Special coverage for A/C condenser denied for 2017 Suburban with 49k mi

[renickh]

Looking for some help here. I have a 2017 Suburban with a major refrigerant leak in the upper driver side condenser at the weld near the air drier. GM has special coverage on my year and make for this exact reason, but it does not apply to my VIN number. Is there any way to get this coverage to extend to my VIN? 

My truck is 14k mi out of bumper to bumper and I would complete the work myself except it is R1234yf refrigerant so I wouldn’t know where to start on the recharge process.

 

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by renickh
License plate in pic

[renickh]

Bump, looking for some guidance!

[tbarn]

If there is no refrigerant left, change the condenser and take it to a shop and have them charge it. The dealer can't "extend the policy" but they can run an estimate for goodwill help. They will have to do the work and discount a percentage or dollar amount.

[renickh]

My repair is posted:

 

[JimCost2014]

On 4/28/2020 at 5:49 PM, renickh said:

Bump, looking for some guidance!

Have you tried this?

Special Coverage Adjustment 17336 Air Conditioning Condenser (Combi-Cooler) Refrigerant Leak 
 
 
Copyright 2017 General Motors.  All Rights Reserved. Page 1 of 7 
 
Reference Number: N162080780 Release Date: July 2018   Revision: 04  Revision Description: This bulletin has been revised to include a labor time increase in the warranty information section and to remove the locally obtained parts information in the parts section. Please discard all copies of 17336-03. Attention: This special coverage applies ONLY to refrigerant leaks as fully described within the below service procedure.  This special coverage ONLY applies to vehicles explicitly identified in the GM Vehicle Information System.  Note that; transmission fluid/oil leaks at any location upon/in the combinational cooler, refrigerant leaks caused by; collision, stone/rock impingement, road debris, etc. are NOT covered by this special coverage program.     
Make Model 
Model Year RPO Description From To Cadillac Escalade 2015 2017   Escalade ESV Chevrolet Suburban Tahoe GMC Yukon Yukon XL Involved vehicles are identified on the Applicable Warranties section in GM Global Warranty Management system.  This site should always be checked to confirm vehicle involvement prior to beginning any required inspections and/or repairs.  Condition On some 2015-2017 model year Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, may have a condition where thermal cycling on the combination transmission fluid/oil and AC condenser cooler creates a crack that may allow refrigerant to escape. This condition consequently may deactivate the AC system which may cause potential customer annoyance.   Special Coverage Adjustment This special coverage covers the condition described above for a period of 5 years or 60,000 miles (100,000 km) for Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL and 6 years or 72,000 miles (116,000 km) for Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, whichever occurs first, from the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, regardless of ownership.   For vehicles covered by Vehicle Service Contracts, all eligible claims with repair orders on or after October 6, 2017, are covered by this special coverage and must be submitted using the labor operation codes provided with this bulletin.  Claims with repair orders prior to October 6, 2017, must be submitted to the Service Contract provider. Vehicle owners or lessees who paid for repairs referenced in this Special Coverage (“Customers”) are eligible for reimbursement of their reasonable and customary expenses in accordance with the procedures specified below.  The conditional right to reimbursement is provided by GM solely in the interest of customer satisfaction and is personal to Customers.  Customers may not assign and GM does not consent to any assignment of any Customer’s right to submit reimbursement claims, or to receive reimbursement, or any other rights granted by this Special Coverage to any third party, including but not limited to service contract providers, and this Special Coverage is not intended to and does not confer any third party beneficiary, subrogation or contribution rights, or any other rights to reimbursement, against GM, whether in law, equity or otherwise, on any third parties. Correction Dealers are to inspect the air conditioning condenser and replace if necessary.  The repairs will be made at no charge to the customer. 

 

[renickh]

Yes. They said it is VIN specific. Even though my year and make are covered my VIN was not. I even had numerous calls with GM customer service and they told me I was SOL.

