Water leak, what recourse do I have?

Threadkiller · February 10, 2020

Long story short, 2015 Silverado 1500 LT was purchased brand new in 2016. Shortly after it developed a mold problem over time on the drivers side rear carpet by the door sill. Understandably I was upset just having spent $45000 on a brand new truck but things happen, fine. I brought it back to the dealer I bought it from which then "fixed" the problem diagnosing it with a leaky third brake light gasket. A few months later I see more mold in the same exact spot. I brought it back and they re-diagnosed it with bad body vent gasket. I got the truck back and it seemed ok minus all the loose things they forgot to tighten including the rear seat nuts which I didn't say anything about or bother to bring it back for and now I feel like I should have since they are screwing me. Fast forward until a few weeks ago. I am now out of the bumper to bumper warranty but there is mold, albeit less than before, in the SAME SPOT. I called up the dealer that fixed it before, same dealer it was purchased from and they said being that its out of the bumper to bumper I am going to have to pay for at least the labor to take the interior apart and water test it and depending on what they find I might be responsible for more. This is super upsetting and frustrating not only because I feel like I was kicked to the curb once the warranty was up, but if they just fixed it correctly in the first place It wouldn't be my problem now. I specifically bought a less equipped new truck instead of a better loaded used one because I didn't want any problems, ugh so upsetting. Do I have any recourse here? I just went to email GM corporate but they limit characters to 1000 and that does not give me enough space to write a well thought out and concise email. Does anyone know someone else I could contact instead of the dumb form on their site where I can actually completely say what I need to? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

davester · February 10, 2020

It took 3 years before something started leaking, so they didn't do too bad of a job of fixing the previous leaks, and where it's leaking may or may not be one of the previous spots. And are you sure it's mold you are seeing, or is it just a water stain?

You might consider calling GM, perhaps they will fix or split the costs with you as a goodwill thing, but you are a year or so out of warranty, so I wouldn't expect it...

JimCost2014 · February 11, 2020

On 2/10/2020 at 11:13 AM, Threadkiller said:

Long story short, 2015 Silverado 1500 LT was purchased brand new in 2016. Shortly after it developed a mold problem over time on the drivers side rear carpet by the door sill. Understandably I was upset just having spent $45000 on a brand new truck but things happen, fine. I brought it back to the dealer I bought it from which then "fixed" the problem diagnosing it with a leaky third brake light gasket. A few months later I see more mold in the same exact spot. I brought it back and they re-diagnosed it with bad body vent gasket. I got the truck back and it seemed ok minus all the loose things they forgot to tighten including the rear seat nuts which I didn't say anything about or bother to bring it back for and now I feel like I should have since they are screwing me. Fast forward until a few weeks ago. I am now out of the bumper to bumper warranty but there is mold, albeit less than before, in the SAME SPOT. I called up the dealer that fixed it before, same dealer it was purchased from and they said being that its out of the bumper to bumper I am going to have to pay for at least the labor to take the interior apart and water test it and depending on what they find I might be responsible for more. This is super upsetting and frustrating not only because I feel like I was kicked to the curb once the warranty was up, but if they just fixed it correctly in the first place It wouldn't be my problem now. I specifically bought a less equipped new truck instead of a better loaded used one because I didn't want any problems, ugh so upsetting. Do I have any recourse here? I just went to email GM corporate but they limit characters to 1000 and that does not give me enough space to write a well thought out and concise email. Does anyone know someone else I could contact instead of the dumb form on their site where I can actually completely say what I need to? Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Have the dealer print the Repair Orders for their attempted fixes, then email them to GM.

Be short and to the point, and ask to open a claim for the truck to be fixed.

The next step will be asking for reimbursement for a problem your truck has had for a while now, but push for full compensation first.

Threadkiller · February 11, 2020

23 hours ago, davester said:

It took 3 years before something started leaking, so they didn't do too bad of a job of fixing the previous leaks, and where it's leaking may or may not be one of the previous spots. And are you sure it's mold you are seeing, or is it just a water stain?

You might consider calling GM, perhaps they will fix or split the costs with you as a goodwill thing, but you are a year or so out of warranty, so I wouldn't expect it...

Well in theory it shouldn't leak at all so in my opinion leaking from the repair they performed even a year later is unacceptable. It is definitely mold, but even if it is just a water stain there shouldn't be standing water under the carpet by the door sill. It didn't take 3 years. it started leaking the first year I had it and then after they fixed it, the mold took about another 6/7 months to show itself again and this time its been about 1.5 years.

11 minutes ago, JimCost2014 said:

Have the dealer print the Repair Orders for their attempted fixes, then email them to GM.

Be short and to the point, and ask to open a claim for the truck to be fixed.

The next step will be asking for reimbursement for a problem your truck has had for a while now, but push for full compensation first.

I actually ended up emailing the owners of the dealer I purchased from and got a call right away. As of now it sounds like they are going to make good on it so that's some good news. I drop it off tomorrow night. I will post back with an update.

JimCost2014 · February 11, 2020

7 minutes ago, Threadkiller said:

Well in theory it shouldn't leak at all so in my opinion leaking from the repair they performed even a year later is unacceptable. It is definitely mold, but even if it is just a water stain there shouldn't be standing water under the carpet by the door sill. It didn't take 3 years. it started leaking the first year I had it and then after they fixed it, the mold took about another 6/7 months to show itself again and this time its been about 1.5 years.

I actually ended up emailing the owners of the dealer I purchased from and got a call right away. As of now it sounds like they are going to make good on it so that's some good news. I drop it off tomorrow night. I will post back with an update.

That is the best route to take, that way they are not blindsided by a call from GM asking why they are upsetting customers. But if this does not work, your next option would be to contact GM direct.

I would stay in contact with whomever contacted you, not the frontline service writer, who is not going to give a crap about it. The higher you stay on the food chain, the better.

davester · February 11, 2020

That sounds like a great outcome for you.

Threadkiller · February 11, 2020

11 minutes ago, JimCost2014 said:

That is the best route to take, that way they are not blindsided by a call from GM asking why they are upsetting customers. But if this does not work, your next option would be to contact GM direct.

I would stay in contact with whomever contacted you, not the frontline service writer, who is not going to give a crap about it. The higher you stay on the food chain, the better.

Yes, the service writer who has been with me since all this started basically told me I was SOL. I have the direct contact for the GM of the dealer now and that's who I will be dealing with from now on for any concerns regarding the water leak aside from simple scheduling and what not.