# another trip to the dealership... :(



## neirfin (Oct 18, 2012)

have an oil leak near the serpentine belt. at least it looks like oil. couldnt really see where it was coming from but i was down about 1/4 quart and wondering where the oil had gone.
since i was there, i outlined my request for the sticky steering fix, and the electrical gremlins from the ground cable, i had the disco flashing dashboard and the 5 time chime of the service everything in the car last week, might as well see if they will fix it. the service advisor didnt give me too much grief, but i can just hear them blaming my led dome light for everything, or tell me the kumho tires are what caused my steering to feel stuck.
set up an appointment for next wednesday since thats the soonest i can leave the car with them, since they said it would take a few hours, at the least, 4 to 5 hours... they even have a sign up at the front saying that they are having problems keeping up with all of the recall issues and it is causing long delays. :icon_scratch:

anyways, will see if they are cool and fix stuff. the steering thing only bothers me when i am driving straight for long periods of time, but still, it should be addressed before i run out of warranty. oil leak is obviously bad, and hopefully its not something else that i would have to pay for. those electrical gremlins... man. it freaked me out the first time all of a sudden, i was going 130 mph while coming to a stop at a light, and my stereo cranked up to 50 and scared the **** out of me. then it just clears itself like it never did anything, like a sibling that flicked your ear and faked innocence. jerks.


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## MyShibbyEco (Jan 21, 2012)

neirfin said:


> the steering thing only bothers me when i am driving straight for long periods of time, but still, it should be addressed before i run out of warranty.


The steering issue has been extended to 150,000 miles. If you mean you are almost out of the 100k warranty, don't worry, you still have 50k to go.


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## neirfin (Oct 18, 2012)

whats the count?

pulled me right in and had no line to wait in, guy was able to locate my appointment and name on a clipboard +2
asked me to repeat again for the second time all of my reasons for visit -1
asked me to repeat again for the third time to service advisor -1
made me sign for $130 'just in case' charges when all things are obvious warranty issues -1
told me it would take 3 hours to find out how long the repairs would take, 3 hours to even start looking at the car with an appointment-1
offered me a ride with a free 'shuttle' which is a guy in a van +1
3 hours later and my phone rings, but its just the sales person trying to get me into a 'new' 2014 cruze -1
5 hours after drop off and still no call -1

at this point i have to leave for work, which i discussed the time limit of 3pm with all 3 people who made me repeat the issues so its halftime. so far, -3 for the dealership.

tell me they found an oil leak at camshaft, (duh, i showed it to you), but also found coolant leak at water pump, and both are covered by warranty +5
tell me they have to order the parts for the steering issue and ground cable, 10 day wait and another entire day -1
tell me they have already started work on both the oil and coolant leak, this is about 15 minutes after my 'zero hour' i gotta leave for work time -1
started work on the car without me authorizing it, even though i discussed my time limit with 3 people, and scheduled the visit ahead of time to avoid this exact situation -1
made me pay $40 for a rental when you could have simply called me and told me it would take too long, and i could return tomorrow with a pre-arranged way of transport -1
fairly fast transaction for the rental and its a loaded 2014 malibu +2
malibu gets really bad gas mileage going up the same hills as the cruze, and has to continually downshift to make it up the hills normally eaten alive by the cruze, also has the engine turn off at stops which makes for jerky driving -1

they could have easily made me happy by giving me a rental or loaner for one night without charging me. instead the service advisor stuck to his guns and pretty much told me my choices were not go to work, or to rent a car. OR, he could go make the tech start putting my car back together, and i could wait for that. my job has minimum staffing requirements and i was very vocal about my inability to leave the car or otherwise stay past 3pm, and they shouldnt have started the work without me saying yes. even if it is warranty, when i state that i gotta go by a certain time, and really just need to know whats wrong and how long its going to take, they could at least respect the fact that i told them this, and i wouldve arranged something prior. instead they stranded me and told me to pay up or ditch work. he didnt even call me until i was already waiting outside of the service entrance, 2.5 hours later than he said he would. when i was politely declining the persistent sales pitch of the nice lady who said 'my cruze sucked and always will, especially once its out of warranty, and then what, buy a cruze now', i asked how long until i knew how long it was going to take. 'oh, ill have him call you right now' but that call never came. you know my number to sell me a new car, but forget it when its hey, this might take a while.



anyways, TL;DR version is -1 for the dealer, hey im only out $40 for a decent amount of repairs, but come on, gotta be a dick about it?


