GM service bulletin for faulty valve springs

RLW59 · October 6, 2020

4 hours ago, lebag335 said:

Is this issue only for 6.2's or are the 5.3's built during this timeframe affected as well?

The TSB shows all the High performance engines L88, LT1, LT2, LT4, the L82, L84, and L8T, which would be 5.3, 6.2, and 6.6. I have not heard, or read of any failures, on anything but the L87 6.2 and corvette LT2 6.2, if that helps.

Edited October 6, 2020 by RLW59

LSUAT4 · October 7, 2020

5 hours ago, childstoys said:

I'm smack dab in the middle of that window. I have around 800 miles so far. No issues other then what sounds like a belt / pulley squeal for the first 30 seconds on cold start. Goes away after that. I will have them look at it at first oil change, problems like that typically get worse - not go away.

1,284 miles today, valve spring broke and left wife on the side of the road. Road side assistance sucks, they would not tow it to my dealer of choice, 5 miles farther than the dealer they wanted it towed to, so I had to set up my own tow and pay for it, thanks GM.

steelcity · October 7, 2020

3 hours ago, LSUAT4 said:

1,284 miles today, valve spring broke and left wife on the side of the road. Road side assistance sucks, they would not tow it to my dealer of choice, 5 miles farther than the dealer they wanted it towed to, so I had to set up my own tow and pay for it, thanks GM.

6.2 or 5.3? Do you know when it was built?

Edited October 7, 2020 by steelcity

childstoys · October 7, 2020

It is very hard for me to wrap my head around how after building gasoline engines for more then 100 years and adding tons of unnecessary features that something as fundamental as valve springs aren't QC'd to a level that this wouldn't be a total embarrassment for a company like GM. Especially when they are installed in engines that are expected to perform at a superior level out of the gate such as a 6.2 equipped truck or a Corvette.

We're not buying Kia's here folks.

LSUAT4 · October 7, 2020

9 hours ago, steelcity said:

6.2 or 5.3? Do you know when it was built?

6.2, build date 8/20.

amxguy1970 · October 7, 2020

On 10/5/2020 at 9:39 PM, RLW59 said:

Bought a new 2020 Sierra Denali 6.2 on 9/29. Did not even make it home, broken spring at 60 miles. Today 10/5 broke a second spring at 120 miles. Told them not call me unless all remaining valve springs are replaced. This was GM truck 12 for me and will be my last. The dealer service tech said its only a TSB, not a recall, I pointed to the truck and told him there sits proof of the issue. Good luck to anyone that experiences this mess.

So you have had 12 GM trucks, 11 of which have been fantastic causing you to go back to GM; then there is 1 rogue issue with a defect in a batch causing a failure and you are going to jump ship? If that is how you think life is going to be tough for you expecting everything to be perfect, ever manufacturer has issues, just seems GM has the least. I will gladly give up a little soft touch materials or or pretty design for a pretty reliable vehicle mechanically 99.9% of the time though anyone can have a bad batch of supplier parts. Think of your favorite restaurant, there are times that dish you love isn't on point because there may have been a bad batch, same here. Have fun jumping ship, let us know how Ram or Ford work out for you; PS Toyota isn't any better regardless of how they are perceived from the 1980's...

Tyler

amxguy1970 · October 7, 2020

On 10/2/2020 at 9:27 AM, BIGDOGx said:

Not hard to figure this one out, they had issues with the previous models too so it's not like this is just some rare freak occurrence either or bad batch. Gm's dependance on cheap Chinese parts is never going to pay off in the end no matter how much cost in labor and material is saved. The new vette while an amazing looking vehicle that performs great, when the frunk lid is not blowing off while driving or brand new 100 miles engines dumping valves and causing catastrophic disaster the first day of ownership. Bad enough when it happens to a 60k truck but a vette and it's complexity and difficulty of removing the engine, i can't imagine buying your dream car and having to have a couple gm tech guys rip it all apart before you even make a payment on it.

Gm should do what's right here and give complete refunds to the people who have had issues before they even hit a thousands miles, but we know that wont happen without a major fight with them!

You think GM is the only one using parts manufactured in China and you think they should give complete refunds? :lol: :rollin: The entitlement of some people, it is a manufactured vehicle assembled with tens of thousands of parts by machines and people on an assembly line, there will be problems, all manufacturers have them. If something happens let them fix it, extend the warranty and move on, you certainly don't whine about a full refund or a new vehicle. The paper you sign when buying it states they are given opportunities to fix it, so yes they will fight a full replacement as they should; you know the risks and parameters when you purchase it. How is price driven in to all this? Is the person who buys an 80k Denali more entitled to a reliable vehicle with zero issues than the person who buys a 21k Spark? Should the teacher making 40k be deserving to be left on the side of road to work so the Finance Director can reliably be at work on time because them make more and can buy a more expensive vehicle?

Tyler

BIGDOGx · October 7, 2020

3 minutes ago, amxguy1970 said:

So you have had 12 GM trucks, 11 of which have been fantastic causing you to go back to GM; then there is 1 rogue issue with a defect in a batch causing a failure and you are going to jump ship? If that is how you think life is going to be tough for you expecting everything to be perfect, ever manufacturer has issues, just seems GM has the least. I will gladly give up a little soft touch materials or or pretty design for a pretty reliable vehicle mechanically 99.9% of the time though anyone can have a bad batch of supplier parts. Think of your favorite restaurant, there are times that dish you love isn't on point because there may have been a bad batch, same here. Have fun jumping ship, let us know how Ram or Ford work out for you; PS Toyota isn't any better regardless of how they are perceived from the 1980's...

Tyler

After not replacing them all and causing a second failure, damn right would never buy a gm again!

To the people who come on here with this type of response, put yourself in the poster's shoes, seeing a 60,000 dollar item last 60 miles is unfreaking acceptible, i don't care if the customer has had perfect luck since the 40's! The fact that they half arsed his repairs at 60 miles causing it again at 120 miles, lol i don't see how anyone can rightfully defend that stupidity from GM here!

BIGDOGx · October 7, 2020

Just now, amxguy1970 said:

You think GM is the only one using parts manufactured in China and you think they should give complete refunds? The entitlement of some people, it is a manufactured vehicle assembled with tens of thousands of parts by machines and people on an assembly line, there will be problems, all manufacturers have them. If something happens let them fix it, extend the warranty and move on, you certainly don't whine about a full refund or a new vehicle. The paper you sign when buying it states they are given opportunities to fix it, so yes they will fight a full replacement as they should; you know the risks and parameters when you purchase it. How is price driven in to all this? Is the person who buys an 80k Denali more entitled to a reliable vehicle with zero issues than the person who buys a 21k Spark? Should the teacher making 40k be deserving to be left on the side of road to work so the Finance Director can reliably be at work on time because them make more and can buy a more expensive vehicle?

Tyler

RLW59 · October 7, 2020

1 hour ago, amxguy1970 said:

So you have had 12 GM trucks, 11 of which have been fantastic causing you to go back to GM; then there is 1 rogue issue with a defect in a batch causing a failure and you are going to jump ship? If that is how you think life is going to be tough for you expecting everything to be perfect, ever manufacturer has issues, just seems GM has the least. I will gladly give up a little soft touch materials or or pretty design for a pretty reliable vehicle mechanically 99.9% of the time though anyone can have a bad batch of supplier parts. Think of your favorite restaurant, there are times that dish you love isn't on point because there may have been a bad batch, same here. Have fun jumping ship, let us know how Ram or Ford work out for you; PS Toyota isn't any better regardless of how they are perceived from the 1980's...

Tyler

Actually, including this one, two out of the last three have had some pretty significant issues. The 2500, had its share of minor issues, including a shake at 60 MPH that never was resolved. The Tahoe was about to become a buyback. If anything, I have been loyal to a fault.

Edited October 7, 2020 by RLW59

Olympus · October 7, 2020

Just went to a dealership yesterday and looked at a Sierra 1500 AT4 with the 6.2. Salesman disclosed that someone had previously bought the truck and left the lot and had a valve spring break and lock up the motor before he got home. Truck had 43 miles on it. He got a whole new truck and the truck in question got a whole new engine they said, not just a rebuild. Scary to think you drive off in a $55k truck and the engine locks up before you even get home.

BluegrassMotorsport · October 7, 2020

Reading these stories make me a little nervous since mine was built within the dates in question. I'm at 1800 miles now and it's running perfectly with no strange noises even after my muffler delete. I wonder what the highest mileage failure has been? I hope I'm in the clear by now but who knows at this point.

Edited October 7, 2020 by BluegrassMotorsport

davester · October 7, 2020

40 minutes ago, BluegrassMotorsport said:

Reading these stories make me a little nervous since mine was built within the dates in question. I'm at 1800 miles now and it's running perfectly wit no strange noises even after my muffler delete. I wonder what the highest mileage failure has been? I hope I'm in the clear by now but who knows at this point.

What's the point of being nervous. It will either happen to your truck or it won't.

The only thing you can do, if you are really concerned about it, and vehicle downtime, would be to find a new set of springs for the engine, from a reliable manufacturer/supplier, and then install them at a time of your choosing.

childstoys · October 7, 2020

The way I receive all this considering the production window is from 6/1 - 9/15, is GM must have started sourcing parts from a different manufacturer or using different materials due to the pandemic. Who knows what decisions were made behind closed doors by the bean counter at GM. Fact is they had to start making motors again. Whether due to a part shortage or to save a few bucks to make up for lack of production, the later always being a factor, the reality is they started installing an inferior part without proper testing. Clearly some change has been made as of 9/15.

As someone said earlier, all the bs you sign at the table holds them as accountable as they choose to be. There are many people sitting somewhere with calculators that make sure regardless of rate of failure and cost to fix, that profit will remain. Ever see Fight Club? lol

Us as consumers either need to deal with it, go elsewhere and accept some other manufacturers corner cutting, or buy a bicycle and work on our cardio. But as I said earlier, valve springs have been a fundamental component of gasoline engines since the beginning. Something ALL car makers should be getting right 100% of the time. But suckers are born everyday.... I guess I am one of them too, as well as the 216,627 other member on this forum. lol

Just keeping my fingers crossed my truck doesn't grenade on me while I am 5 miles deep in the woods. If so, I am sure I will be on the F**K GM train as well.

BluegrassMotorsport · October 7, 2020

21 minutes ago, davester said:

What's the point of being nervous. It will either happen to your truck or it won't.

The only thing you can do, if you are really concerned about it, and vehicle downtime, would be to find a new set of springs for the engine, from a reliable manufacturer/supplier, and then install them at a time of your choosing.

I guess nervous may not be the right word. It's definitely not keeping me from driving the truck. I just hope it doesn't happen. This is my third GM truck and the first two (2009, 2017)were excellent so I expect this one to be, too.