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Mfg warrentee voided with GM parts in wrong truck

Rolandd

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Rolandd Enthusiast

Rolandd

Posted
Posted

Has anyone had any experience adding GM factory parts and keeping their warrentee? I went to the dealer today to have a 3/4 ton cluster installed with a tranny temp guage in my Z71 and to have the BCM reflashed to accept steering wheel controls. I was told that these modifications, even when completed with all GM parts and by the dealer, would void the affected parts of my warrentee.

 

The service manager was very nice and reasonable about it, just that it is what it is: any modifications to the truck that would put options on the truck that are not on its original build sheet will void the warrentee for the affected systems. With 60,k miles remaining on my warrentee, I am not about to void parts of it. In the case of the cluster, that would include the air bag system and a bunch of other controls. For the steering wheel, the whole column and a bunch of other items.

 

Has anyone had to deal with GM over this type of issue and do you have any suggestions on who to contact and how to present the story so that my warrentee will remain active.

 

Thanks,

 

--Roland

sonjaab Senior Enthusiast

sonjaab

Posted
Posted

ROL.........................Pure and simple !

 

Swapping out your existing cluster for another one even

at a dealer or certified speedo shop thus changing the

mileage makes your truck TMU (true mileage unknown).

Even if the miles are EXACTLY the same !

Thus voiding your GM new vehicle warranty...............

 

When you go to trade that truck in a dealer will RUN away

from it or give you a serious low ball trade in offer then

send it off to auction..........................

 

Best options: 1.Wait till warranty is off. 2.Swap it yourself

and have the mileage changed (on the QT) 3.Put a aftermarket

guage in.....................

 

Sucks but true!........................geo

Rolandd Enthusiast

Rolandd

Posted
  • Author
Posted
ROL.........................Pure and simple !

 

Swapping out your existing cluster for another one even

at a dealer or certified speedo shop thus changing the

mileage makes your truck TMU (true mileage unknown).

Even if the miles are EXACTLY the same !

Thus voiding your GM new vehicle warranty...............

 

When you go to trade that truck in a dealer will RUN away

from it or give you a serious low ball trade in offer then

send it off to auction..........................

 

Best options:  1.Wait till warranty is off. 2.Swap it yourself

and have the mileage changed (on the QT)  3.Put a aftermarket

guage in.....................

 

Sucks but true!........................geo

 

 

 

 

The dealer seemed to offer an option that allowed the truck not to be TMU (I already had to deal with this once a long time ago) and that did not void the entire warranty. However, most things associated with the cluster would be voided, including the airbag and ABS systems. There were some other issues that I don't remember in the 95 degree heat of today. However, at the end of the day the service tech basically said I have a legal issue, not a technical issue.

 

If the cluster is swapped out at all it will register that the truck was run with the wrong cluster and the truck will be TMU unless the dealer manages the swap and documents it. I have no issue pulling the cluster apart and installing the guage myself to avoid all this except that any modification will void aspects of the warranty.

 

Given that GM Direct sells clusters for these trucks there must be some other option--I can't believe that a factory parts distribution network was created to serve only out-of-warranty trucks.

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted

So this is the GM's way of helping their faithful customers improve the function of their vehicles. How about this:

 

If GM wasn't so cheap, they would have included the transmission oil temperature gauge on any Silverado truck with the factory tow package. It seems inconceivable that with the temperature snsor already in place somebody would simply leave the gauge out so save a few dollars. Nissan has it as standard equipment on all Titan trucks equipped with the factory tow package. They also include tow mirriors with the factory tow package. GM does not.

 

Likewise, there is no reason whatsoever why the pushbutton steering wheel should be standard only on LT3 Silverados/Sierras. It should be standard on EVERY Silverado truck becuase this is the only way you can use the trip computer, and to program headlight delay, alarm functions, etc.

 

And to make matters worse, many dealers will order white letter tires instead of "steering wheel redundant radio controls" for the same money, because they probably do not even know what these controls do. They are certainly a lot more than radio controls.

 

As a minimum, GM should have affordable clusters with the temperature gauge available to 1500 series owners, and do mileage reprogramming at the dealership without ANY effect on the warranty.

 

And they should sell a pushbutton steering wheel retrofit kit at a reasonable price, and offer its installation including reprogramming at a reasonable cost. They could even restrict sale of these kits as dealer only isntallation to get away from the airbag malfunction liability issues.

sonjaab Senior Enthusiast

sonjaab

Posted
Posted

Just a reminder:

 

If you all check out ALL of the GM truck forums please do a

search on 04?-05 speedo and cluster failures..................

