Gm Shot Me Down - Now What?

roto4_00 · May 17, 2007

Well, I called GM Customer Assurance about my issue of burning oil and losing coolant in my 2005 Sierra. It took less than 48 hours for them to shoot me down totally. They claim since there are no service records (I assume they mean oil changes because everything else was serviced at GM Dealerships) that I am not eligible for any cost assistance. They did there own investigation with the dealership and factor in the age and mileage of the vehicle to determine if my problem is because of normal wear and tear. I guess that burning a quart of oil in 500 miles and burning coolant are considered normal wear and tear for a truck that is less than 2 years old and has 64,000 miles have these kinds of problems.

I think I'm to the point of wanting to try and trade. I bought the truck when they had the Employee Discount for Everyone Promotion. Does anyone know if I'm going to take a beating on my truck at trade-in time? I'm open to any suggestions that anyone might have. I'm pretty desperate.

Indy · May 17, 2007

If it's burning oil and coolant you will definately take a beating big time unless you plan on not telling them about it. In that case you might end up in court.

roto4_00 · May 17, 2007

The dealer I had it serviced at is the one that suggested trading and said that my GM Case Number would not show up on the dealer records. I don't know that he was neccesarily right, but it can only make a guy wonder.

It's frustrating to see that all Certified Pre-Owned GM vehicles now come with the 5 year / 150,000 mile warranty. It feels like I'm being punished for buying my first new vehicle.

GMCStepSide · May 17, 2007

What engine do you have in that thing?

cmoore74 · May 17, 2007

If you were changing the oil on a regular basis then that is NOT normal wear and tear.

Just wondering if you gave up easily after being told they would do nothing for you or did you push it. I assume the dealership you had the other services done at diagnosed the oil burning and coolant loss problem. Were they not willing to try to convince GM to at least partially cover the cost?

If you did all that and the answer was no I would make it very clear that would be THE LAST GM vehicle I would ever buy if they were not willing to offer some assistance.

As for selling it with a known problem, I agree you could get sued.

What did they claim would fix the problem? Are you looking at a new motor? If so, they would be silly to not offer picking up some portion of the cost to keep you as a customer. They could probably cover a decent amount and still make $.

roto4_00 · May 17, 2007

I have the 5.3L.

The dealership says they would have to tear the engine apart to even see what is causing the problem. I'd probably be further ahead to replace the engine. I religiously change the oil between 2500 and 3000 miles. With 64,000 miles and 1420 hours on the engine it's pretty easy to tell that I do a lot of highway driving.

My case was reviewed by the Regional Auto Manager and I was told that his decision was the final recommendation of General Motors. He was the one that decided there was not suffient maintenance records for the vehicle. Unfortunately I never got to talk to him. I only got to speak to some randoms that pretty much just collect the data for the Regional Auto Manager to review.

GStage1 · May 17, 2007

Well......fairly easy to diagnose a coolant leak.

1. Is there a smell of coolant exiting the tailpipe?

2. Is the oil milky?

3. Remove the rad cap when cool and the run the engine.....do you see or hear

air/bubbles in the coolant?

Most common problem with coolant loss is a blown head gasket. Most severe issue would

be a cracked blocked and/or head. Typical head gasket problem is when the engine is overheated

or run low on coolant

As for oil consumption...........every 500 miles....would be bad rings......and you would be fouling plugs......have you checked your plugs?

Are you sure the measurement is correct for oil consumption? Old Chevy engines was 5 qts w/filter change

and the new 5.3 is 6 qts w/filter change.

topdj · May 17, 2007

man I would trade it in at the same dealer that sold it too me , or try the I my family will never buy another GM car/truck ever again!! if you do not assist with this problem, you should easily get 100k out of a V8 motor without issues like that

roto4_00 · May 17, 2007

After the truck sits for a while (overnight), sometimes at startup you can see a noticable cloud of white smoke. The dealer has pressure tested the coolant system and it holds pressure everytime. The oil is not milky (was just changed Sunday). A headgasket leak was mentioned but if that is the problem it's not bad enough for them to be able to tell which side it is.

I plan on checking the oil in the morning before work. I've put 400 miles on it since the oil change Sunday so it should be visually low if it truely is burning that much oil. Haven't checked the plugs but if they were fouled I would expect the engine to run rough and it's still running as strong as the day I picked it up. Based on the past experiences of everyone in my family that has excellent experiences with GM vehicles I still am having a hard time believing I could have these kinds of problems on a truck this new.

jaybyrd · May 17, 2007

Did you always change the oil yourself, or at a lube and oil joint? If it was changed at a lube and oil joint get them print out the records on your vehicle, even if it means going to more than one place where you had it changed. If you changed it yourself, hmmmm.. But with a print out you have ammunition to go back at the GM and the dealership proving the PM.

If it were me, worst case scenario either an engine rebuild or new crate motor with full warranty is much cheaper than paying for a new vehicle, especially if you like the truck.

SS Crew · May 17, 2007

You could try to trade it in. The dealer would then take responsibility for selling it. But you'd probably take a serious hit because of your mileage.

Even if you put a crate engine in your truck to replace the one in there now, it would probably be cheaper than what you'd lose if you traded your truck in. The GM crate engines also come with a 36 month / 50,000 mile warranty.

Just food for thought.

fossil · May 17, 2007

Best bet is to take it down to your Toyota dealer and trade it in on a Tacoma. Then its their problem. Your gonna take a hit on it if you fix it or if you trade it. Less future grief for you if you trade it. With that kind of customer service from GM, that would be the last vehicle they ever sold me. If you're going through coolant and oil, you're definatelty looking at a rebuilt or crate engine. You start paying a shop to diagnose and its going to get real costly for something you may already know. Yup, I'd definately trade it in.

Mark_in_Tulsa · May 17, 2007

Best bet is to take it down to your Toyota dealer and trade it in on a Tacoma. Then its their problem. Your gonna take a hit on it if you fix it or if you trade it. Less future grief for you if you trade it. With that kind of customer service from GM, that would be the last vehicle they ever sold me. If you're going through coolant and oil, you're definatelty looking at a rebuilt or crate engine. You start paying a shop to diagnose and its going to get real costly for something you may already know. Yup, I'd definately trade it in.

Why Toyota, and why a Tacoma?

jhm · May 17, 2007

Well......fairly easy to diagnose a coolant leak.

1. Is there a smell of coolant exiting the tailpipe?

2. Is the oil milky?

3. Remove the rad cap when cool and the run the engine.....do you see or hear

air/bubbles in the coolant?

Most common problem with coolant loss is a blown head gasket. Most severe issue would

be a cracked blocked and/or head. Typical head gasket problem is when the engine is overheated

or run low on coolant

As for oil consumption...........every 500 miles....would be bad rings......and you would be fouling plugs......have you checked your plugs?

Are you sure the measurement is correct for oil consumption? Old Chevy engines was 5 qts w/filter change

and the new 5.3 is 6 qts w/filter change.

What do you mean by "old" chevy engines? My '01 4.8l takes 6 quarts.

67ChevyRedneck · May 17, 2007

My truck was buring oil at startup and going through a quart every 1000K. It turned out to be the PCV was sticking open. I bought a fixed orifice PCV from GM for about $7, no more smoke and no more buring oil. 64K is reasonable for a PCV to go bad. And if it is burning oil, the plugs will be blackened, even if it's running ok.

Are you losing coolant so that you have to add it, or do you think you're losing it? I could have sworn my truck was leaking, because I'd check it one time and it would be a little low, then the next time it would be a little higher. I thought I was crazy, but a year later, I still haven't had to add any. It fluxuates in the overfill.