2023 Tahoe LT Lemon

[dcyy]

P.S.: I had a 93 Chevy S-10 Blazer 4 door that had an issue the dealer could not resolve after 2 attempts. They called in a regional guy from GM to come out and see what could be done. They did what he suggested the third time and was still a no-fix. When I mentioned invoking the MA state lemon law (which is an arbitration process), GM immediately offered to do a voluntary buy-back to resolve the issue with my new Blazer and make me happy again.

They paid off my loan in full, sold me another at true cost (factory invoice, not dealer invoice) and got me into a lower interest loan on the new one. I had more options than on the one GM bought back and ended up paying less per month than before!

I found out later, that because they bought the vehicle back outside the lemon law process, they could throw the Blazer back on another lot and not have to disclose anything. They could just sell to another customer and hope they never have anything resurface with the problems I was having. Once tagged as a lemon, all the problems have to be fully disclosed and the value of the vehicle drops considerably. Not many people really want to spend a lot of money for something labeled as a lemon... So, settlement outside the lemon law process before anything starts with that allows the company to resell the vehicle for full current retail or close to it.

That is how my problem was resolved. I was happy.
But, my problems were documentable and were present before and after attempts were made to fix it...

I'm curious-because your problem was resolved before being tagged as a lemon and they put the vehicle up for sale again is the unsolved trouble listed on a carfax or any other documentation. It would seem to me that any willful nondisclosure of a major mechanical issue would fraudulent by the dealer. If somebody else buys the Blazer and bring it back for the same thing what happens

 

[EGTroup]

First time Tahoe owner (GM for that matter) and recently purchased a 2023 Tahoe LT brand new (first new car purchase). At about 300 miles I randomly got multiple errors and flashing check engine light with engine running rough(photos and error codes from OnStar diagnostic). Traction control error, forward collision disabled, service ESC, etc. I was almost certain it was the dreaded lifter issue but couldn't believe so early at 300 miles. I was able to make it back home and OnStar required I get it towed into the dealership. After sitting in the lot for a few days, the dealership reset the check engine light and everything was fine. Service attributed as a software anomaly. Brought it back home and fast forward 700 miles and the issue occurred with the exact same thing. 3 days before we are supposed to take it on the first long road trip for the holiday.

Anybody experienced this issue? Have a suggestion on what to do? Wondering what my options are because I'm getting to the point of demanding to trade it in and see what the dealer can do for me because two events where the truck is inoperable and had to be towed in less than 1000 miles for $65k+ is unacceptable. Appreciate the advice. Merry Christmas!

Cars today are full of computers and interconnected sensors. I had a similiar situation with 2020 Ram 1500 Limited Ecodiesel. The dashboard would go haywire with all sorts of unrelated warnings — service air suspension, check engine, service this, service that… etc.

The problem was an intermittent bad cell in the battery. The resultant voltage disruption caused all these sensors to malfunction.

Replaced the battery. Problem fixed. Eleven months later problem reoccured. Battery tested bad and replaced 2nd time under warranty. No problems for 40k miles since.

Nothing wrong with truck at all.

 

[MassHoe04]

I'm curious-because your problem was resolved before being tagged as a lemon and they put the vehicle up for sale again is the unsolved trouble listed on a carfax or any other documentation. It would seem to me that any willful nondisclosure of a major mechanical issue would fraudulent by the dealer. If somebody else buys the Blazer and bring it back for the same thing what happens

Issue was never resolved. Since the Blazer was not involved in any state lemon law arbitration proceedings, it was not tagged as a lemon. Sure it had a history of complaints and attempts to fix it and a list of service notes documenting the issue while I had it. The information was there for the asking, but there was nothing that required GM or the dealer to make any effort to bring to anyone's attention. If buyer did not ask, it was my understanding that they were not compelled to mention anything. This was all information I found out, after the GM buy-back was complete, from a dealer friend of mine.

The buy-back, being voluntary by GM and outside the Lemon Law process... It was considered just a vehicle that had unresolved customer complaints that GM attempted to correct and would continue stand by the vehicle until the factory warranty ran out. If the issue returned for the new buyer, it would be covered for the rest of the warranty.

The reason they do the buy-backs is to avoid getting the vehicle tagged with the official "lemon" designation.

My issue was resolved with the GM buy-back. I got a better vehicle for lower payments. Made me happy.

 

[EducatorDan]

The ******** state of this world is eroding customer service big time. Diagnostics, a'int nobody got time fo dat!

Yeah even worse is when you can tell a service department is just throwing parts at something. I've got the issue of a dealer where I genuinely like the sales department but don't trust the service department.

A few years back my inlaws had a 2009 Pontiac Torrent with the ol' 3.4 V6. At about 80,000 miles it was showing the classic symptoms of a head gasket issue that those engines were notorious for (and I stupidly thought maybe had been fixed at that point given the engine had been in production for about 20 years.) Service department at the local GMC/Buick dealer was just throwing parts at it. New thermostat, coolant drain and replacement, etc. over multiple visits. Their favorite salesman was so embarrassed he offered them OVER book value (this was in 2016) on it as a trade-in and then sold them another SUV at a nice discount.

The dealer in question has been in the same family for 100 years and the salesman is part of that family.

 

[BlaineBug]

Yeah even worse is when you can tell a service department is just throwing parts at something. I've got the issue of a dealer where I genuinely like the sales department but don't trust the service department.

A few years back my inlaws had a 2009 Pontiac Torrent with the ol' 3.4 V6. At about 80,000 miles it was showing the classic symptoms of a head gasket issue that those engines were notorious for (and I stupidly thought maybe had been fixed at that point given the engine had been in production for about 20 years.) Service department at the local GMC/Buick dealer was just throwing parts at it. New thermostat, coolant drain and replacement, etc. over multiple visits. Their favorite salesman was so embarrassed he offered them OVER book value (this was in 2016) on it as a trade-in and then sold them another SUV at a nice discount.

The dealer in question has been in the same family for 100 years and the salesman is part of that family.

If it's family owned, why don't they work on the reputation of their service department?

 

[Larryjb]

Cold damp weather can cause intermittent faults like what was experienced by the OP. I just had my brake lines replaced along with the ABS unit. A few weeks alter I had a problem with the ABS intermittently activating in non-skid situations. Once things warmed up it went away. I got underneath and applied some silicone dielectric grease to the connectors and had no trouble since.

I recently had a terrible misfire on my Explorer, water got into the plug wells. It was time to do plugs anyway, but I made sure the outsides of the boots had a thin layer of high temp dielectric grease as well as every electrical connection with the boot (boot to plug, boot to coil).

My point: in all my experience, nearly every problem I've had was due to a very simple problem, often corrected by a simple and easy solution. True, that hasn't always been the case. This certainly wouldn't be the case for the AFM lifter issue.

 

[BuckChevy25]

Update: Got the truck towed into a different dealer on Christmas Eve. Didn’t get looked at until this afternoon and confirmed a bad injector that will need replaced. Problem is the injectors are on back order……..

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

Update: Got the truck towed into a different dealer on Christmas Eve. Didn’t get looked at until this afternoon and confirmed a bad injector that will need replaced. Problem is the injectors are on back order……..

Well, that’s good to have answer.

Often the dealer can contact GM and get a part expedited if it is an under warranty/undrivable condition. Ask the SVC manager if they can do this.

 

[EducatorDan]

If it's family owned, why don't they work on the reputation of their service department?

Honestly I wonder if it's time for the next generation to take over. Nothing against the 65 plus generation but there's a whole group of their kids under them that ought to be given a shot at this point if you've got stagnation in a business.

 

[Kjm1]

First time Tahoe owner (GM for that matter) and recently purchased a 2023 Tahoe LT brand new (first new car purchase). At about 300 miles I randomly got multiple errors and flashing check engine light with engine running rough(photos and error codes from OnStar diagnostic). Traction control error, forward collision disabled, service ESC, etc. I was almost certain it was the dreaded lifter issue but couldn't believe so early at 300 miles. I was able to make it back home and OnStar required I get it towed into the dealership. After sitting in the lot for a few days, the dealership reset the check engine light and everything was fine. Service attributed as a software anomaly. Brought it back home and fast forward 700 miles and the issue occurred with the exact same thing. 3 days before we are supposed to take it on the first long road trip for the holiday.

Anybody experienced this issue? Have a suggestion on what to do? Wondering what my options are because I'm getting to the point of demanding to trade it in and see what the dealer can do for me because two events where the truck is inoperable and had to be towed in less than 1000 miles for $65k+ is unacceptable. Appreciate the advice. Merry Christmas!

I had this exact issue on my 2022 LT Tahoe. Fortunately I was not traveling at the time and could take it to the dealer the next day. It was the ECM that failed and once replaced all is back to normal. The ECM failed around 5500 miles and Im at about 13000 miles now. A family member with a 2017 surburban had the exact same issue a few years ago so it sounds like an unfortunate issue that GM still has not completely addressed.