Am I the jerk here? (Dealer Service Issues) ...(^Probably^)...

[papageoff]

Last Thursday I took my truck to the local dealer for a diagnostic (a flat $200) because it won't go into 4WD.  I told them the behaviors I observed: 

• The transfer case was shifting because I could engage 4LO and feel the torque
• I couldn't tell if the front axle was engaging
• The codes I had pulled pointed to the front axle not engaging

 

They told me it'd take 24-48 hours to diagnose and I was irritated because no one mentioned that and I needed my truck back by Tuesday (tomorrow as I write this).  He said he'd try.  On Thursday afternoon, he called and said they took it on a test drive and "found" some info and they wanted to pass along an update.  He then basically told me the things I told them and said they'd have to put it on a lift to go any further.  He'd try to get me on one first thing in the morning (Friday) and call me.  

 

After radio silence all day, I called them at 4:45p on Friday not expecting much and they said they were just about to put it on a lift and would call me back.  He called me about 5:15 to say that they think the front actuator is faulty and needs to be replaced.  He couldn't tell me any more until they got more time on the lift on Saturday.

After yet another day of no communication, I called about an hour before closing and he said the actuator was failed and they want to replace it.  They couldn't tell me how much or how long until the parts department opened on Monday.  He'd get that set up and call me first thing Monday.

Monday, I get a call at about 1:30p to tell me "We think the actuator has failed.  We should replace that and see if that fixes it.  If not, we'll have to pull the differential and tear it apart."  The actuator was in Charlotte and since I missed his first call, they couldn't get it until Weds.  That would bring the bill to $755.  I was pissed....   They've had the truck for days and they still can't tell me anything more concrete than I told them when I dropped it off (It's probably the actuator).  I asked if they did any diagnostic tests to confirm the actuator was the fault and he said there weren't any notes to that effect.  Nothing to say they if they verified the power and ground to the actuator... Nothing to say they verified the signal is sent to the actuator correctly...  Nothing to indicate if they bothered to check if it was even plugged in. 

So, to make sure I wasn't crazy I asked if he was suggesting I throw $800 of parts and labor at it and hope that fixes it and if not then I can spend another 3k to have them tear into the diff and he said "Yeah".  I asked exactly what was the point of the diagnosis because this wasn't acceptable.  I'm paying them for a diagnosis, not a second-opinion of the hunch I gave them 4 days ago.  I could have thrown parts at it with the information I had --and almost did.  I expected more professional work from the "The people that know my chevy the best" than this and they need to figure out if the $800 actuator is going to fix it or not.

He said that he'd talk to the tech and get back with me.  That was 2:30 and it's now after 6, so I assume I'll have to chase him down tomorrow. 

My questions are... 

• Am I being unreasonable?  
• Is this what I should have expected?
   

Should just pick it up? They'll probably be happy never to see me again, but I hate to leave it like that.  I wasn't trying to burn a bridge...  Just to get an actual answer to, "What's actually broken?"

Edited May 19, 2025 by papageoff

[asilverblazer]

I think if you PAY for a diagnosis, you should get a diagnosis. 

 

Not pay for a diagnosis AND part changing/guessing. 

[papageoff]

18 hours ago, asilverblazer said:

I think if you PAY for a diagnosis, you should get a diagnosis. 

 

Not pay for a diagnosis AND part changing/guessing. 

Exactly.  Thanks for the reassurance.

[papageoff]

In other news, they never called today.  I've left 2 messages.

[JimCost2014]

On 5/20/2025 at 3:14 PM, papageoff said:

In other news, they never called today.  I've left 2 messages.

Update?

