Stephen Gaze

Well, BBB just called me this afternoon. GM has agreed to a buy-back under the FL Lemon Law.

So, flashing CEL came back at lunch today 6459 miles and then quickly became a solid CEL. No auto start. Dealer won’t touch it since GM Corporate is involved. Way to lose a long time loyal customer GM.

Well, back at the dealer this AM, let’s see what they say. BTW, loved Anacortes. Spent 12 years (1992-2004) at NAS Whidbey.

Usually, it has been a flashing CEL that lasts up to 1-2 minutes. Flashing CEL indicates a misfire condition. The three times that CEL latched solid was a a P0300 code which is Random/Multiple Cylinders Misfire. I have owned this truck since 3/15/2021. That is 122 days. I have been to the dealer 6 times where I spent all day there off work. 6 days out of service. They had it one time for 9 days troubleshooting. They also had it for 37 days while waiting for engineer to come diagnose the issue and then waiting for/installing replacement engine. So, 6+9+28=43 days out of service. 43/122 = 35.2% of the time I have owned this truck it has been in the dealer's service department. The "performance air intake" is stock since it is a GM (dealer) installed regular production option. Truck was ordered with the option.

So, I have been fighting the intermittent flashing CEL since the day I got this truck 4 months ago. After multiple visits to the dealer, they finally got an engineer in and diagnosed a bad timing wheel (???) and replaced the engine at 1600 miles. Light came back at 1755 miles. Was told there would be a software update to fix. Left on a 3000 mile trip towing a camper. No issues on trip. Get back and the flashing CEL returns. 5341 miles. 5462 miles, 5480 miles and then goes solid. That was last week (06 July). Drive right to dealer and they update the software (supposedly a recall for the performance air intake). Now today, 8 days later, the CEL starts flashing again twice. 5774 miles and 5788 miles. Called the GM corporate folks who I had been in contact with. According to them, need to go back to the dealer since "issue is reported as fixed". Submitted dispute to BBB per FL Attorney General. Done with this truck. Want my money back so I can break my 30+ year streak of being loyal to Chevrolet and go buy a Ford Super Duty.

Well, I am not happy. Running around today (Friday) with 1725 miles on truck. So, 100 miles with new engine. Flashing CEL. I need this truck next week to tow a camper to MD from FL. So done at this point. UPDATE: Went by dealer this morning (Saturday). Same codes. P0300. Random misfire. Same guy tried to blame the catch can. They are calling GM on Monday. Starting to think I need an independent shop to look at it.

Update. Truck is home. Done about 40 miles so far with no issues. MPG is up and truck does feel a bit smoother. GM has been in contact with me and I will be calling them this afternoon re compensation.

Supposedly my problem is the timing teeth on the crank. I think there is more than that.

Update: Truck has now been at the truck since last Wednesday. They are still waiting for the engineer that was supposed to show last Friday to show up. No ETA. MyChevy app is now reporting no issues with the truck but they don't want to return it to me until the engineer looks at it. I have owned this truck 9 weeks. It has spent two weeks at the dealer (two one week instances) plus 4 same day appointments. It has 1600 miles on it, of which the dealer put 200 troubleshooting. Does anyone have a good phone number for me to call GM directly???

Yeah, well lesson learned on the can. My wife said the same thing. If I am paying out of pocket, this thing is getting traded in for another brand. GM will have lost another formerly loyal customer. Interestingly, starting to get emails about doing a customer survey. Waiting to see how this resolves itself. And, the engineer didn't show today. So, will probably be another week plus.

Added a JLT Catch Can to my new 2021 LT TB 5.3 at 1400 miles (last Friday). Just out of curiosity, pulled it this afternoon after 150 miles to check. Got some oil already. Just a small amount and only noticeable holding the can at an angle. Looks like the blow-by is about the same as my 496 big block in my old Corvette. Good to see the system is working. I have heard reports of 1/2 a can or 2 to 3 ounces after 4,000 miles. Looks like I will be about the same.

Final update. Dealer had the truck for a week. Drove it 200 miles. Did multiple tests and could not duplicate. They did see misfires on #1 and #6 in the data. Swapped plugs around. I can only surmise that something was loose and they corrected it. Truck is back with me. Did 150 miles so far this weekend with no issues. Fingers crossed.

