# Throttle Body Replacement not covered under Powertrain



## foley0304 (Feb 5, 2015)

First, a bit of background.

The Cruze is really my wife's car. 2013, 1.4L turbo, ~50k miles. Never had a bit of trouble before today. Today while she was driving to work, the traction control light came on, and the vehicle lost engine power and decelerated immediately. She was able to get off onto the shoulder and call me. I told her to shut it off and start it back up and tell me what it did. The traction control light went off, check engine code came on, and the car ran normally. She made it the rest of the way to work. I went out, picked up the car, and got it to the nearest dealership. The car threw a TPS code, and they told me the throttle body needed replacing, because it's sticking. Cool, makes sense, go for it. 

Now, they tell me that it is NOT covered under the 100k powertrain warranty. I worked as a tech at a (non-GM) dealership for years before I went to law school. For the life of me I can't see how a throttle body is not covered under the powertrain. I paid $33X.XX for this fix, because honestly I don't have the time to do it myself. However, I am furious that this isn't covered. GM customer care hotline was useless, I'm still waiting on a call-back from them but I don't have high hopes. The first guy told me that normal wear and tear parts aren't covered, but in what universe is a throttle body going bad at 50k normal wear and tear? I have owned nothing but GM vehicles for my entire life. I own 4 right now. But this leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. It's not about the 300 bucks, its about the principle of the thing. If we can't get this solved, I'll be done with GM. Maybe my next pickup will be a Tundra...

Just wanted to vent it out, and give y'all a heads up. Powertrain warranty doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means. Hopefully no one else encounters this problem.


----------



## SneakerFix (Jul 28, 2013)

most of the time they need to be cleaned out but the dealer forces a new replacement. It's really a $80 part new online and 5mims to swap.


----------



## foley0304 (Feb 5, 2015)

Sure. But like I said, I don't have the time to deal with it. I found em for about $110 online, but I'm driving across three states this weekend and I need it now. And it's not the money. It's the principle.


----------



## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

The issue with the part isn't so much the Cruze or GM, but electronic throttles in general - they're nothing but trouble. With a cold morning like this, chances are that the sticking was weather related, and cleaning and/or warming the part would have eliminated the problem. Depending on the exact code, it's even pretty common for throttle body codes to have nothing at all to do with the throttle body (I've described that more fully elsewhere), but with wiring or sensors related to the electronic throttle system. They can be a pain to chase too. If the code comes back on you, I posted a list of 8 or 10 steps to take on a throttle body code. It might be helpful to try those out before throwing any more parts at it. 

As far as the warranty goes, the definition of "powertrain" is pretty limited. I've seen this for a while. For example, I had a crank position sensor and cam position sensor both go out on my 2003 Jeep a few years back. Even though both of them screw directly into the engine, neither was considered powertrain, but instead were classified as "electrical" parts. Chrysler did at least cover the tow and diagnosis for me, though. Throttle bodies are considered part of the fuel/air delivery system rather than powertrain by simiilar logic. If it was making contact with the engine's lubrication or cooling systems (like some older throttle bodies did), it would magically become a powertrain part, but since it's a bolt-on part that doesn't contact oil or antifreeze, it's deemed to be beyond the boundary of where the engine ends and everything else begins, much like an alternator or power steering pump would be.


----------



## chevysilveraydo05 (Feb 10, 2016)

I literally just had the same issue with my wife's Malibu. i complained on their website via chat, and what do you know, corporate called the dealership and told me it would be covered, as well as the tow bill and diagnosis fee.


----------



## Reluien (Dec 15, 2016)

Good to know it's not covered. I guess I'll be replacing mine myself. Saves me 300$+ thanks for the info. I've had my cruze since March really thinking about going back to Subaru when I'm done with this winter. I hate this car.


----------

