dealer problems

[vipergg]

Ok I take the Ascender into a GM dealer for the famous whining sound. Yes I know I should have done this myself. So they come back saying it's the fan clutch and they went down that rat hole. So they replace the fan clutch and they punctured the radiator while at it and had to replace that also. So I get it back drive it and the whine is still there which ticked me off . After about 2 days of listening to that I went and bought a breaker bar and a new idler pulley and replaced it myself and guess what whine is gone . The problem is now that whenever it's started when cold now the stupid thing sounds like the proverbial jet taking off which means the fan clutch is fully engaged , so is the fan clutch they put in bad out of the box and should I go after them to replace it again ? Eventually after about 4 minutes of listening to this and driving it does seem to go away or at least not as bad and you have what seems to be normal acceleration again. I'm also afraid this will have an adverse affect on the already mediocre mpg . I'm not all that mechanically inclined so the fan clutch is over my head to do anything with .

 

[The_Roadie]

That behavior is normal. More reliable clutch in the long run, but it does run more at start-up. It helps cool a hot cabin when the engine is cold when the ac condenser needs a boost of airflow. You have a case against the dealer's greed and incompetence. Send them a refund demand, copied to GM corporate regional management.

 

[vipergg]

Well fortunetly it didn't cost me anything because I still have 4000 miles on my GMPP plan . But they did charge GM by saying the radiator had a small leak , yeah wonder why ?? I know the fan clutch they took out rarely did this , only once in a great while when first started . Guess I'll see how it goes then for a little while. The sad thing is I told them when I took it in it was probably the idler pulley and they chose to ignore that and in the end the fix was of course the idler which I replaced .

 

[RayGumm]

Edit: you posted about not paying while I was still writing. Sorry!

Roadie's right, you have a good case for a refund. Did they make you pay for the radiator too? Sure hope not! Thievin stealerships!

That behavior is normal. More reliable clutch in the long run, but it does run more at start-up. It helps cool a hot cabin when the engine is cold when the ac condenser needs a boost of airflow. You have a case against the dealer's greed and incompetence. Send them a refund demand, copied to GM corporate regional management.

So, not to hijack.. but my fan is on at startup too. Would it still come on if the a/c is off when the truck is started? Just curious... I guess this means I am NOT looking at a fan clutch replacement soon! Yay! *knocks on wood*

 

[vipergg]

Edit: you posted about not paying while I was still writing. Sorry!

Roadie's right, you have a good case for a refund. Did they make you pay for the radiator too? Sure hope not! Thievin stealerships!
So, not to hijack.. but my fan is on at startup too. Would it still come on if the a/c is off when the truck is started? Just curious... I guess this means I am NOT looking at a fan clutch replacement soon! Yay! *knocks on wood*

No GMPP picked up the whole tab including a rental car for the day . Don't ever get a Prius they rot , not impressed at all. The clutch in mine is not the electronic version , just a plain fan clutch which they apparently went back to in model year 2008 .

 

[RayGumm]

Hm. Well maybe I will need a new one soon. Oh well, temp seems fine and no codes. We shall see.

 

[The_Roadie]

DARN TAPATALK.....not showing me the vehicle profile. Sorry....not used to dealing with newer ones.

So the greedy, incompetent dealer defrauded GM, not you. Still criminals. Too bad GM didn't have a whistleblower reward program. I'd still send them a letter with the details of the dealer's fraud, but them I'm a cranky hard-ass who can hold grudges for decades.

Why again was the Prius not meeting your needs? Around CA, I find their owners to be sanctimonious pooftahs, but I'm starting to think I need to look closer at their systems before writing the vehicles off. Most of the taxis and Uber cars I see lately are Priuses (Priiiii?) so their reliability doesn't look to be in question.

 

[vipergg]

DARN TAPATALK.....not showing me the vehicle profile. Sorry....not used to dealing with newer ones.

So the greedy, incompetent dealer defrauded GM, not you. Still criminals. Too bad GM didn't have a whistleblower reward program. I'd still send them a letter with the details of the dealer's fraud, but them I'm a cranky hard-ass who can hold grudges for decades.

Why again was the Prius not meeting your needs? Around CA, I find their owners to be sanctimonious pooftahs, but I'm starting to think I need to look closer at their systems before writing the vehicles off. Most of the taxis and Uber cars I see lately are Priuses (Priiiii?) so their reliability doesn't look to be in question.

It just couldn't get out its own way and it's certainly not made for anyone over 6 ft tall . The steering wheel was sitting in my lap even though I had it all the way up. I would hate to take a long trip in one. I'm sure a lot of people love them but I subscribe to buying cars with one drivetrain (gas) versus 2 such as a hybrid . Just more to go wrong and harder to troubleshoot.

 

[mcsteven]

I know you've already given back the loaner, but the Prius would have two handles
On the seat; one to recline the back and another to adjust the height. If you lower the height it gives a lot more room between seat and wheel. I'm 5'10" and when I did that and already had the seat at its most rear position, I couldn't reach the pedals.