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Multiple problems with brand new 2015 Suburban LTZ

michael840michael840 Member Posts: 3
edited January 2016 in Chevrolet
We purchased a new 2015 Suburban LTZ MSRP $74,900 plus the additional dealer installed options we had added which cost another approximately $5000. from a local large dealership at the end of August 2015. We were supposed to take delivery the following week. We attempted to take delivery on 9/4/2015 but the vehicle would not move out of the dealer's delivery area. The dealer put us into a loaner vehicle and sent ours to service. On 9/18/2015 it was supposedly ready again. However we discovered wierd electrical problems with it. The NAV / Radio would flake out on occasion, the TPMS system would not report the tire pressure correctly randomly, the Adaptive Cruse control would randomly accelerate the vehicle at full throttle at unexpected times. I would have to press the brakes very hard to stop the vehicle. I went to drive the Suburban to work and it for some unexplained reason the transfer case was stuck in neutral???. There were multiple error messages on the DIC, Service 4WD system and lower driver's side window? I had to call and have it towed to the nearest dealership. They flashed something and said it was good to go. I was still having the same cruse control problems. I took it right back to the selling dealership. They worked on it until 11/12/2015 and said it was good to go. We were still having the strange acceleration problems. The TPMS system errors were still present. The dash weird problems were still present and another problem came up: we unlocked the door with the remote but the vehicle alarm went off and would not shut off. The alarm goes off at random times. We also were noticing water on the center console depending on if the front of the Suburban was up or down. If it was parked with the front pointed up water would fill into the center console and cup holders and if it was pointed down water would drain through the A pillar and down under the dash and run under the floor covers. Since we has put less that 1000 miles on it (the dealership has put well over 2000 miles on it trying to troubleshoot the problems. It was dropped off at the dealership on 1/7/16 and has been there ever since. The dealership is very nice however they can only see that "codes" were set in the computer about some communication problem? I expect that if you have water under the dash and all over the center console and since the vehicle has been sitting in the rain outside for months waiting to be serviced one would expect some corrosion. Now when i went to get some belongings out of the Suburban I noticed it had a funky smell inside! No new car smell here! I am bummed at spending nearly $80,000 on a brand new GM vehicle and have all these problems. The dealership service department said that they have identified and fixed the water leaks and think they can return the car tomorrow. This Suburban has been in the shop longer than I have had it. I am very disappointed. If someone from GM contacts me I will keep this posting up to date with what happens.

Comments

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    You might want to consider a thorough review of your state's Lemon Laws and take advantage of them if you think you quality.

  • michael840michael840 Member Posts: 3
    edited January 2016

    You might want to consider a thorough review of your state's Lemon Laws and take advantage of them if you think you quality.

    Thank you I am already looking. The service manager at the dealership isn't cooperating. One of the sales managers is being very nice about the whole situation. I don't know what will happen at this point. I have owned 8 GM vehicles and this is nuts. For a vehicle that had about 300 miles on it at delivery I have barely put any miles on it the dealership has put most of the 3000 miles on the odometer doing troubleshooting and repair! All my wife and I want is a vehicle that we can actually use!
  • HillHill Member Posts: 3

    I have a 2015 suburban that I bought in 2021. It appears that the weird electrical issues are because of poor ground and positive wires. The insulation pulls back and creates an inconsistent current. Since the vehicle runs on a computer, this will cause a ton of weird electrical issues.
    Did you ever find out from the dealer what they found?
    Curious …

  • michael840michael840 Member Posts: 3
    I actually discovered that GM put too small of a battery in the vehicle. I ended up turning it back in. I suspect that some of the problems were related to water damage from the leak. However, I got a new Yukon and had some electrical problems. After a bit of research I discovered that GM just installed a too small battery. The suburban / Yukon vehicles are very computer and display heavy. Combined with automatic brakes and electric steering there is a lot of electrical load. These loads are intermittent and the battery takes up the slack during heavy load. This is especially true in cold climates where you have the seat heaters on the HVAC on radio on rear seat heaters an lots of USB and other electrical things plugged in. All that electrical load creates temporary voltage sags. So, after a lot of research i discovered the battery issues. A battery is basically a large capacitor. I installed a battery hold down in the convenient second battery location. GM makes this very difficult because if you order the battery tray with the battery hold down bracket bolt installed you will get the one without the battery hold down. However, if you order the same part number for a diesel truck of the same year and make you will get the battery hold down bracket. Then you just need to install the required OEM or aftermarket wires to connect both batteries together which is extremely convenient. All the weird electrical problems immediately disappeared from my 2016 Yukon and had my 2015 Suburban not had water draining down the A pillar for months while sitting on the lot it would have been fine too. It should be noted that I did notice that the alternator does run longer at the higher voltage with the additional battery. This is especially true in the winter when the electrical load is much higher. That is no problem for us. We do not see the voltage sags now. Best of luck!
  • HillHill Member Posts: 3

    That was very educational, I think I will take advantage of the extra space, great idea! And good job on the research, Thank You!!!

  • HillHill Member Posts: 3

    Oh and on another note, the ground wire, where it is bolted to the vehicle, is in a terrible spot! The AC condensation runs down, right on it. Today, I wiggled the ground wire, which was not loose at all. But while I pulled on it, side to side, etc, my daughter was watching the voltage meter. As I wiggled, the voltage bounced back and forth between 11.5 and 14 volts.
    I will be cleaning, sanding lightly, reattaching, and then repainting the ground where it is attached.
    I’m a Chevy girl, these trucks will run forever, but GM could have thought this and the whole battery situation through better!
    Jus thought I would share that in case it helps other drivers:)

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