Rear window leak

lebag335 · December 21, 2019

It looks like they only sealed one side. That’s not right. Looks like shit. I’d refuse delivery and argue for a new window. Ugh..

OnTheReel · December 22, 2019

4 hours ago, SamDSJR said:

So should I reject this as acceptable work? Or take it and then take it back in to open a new ticket? I'm not sure what is best. At this point I fully intend to write certified letters to GM and attempt to get the buyback process initiated.

I wouldn’t even try for a buyback yet, you want to hang onto that card. And besides, crappy as it is, there’s just not enough there that would even make GM consider it, no matter the lawyer.

You can push for a new window and might get through, but I see the sealant reside on the paint as a big problem either way. Very disappointing.

I took mine back in less than stellar condition because it was a holiday weekend and I needed out of the loaner. Nothing stopping you from accepting it and still making follow up appointments and / or discussing things further with the service manager. What the dealer is willing to do would dictate my next move. Good luck.

MarcusDean · December 22, 2019

Well I got my 2020 2500 back 4 days ago but hasn't rained since, been below 30's, so not sure if the repair is complete or not. After 2nd repairing of the window they said they found a small section that had no sealant from the factory install. They sealed it up and said it's good to go. Except when picking it up I noticed they broke the clips holding my carpet down on the floorboard, greasy handprints all over the headliner, sealant all over my rear window spoiler which had harden and looked like was scratched up, and my weather seal on that channel going from the rear window to the windshield on the roof was damaged with black sealant all around it.... So went back into the loaner. They had to order and replace the top weather seal, clean the headliner and replace the clips in the carpet. But as I went to pick it up yet again for now the 3rd time my paint is indeed scratched up where the sealant was on my spoiler and roof, paint is scratched by my door frames where something rubbed against it and my whole truck is nothing but swirl mark scratches now from going through their detail shop. Guessing they used dirty towels or mittens while washing and drying. They said they could take it to a professional detailer and have the paint fixed aka scratches hidden with wax. Told them there's no way I can except a +70k truck that looks like absolute hell on the outside now (black truck). Told him it was unacceptable to just have a detailer hide all the issues they caused and the salesman just smirked at me and shrugged his shoulders. Has completely ruined my buying experience.

Rocz3cqg · December 22, 2019

13 minutes ago, MarcusDean said:

Well I got my 2020 2500 back 4 days ago but hasn't rained since, been below 30's, so not sure if the repair is complete or not. After 2nd repairing of the window they said they found a small section that had no sealant from the factory install. They sealed it up and said it's good to go. Except when picking it up I noticed they broke the clips holding my carpet down on the floorboard, greasy handprints all over the headliner, sealant all over my rear window spoiler which had harden and looked like was scratched up, and my weather seal on that channel going from the rear window to the windshield on the roof was damaged with black sealant all around it.... So went back into the loaner. They had to order and replace the top weather seal, clean the headliner and replace the clips in the carpet. But as I went to pick it up yet again for now the 3rd time my paint is indeed scratched up where the sealant was on my spoiler and roof, paint is scratched by my door frames where something rubbed against it and my whole truck is nothing but swirl mark scratches now from going through their detail shop. Guessing they used dirty towels or mittens while washing and drying. They said they could take it to a professional detailer and have the paint fixed aka scratches hidden with wax. Told them there's no way I can except a +70k truck that looks like absolute hell on the outside now (black truck). Told him it was unacceptable to just have a detailer hide all the issues they caused and the salesman just smirked at me and shrugged his shoulders. Has completely ruined my buying experience.

A professional detailer will be able to polish most of the swirl marks out. Maybe discuss with the dealer the possibility of having a detailer doing a paint correction on the paint and then applying a coat of Ceramic Pro or like product to protect the paint. A detailer that applies this type of coating will take greater care in preparing the paint surface than the dealer bodyshop.

MarcusDean · December 22, 2019

I guess I should've worded that differently.. If a detailer were to do a full paint correction and then polish it out like you said before applying a ceramic coating it could be fixed. Thats if they do it properly but I honestly dont know any detail shops around Columbus personally but have some good friends that run them down in Tennessee. I know what needs to be done but my problem is that now I have to have a paint correction on a brand new truck and the only way to get the swirl marks out is to use an abrasive polish on it which takes even more of the clear coat off until you've gotten the fine scratches out. I realize it's very small fractions of the clear coat but this truck doesnt even have 400 miles on it. Now it has to go back in a shop for the 4th time, which will put it well over 30 some days it's been in a shop getting repaired, when I need to get out of state for work. It's my only vehicle. Can't take their loaner truck over 500 miles away and just drop my contract when it's ready to be picked back up and drive back. I agree with you just my situation isn't going smoothly with them.

Anyways, I'm getting off topic into all the other issues the dealer caused. Was just giving an update of the repairs and think I turned more to venting My bad.

I'll post an update on what comes of the new sealant repair for the window leak after it rains good again. Hopefully it holds up and won't need the window replaced like a lot have had done. Thanks.

