Now it's my turn for no start! Ughhh!

mikeyk101 · February 5

So I drove my son home to the ex wife's house after having him for the weekend. It's about a 1 hour roughly 55 mile trip. Drove fine getting here and haven't had an issue with this except for a couple weeks ago when we had single digit temps and the truck had sat for a week. I jumped it and got it started. I drove it a few times since then including a 300 mile trip last week.

Now it wont start. All lights work but get a single click from starter and that's it. I have seen other threads here pointing to starter. What I tried was disconnecting battery for about 10 mins from negative and reconnecting. I checked all the cables connected to battery including wiggling. All were tight. I swapped the starter relay with another. I checked starter fuse. I have a usb thingy in the power port that also shows voltage and when turning the key and the click, voltage doesn't drop lower than about 11.3v. That should point to battery being ok I think.

I gave OnStar a call to get roadside assistance. I was told that they will normally tow a maximum of 25 miles to closest GM dealer. I was able to get them to agree to tow it to another dealer closer to my home but it's going to cost me an additional $130 to do it. It could have been worse. I agreed because I have dealt with that dealer before and it puts me within about 10 miles to my house. My daughter can pick me up from there much easier.

This is frustrating. I'm going to let them take a look and sort it out. Based on other threads, I'm going to guess the starter but who knows. Fingers crossed that's it because the GM Protection Plan will probably cover that. Maybe though, it will be a ground but trouble shooting could get expensive for that...

Snowcamo · February 5

It's probably just the starter. Hope it's something simple whatever it is.

mikeyk101 · February 5

Hopefully I will know by tomorrow. Loaded on flatbed headed to dealer now.

diyer2 · February 5

Battery?

mikeyk101 · February 5

1 hour ago, diyer2 said:

Battery?

No, battery seems to have plenty of juice. I spoke to service advisor this morning and he initially agrees with me that it's probably the starter. He walked out to truck this morning and tried starting and also got same result. He said he would be getting it into the shop shortly and that luckily the service department today wasn't too busy. That's rare for a Monday morning. He told me that if it is the starter, he will get it swapped out today and I could possibly be picking it up later today. I will post update when I learn more.

asilverblazer · February 5

I wouldn't rule out anything yet, battery, cables or starter.

I like to use jumper cables from the battery negative to the engine and battery positive to starter terminal to help rule out battery and/or cables.

mikeyk101 · February 5

4 hours ago, asilverblazer said:

I wouldn't rule out anything yet, battery, cables or starter.

I like to use jumper cables from the battery negative to the engine and battery positive to starter terminal to help rule out battery and/or cables

The dealership called and confirmed that the starter was faulty and needed to be replaced. Good news is that my GMPP covers that.

But then he told me that they also discovered a oil cooler line leaking and we're going to replace that as well. Huh???? I wasn't aware that these had external oil coolers. I have since discovered that this is an actual thing. He said that the oil line from the engine to radiator had a slight leak and needed to be replaced. He said that the repair was also an authorized repair under my contract. However, he told me that the GMPP only authorizes up to a certain amount for labor and their labor costs are higher so I would have to pay the difference of $85.

The $85 really isn't bad but... The GM Protection Plan I have (Platinum) is a $0 deductible. I have never had to pay any "difference" in the past. I could see if this was a random shop doing the work but this is an authorized Chevrolet Dealer. I have a call in to AMT who handles the contracts to see if this is correct. I looked at my copy of the contract and it specifically says that the deductible listed on top is the only amount that I would be required to pay for authorized repairs. So it may get interesting when I go to pick up my truck tomorrow...

Snowcamo · February 5

Man... I too have that same oil line leaking. I found it while looking under the truck last week. I plan to find a local hose building outfit to make a really durable hose to replace it with.

mikeyk101 · February 5

I had the transmission cooling lines leaking last year along with upper oil pan gasket, both replaced under the protection plan. I was told this is pretty common.

I spoke with GMPP just a little while ago and so far, they have authorized over $4700 in repairs for me so I know I've gotten my money's worth. However I was told that's rookie numbers as last week they authorized $12,000 for a replacement engine because of a #4 lifter failure! Wow! But as far as the amount I will have to pay dealer on this, I was told that back in October, the underwriters froze the labor amounts on how much they are willing to pay. They supposedly looked at labor costs in a region and found the average and that's what they go by. My issue is that I signed a contract with GMPP also known as AMT for the Platinum coverage at $0 deductible. Nothing in contract mentions anything about paying any difference in labor costs. Not sure how I will try to handle this. I can't fault the dealer as they are caught in the middle. GMPP suggested that maybe asking for a goodwill gesture from dealer to see if they will remove the amount. IMHO, it's not up to them and they should be reimbursed. A contract is a contract and should be honored. If they (GMPP) want to make changes, do it in future contracts before they are agreed upon. I still have about 25,000 miles and just over 12 months coverage left on my plan and no doubt will be needing it again. I need to nip this in the bud so I don't have this pop up the next time...

