What would you do?

smokeyburnout · January 21, 2018

Looking for advice. I bought a brand new 2017 Denali 3500 Duramax about a year ago and had the dealer install the Intellihaul camera system. I paid full retail for the system but negotiated the install for free. Anyway, the passenger side mirror camera went out and Echomaster warrantied it. I live 3 hours from the dealer so I told them I would do the work myself since I have all the needed tools and skills and they agreed. As I started the work i found the following stuff wrong from the dealer install:

Camera system control unit was not installed with the mounting bracket - bracket that was supposed to mount the unit above the CD player was just left out and the unit was tucked behind the glove box.

Driver side mirror was damaged by trying to pop the chrome caps off so the tech tried to hide his tracks by melting the scratched plastic and gluing the new camera pod in place.

Missing screws in both door panels.

Missing trim clips in passenger door.

Broken electrical connector clips on the mirror harness.

All the hardware from the center console and glove box was mixed up with the door hardware - different lengths in the wrong spots.

Advice on what I should ask the dealer to do? Other than the missing hardware i was able to pretty much correct everything (Echomaster was super cool and shipped me the missing bracket for free when I told them my story). I really just want them to know that the crap work by the tech went unnoticed for about a year but I eventually found it.....

Thanks in advance for listening to my rant.

diyer2 · January 21, 2018

I feel your pain.

This is why I do all my own work.

As far as the dealer, IMO the will not care.

They will probably give you the standard reply in our world today SORRY or some other BS line.

Not a safety issue.

The free install wasn't worth it.

The tech may have been given a cut rate.

4x4Pete · January 21, 2018

No wonder they let you replace the faulty camera.....it releives them of all fault and possible future warranty. They will more than likely blame you for everything. Sorry to hear this but I have little faith in dealer service departments. I would probably fix the issues and NEVER deal with them again. If your lucky they will ask you fill out a survey regarding your last interaction. Fill it out, list your concerns in a scathing email. They will respond and you may get things fixed up or the same tech will butcher it even more. Good luck.

gearheadesw · January 21, 2018

When I brought my truck back to pick up my bumper, they had kids, kids that didn't know anything at all, in there working on all kinds of cars and trucks. Never will I let them learn the in's and out's of working on a vehicle on my truck, go learn on your own car young one.

Can't imagine what the dealer will say, but bring it to their attention, they may act on it, or just crap out like usual.

Kim Zimmer · January 21, 2018

I also have 2017 3500 Denali and dealer installed camera system. Drivers side camera has been replaced once and about to be done again (watched it fail- mirrors folded in and heavy down pour rain)...passenger side also replaced once.

I'm about to take it all apart myself to see wth is going on.

At least dealer is great, very fast, provides me with loaner truck or drives and picks me up at work is a plus, but it's quickly in a year becoming a hassle.

Chris2087 · January 21, 2018

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me when I had the dealer install my Intellihaul camera system before I took delivery. When I was installing the mud flaps, I noticed deep gouges on the underside of the mirrors. In my case the installer used flat black paint to cover his tracks. I took it back and the dealer replaced both mirrors. Then I had intermittent camera failures, that eventfully led to both failing. Dealer replaced both cameras. This happened again about a month later, and the dealer replaced both cameras again. The remote camera failed shortly after I installed it on my travel trailer. Dealer facilitated a warranty replacement of the camera. Now its been a little more than a year and I haven't had a problem.

Chris

redwngr · January 21, 2018

I'd call them and see what they have to say.

They may or may not try to make it right.

There are a bunch of other options on these trucks that even if they are 'factory order', are dealer install. Would be good to know how they operate before the next vehicle is considered. It might mean you want to review the other items that were dealer installed.

2017HD · January 28, 2018

From what I have seen about these and other aftermarket camera installs they are not the easiest things to put in - lots of disassembly/reassembly of dash and door parts. For most shade tree mechanics it is a full days job - which means at shop rates, the install would cost more than the parts. I doubt if GM has a Standard Rate for this install so if you notched them down in labor they probably told the tech to make it quick. In 20/20 hindsight, I would have negotiated more on the parts price and not on the labor. At this point you have corrected the issues you found and Echomaster is aware of your issue so maybe they will support you going forward. As for the dealer - I think I would let them know about it - I would have taken photos of the install prior to fixing it - or once discovered - taken it back and let them work out the bugs. My dealer of purchase is about 2hrs away - my nearest dealer is 5min.

I was interested in this system when I bought my new truck last year - my fleet buyer told me he and the dealership he worked for had never touched one - to me this was a clue to not have them do the work. I asked around at some other dealers and they also claimed to have no experience with these systems - or for that matter any training on them.

I see where the 2019s are going to have a couple of plugs on the back next to the trailer plug for cameras. They still won't have the cameras under the mirrors - except through the Echomaster system. I think that if GM is going to continue to promote it, they need to find an easier way to integrate it.

AKNick · January 28, 2018

I ended up purchasing the Rostra system for the front camera. Going to install myself, but haven't gotten around to it yet--needing it less than I thought I would so far. Being that it'll be easier to install in the spring, I may just hold off until then.

Will try to remember to report back here some day with my experiences with the Rostra system. I didn't get the side cameras though since I didn't feel a need for them. Just the front camera and trailer camera.