Jamie73 · December 22, 2019

Just found this forum after finding a leak in my rear window. I have a 2019 Sierra 1500. I purchased this new truck after having a 2004 Sierra for 13 years. I"m not really that concerned with the window leak. I hope the dealership will get that taken care of. I'm worried about problems the water getting on the inside of the vehicle can cause. I had the truck for a couple of weeks before I got in it one morning and noticed a bad oder like wet carpet. I investigated and could find nothing. It happened again and again over the next several weeks. I have found the issue with wet carpet just inside the drivers side rear door. I have found water leaking down the inside of the rear widow on left and right sides. Will the dealer replace my carpet that now smells terrible? I've also noticed surface rust on the rear seat brackets and what looks like corrosion on some of the bolt heads. I've got an appointment with the service department early in January and I'm going to be armed with as much information as I can get my hands on. Thanks for all the education this thread has given me.

JohnCasey · December 23, 2019

Ok guys here is another update for you but first a little recap. Bought the truck on Oct. 31, 2019. First time it rained my son asked me why was the back seat wet. After fussing him out about spilling a water or drink in the truck hes not supposed to be drinking in I checked it out and sure enough found the rear seat to be wet and water dripping in from the corner of rear silding glass window. Next day I dropped the truck off at the dealership. two weeks go by and I pick it up. Test it myself and leaks again with water hose spraying on top of cab. Take it back and they try the TSB again. I tested it once again and it leaked and at that point I saw a large stain covering approximately 20% of the headliner. They tried to clean the headliner and removed approximately half of the stain and added two oily palm prints and four finger prints. They agreed to replace the headliner at that point. Dealership called me again this past Thursday Dec 19th to tell me they could take the truck and wanted it that day. I needed to haul coolers and presents 3hrs away to my inlaws for Christmas with the Inlaws on Friday so I asked if I could just drop it off on Monday. I have been stuffing paper towels bunched up behind the seat headrest where the water drips in and putting a tarp over the truck cab when I park in the rain. So to today. I dropped my truck off at the dealership for the 4th time. The rear window and the headliner are both on national backorder and they can't tell me when I can expect anything at this point. They put me in a Malibu for a loaner. Not happy at all about this. I was under the impression that repairs were imminent after being told they had escalated this to GM. The customer service people on the 866 number can't tell me anything except to wait one to two business days for a second tier agent to contact me.

Centrebaseball · December 23, 2019

56 minutes ago, JohnCasey said:

Ok guys here is another update for you but first a little recap. Bought the truck on Oct. 31, 2019. First time it rained my son asked me why was the back seat wet. After fussing him out about spilling a water or drink in the truck hes not supposed to be drinking in I checked it out and sure enough found the rear seat to be wet and water dripping in from the corner of rear silding glass window. Next day I dropped the truck off at the dealership. two weeks go by and I pick it up. Test it myself and leaks again with water hose spraying on top of cab. Take it back and they try the TSB again. I tested it once again and it leaked and at that point I saw a large stain covering approximately 20% of the headliner. They tried to clean the headliner and removed approximately half of the stain and added two oily palm prints and four finger prints. They agreed to replace the headliner at that point. Dealership called me again this past Thursday Dec 19th to tell me they could take the truck and wanted it that day. I needed to haul coolers and presents 3hrs away to my inlaws for Christmas with the Inlaws on Friday so I asked if I could just drop it off on Monday. I have been stuffing paper towels bunched up behind the seat headrest where the water drips in and putting a tarp over the truck cab when I park in the rain. So to today. I dropped my truck off at the dealership for the 4th time. The rear window and the headliner are both on national backorder and they can't tell me when I can expect anything at this point. They put me in a Malibu for a loaner. Not happy at all about this. I was under the impression that repairs were imminent after being told they had escalated this to GM. The customer service people on the 866 number can't tell me anything except to wait one to two business days for a second tier agent to contact me.

Sounds all too familiar:

leak 10/31. Dropped at dealer 11/1. Caulk job (TSB) + headliner replaced 11/25. Picked up 11/26. Leaked again 11/30. Back at dealership 12/5 and was promised ‘a specialist’ to look at it. Still no end in sight.

ive talked with the 1-800 tier two specialist and it was a joke. No help in resolving anything. I personally wouldn’t plan on expecting much in the customer service department.

Centrebaseball · December 23, 2019

The exact wording I got was

“this is a nationwide issue and the supplier is overwhelmed with requests” so I guess there are a lot of leakers out there

OnTheReel · December 23, 2019

1 hour ago, JohnCasey said:

