Truck has ghosts

[IndMechJeff]

Ever since I bought my truck new it’s been a weirdo. Intermittent loss of connection with CarPlay until I shut it off open the door and let it time out, Intermittent loss of backup camera guide lines, intermittent vibration at interstate speeds and at the same speed later in the day no vibration.

Lately the spirits have been angry. One day I started the truck with Chevy app and when I turned on the ignition I got alerts that my abs system failed and top speed was reduced to 62 mph. Again, turning it off opening the door and letting it time out problem gone.
Today I tried to start it and it acted like the battery was dead. Wouldn’t turn over and each attempt yielded a weaker click. I jumped it with the wife’s car and it started (under light protest). Drive it to auto zone and the battery, alternator and starter check out fine. Now I’m noticing the ac is blowing out the vents and floor vents even with floor off. If I select floor only it does floor only but regular vent does both now. Wtf??!!
 

Edited August 31 by IndMechJeff

[Jsdirt]

Added features / options on newer vehicles equal added complexity, more wiring, and more ways things can fail. Prime example of that right here.

 

Impossible to diagnose with the limited info. We'd have to see codes, if any, and live data from a scan tool to even glance at the potential issue. That said, my guess is you've got something bringing down one of the many communication networks on these machines.

 

Then, there's the possibility that this is all just piss-poor build quality and nothing is wrong electrically. Having several systems fail all at the same time on a 5 year old 21st century vehicle is not outside the realm of possibility.  Either everything is failing at the same time (possible), or there's a communication issue causing multiple issues (very likely). The fun is figuring out which.

 

If you have limited or zero understanding of high and low speed CAN, MOST bus, and LIN networks, I'd start doing some intensive Google research on a local NON-DEALER (IMPORTANT!!!!!) shop that specializes in electrical gremlins, AND has great reviews - a tall order these days, I know. You might have to have to travel an hour or more to find one. 

 

My best advice? STAY AWAY FROM THE DEALER with this one.

Edited August 31 by Jsdirt

[IndMechJeff]

Thank you so much for the prompt reply. I’m assuming the advice to stay away from the dealerships is suggesting this is a juicy cash grab opportunity for them?

[Jsdirt]

Indeed it is! If you've got deep pockets, you won't mind. If you work hard for your money, you'll be livid.

 

Like I always say, this statement isn't to bash all dealer techs - there's some great ones out there. It's more a corporate bashing, since they screw their techs as much as their customers. The pay system encourages speed over thorough diagnostics. To troubleshoot failures like this, speed is the exact OPPOSITE of what you want to be doing.

Edited August 31 by Jsdirt

[Jsdirt]

To expand on this a bit further so people understand ...

 

Say, theoretically, to fix a complex electrical failure it will take a combined 50 hours of troubleshooting, but the book time only pays 3 hours, GM isn't going to give you 47 free hours. They nickel and dime techs TENTHS of an hour over lunch breaks, and walking to the toolbox. 47 hours is absolutely NOT going to happen.

 

So what WILL happen is, they will continue to toss parts at the vehicle until the problem goes away. Sometimes it never does. Those parts are all billed to YOU, along with the associated labor to install them. You can see where this is going ...

 

You can't blame the techs - no one is willing to work for free, so you can't expect them to either.

Edited August 31 by Jsdirt

[IndMechJeff]

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I had no idea that’s how the dealerships did their techs. Gonna start asking around local mechanics.