Stealerships at it again..
 

So I have a ticking valve issue, and went in to have them take care of it. At first they tried to tell me it may be from my exhaust since it is aftermarket. I said that my exauhst couldnt be the problem. The tech said, yeah it could, if you have bigger headers it could cause it. I said it is the stock header. He then said the high-flow cat could contribute. I said I have the stock cat. He was getting annoyed, but I continued to spew politeness and courtesy and asked them to take a look.

After looking for 30 minutes, he tells me that he isn't authorized to do anything without GM's permission. I knew that would be the case, I just wanted to get the ball rolling.

But here is the ridiculous part... He told me that I have to get proof that my last 2 oil changes were done with 5w-30 oil to ensure it has been maintained properly. He said just go to jiffy lube to get the info. I told him I do the oil changes myself, and I am religous about it. I have ~16k on my car and I have changed it atleast 3 times. He said that I now have to produce reciepts of the 5w-30 oil for him.

How the hell am I going to produce reciepts from autozone from last year? I mean really!?!

I am pretty sure that the warranty laws say that the burden of proof is on the dealership to prove that the problems are my fault do to aftermarket parts, or me using the wrong oil. But I can't think of how they could prove this since I have always changed my oil appropriately, and have very few aftermarket parts.

I guess I will just have to read some fine print in the warranty law that states the burden of proof is on them. That will be quite a pain in the ass..

Any suggestions to make my life easier, or any comments about how lame that is? I just felt like ranting..

GM is a bunch of faggots when it comes to warranty work on their cars.. I'm sick of reading threads like this. Why won't GM stand behind their product?!

Sorry about the shit luck man, but maybe try another dealer? Some dealers are more lenient about stuff like this than others.

how did u find out u had a ticking valve

Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick..

It started out small, and its getting much worse each day. I can hear it over my music while driving, nonetheless when i'm at idle or pop the hood..

idk I dont like chevy cars....i think their shit...but im stuck with one just as you are

id take it to another dealership

Dude what dealer do you go to hendricks has never given me any problems before......

yeah man, thats your boy dan at hendricks..

you sure your not hearing your injectors cause they definitely arent quite. I mean the ecotec is a loud engine anyway. Just curious but i know i can hear my injectors with my hood poppe. not in the cabin though

the tech is right, an exhaust leak can sound like a valvetrain issue, i work at a dodge dealer and it happens quite frequently on Durangos with 4.7L

As far as the oil changes, you needed to keep your recipts, thats the way it is. I keep mine

i keep all mine too but sometimes stealerships go overboard.

X45908034534 Tell them to kiss your ass!

The reason he dont want to do it is.......warrienty work dosnt pay as well as when we pay out of our pockets. Its true they have to get permission from GM but heres how it goes.

GM tech... Hey we got this cobalt vin # blah blah blah with a ticking valve.....

GM.....Ok check blah, blah, blah and blah and call us back with what you find.

that's BS dude. don't let that dealership take you for a ride. You're probably better off going somewhere else because even if they do fix it, they'll be pissy about it now.

you dont have to have warranty work done at the dealership. take it to another mechanic you know and trust, he will send in the paperwork for the warranty. my father in law sends in all my wifes and my warranty work, never has a problem.

There is a TSB on a timing chain issue, are you sure this isn't that? I always thought that they had to actually determine the problem before they could tell you they didn't want to cover it? I would go directly to GM and see if you can get them to push the dealership. The most important thing is never take no for an answer... hehe

Def not the injectors. The crooked tech even agrees.

If there is an exhaust leak that is MY fault, then the noise would come from where my new exhaust is right? I still have the stock header and stock cat, so if the ticking is a result of a faulty aftermarket exhaust, then the noise wouldnt be coming from the engine? Not to mention if you put a screwdriver to your ear and listen to the 4 cylinders, it is obvious that the ticking is coming from inside. The second to left cylinder to be specific.
I do my own oil changes, so I should keep the reciepts from autozone showing purchase of oil? That wouldnt prove a thing. It just proves that on some date i bought stuff from autozone. There is no proof that an oil change was done to my vehicle.

Really? I have never heard of that. I always thought that a gm tech had to verify that whatever work was done, GM has to pay for.. I would like to hear more about that if anyone has similar experiences.


Thanks for you comments and suggestions guys. This forum always helps me out, or atleast lets me vent when bullshit dealership crap happens.. Too bad it happens often.

Keep the comments and suggestions coming..

ALWAYS...ALWAYS...
Keep your oil receipts AND write the date(or circle it on the receipt if you do it the same day you buy). Also write the mileage you did the change at. I usually write on the receipts right before I do the change and then put it in the glove box right away.

This is what you should be looking into...

wow thats a weird one dan has never given me any problems. weird stuff man...... talk to 72chevy72 on horsepowerjunkies he works there see what he says.

^^Thanks rick, I probably will talk to him eventually, but as for right now, I dont want the dealership to know about any of my posts online. If they ever read up on some of my posts it will be difficult to maintain my worthless warranty lol..

i find it strange that you think GM doesnt have the right to know wtf you have been doing with your engine before they spend money on it?

warranty isnt an all inclusive GOD clause.
you have to take care of your car to get warranty.

either you keep reciepts when someone changes your oil,
or you keep the oil reciepts and write it down in your own log book.

the fact that you didnt know this, is not GMs fault. because its written in your handbook.
hell theres even a place to write down your oil changes.



you know what IM tired of reading? people who think warranty is their god given right.

in this case, it sounds like your more than deserving of warranty.
but GM doesnt know that do they.
they get yahoo idiots in every day who dont even know what a fuckin oil change is....and you think they should just believe everyone?

if you knew some of the shit those techs probably see every day, youd be skeptical towards people too.