Lots of them out there !

 

If the dealer voids off part of your warranty over a guage

swap.................

 

Also note that all tow pkg. equipped fullsizers HAVE a tranny

temp. guage.

 

If it was ME.........A aftermarket guage mounted under the dash.

Rolandd Enthusiast

Rolandd

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Just a reminder:

 

If you all check out ALL of the GM truck forums please do a

search on 04?-05  speedo and cluster failures..................

Lots of them out there !

 

If the dealer voids off part of your warranty over a guage

swap.................

 

Also note that all tow pkg. equipped fullsizers HAVE a tranny

temp. guage.

 

If it was ME.........A aftermarket guage mounted under the dash.

 

 

 

 

I hate to disagree--this truck is equipped with a factory tow package and factory plow prep package. While the general was good enough to include a front bumper with extra large cooling holes, the guage is not available on this truck at any price. Of course, it is optional in Canada on the half tons with an auto trans. Maybe global warming is having more of an effect up there than we all realized.

Kindred Enthusiast

Kindred

Posted
Posted

Just wondering, because its along the same lines & would like some piece of mind.

 

Would unplugging the cluster & changing the gauge overlay void the warrentee? I'm guessing not since it is the same cluster thus same cluster VIN. Just want to make sure.

sonjaab Senior Enthusiast

sonjaab

Posted
Posted

RO..............Funny .....My bud has a 04 1500 Z x-cab w/ tow pkg.

and it has a trans. temp. guage....................

 

Assembled in Canada too !

 

BTW: I have a summer place along the US/Can. border and see

quite a few ex. Can. cars sent over here for resale.

Most have the speedo/odo changover with the importer/ mileage

sticker on the door jamb.

BUT they also are branded TMU and "imported" or known as grey

market vehicles and they also have voided warranties here in the

US....................

 

Most auto mfrs. started voiding all ex. Can. imported to the US

vehicles a few years back because US dealers were taking full

advantage of the weak Canadian dollar (at the time) bring hot

selling vehicles back to the US and making a killing !

.................Sad but true!

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted
Just wondering, because its along the same lines & would like some piece of mind.

 

Would unplugging the cluster & changing the gauge overlay void the warrentee? I'm guessing not since it is the same cluster thus same cluster VIN. Just want to make sure.

 

 

 

 

That's a good idea. Are individual gauges removable on these clusters? I do not believe that any of the gauges are separately serviceable. Are they attached by screws to the cluster? If so, then buying a 2500HD cluster with a transmission oil gauge, unscrewing the gauge from it and transferring it to the original cluster would be a wonderful way to do it. And keep the donor cluster as a proof that it was merely used to add a gauge. Then there should be no questions about mileage altering. I still do not believe that the truck ECU can tell that new cluster has been mounted, if you swap the clusters. How can it determine that?

Rolandd Enthusiast

Rolandd

Posted
  • Author
Posted

One can remount the tranny temp guage in the original cluster. there was a thread here a while back that talked of how to do that transfer. True, milage would not be affected, however the cluster would have been modifed, which would void that part of the warranty.

 

Many of the computers in these trucks are encoded with the VIN as part of their programming to stop someone from buying a cluster and changing it out to keep the displayed miles down. I don't know how the system registers this issue--I would assume that it turns on the check engine light and puts a fault code in the BCM or ECM memory.

vinniej Enthusiast

vinniej

Posted
Posted

Why can't they just have the computer control the milage? Our Mack's at work are that way. You can swap clusters from one truck to another and when you turn the key on it shows the original miles on that truck (cluster has no bearing on milage reading, it is only a display).

Frozen001 Enthusiast

Frozen001

Posted
Posted
Why can't they just have the computer control the milage? Our Mack's at work are that way. You can swap clusters from one truck to another and when you turn the key on it shows the original miles on that truck (cluster has no bearing on milage reading, it is only a display).

 

 

 

aaaa because that would actually make since....

 

To me there should be one control module for the whole truck... not a separate ECM, BCM, and what ever else ??CM they have now days. It should all be located in a central location with REPAIRABLE parts on them if something should go wrong. We should not have to replace whole control modules if one component on them fails.

toneman Enthusiast

toneman

Posted
Posted
Also note that all tow pkg. equipped fullsizers HAVE a tranny

temp. guage.

 

If it was ME.........A aftermarket guage mounted under the dash.

 

 

 

 

Define "fullsizers"; also, are you referring to just the trucks...or fullsize SUVs (e.g., Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban) as well? I ask because my '03 YXL came with the factory-installed tow package and it does not have the factory tranny temp gauge on the cluster.

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