[midwestdenaliguy]

On 5/19/2025 at 5:41 PM, papageoff said:

Last Thursday I took my truck to the local dealer for a diagnostic (a flat $200) because it won't go into 4WD.  I told them the behaviors I observed: 

• The transfer case was shifting because I could engage 4LO and feel the torque
• I couldn't tell if the front axle was engaging
• The codes I had pulled pointed to the front axle not engaging

 

They told me it'd take 24-48 hours to diagnose and I was irritated because no one mentioned that and I needed my truck back by Tuesday (tomorrow as I write this).  He said he'd try.  On Thursday afternoon, he called and said they took it on a test drive and "found" some info and they wanted to pass along an update.  He then basically told me the things I told them and said they'd have to put it on a lift to go any further.  He'd try to get me on one first thing in the morning (Friday) and call me.  

 

After radio silence all day, I called them at 4:45p on Friday not expecting much and they said they were just about to put it on a lift and would call me back.  He called me about 5:15 to say that they think the front actuator is faulty and needs to be replaced.  He couldn't tell me any more until they got more time on the lift on Saturday.

After yet another day of no communication, I called about an hour before closing and he said the actuator was failed and they want to replace it.  They couldn't tell me how much or how long until the parts department opened on Monday.  He'd get that set up and call me first thing Monday.

Monday, I get a call at about 1:30p to tell me "We think the actuator has failed.  We should replace that and see if that fixes it.  If not, we'll have to pull the differential and tear it apart."  The actuator was in Charlotte and since I missed his first call, they couldn't get it until Weds.  That would bring the bill to $755.  I was pissed....   They've had the truck for days and they still can't tell me anything more concrete than I told them when I dropped it off (It's probably the actuator).  I asked if they did any diagnostic tests to confirm the actuator was the fault and he said there weren't any notes to that effect.  Nothing to say they if they verified the power and ground to the actuator... Nothing to say they verified the signal is sent to the actuator correctly...  Nothing to indicate if they bothered to check if it was even plugged in. 

So, to make sure I wasn't crazy I asked if he was suggesting I throw $800 of parts and labor at it and hope that fixes it and if not then I can spend another 3k to have them tear into the diff and he said "Yeah".  I asked exactly what was the point of the diagnosis because this wasn't acceptable.  I'm paying them for a diagnosis, not a second-opinion of the hunch I gave them 4 days ago.  I could have thrown parts at it with the information I had --and almost did.  I expected more professional work from the "The people that know my chevy the best" than this and they need to figure out if the $800 actuator is going to fix it or not.

He said that he'd talk to the tech and get back with me.  That was 2:30 and it's now after 6, so I assume I'll have to chase him down tomorrow. 

My questions are... 

• Am I being unreasonable?  
• Is this what I should have expected?
   

Should just pick it up? They'll probably be happy never to see me again, but I hate to leave it like that.  I wasn't trying to burn a bridge...  Just to get an actual answer to, "What's actually broken?"

 

I don't think you're being unreasonable for 2 reasons:

 

1. Their communication is not great. You've had to chase them down after they missed the deadline they set for themselves. Nothing drives me more nuts. I totally understand shops getting frustrated with customers who call frequently demanding updates so I try to be patient. But if you tell me you'll call around a certain time and I have to track you down later that's when I'm not happy. Just be upfront with me if you're swamped and give me a more realistic timeline. Or call when you say you will and let me know you haven't been able to get to it yet. I can live with that because you're at least communicating.

 

2. Guessing it's a part and replacing it to see if that's the problem is not a diagnosis. They didn't test the actuator and that's absolutely part of the diagnosis process. Now it's a different story if they tested the actuator and found it to be faulty, got approval from you to replace it, then noticed something else with the differential when they test drove it after replacing it. Then it becomes, "we replaced the bad actuator and now think there's another issue. we need to get into your diff to find out more...". 

 

I'd stay away from that dealership. Sadly I've lived in 7 states across the country and have only had good luck with 2 dealerships. Hopefully you can find a decent one near you or a competent independent shop. I'm fortunate the best dealership I've worked with is where I live now. They don't throw parts at stuff and pray it solves it...and they communicate well.

Edited June 10, 2025 by midwestdenaliguy