A kid came into my local dealer a while back, with a 2.7 aftermarket pully, aftermarket 42lb injectors, S2 belt, and ordered the dealership to flash S2 into his car under warranty.....

The main problem I have with this situation is that bringing in reciepts of purchasing oil proves nothing. After going to the dealership I went and bought 7qts of oil since I will need an oil change in 2k miles, and figured may as well get it now and have the reciept. The receipt says 7 qts of mobil oil. It says nothing about 5w-30. PLUS, just cause I bought it doesnt prove that I even did the oil change. But that isnt the main point.

The reason this situation upsets me is because that the majority of times ive gone in to get warranty work done, the dealership looks for a way to get out of it. But not just looks for a way, but stretches all sorts of bullshit excuses. One of many stories I have is that my axles were clicking a while back. I brought it into the dealership, and they immediately said it was my strut bar. I told them that a friend of mine that has a cobalt had the same problem but doesnt have a strut bar. They told me that their mechanic has been working for 20 years on chevy's and knows his stuff, and he said the strut bar is causing it. I then talk to my buddy who directs me to the dealership he goes to, and they fix the problem in less than 20 minutes. The axles just needed a lube. The first dealership was so quick to dismiss me because of a minor modification that they didnt bother to do their job. AND warranty work is their job. I dont know the inner workings of the disadvantages of warranty work, but everytime i have a problem, they try to blame it on one of very few aftermarket parts that I have.

But back to what you were saying anomolous..

"i find it strange that you think GM doesnt have the right to know wtf you have been doing with your engine before they spend money on it?"

Did i say they dont have the right? No, they can ask all the questions they want. But the impression the tech gave me(and i may have gotten in wrong. we will see when i go in later this week) was that unless i produce the reciepts, they won't cover my warranty. So unless the oil change was done at the dealership, there is no real proof that one was ever done. A jiffylube reciept can be bullshitted, and an autozone reciept for oil doesnt mean i actually changed the oil, or even used the right oil.
I opened this thread with the first conversation i had with the tech. The tech didnt ask me about proper maintanance, or how long its been happening, or if i have any guesses as to what may have caused it. He IMMEDIATELY insinuated it was related to my exhaust. No politeness even though i was extremely cordial. No questions about what exactly was entailed in my exhaust upgrade. He just went straight to diagnosis that it was most likely related to my exhaust. Thats not asking "wtf i have been doing with my engine." Thats telling me that it is most likely not GM's fault. But the best part about that is that this was my second visit to the dealership over the same problem. The first time i went in they said not to worry about the ticking because it wasnt loud enough. I didnt like that answer but fine. But this second time, when i came in and talked to this tech the lady i spoke to on my first visit saw me, came over, and whispered something into his ear. He said "What?" and she said "just look at the notes" refering to the service notes attached to my history record. Thats when he started up with the insinuations. So I barely got out my name before the blaming started. That isnt the way it should be. Yeah, ask questions. You have to ask questions. But dont immediately make accusations that relieves GM of responsibility. The lady even refered to me as Mr. Supercharged.. Yeah, i'm 23 years old, and drive a car with a big spoiler, but that doesnt give you the right to group me in with the kids that demand reflashes that clearly arent warranted, or the kids that go 40k miles without an oil change. All i want is the benefit of the doubt that i may not be a punk ass kid. After all, from what i understand, it is on the dealership to prove that im an asshole, not on me to prove that i'm a responsible vehicle owner..

So anomalous, i truly am sorry that you have to deal with crazy kids that expect warranty work that OBVIOUSLY isnt warranted, but in a case like this, like you even said, warranty work is most likely warranted, so i dont think i deserve to be treated like some dumbass kid that is asking for the world. I spent alot of money on a vehicle that GM promised was a quality product. And unless they can prove that I have fucked it up, i think they should atleast look into fullfilling their responsibility before they try to blame it on me.

with regards to what he said he is correct. We have have had some major issues with our dealerships in raleigh area. He was talking about my axels. I took the car in a total of 4-5 times complaining it and they kept dismissing it as nothing. UNTIL I reproduced the problem for them. after that it was taken care of. which is why i recommeded that t- go to my dealer. I am kind of suprised that they told him about the oil change. I have done my warranty work there several times and have done my own oil change without recepits.... it must be something new...... last time i went for warranty work was several days months ago.....


It is funny though my valve was ticking pertty bad in fay this weekend i may need to make a stop by there anyways

lol, good luck my friend. I suggest changing your oil now(or atleast buying oil) and keeping the reciept just incase i get denied when i go back in without my reciepts..

ok well since i encountered this problem twice now
the first time i had a tick it took them 3 tries to find out where it came from it was my exhaust manafold gasket they said it got loose then i read on the boards it is caused by wheel hop or hard shifting then it happened again 2 months later they looked at the gasket it was still sealed good so they looked into the injectors and they found out that there were a lot of crap in the gas tank like some sand and crap and they were causing the injectors to work harder and sound louder so they replaced and it was quieter then when they checked oil it seemd they foundsome shaved metal pieces in the oil filter so they took apart whole engine and cleaned it up and re built it couldn' find no damaged pieces and bam as of last week no problem except for 2 days ago and my accident lol