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Chevrolet Tahoe Electrical Problems

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Comments

  • ag75ag75 Member Posts: 8
    Thanks for the suggestion. It's worth a try. After the new battery was installed, the mechanic drove it for three days without an issue. Then I get it back and it's the same deal all over again.
  • gmcustsvcsarahgmcustsvcsarah Member Posts: 1,964
    Did you give the "unhook the battery overnight" solution a try last night, ag75? Did it resolve anything?

    Sarah
    GM Customer Service
  • traveler2012traveler2012 Member Posts: 7
    I own an 08 Chevy Tahoe LT. When turning the car on in the morning, it hesitated, then reset all my radio stations/clock. I went to Auto Zone and they replaced the battery under warranty. I returned two weeks later to replace a second battery. I was driving on freeway when dashlights flashed off an on, door locks popped up and down and my radio/CD player began making funny noises as if it was loading CDs. I returned to Auto Zone and replaced battery again. This third battery is more powerful than the first two. A week later, pulled into my garage and turned off Tahoe. Went to use the key fab to lock doors and found that car was completely dead (no electrical power at all). Checked battery terminals - checked ok. A few minutes later, all power came back on and everything worked ok. Radio and clock had reset which confirmed that the entire car had lost electrical power. Three days later, the same incident took place when I parked the car in the garage. As soon as I turned off the car.... no electrical power at all. Popped open hood,checked battery cables,all checked ok. This time, it took a bit longer (5 minutes) for the power to return. What could be causing this?? My powertrain warranty expires in less than 3,000 miles. Would it cover these computer problems? Any help would be appreciated.
  • ag75ag75 Member Posts: 8
    I did, and no there is no improvement. The car is once again back at the mechanic. I am at a loss of what to do. I have taken every suggestion off this forum to the mechanic and we have tried all of them. The same problems persist.
  • ag75ag75 Member Posts: 8
    I don't know if your warranty will cover it, but I would suggest taking it to a mechanic or the dealership right away. As you can see from the posts, most of us have had to deal with this for quite some time. It has been occuring in my '09 intermittently for the last year and has only gotten substantially worse. It is dangerous when driving and the vehicle loses all power without warning.
  • traveler2012traveler2012 Member Posts: 7
    I'm still experiencing electrical problems with my 08 Tahoe. Two days ago, while driving on freeway, door locks began popping up and down, dash gauges were going crazy and car appeared to be losing total electical power. I pulled into gas station who convinced me that my alternator was going out. (TEch gage Reading 1200 instead of the 1480... normal reading on a healthy alternator. I replaced the alternator. Now, last night. I parked the car and could hear the radio/CD making some funny noises for some time after I pulled the key out of the ignition. I started car but noticed that the radio hour clock had reset to 12:00 - meaning the electrical problems are still present. As I drove away, the Tahoe was running rough as if it wanted to die. I turned off the entire Vent/ A/C unit. Car headlights still flicking a bit. Has anyone thought about problems with a recall on the car's computer or electrical system?

    I found this recall online: 08 chev Tahoe:
    Recall ID # 74931 - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Hide Details
    Recall Date AUG 28, 2008
    Component ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Model Affected Tahoe
    Potential Units Affected 857735
    Recall Date:
    AUG 28, 2008
    Model Affected:
    2008 Chevrolet Tahoe
    Summary:
    GM IS RECALLING 857,735 MY 2006-2008 BUICK LUCERNE; CADILLAC DTS; HUMMER H2; MY 2007-2008 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE ESV, ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SILVERADO, SUBURBAN, TAHOE; GMC ACADIA, SIERRA, YUKON, YUKON XL, SATURN OUTLOOK; AND MY 2008 BUICK ENCLAVE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WIPER WASHER FLUID SYSTEM. A SHORT CIRCUIT ON THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD FOR THE WASHER FLUID HEATER MAY OVERHEAT THE CONTROL-CIRCUIT GROUND WIRE.
    Consequences:
    THIS MAY CAUSE OTHER ELECTRICAL FEATURES TO MALFUNCTION, CREATE AN ODOR, OR CAUSE SMOKE INCREASING THE RISK OF A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A WIRE HARNESS WITH AN IN-LINE FUSE FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080; CADILLAC AT 1-800-982-2339 OR HTTP://WWW.CADILLAC.COM; CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438; SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876 OR HTTP://WWW.SATURN.COM, GMC AT 1-866-996-9436; OR HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493; OR THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM .
    Potential Units Affected:
    857735

    Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2008/chevrolet/tahoe/recalls/#ixzz1rvpNn6f7
  • gmcustsvcsarahgmcustsvcsarah Member Posts: 1,964
    Hello traveler2012,

    I can check to see if your vehicle is associated to this recall if you wanted to send us the last 8 digits of your VIN; our email is socialmedia@gm.com if you would prefer to send it privately.

    Look forward to hearing from you,
    Sarah
    GM Customer Service
  • gregorybcookgregorybcook Member Posts: 6
    I've had no issues since removing the negative and positive battery cables for 16 hours. You should give that a try.
  • bvilchezbvilchez Member Posts: 1
    I was stationed in Afghanistan for a year and I come back to my wife telling me that our 07 Tahoe has been doing the same things as mentioned in all previous posts. The scary part about it is that she has been traveling with our 3 kids in the vehicle with her when the vehicle shuts off and keeps coasting until it turns back on again. At one point she was in a remote location getting gas and the vehicle wouldn't start for about 10 minutes. I have an extended warranty that I purchased when I purchased the vehicle but my GM Certified warranties are up as the vehicle now has 99,000 miles. I took it a the dealer today in VA. I gave him the 021F TSB. Hopefully something comes about this.

    Sarah, seeing so many vehicles are having this issue what is GM doing to rectify this situation? May I also send you my VIN to see if I am part of this recall?

    Thank you
  • ck2012ck2012 Member Posts: 1
    edited April 2012
    Sarah,
    I have a 2008 Suburban LTZ I just purchased 2 weeks ago. My problems are very similar to the others listed here. First started when I was driving on the highway and used my turn signal, my radio powered down and back on by itself. Then my cruise control would just turn off while driving on the interstate. Now I am getting the total electrical shut down, all guages go dark and then vehicle seems to power back on at will. locks pop up and down, seat belt chimer starts chiming just as if I used the remote start and then inserted the key and turned it to the on position. I have had it at the dealer, tech even drove it home to try to duplicate the problem. They say they can't find a problem. I have noticed that the frequency of occurrences are when the temp outside is over 80 degrees, running the A/C and vehicle is warmed up. Also I have noticed the Volt guage at start up is reading over 14 volts and as long as it stays there it does fine but will drop down to around 11 or 12 volts after driving a while, thats when the problems occur. I just had a new alternator installed and as soon as I left the repair shop it started again.
    I had a similar problem with a Cadillac STS back in 2002 and they eventually had to replace the entire wiring harness after 4 months of diagnostic. They said there was a bare wire grounding out against the frame of the car.
    My vehicle has 77k miles and the factory powertrain is all that is active with the warranty.
    What are my options?
    Thanks
  • gmcustsvcsarahgmcustsvcsarah Member Posts: 1,964
    Please do, and thank you for your service to our country! Our email is socialmedia@gm.com

    All the best,
    Sarah
    GM Customer Service
  • gmcustsvcsarahgmcustsvcsarah Member Posts: 1,964
    ck2012,

    If you haven't already, please send an email to socialmedia@gm.com (include your name/Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 of your VIN and current mileage, and the name of your involved dealership, as well as a description of the issue and any visits you have made to the dealer for it) and we will explore any options that may be available; however, I cannot guarantee any results up front.

    All the best,
    Sarah
    GM Customer Service
  • bran164bran164 Member Posts: 13
    Hi,

    I'm active duty Navy and just purchased a 2008 silverado ltz(last nine of VIN: 481124518) . It currently has 71000 miles on it. I was driving down the interstate when the interior gauges, radio, door locks and temperature indicator all flashed off and cut right back on. Anytime I would use the turn signal the radio would cut off and the 'Park Assist Off' would flash on. It continued to do this the whole way home (approximately 30 minutes). I parked the truck and shut it off. Let it sit for about 30 minutes and then went to crank it up. Initially it acted like the battery was dead. I tried a second time and the truck cranked right up. I haven't taken it to a mechanic yet. