Bad luck with vehicles.........

[nmu98]

I need to vent a little so please bear with me.... We just got back from a 14 hour trip with the truck. The trip was great but the truck did not seem so happy on the trip. I can normally get into the 20mpg range but I was struggling to get 18 on the computer. After it was all said and done, hand calc-ed, I got 15. Most of the way were 2 lane back roads driving at 60 with nothing in the truck but 2 adults 2 kids and 75 gallons of fuel in the transfer flow tank... I should have got better milage........

On the trip the passenger side door handle broke off. My wife, 115 pounds, went to open it and she ended up with the handle in her hand. Looks like the plastic broke around the bolts holding it to the door....

The front spoiler under the front bumper decided to come loose and it blew under the front tire at 60mph, ripping half of it off..... including the fog lamp....

Both towing mirrors started to come loose and they rattled to no end. The dealer said it was fairly common for these to come loose for some reason????

While we were at the dealership, I was walking around the truck and asking them to please put more anti squeak tape on the doors, I found that my wheel liner on the front was falling down and there was a 4 inch hole wore in it from rubbing on the tire. This was the opposite side that the spoiler ripped off, so it would have had nothing to do with that...

I must have a truck that was built on a friday..... But most of the items that broke were held on with plastic push pins.... Its frustrating to only have 30K on this thing and have the lack of quality.

I don't off road this truck. I don't beat it... I have other vehicles to have fun in.... and I really feel it should be holding up a lot better than it has over the 30K. This is the 6th trip to the dealer in 2 years over stupid stuff breaking, and 3 others over engine codes and failures.......

 

[Dmace]

So what kind of truck is it...?

 

[nmu98]

I kinda wanted to keep that out.... but.....2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD Dmax.........

Builder will be all over me because the ALMIGHTY GM product could never have issues.......

It makes me mad because this is the first truck I have kept stock (other thant he fuel tank) for a long time because I was sick of always having an issue with daily drivers......

I know all trucks have issues... But these seem to be constant and stupid problems that GM should have a handle on...

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

It's a GM product. No wonder there having money troubles. It's funny some of the items you mentioned having issuse with. My wife's gmc yukon had the same fender liner issues and the rattleing is at time unbearable. I noticed last week that the door moldings paint is faded on all four. I contacted the dealer and was told nope not cover by the extended warranty. I asked what should mileage have to do with a defective paint job? No response, so I feel your frustration. I explained that a 07 60k$ vehicle should not have any such issues and if the issues do arise GM should bendover backwards to make it right. Again no response. The fact is that these car makers put quanity over quality and have no customer loyaly. In America customer service is DEAD!

Matt

 

[LBrown59]

So what kind of truck is it...?

Let me know so i won't by 1.

 

[Dargo]

I know all trucks have issues... But these seem to be constant and stupid problems that GM should have a handle on...

I've, unfortunately, seen this drop in quality in several different make vehicles. I realize that the manufacturers have to be profitable, but sometimes I personally feel that they cut too many corners and expect us, the consumer, to accept lower quality. My thought is that I'd expect it if I were buying a new pickup for, say, ten thousand bucks or something like that. The fact is that the vehicles I've noticed this in, and hear complaints about, seem to be pickups and SUV's. As you know, these are typically some of the higher profit margin vehicles. I think their days of having blindly loyal customers, for the most part, are gone.

I wish I had a good suggestion for you, but I don't. I have phone numbers for regional customer support for each manufacturer. The problem is that I've been told that complaining to them generally only gets you excuses and, perhaps, a free oil change. I think your best bet is to politely just continue to express your dissatisfaction with your dealer. Most, not all, are decent people and will respond positively if you go out of your way to be polite, but not accept "sorry" (and no further action) for an answer. As wrong as it seems, the manufacturers lean on the dealers quite a bit to fix these "problem" vehicles. Good luck!

 

[Diamondpilot]

Been my experience with GM also including my current daily driver, a Saturn. Good motors, decent trannys, but the rest will fall apart and nickel and dime you to death. Thats my view of GM and probably most of the general public. My neighbors 2007 Classic 3500 SRW Dmax 4x4 is just about like your truck as far as quality with less than 40,000 miles on it. Now you see why they are in trouble and needed Government funding to stay afloat. May not be around for much longer.

Only suggestion I have for the mpg is change the air filter. The GM filter minder that tells you when it needs changed does not work. I just put in a filter in my neighbors truck mentioned above after 38,000 miles and the minder said it was only 25% restricted. He noted 3 mpg loss and changing the air filter fixed that. Its a common problem with the Dmax. Just change the filter every 20,000 miles or more often in extreme conditions.

Chris

 

[Renze]

Been my experience with GM also including my current daily driver, a Saturn. Good motors, decent trannys, but the rest will fall apart and nickel and dime you to death.

In the USA you guys seem to rate Ford as the better vehicle available today.
Over here, Ford had boatloads of the previous generation Mondeo in lease contracts, because the car was a lot nicer to drive than the old Mondeo, the 2.0 TDDI and TDCI diesels were way nicer than the old and underpowered 1.8 TD, and for the monthly payments, they were just a steal deal. When the lease contracts ended, the vehicles had rust problems and the market wouldnt pay prices for the used Mondeos as for other brand ex-lease cars. This brought Ford into financial trouble, as they had leased them for way too little.

I think GM already saw it coming and decided to "cut costs" in order to lower their prices and maintain their sales position.

 

[nmu98]

Now its a parts waiting game. The cannot fix all of it until next Thursday.

The dealer is treating me well for the most part, and they are being honest about the problems. I just question what else is falling apart that i do not know about....

This truck is a love hate relationship...... so far, I love the tires...30K and still half tread.... But, I hate the rest of the truck.... But there is no getting rid of it in this economy, so I need to live with it for a few years.......

NEVER AGAIN will I buy a GM. Not all due to this truck, but between this truck and the govt bailout and bankrupcy.... I do not feel like I want to support their business...

 

[Builder]

I kinda wanted to keep that out.... but.....2008 GMC Sierra 2500HD Dmax.........

Builder will be all over me because the ALMIGHTY GM product could never have issues.......

It makes me mad because this is the first truck I have kept stock (other thant he fuel tank) for a long time because I was sick of always having an issue with daily drivers......

I know all trucks have issues... But these seem to be constant and stupid problems that GM should have a handle on...

I'm not going to be "ALL OVER" you. If you are seeking advice, as I suspect you are by making your problems public here, trade the thing in and buy a Ford or Dodge if you're unhappy or be more forcefull with the service department.

Be proactive. Change your situation and move on to something else! That's why I changed truck brands.

There's nothing written in stone that any given brand of truck will be the truck of a lifetime. Seems like me and JCseven are having a great ownership experience so far.