Duramax Diesel Warranty (Worthless or not?)

[rlhedlund]

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fusea ... page/1.cfm

The link above is to my recent post re: Duramax Diesel warranty issue.

I am trying to get to the bottom of my question re: why I was denied warranty for a turbo vane position solenoid to the tune of $1000?

The GM warranty clearly states, "complete engine assembly - including TUBOCHARGER COMPONENTS". 5 yrs/100,000 miles.

My truck was bought in '08 and had 69,000 miles when the problem occurred on the road in Mn.

Is the solenoid NOT a component of the turbocharger? Even though my hometown dealer wrote me a check for $810, why was the warranty denied in the first place????

My dealer told me a $100 deductible applied (why he did not reimburse full amount), but the manual clearly states $0 deductible. Now I am more confused.

[Mike Clay]

This has been going on with all brands since i can remember. I have found in a lot of the cases its the dealer ripping you off, I am going in this morning for an oil change and a heated windshield wiper recall. I will ask the question and see what they say. I had the same problem with my 01 Dodge it went through 7 lift pumps, got the same garbage that they were not covered until i through a fit.

LOL I dont know how many times they have asked if my Edge insight is a chip, finally I had the service manager sit at my laptop in the service waiting room full of people and had him do some reading.

[rlhedlund]

I agree it is the dealer. In my case, I requested the part from the MN dealer in Buffalo as I was made to pay for it. They gave me the part and lo and behold, attached to it, was a GM warranty return tag. I had to give the part up when I was given the $810 check from my local VA dealer. Fair enough.

[Mike Clay]

I asked the question for my truck an 08 and they said no cost to me at all.

[rpfan]

Not a GM but, My Ford dealer fought for me out of warranty by 2K miles for 5 injectors. Got it done. 200 mile later the EGR cooler and oil cooler died. Again the dealer fought with Ford because of all the issues I had with the truck. Ford paid 450 of a $1000 job and the dealer installed my aftermarket EGR cooler D kit. If I ever buy another Ford, I would go to this dealer again.
They still work on my truck and knowing I pay out of pocket, take good care of me. Also, I did not buy my truck from this dealer. This is the way business should be done.
If it were me, I would contact GM myself to find out why it was not covered.

Rich

[The-Bear]

I too think the dealer makes all the difference in the world.

I had a SAAB dealer try to charge me for new front seats because mine had come with the wrong ones. When I gave him an incredulous look he offered to just charge me the installation labor! I called SAAB and they laughed, said of course they'd fix the problem without any charge -- and by the way, what dealer was it? Two months later that dealer no longer sold SAABs.

I got nowhere with the dealer I bought my Jeep from and then nowhere with Chrysler either -- until I sent all the paperwork to the Calif. Dept. of New Vehicles (or something like that). The day after my letter and paperwork arrived at that office, I had a call from the dealer's owner apologizing all over the place, offering me a free loaner vehicle, a free lunch, and the promise that all the work would be done by the next day. It was.

On the other hand, I found a great local Chevy dealer who got me free warranty service on my GMC truck (even though they're both GM divisions, warranty work is normally only authorized by the same brand dealers -- in my case GMC) which was 12,000 miles past chassis warranty. Of course it helped that I'd already had two warranty repairs on this same item by GMC dealers.

My advice and experience is that if you have a legitimate claim, you should continue taking the claim up the ladder. And if you can't get satisfaction from the corporation, find out what state office handles things like this and get them involved.

I've been told by more than one person and company that many businesses operate on the theory that most people accept what they're told and don't fight. These companies that play the percentages eventually give in when they realize that you're one of the few (apparently less than 1%) who won't give up. I don't get ugly or nasty -- I just keep smiling and insisting and moving things up the ladder until they're properly resolved.

[rlhedlund]

I guess I'm one of the less than 1%. I still have $190 of skin in this game, but it is now beside the point. Someone tried to rip me off and I feel like filing a criminal complaint for theft by the MN dealer.

[rlhedlund]

GM service rep from Argentina called me last night to tell me

J5807, Valve, turbocharger vane position solenoid replacement
is not a covered warranty repair

end of story.
Can some others check with their dealers to see if J5807 is no longer a warranty repair?

[Mike Clay]

Well two words for Mr. Argentina, BS its not like windshield wipers or shocks it is a part that operates the turbo and it is part of the power train, plus as you stated the warranty covers all turbo charger components. If it was not covered why did they reimburse most of your money because they were in a good mood?? Sorry but this subject really pushes my button, had to deal with it to many times since 1994 with 5 Dodge trucks. Back to the lift pump story I had a friend who lost his lift pump and his dealer said no its not covered. I drove 2 hours one way picked up his truck drove it back to the dealer I was using at the time and they fixed it under warranty. Yes some components are only covered under the bumper to bumper but this sensor operates the turbo and with out it the turbo does not work properly.

I took my Chevy in for its first fuel filter change two years ago and they cracked the sensor, then they tried to tell me its not covered and they are the ones that broke the dang thing. WELL nice try but did not happen, surprising how fast they change their mind when you stand in the middle of the sales floor and start throwing a fit.

To make a long story longer start climbing the ladder go above the rep half the time they dont know anything anyway then check with other dealers in your area and see what they say. You may not win the war but you will learn a lot along the way.

[rlhedlund]

Here is what I learned so far.
GM cust serv hotline is WORTHLESS AND WASTES MY TIME!
J5807 WAS a covered warranty item last year
In sept, 2009 GM issued cutbacks on warranty services
Dealer told me sensors are NOT WARRANTY ITEM
No one will give me a list of current warranty items

Issues:
the part is a solenoid valve, NOT A SENSOR
my warranty state, "complete engine assembly - including turbocharger components".

How many others are gettng ripped off by their dealers either knowingly or unknowingly?

[Mike Clay]

LOTS its the same people that pay the sticker price on the truck

[Rob & Cathy]

Here is what I learned so far.
J5807 WAS a covered warranty item last year
In sept, 2009 GM issued cutbacks on warranty services

To put it nicely that's about the sillies thing I've heard in a long time. They've acknowledged that the part was covered but that starting last year they've decided not to cover the part. Why don't they just skip a step and say that the they've decided to change the warranty from 100K to 50K?

DON'T give up! Keep rattling those cages and make them show you documentation that the part is not covered.

Rob

P.S. Have you seen this:http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f53/ ... nty-80432/
Your part is on the covered list BUT is also states "General Motors reserves the right to change it in the future".

[rlhedlund]

That is where I found the list of covered items. Apparently, in Sept '09 they changed the list. Now they claim NOT to warranty sensors.

[Rob & Cathy]

That would be fine, they decided to no longer to cover that part on '09 model truck and newer, but that doesn't apply to your '07. You paid for that warranty, believe me it's factored into the price of the vehicle, and the warranty you paid for included that part. If they can get away with removing this part do to cost savings then they can come back and decide they are no longer going to warranty any part they choose.

Rob

[rpfan]

I would question the fact that they would have to notify everyone that they were excluding this part from their covered list. Otherwise they could just add what ever part they wanted to the "not covered list" whenever they wanted. I would think that some kind of notification would (should) be done.
Don't give up!!

Rich