When is it a LEMON?

coyotekid · May 10, 2004

To date, I've had my truck into various dealers across the western U.S. about 5-6 times.

Here's what's gone wrong:

1. Windshield had to be resealed as soon as I drove it off the lot.

2. The driver's side door wouldn't latch completely, so you could see daylight between it and the rear suicide door. Also, the rear door wouldn't latch correctly.

3. The tailgate wouldn't latch correctly, and you couldn't open it at all when the truck was parked on a hill of any sort.

4. The 4X4 decal peeled off and had to be replaced.

5. The grill insert doesn't fit right.

6. The transmission went out when I was 630 miles from home, and it had to be replaced at only 9700 miles.

7. The windshield wipers flew apart.

8. I have a tear in one of the ballcups in the front end, so it won't hold grease.

9. Now my d**n brake master cylinder is leaking and blowing brake fluid everywhere! It's going back to about the fifth dealer it's been to in its short life.

I bought the truck brand new with only six miles on it, it's not even a year old, and I've babied it the whole time. Now it's got just under 12,000 miles on it.

When should I think this thing's a lemon and get rid of it?! Granted, some of these things are minor, but it seems to be a pattern!

P.S. I forgot to add that one of the headlights had a bunch of moisture in it and had to be replaced.

Hecktorx · May 10, 2004

I believe it depends on the state you live in. I know here, you have to give the dealer three times to fix the same exact problem. If they can't fix it the third time, then you have a case for a lemon.

Sorry about the bad luck.

Kenny

ToeJam · May 10, 2004

I'd start raising h ll with GM directly. I'd also do a title history check on the truck. I know you bought it new, but that many problems sounds like something you get when someone rebuilds a wreck.

Good luck...

Redapple · May 10, 2004

Here is a link that will help to determine if your vehicle complies with the lemon laws of your state. They do vary from state to state. Hope this helps.

Bill

Lemon Law America Web Site

coyotekid · May 10, 2004

Thanks for the replies. It doesn't look like I have a case for a lemon yet because the same part doesn't keep failing. Everything is failing! Pretty soon, there will be no original parts left on this thing!

I'm thinking about just getting rid of the thing even if they won't technically call it a lemon and get something else. The problem is, I'm going to take a huge hit by trading it only a year after purchasing it.

My immediate family has bought 13 GM trucks in the last 10 years. I take the best care of mine in terms of scheduled maintenance (and just being plain fussy), and I'm having more problems than all of the other trucks combined. The other vehicles have a cumulative 1,000,000 + miles!

I realize that some issues are relatively minor, but when I've worked really hard to buy a $30,000 truck, I expect more than what I'm getting.

99silveradoz71 · May 11, 2004

I realize that some issues are relatively minor, but when I've worked really hard to buy a $30,000 truck, I expect more than what I'm getting.

Amen to that, there are plenty here who have felt the same and experience the frustration.

AUTOGUY · May 11, 2004

In PA the lemon law says it has to be the same problem 3 times and it has to be a safety issue.

If your decals peel off 3 times it's not considered a lemon. If your brakes fail 3 times it should be.

I had similar problems with a 1994 Ranger I had. The wiper motor went in 1 week, the battery leaked acid ion the left front brake line and make the brakes fail, the transfer case was rebuilt at 5000 miles, and the driveline had a vibration in it since new.

I could not get them for the lemon law, but I took it to what Ford calls a dispute settlement board. I had a scheduled meeting with reps from Ford, and a couple different dealer owners and mechanics. What they try to do is settle your problems without you having to take it to court. I ended up getting a 1995 F150 with similar equipment in exchange for the balance of the lease. At the end of the lease the F150 buyout was the same as the Ranger!! I sold the F150 for $19,000.00 and the buyout was only $12,000.00. I put $7,000.00 in my pocket and went straight to the GMC dealer and bought a 1996 Sierra 2500 and never had a problem again. Since then I have had a 1998 Sierra, a 2000 Silverado, a 2002 Sierra 2500hd, and now have a 2003 Silverado SS, and a 2004 Sierra 2500HD CC.

I would suggest you go to the dealer and ask to talk to the GM rep. Have service records with you and state your case. It will also help if you explain to the rep about the other GM vehicles you have owned and the ones your family owns.

Look in the back of your owners manual, there might be some info there on dispute settlement.

Good Luck

JimWilson · May 11, 2004

Yours and mine must have been made at the same time, because the truck GM sold me is a POS too. Suks, doesn't it?

coyotekid · May 11, 2004

Thanks guys, but now I'm really pissed. I just got home from the dealer (90 miles one way, since this is rural Montana), and the brake master cylinder has to be completely replaced because it's shot!

This is the one I love: One of the ball joints in the front end is also toast, so it has to be replaced as well. However, GM doesn't supply just the ball joint, so the dealership is ordering a complete new control arm! They said everything will be under warranty, but I have to make another 90 mile trip, be without my truck for a few days, and figure some way to still make it to my job which is 40 miles each way. (I work for an excavation company in the summer and go to school in the winter.)

I think I'll check into this settling out of court deal. I'm still pissed at GM over not paying one of my $515 tow bills when the tranny blew up in Moab, Utah.

OK, I'm done ranting now.

AUTOGUY · May 11, 2004

Like I said earlier, make sure you take all your records and receipts. Ask for compensation for all expenses. You might want to make a summary of all the repair orders and how long the truck was in the shop for each repair. If you show up to a meeting with all this information, they might think twice before taking it to court. They will see you have all your information together and might not want to fight with someone who is so well prepared.

This is what I did and I ended up getting a new truck and reimbursement for the accessories I had installed.

Redapple · May 11, 2004

BGR365 is absolutely right! Keep track of everything! Also, the dealer should be giving you a loaner vehicle while they do warranty work to your truck (On thier dime if it has to be a rental).

Good Luck with it.

Bill

coyotekid · June 2, 2004

Well, I finally got the judgement from GM today, and they won't do a d**n thing about my truck. They basically told me to go tell someone who cares!

Since GM won't do anything, now my dealership is blowing me off and giving me the run-around as well. So basically, I think I'm SOL.

I'm going to try the BBB Autoline to see if I can get any satisfaction that way, but I seriously doubt it.

Is there anything else I can do? What would you guys do? Trading it is going to kill me because the truck has depreciated so much in the first year.

P.S. Now the POS CD player is acting up as I posted once before. It only does it on long trips of 2+ hours of continuous use, so I really doubt a dealer is going to be able to replicate the problem. My CD's get so hot that you can't handle them, and then the player spits them out and displays all sorts of weird stuff on the screen.

whitesnake01 · June 2, 2004

Well, I finally got the judgement from GM today, and they won't do a d**n thing about my truck. They basically told me to go tell someone who cares!

Since GM won't do anything, now my dealership is blowing me off and giving me the run-around as well. So basically, I think I'm SOL.

I'm going to try the BBB Autoline to see if I can get any satisfaction that way, but I seriously doubt it.

Is there anything else I can do? What would you guys do? Trading it is going to kill me because the truck has depreciated so much in the first year.

P.S. Now the POS CD player is acting up as I posted once before. It only does it on long trips of 2+ hours of continuous use, so I really doubt a dealer is going to be able to replicate the problem. My CD's get so hot that you can't handle them, and then the player spits them out and displays all sorts of weird stuff on the screen.

I do not know all the details of your situation. There is a difference between a problem truck versus you having trouble getting it fixed. What problems do you have outstanding and why will the dealer not fix them under warranty?

If you like the truck, I would not trade it. I would ride it out.

P.S. Tell me more about the CD player. Something is either generating excessive heat or heat is not being vented out. The former could be a component problem. The latter an assembly or design problem. Sounds like the weird display is an artifact of overheating. Which CD/radio option do you have? What other things are around it on your dash?

coyotekid · June 2, 2004

You can read my first post to get most of the story...

The biggie was the transmission going out when I was 630 miles from home. I got five (count 'em--5) rides in a tow truck, covered two states, and one of these times the tow truck broke down and they had to send another one from about 55 miles away. Transmission finally had to be completely replaced in Price, UT. That was a real ordeal. I'm still fighting with GM to pay one of the $515 tows that they wouldn't initially cover because the dealer I wanted to be taken to showed up in their computers as being a few more miles away than one in Grand Junction, CO. I had already been towed to this dealer once, and they wouldn't even pull the pan on the tranny! Anyway, I'm fighting that out.... Sorry for the sidetrack.

So far the dealer(s) have replaced or repaired everything under warranty. (There have been about 4 different dealers across 3 states.) However, I live in rural Montana and the only decent dealer I've been satisfied with is 90 miles away, so these trips are getting really old.

As far as the CD player goes, my dash is completely unmodified. I just haven't had time to make a 90 mile trip just to have a fricking CD player examined. My time and fuel are more valuable than that!

I know some people are thinking that if everything is being covered under warranty, why worry? BECAUSE TOTALLY UNRELATED THINGS KEEP GOING WRONG AND THE DEALER IS SO FAR AWAY! I'd planned on keeping this truck a long time, but now I don't know if I'll be able to.

June 3, 2004

Interesting about the tranny problems. So far that is the last major component that hasn't been touched on my rig. New engine, brakes & rotors, rear-end but no tranny work. I to have been in contact w/ GM. My rig has been in the shop for more than a month total in 7 months. GM's attitude is well you have a warranty, we'll fix it. My attitude is yes there is a warranty for items as sometimes things go wrong but for everything I've been in for (a LOT more than what I've listed) it would have easily qualified as a lemon in some states. These problems show a total breakdown in quality control IMO. For S&G all one has to do is go to http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems...b/tsbsearch.cfm

and look up the TSB's on the big three. GM should be so freeking ashamed of themselves for the size of this list compared to the others. My GEN II trucks I owned (had 3 of them) performed flawlessly but this one is a whole new story. At this point I know GM won't buy the rig back but I'll settle for a GMPP ext warranty. If it shouldn't be a problem for all the problems I'm having since it's still in warranty, then they should be happy to cover it longer. I told the service writer last time I was in that if any good comes out of all the problems with this truck, it's like I'm driving off in a new truck all over again. Sad part is, she even said this truck has had it's share of problems. She reccomended I check out the Super Duty's as according to her, have far fewer problems that the Silverado's. I wonder if she's getting kick-backs from Ford?

Jeff