2021 Suburban Towed to Dealer After Software Update

[usulsuspct]

We are still dealing with intermittent backup/360 camera failures so the truck was at the dealer for them to "investigate". We picked it up on Friday so we could use the car for the weekend, wife stops at the sitters house to grab our youngest - apparently the truck said an update was avail and should take 5 min to apply. Now before we start educating on all of the reasons to not hit apply when you aren't even at your house, I agree (and now my wife does). So here is a warning to anyone out there who doesn't quite agree yet.


She hit the update button, came back out and the truck wouldn't start, radio and other electrical things seem to work fine. Hit start - nothing.


Called the dealer that we had just left, they told us it was quitting time and there was nothing they could do (that is another issue altogether.). Since we needed to get this vehicle out of this persons driveway we started a roadside assistance call and a flat bed soon arrived. I along with roadside assistance tried to get the truck started for an hour or so, no luck. It would "remote start" via FOB or on-star but any attempt to activate the truck it would turn off. So we proceeded down the path of a tow.


The situation was made more difficult in the fact that the driveway was steep and required a hard turn - so the wheels were turned hard and the steering column electronically locked. The truck also would not go into neutral all attempts were met with an error to the effect of this shift cannot be made in this condition. The flatbed driver pointed out what looked like a small crash/collision symbol so he thought maybe the truck thought it had been in an accident.


On to the tow...As he was setting up to tow the truck I asked how he planned on getting it onto the flatbed. His response was to drag it, which was better then when I asked how he planned on getting it off the flatbed - shake it. Now there was no way I was going to watch a truck with 6k miles on get dragged or shaken off of a flatbed I told them there had to be a better way. Long story short we were able to locate a "repo" style truck that could lift the rear wheels, and then put dollies on the front. This worked great for the 2 mile tow to the dealer - although it cost me $200+tip. I will try and get GM to compensate - I am not holding my breath.


So thats where we are at, truck is at dealer for them to look at on Monday. We are down to one vehicle as the dealer doesn't have anything for us to use.


Whats the point of this post?


Please dont apply software updates to your vehicle unless you have a plan - future updates for us will be done by the dealer / at the dealer.


Honestly as much as we love the look / drive of this truck I am really questioning the long term life of this truck for us.

 

[Stonefort]

Issues with new vehicles always makes me question as well....I'd not worry too much. Don't let it ruin the enjoyment of your new ride!

 

[usulsuspct]

We like the vehicle, although I highly doubt we will keep it beyond the warranty period. There is so much tech in these vehicles that potential repair costs scare me.

 

[Stbentoak]

We like the vehicle, although I highly doubt we will keep it beyond the warranty period. There is so much tech in these vehicles that potential repair costs scare me.

Extended warranties are cheaper than new vehicles, and 3/36 goes by like lightning. I’m getting the 2 yr GM backed warranty extension..That gives me 5/60 full bumper to bumper. I’ll know by then if it’s a solid vehicle or not....

 

[Rdr854]

I had a similar problem with my 07 Silverado (except that it was not a software download issue). When the truck was new, I got stuck at a gas station on the Friday afternoon before Labor Day and had to be towed. It took the dealer and GM a month to figure it out . . . Turned out to be a defective body control module.

Unfortunately, once cars became computerized, software gremlins became prevalent. Now cars that are so sophisticated, we essentially have rolling computers. My fear is that the OEMs will only support the modules and software/firmware for a few years so that there is nothing to be done in 10 or 15 years if the car bricks itself.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Our collective knowledge base for things to consider has been increased.

 

[Doubeleive]

We are still dealing with intermittent backup/360 camera failures so the truck was at the dealer for them to "investigate". We picked it up on Friday so we could use the car for the weekend, wife stops at the sitters house to grab our youngest - apparently the truck said an update was avail and should take 5 min to apply. Now before we start educating on all of the reasons to not hit apply when you aren't even at your house, I agree (and now my wife does). So here is a warning to anyone out there who doesn't quite agree yet.


She hit the update button, came back out and the truck wouldn't start, radio and other electrical things seem to work fine. Hit start - nothing.


Called the dealer that we had just left, they told us it was quitting time and there was nothing they could do (that is another issue altogether.). Since we needed to get this vehicle out of this persons driveway we started a roadside assistance call and a flat bed soon arrived. I along with roadside assistance tried to get the truck started for an hour or so, no luck. It would "remote start" via FOB or on-star but any attempt to activate the truck it would turn off. So we proceeded down the path of a tow.