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

When you say you didn't authorize, the $130 just in case may have been authorization but for what when parts are 10 days out? Not like they were gonna gut your car and let it sit on a lift for 10 days till parts got there unless this is normal? never paid for a rental unless it was on a Sunday when the dealership was closed.


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## neirfin (Oct 18, 2012)

Basically his answer was that they would have the oil leak and coolant leak done by the time they closed, so I was the one who couldn't come back to get the car before closing so I was responsible for the rental charges. I never authorized a repair for coolant leak since I didn't know about it. I signed for $130 as the inspection fee, not any amount of repairs.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Since the oil leak was covered under warranty the dealership should be charging GM for the rental, not you. Scan that rental receipt and attach it to a PM to our Chevy Customer Care account. Also, find another dealership - this one has some very iffy policies.


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## BlkGrnetRS (Jul 21, 2013)

That's weird, I have never had my dealer or any dealer I've been to ask me to authorize an amount. 

I agree with obermd though, find another dealer this one sounds a bit sketchy


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## neirfin (Oct 18, 2012)

so yeah, minus 10 points in overtime, penalty, throw the flag, I investigate people for a living (and for fun) and the service advisor is a straight up liar. i can see it in his face and eyes.

he didn't call me until 3pm when i was looking at him through his window. he said they just got it looked at, but on the receipt i got today, it says the manager authorized the coolant leak repair at 12:10, 40 minutes before they even bothered to call me to market me on the trade in. he just didn't call me and caused me to choose between renting the car or being late to work, with no way to get 40 miles home.
today, when i dropped off the rental, he said the oil leak was halfway done, not all the way, like he said yesterday, and on the phone message he left at 530 last night saying the "cruze is done!"
he said they had to order the other seal, along with the steering rack, which could take up to 30 days. he said i would receive a postcard in the mail to let me know the parts were in. yes, snail mail.
the receipt he gave me today says no work was done on either oil leak. parts on order. not halfway done, not done at all. and that they knew about the coolant leak but waited 3 hours to call me so i would be in a tight position. sketchy is a good way of describing the service, at best.

of course, the service advisor said that "GM wouldn't let them warranty the ground cable because you have aftermarket stereo parts." i would rather get an upgraded kit anyways, but its a dick move.
they noted it on the receipt, i wonder if they went and voided my extended coverage on the ground cable.

i get to work today, after being late again because the computers wouldn't work at the dealer, and it took them a half hour to process the rental and give my car back, and my stubby antenna is gone. looked all inside the car since the manager said they put it on the floorboard when they wash, and its gone. no antenna, or the rubber grommet i had fitted. she said she would pay for it if i bring her the receipt for a new one. still, wtf, leave my antenna alone if you don't wanna fix my ground cable. jerks.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The ground cable and aftermarket radio parts have absolutely nothing to do with each other as long as your aftermarket radio doesn't hook directly to the battery. To void a warranty the dealership is required to show that the modification caused the problem and GM has acknowledged this problem for several models, not just the Cruze. For the steering rack I can believe the "up to 30 days". My steering rack took two weeks to come in. The fact that your stubby antenna is gone is theft - pure and simple. If they give you grief over paying for it, report this dealership to your state Attorney General and local district attorney. There was no reason to remove the antenna for a car wash.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

neirfin said:


> so yeah, minus 10 points in overtime, penalty, throw the flag, I investigate people for a living (and for fun) and the service advisor is a straight up liar. i can see it in his face and eyes.
> 
> he didn't call me until 3pm when i was looking at him through his window. he said they just got it looked at, but on the receipt i got today, it says the manager authorized the coolant leak repair at 12:10, 40 minutes before they even bothered to call me to market me on the trade in. he just didn't call me and caused me to choose between renting the car or being late to work, with no way to get 40 miles home.
> today, when i dropped off the rental, he said the oil leak was halfway done, not all the way, like he said yesterday, and on the phone message he left at 530 last night saying the "cruze is done!"
> ...


