aren't any, reason #2 is the warranty expressly implies GM is responsible for repair, not replace.

I went down this road many years ago.
A 4 month old GMC3500 Duramax duallie I had in my possession decided to throw an upper ball joint at 20kmh, right turn into a bridge abutment and send the front wheel down the sidewalk. Luckily it didn't kill someone or happen on the highway while towing a trailer.
$27,000 damage to the truck - GM repaired, did not replace. It took about a month.
I will never own a Chevrolet/GMC truck after that.
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Yea thats the kinda story I was looking for, and I suspected as such. They ironically do have basically the same exact truck on their lot currently so I was hoping to discuss that option, but yea I assume they are going to try and patch it.

blackcamaro said:
I know it’s pretty frustrating but they are going to want to try and repair it before even entertaining the idea of buying the truck back and getting you a new one.

Talk to the GM or service manager at the originating dealer. They are more likely to give you a loaner (vehicle they own not a rental) then the 2nd dealer you have it at for repairs. You spent the $70g’s with them not the second place, they are more inclined to help you out IMO.

If the repairs aren’t successful and you don’t get what you want from the dealer or GM you can always try the Canadian automotive manufacturers arbitration program. www.camvap.ca they do require that you give the manufacturer time to repair the vehicle, and go over all your options with GM’s warranty department. This really only works if they have tried a few times to fix it and still can’t get the issue correct.
Click to expand...
Funny enough when I talked to GM Customer Care I told them they probably haven't got around to looking at my truck yet ( it had been 5 days) because I didn't take it to the dealer I bought it from, hence no preferred treatment. The service rep "Oh no, GM would never do that. All customers get the exact same service no matter the dealership or vehicle you drive!" ..........OK lol. Thanks for that program though, I will look it over and keep it on hand.
 
I would not expect them to give you a new truck. GM warranty would want no part of that (given the lack of supply that is a lost sale) and they are under no obligation to replace. Dealer could probably choose to make the deal happen (take your vehicle as a trade on a new one, process the warranty repair, sell your old truck to a buyer that is never told the history) but I would be shocked if they did as there is almost no upside for them. Sadly, you are at their mercy at this point. Unless you get media traction for "gm sucks", they have your money already and don't really care about you. Even if you get media traction they may not care as even if they lose some sales, they can sell everything they have easily.
 
I think you have to go through the lemon law timeline/process before they agree to replace. Can’t remember the exact words but they should repair first and if it happens again then lemon laws start to kick in or something.
 
jc100 said:
I think you have to go through the lemon law timeline/process before they agree to replace. Can’t remember the exact words but they should repair first and if it happens again then lemon laws start to kick in or something.
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Afaik, no lemon law in canada. There is a very clear process in the US that involves multiple attempts at repair before it can be invoked so no this would not remotely qualify yet.
 
Ontario doesn't have a "lemon" law, so you're not getting a new truck... YET.

Recourse for vehicle defects

Recourse for vehicle defects
ic.gc.ca ic.gc.ca
You HAVE to give the dealer a chance to fix the problem. The US "lemon" laws say the dealer/manufacturer gets at LEAST two attempts to fix the problem before it's a "lemon".
Some Kia/Hyundia owners are waiting a year or more for new motors.

Does the dealer have a "loaner" car/truck they can give you?
 
bitzz said:
Ontario doesn't have a "lemon" law, so you're not getting a new truck... YET.

Recourse for vehicle defects

Recourse for vehicle defects
ic.gc.ca ic.gc.ca
You HAVE to give the dealer a chance to fix the problem. The US "lemon" laws say the dealer/manufacturer gets at LEAST two attempts to fix the problem before it's a "lemon".
Some Kia/Hyundia owners are waiting a year or more for new motors.

Does the dealer have a "loaner" car/truck they can give you?
Click to expand...
My local dealer does not, I will hear back from the dealer I bought the truck from tomorrow. Unfortunately this dealer is also 2 hours away ( next closest city )- so they are going to have to find a way to work that in.
 
Scuba Steve said:
They owe you a loaner/ rental if they have your vehicle overnight this is the part I would be pushing first.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
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Yup. As a first step, telling gm warranty that rental company limiting selection to gm vehicles only is entirely unacceptable. I understand the theory but if they cant provide gm, that is not your problem. You need a vehicle. Warranty department should either get dealer to give you a loaner or rental company to give you something.
 