Snowcamo · February 6

Wow I'm surprised they can push the labor cost your way. I mean even though you signed a contract that clearly states you do not have to pay. Things are changing on the consumers end that cost us big money. Seems like manufactures of all types of products are backing out of warranties for one reason or another. It's like most things do not have a warranty these days.

Yotaman · February 6

I knew a lady who bought a 2004 Camry Brand new from a dealer in BR. It came with lifetime free oil changes. After the economic crash of 2008-9 she went to get her oil changed and was told "oh we discontinued that".

An old saying applies here I heard long ago. "When the poor steal from the middle class they call it thievery, when the middle class steal from the rich, they call it embezzlement, and when the rich steal from everyone else they call it Business".

She is still driving the Camry btw.

asilverblazer · February 6

19 hours ago, mikeyk101 said:

He said that the repair was also an authorized repair under my contract. However, he told me that the GMPP only authorizes up to a certain amount for labor and their labor costs are higher so I would have to pay the difference of $85.

GMPP authorizes a certain amount to whom? Does GMPP have a contract with the dealer for a certain amount for the labor?

17 hours ago, mikeyk101 said:

My issue is that I signed a contract with GMPP also known as AMT for the Platinum coverage at $0 deductible. Nothing in contract mentions anything about paying any difference in labor costs.

I don't think the deductible amount matters.

Dealer labor rate = x.

GMPP "authorized" labor rate = y?

Your contract with GMPP does not limit, cap or grant any specific labor rate. It guarantees to pay for a "covered repair" by "someone performing the work" for 0$ deductible. Does your contract stipulate "who performs the work"?

mikeyk101 · February 6

6 hours ago, asilverblazer said:

GMPP authorizes a certain amount to whom? Does GMPP have a contract with the dealer for a certain amount for the labor?

I don't think the deductible amount matters.

Dealer labor rate = x.

GMPP "authorized" labor rate = y?

Your contract with GMPP does not limit, cap or grant any specific labor rate. It guarantees to pay for a "covered repair" by "someone performing the work" for 0$ deductible. Does your contract stipulate "who performs the work"?

This is an authorized General Motors Protection Plan purchased through GM and details could be found in any of the various GM (Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, etc...) web pages as their extended service plans. It still shows up listing AMT on the GMC page if you scroll to the bottom:

https://www.gmc.com/protection-plans/faq

It had been administered by AMT but when I called the number to speak to someone, (it took almost 45 mins to get a person on other end), I learned that the AMT is no longer the Administrator and that another company has taken over. I also learned that in the past, the Administrator would work with the dealer on labor rates (so no caps on costs for labor) but that with new Administrator, they decided last October that they will only pay up to $170 an hour labor and Lynch Chevrolet charges $190 an hour. The contract doesn't state anywhere in there that there is ANY caps or limits on labor costs. And obviously since I obtained this contract at the end of 2019, with inflation, everything has gone up but that's too bad, so sad. They could have easily included that in the contract but they didn't.

On my contract, it specifically says in definition for deductible:

"Means the amount YOU are required to pay, as shown on the REGISTRATION PAGE, for covered BREAKDOWNS".

My registration page shows $0 deductible.

If there is a breakdown, the contract says they will pay an authorized Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac dealership or if one is not accessible, any licensed repair facility for approved costs to repair or replace and Breakdown of all parts in Schedule of Coverages. The dealer I went to is exclusively a Chevrolet dealer with the Chevrolet sign and emblems throughout. IMHO, this would establish them as an authorized Chevrolet dealer.

mikeyk101 · February 7

I might be able to understand having to pay extra over deductible if I had a 3rd party extended service plan but this is the exclusive General Motors plan and advertised by them.

One thing I did discover is that I may be able to get reimbursed for the additional $131 towing cost I had. According to the contract, they will reimburse me up to $150 in excess of any other towing or road service coverage. I did go through Onstar but was limited to 25 miles on coverage and the dealership I wanted to use was 44 miles so that's the additional cost. So I definitely plan on submitting a claim for that now after reading through my contract. And I discovered that I could have arranged road service as part of this plan and they provide a number to call. Now I know for next time. At least for next 25,000 miles or just over 1 more year...