Sitting here waiting for a tow truck.

fondupot · January 20, 2014

Thats good, but i think i would rather be the one who put the 100 miles of testing on my truck.

I told him that I typtically put between 75-100 miles on my truck in a given week, and that if something comes up I'll just bring it back.

He said that would be ok, but it wouldn't be logged by their testing equipment. They are actually gonna drive the truck around with the testing computer hooked up to it. So they can monitor for misfires.

Fine by me if it fixed the problem.

1kwik72 · January 20, 2014

Here is an update for everyone.

Just got a call from my dealership. He said that they did some more testing and found that there were several of the spark plug coils that were not connected properly. By the way there is a also a TSB on this issue. He said that as per the TSB they remove all 8 coils, and put dielectric grease in all the connectors and then reinstall them on the truck and make sure all connectors are 100% secure.

He said initial testing we put 7 miles on the truck and they are no longer detecting any misfires. But he would like to keep the truck and put up to 100 miles on the vehicle to really make sure it wont happen again.

I told him to do what he's gotta do in order to thoroughly test the motor. Just fill it up with gas when they're all through.

So like I suspected, there was something else wrong other than just being "loose spark plug wires." The actual coils themselves were not connected properly.

I would urge everyone to check their connections on their trucks just to make sure everything is in order.

Hopefully I will get the truck back soon.

Later

Yup that would have been the other TSB I ran across. It specifically states moisture intrusion as the cause not that they were improperly connected rather just a poor connection. The fix as they stated was to clean/replace the affected parts and add the dielectric grease. They are probably CYA a little too, putting some miles on it so they don't give it back to you and have it act up again.

Craig

fondupot · January 20, 2014

Yup that would have been the other TSB I ran across. It specifically states moisture intrusion as the cause not that they were improperly connected rather just a poor connection. The fix as they stated was to clean/replace the affected parts and add the dielectric grease. They are probably CYA a little too, putting some miles on it so they don't give it back to you and have it act up again.

Craig

Yea they are definitely doing some CYA. I could tell in the service managers voice he kinda came to me with is hat in his hands and was like "Turns out you were right."

Oh well, as long as they get it fixed. I will be satisfied.

crushNchowda · January 20, 2014

GMesi is GM electronic service information. It is the actual service manuals technical service bulletins and information in electronic format. And I bet you would like to check it out. at my discounted rate for being a ACDelco Professional Service Center it is $1200 a year.

Yes your higher octane could have been the cause also if it did it when it was cold. The easiest way to explain octane is to think of it as the higher the number the harder it is to light the fuel. In cold weather they change the volatility of the fuel to make it easier to burn (more light ends of the hydrocarbons making it more volatile). Higher octanes on average will be harder to start burning. They can fail to light under the right (very cold) circumstances. My supercharged Grand Prix normally runs on premium (recommended but not required) and it picks up about 3 mpg over 87 but this winter it did not like to start on 93 so back to 87 and it starts and runs great in the cold. The other thing is premium fuels tent not to move as fast as lower octanes so if there was any water contamination ( snow melt seeping past the gas station tank fill cap) generally the higher octanes are more susceptible.

Craig

I've been running nothing but 93 octane other than the tank I drove away new off the lot with. I have 8800 ,lies now. Zero issues.

Some people got bad trucks, it's a first year design. There is literally nothing worth complaining to my dealer about. I feel bad for you guys that are getting all these issues and knock on wood that it doesn't happen to me but so far so good it seems.

fondupot · January 20, 2014

I've been running nothing but 93 octane other than the tank I drove away new off the lot with. I have 8800 ,lies now. Zero issues.

Some people got bad trucks, it's a first year design. There is literally nothing worth complaining to my dealer about. I feel bad for you guys that are getting all these issues and knock on wood that it doesn't happen to me but so far so good it seems.

Yea. Turns out something was up with the coils and spark plug wires. They have the issue figured out. Just doing some more testing. I doubt it was the gasoline, as you said.

fondupot · January 22, 2014

Another update.

Picked the truck up today after work. I was treated like a celebrity when I pulled into the service bay. The service manager greeted me and said he will have the boys warm up the truck while we sign some paperwork. He went over the work they did, which includes removing and reinstalling the coil packs, adding dielectric grease where needed, also the fire recall update was performed while the truck was there.

