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gleninjersey

GM or Buick Contact For Dissatisfied Customer

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Long shot but I know some people work in the car industry / dealerships.

Sorry for long post but here is why I'm asking.  2012 Buick Enclave with 115k.

Does anyone have a number at Buick or GM to escalate owner dissatisfaction?

Long story short. We've had code saying catalytic converter needs to be replaced. I've never had a cat go bad and we've owned several GM vehicles over the last few decades.

We scheduled a day to bring it in to the dealer for a diagnostic. Earlier that day the engine began to overheat. My wife called me. She immediately turned the AC off and the heat on high. The tempeature started going down and was not in the red, no steam/smoke coming from under hood.

I told her to drive it immediately to the dealer. She was about 2.5 miles from dealer.

The next day the dealer calls and says the engine block is cracked, the water pump is leaking, the radiatior is leaking, the front axle needs to be replaced AND the catalytic converter needs to be replaced. Parts alone are over $6k and that doesn't include labor. Essentially the car is a complete loss.

The car has been well taken care of and has been a people mover, vacation car, grocery getter, etc. It's not a AWD or four wheel drive and has never need driven off road or abused.

The car is 2012 Buick Enclave only has 115k. We expected to get a few more years out of it before we traded it in for a new or newer Enclave. My wife loved this vehicle.

The dealership we brought it to said they contacted GM and the best they can offer is a $2k Customer Loyalty credit to the purchase of another vehicle because the vehilcle is "too old".

To say I'm livid is an understatement. I'm shocked to hear that GM thinks a 7 year old vehicle is "too old". I guess that's news to my 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP Comp G Edition. Because it still runs great.

I've been going back and forth with Buick via Facebook Messenger but it's like running in circles. I would like to escalate this matter up the line.

I really believe we just got a bad vehicle. We've owned many GM vehicles (Pontiac Bonnevile, a DeVille, three Grand Prixs, etc) over many decades. None of those cars combinded ever gave us problems like this.

If anyone can point me in the right direction I would like to see if GM can remedy this unfortunate situation satisfactorily as we really do enjoy the Enclave and the many GM vehicles we've owned in the past.

Sorry for long post.

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Catalytic converters clogging caused it to run hot... and resulted in the other issues. They are federally covered for 8 years or 80,000 miles... but I do know of certain times where it was increased to 10 years/100,000 miles (my last Impala, due to a design flaw with the converter). Neither helps you out... but when mine went, it didn’t help with the intake manifold melting/EGR valve going.

Sorry, but I don’t see it working out any better than what was offered. Argument would probably be, if overheating... why not shut it off and call for a tow?

Cars aren’t built to last anymore. Keeping a car over 8 years isn’t the norm, mainly because fixing them outweigh the replacement costs. I currently have a 2010 Malibu... but if that engine seized tomorrow, I know I would be looking for another vehicle.

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We've generally kept our vehicles 10+ years before trading in or disposing of.

I guess it's true, they just don't make them like they used to.  The entire "lease every three years" mentality doesn't make sense to me.

My Grand Prixs really spoiled me.  That 3800 just runs and runs and runs.  I'll be keeping my GTP Comp G Edition until it falls apart.

It started to overheat bc the water pump and radiator both went.  And now I find out these vehicles are known to have a problem with leaking coolant.

 

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Cars these days last longer than they did in the past. They just aren't as repairable because you can't essentially re-manufacture one from parts like you could with old cars. 

That aside,  I'm with screwball. I don't see this working out for you any better than what was offered. Especially from GM. This is a company that shrugs it shoulder at criminal behavior from it's dealers. It is also a company that walked away from warranty coverage with the bail out. They aren't liable for the problems you had by law, so they have made a painless gesture as a nod towards customer retention because it is cheaper than customer acquisition. 

 

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9 hours ago, Screwball said:

Cars aren’t built to last anymore. Keeping a car over 8 years isn’t the norm, mainly because fixing them outweigh the replacement costs.

This is what I've seen over the last decade or so too...  get to the 100K mark without any major repairs, time for disposal and replacement.

2 hours ago, Zeke said:

Should have stuck with a Grand Prix bro

Or a Honda...

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21 hours ago, Zeke said:

Should have stuck with a Grand Prix bro

I've still got two Grand Prixs.  The gold base model needs a tranny.  Will probably put one in it and make it a daily / let my oldest drive it to high school and work.

GTP running like a champ.  We actually took it on road trip to NC and Tenneessee due to Enclave being down.

Wife wants a people mover able to hold seven people.  Told her I was going to find her a Pontiac Transport.  3800 for life!  :)

  • Haha 1

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We picked up the Enclave.  Going to take it to an independent mechanic for a second opinion.  

A mechanic on an Enclave Fan Page on Facebook (yes, that actually exists) said he's never seen one with a cracked engine block and recommended getting it checked out.  

If engine is still good I will GLADLY out the dealer later.

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1 hour ago, gleninjersey said:

We picked up the Enclave.  Going to take it to an independent mechanic for a second opinion.  

A mechanic on an Enclave Fan Page on Facebook (yes, that actually exists) said he's never seen one with a cracked engine block and recommended getting it checked out.  

If engine is still good I will GLADLY out the dealer later.

I doubt the engine block is cracked. The cost to replace the engine and all those other parts would easily exceed $6,000. I bet they meant the water pump was cracked.

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4 hours ago, diamondd817 said:

I doubt the engine block is cracked. The cost to replace the engine and all those other parts would easily exceed $6,000. I bet they meant the water pump was cracked.

They sent this pic saying engine block was cracked and told us more than once it needed a new engine.

A water pump, radiator, catalytic converter  and CV axle replacement wouldn't come close to $6k in parts.  They said it needed $6k in parts, NOT including labor.  

20190729_072409.jpg

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On 7/30/2019 at 7:03 PM, Bklynracer said:

Wish I still had mine, traded it in when I couldn't get 2 car seats double stroller and playpen in the car besides other things.

Like my guns, they'll have to pry my GTP from my cold, dead hands!

It was a good find.  Only 78k when I bought it.  Already but 10k on it since February.  Time to fix tranny on my 04 base model so don't rack up too many miles on the GTP.

Dropping off wife's Enclave tomorrow at a reputable mechanic for second opinion.

More I talk to people and get feed back from mechanics & more knowledgeable car guys the more I think it's bs that the engine block cracked / needs to be replaced.

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On 7/30/2019 at 4:30 PM, gleninjersey said:

They sent this pic saying engine block was cracked and told us more than once it needed a new engine.

A water pump, radiator, catalytic converter  and CV axle replacement wouldn't come close to $6k in parts.  They said it needed $6k in parts, NOT including labor.  

20190729_072409.jpg

i don't see a crack in that picture?

 

 the cat code was a p0420, correct? there was a chance...very slight...that there could've been an update to the ecm. kinda like the older gm's when we'd change out the prom in the ecu. coulda been a leaking flex pipe. you should've heard that though.

 that said.........cats are stupid common to go bad on these. usually a little over 100k miles.....like yours. the cat CAN fail without clogging. if the cat was clogged/clogging, then there was something amiss in the way the engine was running to cause it. they don't just clog without something killing them that way.

 the overheating.....unless you'd been starting to notice stains appearing on your driveway, i'd want to see pictures of the leaking components. or better yet, visit the shop and look.

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FYI - independent mechanic didn't see any leaks from water pump or radiator.

1lTCAP- I believe that was the code.  Could a bad CAT cause overheating?  I've never had one go bad so no idea what symptoms are.   I had read rotting egg odor from exhaust but that wasn't occurring.  Vehicle drove fine.  I had replaced all the O2 sensors months ago hoping that would clear code.

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4 minutes ago, gleninjersey said:

FYI - independent mechanic didn't see any leaks from water pump or radiator.

1lTCAP- I believe that was the code.  Could a bad CAT cause overheating?  I've never had one go bad so no idea what symptoms are.   I had read rotting egg odor from exhaust but that wasn't occurring.  Vehicle drove fine.  I had replaced all the O2 sensors months ago hoping that would clear code.

bad cat could cause overheating only if it was clogging. if that were the case, then the engine would be working overtime to keep the car moving and that's what would make it overheat. i've had bad cats that didn't make that odor, nor were they clogged. i've had good cats make that odor. i just had a "stoplight challenge" in moms taurus last week, and hers made that odor 'cause of how hot i got it. you'll often smell that smell from police cruisers too after they've been on it to get somewhere fast.

 the overheat was more than likely a bad thermostat if there were no coolant leaks.

 was anything leaking from that crack? i checked reliability reports on this engine, and didn't find anything bad yet.

 

 this is why i don't like dealers. they find boatloads of stuff even if they don't find the actual problem, then try to convince you to trade in on a newer vehicle. they've done it to 3 of my friends that all knew better 'cause they asked me first.

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Talked to mechanic.  They found no leaks.  They said only thing they can think of is imperfection in the molding for the engine block.

Called GM customer service number on Friday.  Explained one of their engine blocks cracked for no apparent reason and we are very displeased about it.

Said they "would get back to me".

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Sucks that this happened. Know plenty of people with various issues with their new GM vehicles and they didn't have much luck from the company. Definitely try anyway, but I think it would help if a lot more people followed through with complaining to a consumer reporting agency.

My dad bought nothing but GM vehicles his whole life before he finally gave in to the Toyota in 2008 and then a Honda a year after. Both cars still run great. Meanwhile my wife's Chevy that was also purchased in 2008 needed new struts at 70k miles. F that.

 

good luck.

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