The situation was made more difficult in the fact that the driveway was steep and required a hard turn - so the wheels were turned hard and the steering column electronically locked. The truck also would not go into neutral all attempts were met with an error to the effect of this shift cannot be made in this condition. The flatbed driver pointed out what looked like a small crash/collision symbol so he thought maybe the truck thought it had been in an accident.


On to the tow...As he was setting up to tow the truck I asked how he planned on getting it onto the flatbed. His response was to drag it, which was better then when I asked how he planned on getting it off the flatbed - shake it. Now there was no way I was going to watch a truck with 6k miles on get dragged or shaken off of a flatbed I told them there had to be a better way. Long story short we were able to locate a "repo" style truck that could lift the rear wheels, and then put dollies on the front. This worked great for the 2 mile tow to the dealer - although it cost me $200+tip. I will try and get GM to compensate - I am not holding my breath.


So thats where we are at, truck is at dealer for them to look at on Monday. We are down to one vehicle as the dealer doesn't have anything for us to use.


Whats the point of this post?


Please dont apply software updates to your vehicle unless you have a plan - future updates for us will be done by the dealer / at the dealer.


Honestly as much as we love the look / drive of this truck I am really questioning the long term life of this truck for us.

on any of those attempts to start after the software update did you try disconnecting the battery for a minute and then hooking it back up?

 

[Ken Rolls]

We are still dealing with intermittent backup/360 camera failures so the truck was at the dealer for them to "investigate". We picked it up on Friday so we could use the car for the weekend, wife stops at the sitters house to grab our youngest - apparently the truck said an update was avail and should take 5 min to apply. Now before we start educating on all of the reasons to not hit apply when you aren't even at your house, I agree (and now my wife does). So here is a warning to anyone out there who doesn't quite agree yet.


She hit the update button, came back out and the truck wouldn't start, radio and other electrical things seem to work fine. Hit start - nothing.


Called the dealer that we had just left, they told us it was quitting time and there was nothing they could do (that is another issue altogether.). Since we needed to get this vehicle out of this persons driveway we started a roadside assistance call and a flat bed soon arrived. I along with roadside assistance tried to get the truck started for an hour or so, no luck. It would "remote start" via FOB or on-star but any attempt to activate the truck it would turn off. So we proceeded down the path of a tow.


The situation was made more difficult in the fact that the driveway was steep and required a hard turn - so the wheels were turned hard and the steering column electronically locked. The truck also would not go into neutral all attempts were met with an error to the effect of this shift cannot be made in this condition. The flatbed driver pointed out what looked like a small crash/collision symbol so he thought maybe the truck thought it had been in an accident.


On to the tow...As he was setting up to tow the truck I asked how he planned on getting it onto the flatbed. His response was to drag it, which was better then when I asked how he planned on getting it off the flatbed - shake it. Now there was no way I was going to watch a truck with 6k miles on get dragged or shaken off of a flatbed I told them there had to be a better way. Long story short we were able to locate a "repo" style truck that could lift the rear wheels, and then put dollies on the front. This worked great for the 2 mile tow to the dealer - although it cost me $200+tip. I will try and get GM to compensate - I am not holding my breath.


So thats where we are at, truck is at dealer for them to look at on Monday. We are down to one vehicle as the dealer doesn't have anything for us to use.


Whats the point of this post?


Please dont apply software updates to your vehicle unless you have a plan - future updates for us will be done by the dealer / at the dealer.


Honestly as much as we love the look / drive of this truck I am really questioning the long term life of this truck for us.

That's why I only drive old turds. 02 burb. Super clean. Well maintained. 342k miles. Goes anywhere without worrying about electro-digicals crapping out. These new cars today are not worth the scrap their made from. Sorry your having trouble man.

 

[usulsuspct]

on any of those attempts to start after the software update did you try disconnecting the battery for a minute and then hooking it back up?

Yes. We disconnected the battery for ~10 min.

 

[usulsuspct]

Dealer said there was a checksum error with the steering module. Re-flashed and everything magically started working. Hopefully getting reimbursed for the towing from GM will be half as easy.


Careful with those updates!