They ended up driving my truck for 109 miles (all authorized by me) with the test equipment on. They even worked the local GM engineer to go over the data that the test equipment logged. He didn't see any problems with the data and advised the dealership to return the vehicle to the owner, me.

So here I am. Driven the truck about 35 miles since I picked it up. Been running smooth. No noticeable difference (except its not in limp mode anymore.)

Not two hours after I picked up the truck I got a call from the GM Action Center. The dealership had opened a case with the GM Action Center regarding the work they were doing on my truck. So I spoke with a GM Customer Rep for about 30 minutes about the case and he seemed very knowledgable, and very apologetic and genuinely concerned about me as a GM customer. I spoke to him about dealer service needing to be improved; listening to customers regarding features, complaints, feedback, etc; GM manufacturing processes and quality control being improved; and a few other things. I spoke and he listened. It was a nice conversation and it was nice to know that GM was actually concerned about me as a customer and not just a number on their sales sheet.

Also kind of related, I received my Range Technology V8 module today. So I logged some miles with that baby installed. It's kinda nice not flipping into V4 mode around town (which is about 90%) of the driving I do. I'll roll with it for a while. I will be taking a road trip next week that is about 900 miles roundtrip. I will do the road trip with the Range module installed to see what kind of mileage I get out of it.

Alright, glad the truck is back up and running. However, my confidence in the truck has been shaking and I will be keeping a weary eye out for other things now.

Over and Out.

ram1067 · January 22, 2014

The trucks are designed in Michigan, you think they would factor in cold weather testing when they are engineered...

AMEN! after reading all the problems.....im still on the fence on buying a new one.

fondupot · January 22, 2014

AMEN! after reading all the problems.....im still on the fence on buying a new one.

Yea....maybe wait for as 2015....

GMCustomerService · January 22, 2014

Hi fonduput,

I’m glad to hear that you had a pleasant visit with your dealership and that your vehicle is back up and running. If you have any other concerns, GM Customer Care is a private message away!

Best Regards,

Kristen A.

GM Customer Care

BBSun · January 23, 2014

I had a similar problem. Just got my truck a couple of days ago and it died while driving it yesterday. It only has 180 miles on it. Luckily, I was just able to get it out of the traffic lanes. It felt like it was running out of gas. Got it towed to the dealer and they said two of the fuel injectors were stuck open. They ordered new injectors and are going to keep it for a day to test it. One of the reasons I bought this truck was because my old one was racking up the miles and I didn't want it to strand me. Now I don't know if I can trust this one. And, by the way, it was 70 degrees outside when this happened.

VMaxtastic · January 23, 2014

No offense to the future owner, but I'd drive the loaner like you stole it, just to work out any bugs for the next guy and to see what else might arise on your own rig.

I do this subconsciously every time I have a loaner or a rental

TJay74 · January 23, 2014

Like said on Octane, you don't want to run higher when it is colder out. Actually the opposite, run lower as the chance of detonation is less with the colder intake air temps. When it gets warmer, then you can run higher octane if you want to see if there is extra performance.

Also last I checked and saw, you cant replace the TPS sensor on its own, have to replace the entire TB assembly.

OP glad they got it sorted out, easy way to tell if it is mis-fire is the check engine light will flash when mis-fire is detected.

fondupot · January 23, 2014

OP glad they got it sorted out, easy way to tell if it is mis-fire is the check engine light will flash when mis-fire is detected.

Yep thats exactly what happened. The light was flashing and the truck just totally lost all power.

Been running fine since I picked it up. Mileage is kinda crappy, about 15mpg, but I blame that on the cold and winter blend gas. Also my driving is mostly stop and go.

VMaxtastic · January 27, 2014

This same thing happened to me this morning. Luckily it didn't happen until I was in town. Limped it to the dealer. They are looking at it now. For the record it's - 31 Celsius without the wind this morning. People freeze to death in minutes in this weather. Gotta love the peace of mind of owning a brand new truck... Just rolled over 800 km

fondupot · January 27, 2014

This same thing happened to me this morning. Luckily it didn't happen until I was in town. Limped it to the dealer. They are looking at it now. For the record it's - 31 Celsius without the wind this morning. People freeze to death in minutes in this weather. Gotta love the peace of mind of owning a brand new truck... Just rolled over 800 km

Hopefully they can diagnose and fix quickly.