Dr.Manhattan said:
Just looking to see what the consensus is on this, and if anyone else has been in the same predicament. In November I bought a new 2021 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 6.2L - $70,000+ truck. Absolutely love it, always bought GM (old man retired from the Oshawa plant) and never had an issue. Anyhow a week and a half ago just driving around town the engine light popped up, the truck stuttered up a little hill and went into low engine power mode. Thankfully I was only 2 blocks away from home, so went and parked it in the drive way. Came back out, started it up - engine light is still on but no low power mode. I shift into reverse to move it, however the engine only revs, doesn't move at all, acts as if its in neutral. Shift it back into park, wait a second and try again - shift into reverse and it doesn't move. This time however when I release the gas pedal the engine continues to rev higher and higher so I immediately just turn the truck off, call GM roadside and get it towed to the dealer. This truck has 4000KM's on it.

It sits at my local GM dealer all week - they dont have time for it because they are swamped ( I bought the truck from a neighboring town because they were the only one that had an AT4 with the options and color I wanted.) I call GM Support Care because Im not even given a rental in the meantime because the Enterprise affiliated service says they NEED to give me a GM product in order to get comped, and they don't have any (small town issues). They don't do anything and say I need to work with the dealer the trucks at. I call the dealership and speak to the Service Manager who says he can't look at the truck until later in the week, and they cannot even begin to offer a rental until they identify it as a warranty repair. So, Im riding my motorcycle to work - in the rain as it's my only other vehicle. Finally they look at it this Friday, and deem it a warranty repair - but....again, no GM vehicles at Enterprise.....so no rental. I get in touch with a mutual friend who works in the service department at this dealership that said his friend was the tech that looked at my truck on Friday and says he's never seen anything like that. It's either an engine issue or a serious transmission issue, and I should contact the dealer I bought the truck from (the other city) to see what they are willing to do for me. He goes on to say they are swamped (yea....I've heard) and with part shortages......hell it could take all summer to get my truck operating again - which is not reasonable.

So I called the dealer I bought the truck from on Saturday. The rep I bought the truck from has since retired lol. Talked to the only salesmen that was available and he said he will contact his manager on Monday and see what they can do - that he has never heard of something like this before. So..... 2 weeks it's been in the shop, for a 70K+ truck with 4000 kms and I have absolutely no rental. Is it fair to just ask for a a brand new truck? Parts and service and rental wise they are probably going to end up spending more money fixing this then what they are going to be out giving me a 2022 model. Anyone have any consumer or dealer experience to see if this is a possibility? There is no way I want to drive a rental all summer, just to get my brand newish Truck back from a major repair and expect to have confidence in it.
Click to expand...
I had a similar situation with a Chev car under warranty with roadside assistance mid Covid. Needed a clutch release slave and bearing under warranty, no available techs, no GM cars at the rental. I called GM roadside assistance using OnStar, they called the service manager who then OKd a Hyundai Sante Fe rental. It was near Christmas, they had my car for 24 days, covered everything.

Go to the stealership, Ask the service manager to escslater to GM customer care while you wait, or call OnStar from your car. Took about 5 minutes for me.
 
GreyGhost said:
Yup. As a first step, telling gm warranty that rental company limiting selection to gm vehicles only is entirely unacceptable. I understand the theory but if they cant provide gm, that is not your problem. You need a vehicle. Warranty department should either get dealer to give you a loaner or rental company to give you something.
Click to expand...
Mad Mike said:
I had a similar situation with a Chev car under warranty with roadside assistance mid Covid. Needed a clutch release slave and bearing under warranty, no available techs, no GM cars at the rental. I called GM roadside assistance using OnStar, they called the service manager who then OKd a Hyundai Sante Fe rental. It was near Christmas, they had my car for 24 days, covered everything.

Go to the stealership, Ask the service manager to escslater to GM customer care while you wait, or call OnStar from your car. Took about 5 minutes for me.
Click to expand...
I agree with both of you, just a joke. When I spoke to GM Customer Care / Onstar they said you can't even get a rental until its inspected by a technician first to ensure it's actually a valid warranty repair, and I quote "to ensure you didn't drive it into a lake or something"....right. They had my truck for 5 days before that even happened. I called them twice and continued to ask who I should talk too for an appeasement, cause I need to get to work, this is ridiculous. Just gave me the same answer, needs to be inspected before they authorize any rental. Now it's been authorized, but no rentals exist in the area - just a cluster ****.
 
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