Ok guys here is another update for you but first a little recap. Bought the truck on Oct. 31, 2019. First time it rained my son asked me why was the back seat wet. After fussing him out about spilling a water or drink in the truck hes not supposed to be drinking in I checked it out and sure enough found the rear seat to be wet and water dripping in from the corner of rear silding glass window. Next day I dropped the truck off at the dealership. two weeks go by and I pick it up. Test it myself and leaks again with water hose spraying on top of cab. Take it back and they try the TSB again. I tested it once again and it leaked and at that point I saw a large stain covering approximately 20% of the headliner. They tried to clean the headliner and removed approximately half of the stain and added two oily palm prints and four finger prints. They agreed to replace the headliner at that point. Dealership called me again this past Thursday Dec 19th to tell me they could take the truck and wanted it that day. I needed to haul coolers and presents 3hrs away to my inlaws for Christmas with the Inlaws on Friday so I asked if I could just drop it off on Monday. I have been stuffing paper towels bunched up behind the seat headrest where the water drips in and putting a tarp over the truck cab when I park in the rain. So to today. I dropped my truck off at the dealership for the 4th time. The rear window and the headliner are both on national backorder and they can't tell me when I can expect anything at this point. They put me in a Malibu for a loaner. Not happy at all about this. I was under the impression that repairs were imminent after being told they had escalated this to GM. The customer service people on the 866 number can't tell me anything except to wait one to two business days for a second tier agent to contact me.

Sorry to hear. They gave me a Malibu too. One of the worst vehicles I’ve ever driven.

Side note, just saw yet another 2020 with the leak on Facebook. Maybe they should update that TSB, because they are full of shit making it sound like only the first two months of trucks have a problem.

Rfg14silverado · December 24, 2019

On 12/18/2019 at 5:42 PM, n8huntsman said:

Update: Got my truck back today with the replaced rear window.

Problem 1 - Initially told it would be done by 3 yesterday so I said, "If it'll be done before 5 just give me a lift to work and pick me up when its done." Then he said... well... it might not be done so we better get you a rental. He called me at 3 yesterday and said it was done and that i could pick it up. I said id drop off the rental and come right over. 15 minutes later he calls back to say its not actually done because the glue needs to dry overnight.

Problem 2 - I immediately noticed how filthy it was. They didn't even make an effort to clean the rear window or surrounding area that was worked on. It wasn't spotless going in but definitely came back filthy. I looked down between the bed and cab and there was a huge strip of the old glue sitting on my exhaust waiting to fry.

Problem 3 - I could still see the messy caulk job on the top seam. I figured with a whole new window, the glue would look perfect.

Problem 4 - There is a quarter inch gap between the spoiler and the glass on the left side. About midway across it goes from a gap to line to line. Spoiler is actually touching the glass above the slider and the right side. Looks like the spoiler is jacked up.

Problem 5 - Below the glass there are scratches, presumably from a careless job cutting the old glue with a blade. It almost looks as though they tried to hide it with touch up paint.

Problem 6 - Icing on the cake! I opened one of the doors and heard a tink-tink sound come from between the bed and cab. I assumed something was hanging in there. When I looked I saw the left pressure equalizing vent contraption hanging out. Its resting against the bed so when I open a door, it sucks it into place, making the first tink sound then falls back against the bed making the second sound. They must have pressed too hard putting the rear seat padding back in and popped it out. Of course you can't reach it to put it back in. I got the service adviser and showed him. He went to talk to the mechanic and came back and said there was no way they could have done that but that they'd fix it under warranty. They need to order a new part he said. I betting it would pop back in but they didn't even want to try.

I never noticed the defogging strips being so noticeable on my old window but I never paid much attention. The giant vertical gold bands are kinda ugly. Is this what the original one looked like?

Overall, very disappointed in the workmanship on my new truck. You would think for what I paid they'd take a little better care of it. Not sure what to do from here...

I have a 2020 built on 11/19. Right away I noticed how visible the defrost strips are from the outside. Hopefully it’s a new window/design on mine

n8huntsman · December 24, 2019

On 12/19/2019 at 9:00 PM, Thomcat said:

Two piece Spoiler/cab arrangement on the '19+ differ from the previous gen. The flexible plastic spoiler is attached to the cab by gasketed mounting holes and arrangement does have some flex as evidenced by popping noise due to expansion creep in the hot Sun.

Anybody consider that the leakage problem may be caused by brush free car washes? Could be that the cause is not the sealing of the window unit assembly but the seal between the plastic spoiler and mounting holes on the metal cab.

Seal might never leak under normal rain conditions or testing with water from a hose, but blasting with a narrow jet of 300 mph air into the micro space flexes the spoiler and compromises the seal and once the bond is broken it will continue to leak underneath the headliner and down the inside of the glass. I never use car washes and been through numerous thunderstorms and remains dry as a bone.

My truck has never been to a car wash. Only done by me, every two weeks with a foam sprayer, not a pressure washer, not even a hose nozzle on full blast, just a rinse

UGADawgs · December 24, 2019

Now add me to the list. I've been inspecting like a hawk since I bought the truck in March after every wash and rain storm. It is a Nov 29, 2018 build, so I thought I was safe. We had about 5" of rain in the last 24 hours in Jacksonville. I am only now seeing some drips out of each corner of the top track and a stain on the passenger side headliner. Have a appt with the dealer for Friday. He said the leaks are very common these days and 99% of them lately are due to a bad seal on the spoiler/3rd break light. They have been changing a lot of those seals and sometime the light as well he said. He said they have also been successful cleaning the headliners and not needing to replace them with a certain cleaner supplied by GM for this.

Pass side: