2008 Silverado Power Door Lock Actuator Failed

dvkillar · November 8, 2010

hello all,

After experiencing my first actuator failure (drvrs door), I found this forum looking for info about the issue. with 35700 on the odo, and armed with the knowledge that it appears to be a known issue for GM, I visited the site Danka posted "http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/mds/helpcenter/contactUs.do# Click on the "E-mail Chevrolet" link and fill out the form. "

I got an email back and a phone call the same day. I told the agent the issue and she set-up an appt to get the one failed lock replaced, but said the other locks would need to fail before GM would repair. I dropped the truck off at my local dealer and told the service manager about the one failed lock and the others that did stick from time to time. he said the same thing about fix on fail only, and at that very instance when he was trying the locks, the rear pass lock failed! he told me they would try and get them all. well, he called back 4 hours later stating all the locks were replaced under warranty!

Maybe it was just good timing or maybe this is a known issue for GM. Prolly both!

for the rest of you, I would suggest you remember that in this day of instant i-satisfaction, the consumer does have a voice! it is a little thing called Net Promoter Score (NPS). those surveys that you get after you get any kind of service ; car, computer, phone, etc. Those are driving the service industry right now. I think when I mentioned the survey to the svc mngr when I dropped off the truck may have helped in their decision to make sure I was a Very Satisfied Customer!

Which I am, and also the reason I keep coming back to GM..

for anyone interseted, the part#'s used were almost the same as others with exception of drivers door:

Front Drivers door lock: 25863021

Front Passenger Door lock: 25876383

Rear Drivers door lock: 25876397

Rear Passenger door lock: 25876398

as far as reprogramming the BCM, I didn't mention it. I like the way it locks when shifted...

good luck!

Matt_ · November 8, 2010

great first post. welcome to the site. hopefully you stick around.

jacjetlag · November 19, 2010

This is the quick version of where we are, as of yesterday.....

I bought my 2008 SLT Crewcab a few months ago, 68,000 miles and waaaay out of warranty. Got it from a Ford dealer and 3 of the 4 locks did not work. I checked all the fuses first, hoping it would be easy...nope. I then took it to a GM dealer and got the answer many have gotten, "That'll be $750 to fix". Unacceptable.

I found this thread and armed with this info e-mailed GM. The heated washer fluid recall had to be done also. They gave me a service request # and I took it in. Your dealer may or may not know about the lock situation, but GM definitely DOES. This dealer verified the locks were bad and called GM. They offered to fix the 3 locks for a total of $300. Considering the fact that buying the parts myself would cost about $220 and I'd have spent half a day swearing at my truck putting them in, this seemed like a good option. They are also going to give me $100 for de-activating the heated washer fluid. My net cost for the day?... 200 bucks and my locks work perfectly.

Bottom line.....my truck was out of warranty and bought from a Ford dealer. GM gave me a decent solution and a decent price. All things considered, pretty good service. GM stock went on sale today, maybe there is hope for them.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Jacjetlag

TexasAl · December 13, 2010

Well, after another 30,000 miles, the door lock actuator they put in as a replacement has started to go out. The lock sometimes doesn't unlock, and it is doing the same thing it did before. I am thinking that I might have to find a way to replace the GM actuator with a cheaper universal actuator. I don't feel like messing with this every 30K miles. Anybody know of a write up for replacing these actuators? It would be great to see the inside of the door to see if a aftermarket actuator could fit.

Al

THE BIGPUNN · December 13, 2010

Mine too! ALL of them!

dfitzman62 · December 13, 2010

My 2008 Sierra Crewcab drivers door lock (actuator) just died. The truck is 30 months old but I have 40,000 miles. My dealer won't cover it. Is there anything I can do?

fyi. My brother-in-law also has a 2008 Sierra and he has already replaced two actuator but his were covered under warranty.

Clearly there is a problem with this part.

Any idea how I can get some help from GM on this problem?

jacjetlag · December 15, 2010

My 2008 Sierra Crewcab drivers door lock (actuator) just died. The truck is 30 months old but I have 40,000 miles. My dealer won't cover it. Is there anything I can do?

fyi. My brother-in-law also has a 2008 Sierra and he has already replaced two actuator but his were covered under warranty.

Clearly there is a problem with this part.

Any idea how I can get some help from GM on this problem?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+

Dan...go up 4 posts and read that one. Tells you exactly how to get help.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Jacjetlag

Spurshot · December 15, 2010

When my truck had about 35k on it, the right rear lock actuator started getting unreliable. Sometimes it would lock and sometimes not. That was a really unsecure situation because I'd lock it with the remote or the door switch and walk away thinking it was locked with my valuables (and sometimes my hunting dog) in there.

The dealer replaced it on warranty.

Earlier this year, when the truck was well past warranty, the driver door lock actuator failed. I bought the part and replaced it myself. It took about an hour just because I was going slow during the disassembly of the door panel. I could probably do it in half the time now.

Thinking about it now, I'm going to disable the auto lock feature. That feature adds 2 cycles to the lock each trip and is a pain in the axe during hunting trips where gates have to be openned by the passenger, etc..

TexasAl · December 20, 2010

Can anybody get me the part #'s for an 09+ Silverado Crew cab. I have an 08, but I they came with bad actuators, and even the replacements are coming out bad. I haven't seen many/any 09+ door actuator failures, so I'm thinking that is the safest way to go. Anybody see a problem with my idea regarding fitment?

JCProvost · January 22, 2011

My 2008 sierra drivers side door lock actuator failed with 38,000 miles. I removed the panel, plugs, cable, ..., but not sure how to unhook the lock rod from the lock assy. I can see the RED plastic clip on the rod but do not want to break it.

Also, have anybody tried to repair the actuator?

Edited January 22, 2011 by JCProvost

jlh0799 · January 26, 2011

Driver's door lock started failing about 6 months ago. My trucks has 54,000 miles. I read this post and called GM. They gave me a service request number. Took my truck in and they tested all the locks and found that the passenger front was also malfunctioning. They replaced both front locks under what they call a "goodwill repair". I'm happy as long as it didn't come out of my pocket. We will see how long they last.

Live2FlyLow · February 18, 2011

Like my others, I too have had my drivers door lock actuator fail at the 50K mile mark on my 08 GMC Sierra. As recommended above I filled out the on-line Customer Support form and was contacted eight hours later by a Customer Service Rep who could hardly speak English but eventually gave me a number to provide the dealer to diagnosis the issue.

Five days later the local GM dealership said they disassembled the door and determined it was a bad actuator. They offered to cover the price of the actuator (estimated at $60) but would charge me $144 for labor. I declined siting a clear precedence of total coverage outside of warranty and recontacted the Customer Support Rep from earlier who again couldn't convey any understandable message in English. After thirty minutes I asked to be escalated to her Supervisor. After twenty minutes on hold she returned to say the Supervisor was unavailable and then hung up. Eventually I recontacted her department and they escalated my case to the regional specialist.

As of today, my truck is still disassembled at the dealer and I'm waiting to hear back from the Regional Specialist on his "investigation" -- which may take four days. He has to determine if GM should cover the labor costs or refuse to pay labor costs / re-install the bad actuator and reassemble the door. I'm still waiting...........

I must admit this has been one of the worst Customer Support dealings I've ever had from the GM HQ Sevice Rep all the way down to speaking with the dealership's Service Manager / Staff. I'll post the results, including the regional reps name, once this concludes.

Edited February 18, 2011 by Live2FlyLow

Live2FlyLow · February 18, 2011

The Regional Specialist "Ricardo" at 1-866-790-5700 Ext. 21205 eventually called me back long past his promised time. He said GM refuses to pay for the labor involved in replacing the defective actuator and that the "deal" my local dealership offered me was the best anyone could get nationwide.

So it makes more sense to GM to disassemble a door, remove a defective part, confirm it's defective, replace the defective part back in the door and reassemble it for free verses paying labor costs to replace a part with an obvious defective history.

I'm speechless and out $144 to fix one of four door actuators.

Edited February 18, 2011 by Live2FlyLow

clintondf · February 21, 2011

I just bought a used 2008 gmc sierra SLT. drivers side rear door lock not working. it wants to but just not all the way. I sent GM an email last night. I am going to call my dealer this morning and see if there is anything they will do about it as well. I am hoping I can atleast have the part paid for. I am also going to inquire about having the autolock feature removed while its getting fixed. I like the autolock feature but not if it means I am going to be replacing actuators every year. Other than that I love the truck.

Stex · February 21, 2011

I just bought a used 2008 gmc sierra SLT. drivers side rear door lock not working. it wants to but just not all the way. I sent GM an email last night. I am going to call my dealer this morning and see if there is anything they will do about it as well. I am hoping I can atleast have the part paid for. I am also going to inquire about having the autolock feature removed while its getting fixed. I like the autolock feature but not if it means I am going to be replacing actuators every year. Other than that I love the truck.

I turned off my autolock on my 09. I had to give the dealer the steps to do such. I think the 08s might have the feature to turn off autolock in the DIC?? I think I put a link early on in this thread on the procedure if not able to turn off in DIC.

Edited February 21, 2011 by STex