Snoopy

You know, I feel a need to say this !!!!

That's total BS going to another dealer for service. So then dealer # 1 gets off with poor service, probably a lie, and taking your $140 for nothing and just plain incompetence. No wonder there is so many complaints about dealer service. Everyone just "passes the buck" to the next owner/consumer...who passes it to the next owner, etc. etc.

I think Customer Service, on this forum, should look into the matter. And determine why this happened and find a resolution. That would be CUSTOMER SERVICE. I mean, hell, anyone can look in a phone book for a new dealer and change your service to that one.

Make the dealership responsible for their actions.

CeliaFoote

Snoopy - I totally understand where you're coming from, but at the same time....I'm also not made of money. How long does one try to "make the dealership responsible for their actions?" If someone is giving them constant feedback, and calling them out when they mess up, and they keep continually failing - should one be able to find a new dealership?

Dealership #1 has been basically the ONLY dealership this car has seen - they routinely under-inflate my tires, I've called them on it soooo many times it's not even funny (If I night drop I even specify "inflate tires to 35psi"). They say "Sorry about that, we apologize, bring it in and we'll air them up to the proper psi" Sadly with my schedule lately, I don't have time to take leisure trips over to the dealer all the time...So I air up my own, and tell them I'm not real satisfied with 28psi on my tires, when the door states 35psi!

When my CEL came on for the gas cap issue...UNDER 36,000 miles (aka well-within bumper to bumper warranty) the service advisory wanted to charge me $140 to read the code. I said "But it's under bumper-to-bumper warranty" and then he proceeded to try to tell me they had to charge me because the CEL could have been caused by something *I* did (like leaving the gas cap off), and so they have to charge for stuff like that...(What!?!?) Again, I gave them feedback.

We took my husband's Pontiac G8 there that takes 8-9 quarts of oil. We get the receipt back from the dealership, and it shows 5 quarts of oil. My husband asked them "Did you really only put 5 quarts in?" they say "Yeah, why?" Husband: "Because the car takes a lot more than that..." Service Advisor "Ohhhhhh, just one second, we'll get that fixed right away"
Seriously!? Had my husband not known how much oil his car would have taken, they would have just let us walk out 3-4 quarts low!?!?

With all of that said, I don't want to just pass the buck, but I also am sick of continually taking my car to this dealership and they just don't seem to care...don't want to do the work...don't want to improve...something? I can definitely have CS look into the issue, but in the meantime my car has a CEL on, and OnStar is telling me not to drive it and to get it to the dealership asap...So maybe I talk to CS, and simultaneously take it to dealer #2 where my husband takes his car, and is happy with their service :-/

Snoopy

Sorry "jenny" I should have explained better.

I was NOT specifically "picking" on you. Your situation just happen to appear at the time of my concern (the wife and I were at dinner last night with a couple of GM management people and some local GM dealer owners....so I was primed because of some discussions).

But it seems to me that the "new dealer" reasoning is offered way to frequent and making the dealerships responsible if very distant. Now I do understand the reasoning when someone approached the point of no return (intended wording). But GM Corporation needs to be informed with a well constructed letter or phone call, especially if you do NOT receive the customary, "Customer Satisfaction Survey" (if this is still in effect....a little know fact is the dealerships get "bonus" money for customer satisfaction....and it is substantial, that's why the dealership PRESSURES you to complete the survey with very high ratings and sometimes incentives, like a tank of gas).

NOW, THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, but the Customer Service rep on these forums are limited at what responses they provide owners when complaints are issued AND they are essentially non-GM "public relations" people hired to an outside firm. Their job is to pacify and assist when it can be accomplished in the very narrow guidelines that are established within the contract restrictions. Some, on other GM related forums have done miraculous "things" to assist owners with mechanical, appearance and technical problems. Others suggest you visit another dealer.

Oh and jenny....in regard to you last explanation of problem services.... IN EACH AND EVERY ONE (if they occurred exactly as you indicate) you had a resource available and that would have cost you nothing....but you didn't push the issue. Also, to a certain point, I think the dealer is taking advantage of you. We all know that woman no nothing of mechanical issues, right.

CeliaFoote

Alright, so apparently OnStar can just give you the codes :-P

So I talked to OnStar, and they gave me:

P0011 (Intake Camshaft Position Sensor), as well as B2485 (something with the OnStar antenna?)

Dealer is going to take a look at it tomorrow, and *thinks* the P0011 would be covered under warranty because that would be Powertrain however we'll see.

Definitely not sure what to think about the B2485 since I was talking to OnStar while in my car, and the connection seemed to be fine? Plus this never seemed to be an issue previously...So I'm not sure what to think about that.

Hopefully she'll be running in tip top shape after tomorrow!

hyperv6

Dealer take advantage of many people everyday. The issue is not everyone knows much about todays cars and it is easy for someone at a dealer to take advantage of it.

The issue is many dealer owners pressure many of the service departments to turn numbers. This often leads many good and some bad people to do things they should not do to keep their jobs.

GM has tried to pressure many dealers with a come to Jesus moment but GM is limited on what they can do. The Fanchise issues protect the dealers so much often it is hard for MFG's to deal with poor dealers. Just look at how hard it is for GM to cut down on dealers as they have way too many of them now.

The best thing we can do is #1 do not repeat visit poor dealers. #2 fill out the surveys you get after a visit. THes give GM ammo to deal with poor dealers. These often lead to loss of car alacations and discounts they recieve. It hits them hard in the wallet.

#3 Don't be affraid to ask for help here or with friends who play with cars. We may be car geeks but we can save you money too.

With the web today there is a lot of info out there to help protect yourself and the best you can learn on anything you deal with no matter if it is a car, TV or getting a roof replaced the better you will be to know if you are getting what you paid for.

As Dr Gregory House says "People Lie" The best you can do is keep informed. While you may not be able to rebuild an engine you can still learn enough to protect yourself.

843de

Exactly what I suspected Jennybeeb, and the P0011 code confirms my suspicions. They should be able to do the repair under warranty, also point out to them the amount of mucking about they've done when they could have identified the problem easily.

I believe the other code is indicating a bad ground with the OnStar antenna, probably a loose connection at the antenna base.

Keep us posted as to how you make out.

donbrew

The problems with the autoparts store codes is exactly the same problem as the dealership codes! Neither of them know how to go to the step after what the computer delivers for a definition of the code I.E. the code for a loose gas cap does not always return "loose gas cap", more likely it will be something relating to some pressure sensor somewhere not reading to spec.

The GM guys are always claiming special training and certificates on the wall, but very few of those guys really understand what the instructors said. End of rant.

CeliaFoote

You suspected the P0011 code?! Is this common, and what in the world is causing it?

Everyone I talked to asked me if my car was running okay, or if it was idling hard...and really it was running fine. No hard idling present and didn't seem to have much issue with driving over to the dealer either...I'm crossing my fingers it can be covered under warranty, and I'm also really hoping that my tires come back at the correct psi

843de

Its not that common, but it was the first problem that came to mind as the likely cause of your CEL. Being that you have a 2009 with a 2.4, it was a case of running through the possibilities and figuring out the most likely culprit.

There has been a revision to the solenoids that are at the heart of the problem, they are a common part also used on the Chevy Equinox and that's where folks really started having issues leading to the redesign/revision.

CeliaFoote

So is it actually the solenoids that are the issue, or is it something else?

The dealership called and told me that the part/parts is on backorder, but they should have it probably by the end of the week...so I can drive my car in the meantime and then they'll fix it when the part comes in. It's covered under warranty too, so that makes me one happy camper! :-D