Cluster Change effect on

tryn2lrn · February 7, 2005

Well I broke down and bought a new gm instrument cluster off of the internet this weekend. I want to have the trans temp gauge in my 04 Sierra 1500. I started thinking about what the dealer might say if a warranty issue arose and the scanner said the dash was replaced. I called and the service rep and he said as long as the mileage and hours are flashed that no one should give me a problem about voiding the factory warranty. I got a less than warm fuzzy feeling with words like "should be" and "modified electronics" coming out during the conversation. I have an 8 year extended warranty and don't want issues, has anyone else done this and what have the dealers had to say? I can certainly live without it if there is a chance of it causing a problem down the road. I obviously realize that the new cluster won't be warrantied but will they balk because they will never know if the mileage is real?

Bgdsub72 · February 7, 2005

do the swap, if they ever give you any trouble with it then swap the old one back in. I really dont think they would ever notice that you made the swap...

Black-Z71 · February 7, 2005

do the swap, if they ever give you any trouble with it then swap the old one back in. I really dont think they would ever notice that you made the swap...

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He won't be able to switch back to the old cluster, because the mileage will not be accurate. He would have to have the mileaged changed again on the old cluster...which is not cheap.

I honestly don't know what the dealer will say, they can be touchy. I just did it, but I don't have to worry about warranties. Good luck...

Bgdsub72 · February 7, 2005

do the swap, if they ever give you any trouble with it then swap the old one back in. I really dont think they would ever notice that you made the swap...

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He won't be able to switch back to the old cluster, because the mileage will not be accurate. He would have to have the mileaged changed again on the old cluster...which is not cheap.

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says who?

although you should not do it , you can if you dont want any hastle

GM-Tech · February 7, 2005

Honestly, if you brought your truck to our service department, we probably wouldn't even notice. Now if it was obvious that it had been worked on, which would mean gouges, broken retainers, missing screws, we might be inspired to examine it a little closer and might even notice that it didn't come with a trans gauge.

Perhaps some kind of documentation that the mileage of the replacement matches the original cluster at the time of replacement would be handy to have just in case. I don't know about what state you live in, but we have "Odometer statement" forms here that I would recommend using and perhaps even having notorized. This would certainly help to avoid any questions.

silverado04 · February 7, 2005

I too wonder about the after effects of a cluster swap concerning the warranty..

brand new truck with full warranty I do not want to mess up!!!

I have talked to 3 dealers and got 3 response's.... go figure.

So I have my cluster still awaiting for me to decide, one dealer does the swap themselfs for $360 plus exchange so they said no problem as long as its the one from them as it comes from a Licensed GM place.

(((sales thing "buy mine no problem", Don't but mine and your warranty will be void)))

dealer 2 said it would void the warranty if it was tampered with, I explained to a tee that it would not be tampered with it would be replaced by the SS cluster, He was trying to tell me this would not work and could not be done. also that the computer in the truck would note by a "code" that the cluster has been changed?

ok enough of the line/s he was trying to feed me.. ((maybe he is right??))

The last of them told me to be VERY careful... he said it is a very touchy issue concerning the warranty.. also that the milage in the computer Must match the Odometer or it would raise the flag of fraud and such.. he said even a tenth would be enough to raise question... he said that it should be able to be done but would have to send to a certified place to be set.. (not sure if both new and original has to be sent or not) A lot of the issues would be dealer related..

sorry for being so windy on the subject But I too want to change mine and would like to know forsure I can with out any troubles... so far it not looking good.

Black-Z71 · February 7, 2005

do the swap, if they ever give you any trouble with it then swap the old one back in. I really dont think they would ever notice that you made the swap...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He won't be able to switch back to the old cluster, because the mileage will not be accurate. He would have to have the mileaged changed again on the old cluster...which is not cheap.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

says who?

although you should not do it , you can if you dont want any hastle

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What I'm saying is...say you change a cluster at 10,000 miles. The new cluster is programmed for the current mileage. You then put another 5,000 miles on it...with the new cluster in. If you want to put the old cluster back in...it will still have the old mileage (10,000) on it. You would then have to have the old cluster programmed with the new mileage (15,000). The PCM doesn't automatically transfer the current mileage onto the cluster. I hope this isn't too confusing...

GM-Tech · February 8, 2005

also that the milage in the computer Must match the Odometer or it would raise the flag of fraud and such.. he said even a tenth would be enough to raise question...

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The mileage is stored in the cluster and that's it. It is not stored in the PCM or any other module in the truck unless it's real well hidden in an area of another module's memory that is not accessible to our scanner in service.

mcreyaufmiller · February 8, 2005

also that the milage in the computer Must match the Odometer or it would raise the flag of fraud and such.. he said even a tenth would be enough to raise question...

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The mileage is stored in the cluster and that's it. It is not stored in the PCM or any other module in the truck unless it's real well hidden in an area of another module's memory that is not accessible to our scanner in service.

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I think we beat this horse already.

GM-Tech · February 8, 2005

I think we beat this horse already.

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Yeah, but he's still kicking.

tryn2lrn · February 8, 2005

I think I will ask the dealer the question in another way, "how much would you charge to do this and how will it affect the warranty". If they don't try and charge me TOO much maybe I will just let them do it and have to resell the cluster I bought. D**n impulse purchase

MS3DALE · February 8, 2005

I think you'll be allright if you change it yourself as long as the mileage and hours are set to your old cluster. I just did this same swap last week and everything works fine,of course I do work at a GM dealer so if there are any problems theres no problem

dstktmusa · February 8, 2005

I changed my cluster at 10,000 miles and had several warranty issues with my truck afterwards (after all it is a Chevy ;) ) I changed the cluster back before each time that I took the truck back in and this very last time I did not change the cluster back as the new cluster was over 14,000. I cleaned my truck spotless before each time I took it in so it was very easy to believe that my truck only had 11,000 miles on it. No problems at all, and actually the service guys commented on how nice a shape the truck is in for an 02.

silverado04 · February 9, 2005

I think I will ask the dealer the question in another way, "how much would you charge to do this and how will it affect the warranty". If they don't try and charge me TOO much maybe I will just let them do it and have to resell the cluster I bought. D**n impulse purchase

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wondering what your results was?? how did they answer?

Thanks

badpewterz · February 10, 2005

also that the milage in the computer Must match the Odometer or it would raise the flag of fraud and such.. he said even a tenth would be enough to raise question...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The mileage is stored in the cluster and that's it. It is not stored in the PCM or any other module in the truck unless it's real well hidden in an area of another module's memory that is not accessible to our scanner in service.

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is this true? just 03 and newer? only reason i ask is we had an irate customer that messed with his cluster which said"95xxmiles" but the BCM said 42xxx. i dont remeber what part of the tech2 they had to go into and this was on a 02 truck before the buss type system. mind you we only looked deeper into it because of the hacked cluster wires