Dealer broke parts under hood during oil change!

lapoolboy · May 15, 2019

Ok guys, I am creating this post in part as a venting session and in part as stress relief.

So, last week I took my truck in to the dealer to have the faulty vacuum pump we all know about replaced under warranty. I told the service adviser about the sporatic hard brake pedal and the symphony of noises the thing made and he said they'd get it taken care of....one day in the shop and the vacuum pump was replaced. Easy peasy….maybe too easy and a harbinger of what was to come...

I had them do an oil change and tire rotation while they had it because I was close on miles and it was just convenient for me to just go ahead and let them do it while the truck was there. I pick up the truck and the vacuum pump is night-and-day difference! Check that off the to-do list.

The next day, my windshield washer fluid light comes on and I thought that was odd because they should have topped it up during the oil change. Nevertheless, I buy a gallon and open the hood to fill it and find this wiring harness connector broken and dangling by the wires. It normally clips onto the side of the fusebox but the mounting tabs on both the fusebox and connector are broken. I knew instantly the lube tech probably broke it off. I e-mailed pics to my service advisor and he says he will relay to the service manager for review, check the cameras, etc. After a day of that, he tells me they couldn't tell who did it but they ordered the fusebox and replacement wiring harness connector kit. I'm told Friday parts had come in, so I drop the truck off Monday at 8:00am. I'm told it should take a few hours just due to the number of wires that had to be transferred. I get a call late Monday afternoon stating that they would not finish and would need to finish up on Tuesday. So today at around 1:00pm I asked the service advisor for an update. He says they had to order some "wire leads" and a "special tool" and hope to have them in on Wednesday morning so they can finish it up. When he told me that, I immediately envisioned broken and/or cut wires and they were going to have to crimp on new terminals. I couldn't get any clarification, so I surprised them after work today and just showed up to inspect the progress. The other pics are what I saw!

The service manager tells me that they did not have the proper terminal extraction tool and he had to order one (why they didn't figure this out yesterday, I'll never know). So, he says he told the tech to try to "cut them out". They were unsuccessful at that so now they are keeping the truck overnight a second night. I told them I absolutely DO NOT want any cut or spliced wires ANYWHERE! He says they will just have to crimp some new terminals onto some of the wires that got broken. He goes on to tell me that GM approves splicing and heat-shrinking wires on harnesses where needed due to chaffing, burn, etc. I told him that GM may, but I DO NOT.

This was supposed to be a simple de-pin broken connector, transfer wires to new connector, and replace fusebox base.....we are going into day 3. The pictures speak for themselves. I REALLY hope my truck works after this! In retrospect, I should have just left it alone but I felt that they should fix something if they broke it. It may not have caused any issues, but GM felt it needed to be secured to the side of the fusebox for a reason and it wasn't broken when I took it in...so, here we are...

Edited May 15, 2019 by lapoolboy

Mike GMC · May 15, 2019

Damn! What a mess. I'd be demanding a LIFETIME warranty on that repair. In writing!!!!

lapoolboy · May 15, 2019

4 minutes ago, Mike GMC said:

Damn! What a mess. I'd be demanding a LIFETIME warranty on that repair. In writing!!!!

I did ask the manager how long he was going to warranty this repair....he said "if anything happens with this repair, we'll take care of it". So, I looked at him and said "Lifetime warranty then". He said "yes, as long as it's not corrosion, etc. etc." I do plan to get it in writing though when/if they finally get it finished.

I baby my truck and have extreme OCD....this whole thing is bullshit and is making me feel physically ill.

Edited May 15, 2019 by lapoolboy

Jchoi · May 15, 2019

17 minutes ago, lapoolboy said:

I did ask the manager how long he was going to warranty this repair....he said "if anything happens with this repair, we'll take care of it". So, I looked at him and said "Lifetime warranty then". He said "yes, as long as it's not corrosion, etc. etc." I do plan to get it in writing though when/if they finally get it finished.

I baby my truck and have extreme OCD....this whole thing is bullshit and is making me feel physically ill.

LA...I’m sorry to hear and what a mess. Here’s hoping they make it right and get things settled soon.

elcamino · May 15, 2019

Once its fixed, they would never see me ever again in that dealership and I would be sure to tell them that.

Edited May 15, 2019 by elcamino

damnthetorpedoes · May 15, 2019

1 hour ago, lapoolboy said:

I baby my truck and have extreme OCD....this whole thing is bullshit and is making me feel physically ill.

Can't say I blame you for feeling like that. I would have little confidence in my truck's reliability if I witnessed that hack job in progress.

tbarn · May 15, 2019

Looks like they are cutting/grinding apart. Must not have the correct terminal release tool. Or too stupid to use it.

tbarn · May 15, 2019

Hope they ordered them all. There are 4 different tools for removal for that connector.

lapoolboy · May 15, 2019

He got some of the wires transferred over. It appeared to be all the smallest diameter wires left to move. I guess those are the ones he needs the tool for.

I wonder if they'll let me stand there and observe the remainder of the repair tomorrow?

Or better yet, let me finish it myself?

tbarn · May 15, 2019

If it helps ( probably not) all of those terminals are serviced with a "terminal lead" which is a factory crimped terminal with a 6-8" lead. "Properly" crimped terminals are the issue. Easier said than done on some of these micro terminals and wires. Much more success splicing two copper wires. Wire splices can be a very good repair. Done right it's as good as solid wire.

lapoolboy · May 15, 2019

So the "leads" they ordered are the terminals with a few inches of wire on them? They intend to splice copper-to-copper then inside the loom?

I think they are going to splice the two or three wires they ripped the terminals off of and properly de-pin the rest of them with the proper tool(s) so they can simply reinsert into the new connector.

Edited May 15, 2019 by lapoolboy

lapoolboy · May 15, 2019

By the way, what harness is this? Are all the circuits in it contained to one system or is it a multi-system harness?

tbarn · May 15, 2019

40 minutes ago, lapoolboy said:

So the "leads" they ordered are the terminals with a few inches of wire on them? They intend to splice copper-to-copper then inside the loom?

I think they are going to splice the two or three wires they ripped the terminals off of and properly de-pin the rest of them with the proper tool(s) so they can simply reinsert into the new connector.

Yes and Yes. I assume. That is what terminal leads are for.

It is called the "engine harness to body harness" connector. Number X115