Hey Neirfin, 

I truly apologize for this, and we would be more than happy to look into this further on your behalf. Please feel free to send us a private message and include your VIN, current mileage, contact information and the dealership you worked with. We are always happy to help the best way possible. 

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## Slammed2014Eco (Feb 13, 2014)

Sounds sketchy as **** lol, how does a aftermarket stereo have anything to do with a faulty ground cable that CAME INSTALLED ON THE CAR @@. Hopefully you can get GM involved with this as it looks like customer care just posted, Let us know how this ends up


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## neirfin (Oct 18, 2012)

well i got the call that the parts were in, from the service advisor who sounds like he has never made a phone call in his life. seriously dysfunctional phone skills.
i figured i should give them a chance to make it right, so i drove in and talked with the service manager, who remembers me but says they never found the antenna. i told her i would forgive the antenna if they would give me a free rental so i can drop the car off overnight, and she obliged since they couldn't even get to start on the car until at least Monday. i set the appointment for Wednesday at noon, and will pick it up Thursday before 3pm.
the advisor asked me if i had removed the power cable for the subwoofer so they could look at the ground cable. i flat out refused and told him that i dont believe the power cable can affect a faultily built ground cable, and if he wants to argue, i would be replacing the cable myself anyways, so he could forget about it. he stammered over his reasoning and tried to blame it on the techs who noted it on the paperwork, and the service manager told him to just do it, like "duh, this is a cruze and it has a special bulletin". she talked about it like he should have done it in the first place. whatever.
since she obliged with my requests, i will say that i was made whole, even though i am still out $40 and an ebay stubby antenna from china. i told them not to machine wash my car goddammit, keep your free swirly scratch marks, and leave my antenna alone. he noted it in the computer.

two cam actuator seals replace to fix the oil leak, the steering rack replacement for sticky steering, water pump replacement for water leak i never saw, and ground cable replacement for electrical gremlins. i hope to avoid the dealership for the remainder of my warranty and the lifetime of the car, fingers crossed... :dry:


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## grs1961 (Oct 23, 2012)

Find another dealership.


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## neirfin (Oct 18, 2012)

grs1961 said:


> Find another dealership.


i tried one closer to me, and it was just as bad really... the one i went to this time was the one i bought the car from, there is one more in between both that i could try but other than that, its slim pickins...
i would be perfectly happy if the car didnt require any warranty work, that works for me too  no work needed, no dealer needed.


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## neirfin (Oct 18, 2012)

got the cruze back, and it seems to be running good. they cleaned the oil leak area (unlike last time) so i can see if it comes back. so far, so good.
they replaced the rack and reprogrammed the steering module, it seems to steer just fine, and hasnt done the sticky steering thing on either commute. they aligned the fronts, which was good. toe was a little off.
they put a new ground cable on, but the electrical gremlins were rare anyways, will keep an eye out for any more problems and if they happen, im upgrading the ground, something i might do anyways along with the headlight harness upgrade.
the free rental i got was a 2014 cruze lt, the pioneer system did not impress me at all, and my $100 flea market sub upgrade along with the stock eco stereo system blows it away. the backup camera was cool, gotta get me one of those... i also could get used to a sunroof.

they didnt lose my antenna, which was a bonus.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I wonder how long that service adviser will be there. It sounds like the Service Manager wasn't happy with the runaround he gave you on a GM documented pseudo-recall action. I'm glad you got your car back.


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