So, it is back in the shop. Dropped it off Thursday night so they could do a "tap" test on Friday. Guess that is the spark plugs. No issues reported on Friday. So, now they are keeping it into next week. Looking at dropping gas tank to check for contamination! So, $60k truck. Owned just about six weeks with right around 1200 miles (we were out of town for a bit). - First two days (March 15/16), two instances of flashing CEL lasting ~15 sec. Visit #1 (16 or 17 March) no codes. - Third flashing CEL event (10 or 11 April). ~ 30 sec. April 12, visit #2 P0300 code. Could not duplicate. Reset codes. - Fourth flashing CEL event. April 18. Flashing CEL ~ 1 min. 666 miles. Have video. Only shut off when Auto-Stop happened. Visit #3 on 19 April. P0300 codes. Found 3 loose intake bolts. Reset codes. - April 24. Drove to Clearwater FL, ~2.5 hours, 150 miles. Parked truck. Got text/email alert that there was emissions problem. Started truck. Solid CEL. Called dealer, made appointment for Monday 4/26. Told was OK to drive home. myChevrolet app showed emissions issue. Started truck that night at home, CEL was out. By Sunday, app showed no issues. - Visit #4 on Monday 4/26. Stored P0300 codes. Could not duplicate. Problem elevated to GM engineering. - Visit #5. Thursday 4/49. Dropped truck off for extended testing. Oh, and I did get a loaner. Base model Trax.

So, dealership called today. The engineers want to do a "porcelain tap test". Truck needs to be completely cold. So, dropping it off Sunday so they can work on it Monday. Stand by for the update.

Could not do today. If it goes back, I will be demanding a rental.

Update. At dealer. - Generic P0300 code stored. - As of this morning, the myChevrolet app says there are no issues with the truck. - Tech cannot duplicate issue. - Computer files going to GM engineers. -Dealership now waiting call from engineers. I have two choices. Drive vehicle that may have issues or leave it at dealer which does not have any loaners available. Very frustrated right now.

Well, just started the truck, both normal and remote, and the CEL is no longer on. Still have the issue per myChevy app though.

So, my truck will be going back to dealer for the third week in a row. First we had four instances of intermittent flashing CEL which after three visits, they found some loose intake manifold bolts. Today we took a drive to the Gulf. Parked truck and got a text saying that it had an emissions problem. Shortly followed by email. So, had to drive all the way home with a solid CEL. New truck with less than 1000 miles. I have always been a staunch Chevy guy but this truck has made me seriously think about cutting my losses and going Ram.

Not that they told me. I now have three documented visits for the same issue. Looking closely at FL Lemon Law.

And at 666 miles, flashing CEL is back. This is getting ridiculous. Back to dealership tomorrow.

Update. Decided to swing by service department today. They found codes for intermittent misfire on cylinder #1. No appointments available till Tuesday but the service advisor said bring it in Monday AM. Less than 400 miles on truck so this is going to take priority over the ceramic coating.

And an update. Driving today with 305 miles on truck. Flashing CEL for about 15 sec. Went away. Drove another 60+ miles with no issues (and best gas mileage I have recorded so far). Swung by O’Reilly and they didn’t see any codes. Have a dealer appointment for 4/19 since truck was scheduled to get ceramic coated next week. May try to swing by dealer service tomorrow. Not sure how they would diagnose a pushrod or lifter issue without pulling the valve covers. No apparent lifter noise that I can hear. I also read something about oil level. As in too much oil. Any info on that? I checked my oil and it is above the cross hatch on the dipstick. Basically filling the notch above the hatched area but not onto the solid upper part of the dipstick.

Thanks guys. Guess I will just have to wait for ARE to figure it out.

Thanks. I called the dealership and they are checking for me. What would be the effect on the truck if they failed to do the reprogramming? Would it even be noticeable?

Thanks. Did not know about the authorization code. The truck was ordered from the factory with the performance package (exhaust and CAI) installed. I do not know if that means it came with them in a box with the truck or installed from the factory. The salesman mentioned something about the dealership installing the exhaust??? I would assume that the dealership would have done the ECM calibration. How do I check this?