Edited May 6, 2020 by renickh
Grammar

[Mikey999]

I think its unfair and your owed an explanation  why your vin is not on the list. Was your vehicles supplied with a different  make part. Was  recall based on a defective  part model # that you have. Or was a faulty assembly  which only occurred  in certain production  run  dates. Its more likely  than not your  part suffers same issue as the ones which  vins were listed and your disocvery of should raise attention more vins need to be added.  They should be able to answer all your questions to fairly justify why your vin was not included otherwise  they are just denying. Id make sure your  satisfied with their decision otherwise make  sure to speak to all levels and even write to them and ask for  a response in writing.

[Rob T WI]

Here goes...There may be more to the condenser problems than we know...

 

I also have a 2017 Tahoe (61,007 miles), in Wisconsin, where the AC condenser has just been diagnosed, at my local dealer, to have a leak...so, it needs to be replaced.  I informed the local dealer of a Special Coverage Adjustment I found online covering defective AC condenser for 2015-2017 Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon/ etc up to 60,000 miles.  However, this Special Coverage Adjustment does not cover my 2017 Tahoe as it was built in July 2017.  The defective AC condensers, I have been told, were discontinued in the Tahoe build in October of 2016.  So, mine has the "new and improved" condenser.  I am the only owner of the car and have not needed to use the AC for months...so, there is no telling when it went out.

 

My dealer advised me that the cost to replace this condenser - because mine has the "new and improved" AC condenser and that I am out of warranty which expired at 36,000 miles - is going to be $450 plus the $85 for the diagnosis.  Now, this is not outrageous.  But, there has got to be a major design flaw and a potential for an additional class action.  

 

Kind regards,

Rob

[renickh]

My dealer wanted 450 just to charge the system being that it required r1234yf refrigerant. The faulty condensers were installed until October 2017 build date. Your and my suburban should be covered. The upgraded style has a long aluminum plate welded down the side at the dryer the old style I had is just 2 small stitch welds. What they began completing in October 2016 was adding a sticker to the upper right hand side of the condenser to try to spread out the pressure due to wind. This didn’t work and the special coverage was extended to 2019 models.

[Rob T WI]

On 5/29/2020 at 6:03 PM, renickh said:

My dealer wanted 450 just to charge the system being that it required r1234yf refrigerant. The faulty condensers were installed until October 2017 build date. Your and my suburban should be covered. The upgraded style has a long aluminum plate welded down the side at the dryer the old style I had is just 2 small stitch welds. What they began completing in October 2016 was adding a sticker to the upper right hand side of the condenser to try to spread out the pressure due to wind. This didn’t work and the special coverage was extended to 2019 models.

Do you happen to have the GM document that describes the extension to the 2019 models for those with the 'Sticker'? Like yours and mine. 

 

Special Coverage Adjustment 17336 Air Conditioning Condenser (Combi-Cooler) Refrigerant Leak is only specific to 2015 - 2017 GM models and not to specific time builds which is why my Tahoe is not covered under that Special Adjustment.

[Drew Roberts]

I too experienced the same issue with my 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe. I took it in yesterday and they informed me that it was going to be $1,500 to replace the cracked condenser and the part is on backorder. My vehicle only has 39k miles on it. Of course, I entered my VIN and the bulletin does not cover my VIN specific vehicle. This issue on my vehicle clearly falls into the same group of vehicles that are covered in the bulletin. How do I go about adding my VIN and/or finding the extension to 2019 GM vehicles?

[spenpet]

any new info on this thread?  (following)

[Rob T WI]

Yes, sorry...I paid to have it fixed and then I traded it in on a 2020 F150.  for the 3 years i owned it, bought it new, there were 3 recalls and 2 other warranty items.  I was tired of having to have issues resolved.  This is the first time i have owned a Ford and so far, am really happy with it.  I wish you all the best.

[spenpet]

when the AC went out...was it a gradual decrease or a drastic cliff if you will, and one day it works and the next it doesnt?

[Dissatisfied Chevy Owner]

My 2017 Tahoe with 42,000 miles has the same issue with the crack at the coupler and the condenser needing replaced.  I bought it brand new and have only owed this vehicle for 2 1/2 years.  I'm being told as well that my vin is not listed on the special coverage adjustment that extends "5 years or 60,000 miles" even though it specifically has the exact same issue and the dealer confirmed this.  This is very disappointing as obviously the vins that are listed are not the only vehicles that have been affected and GM needs to be honoring and recognizing this as well.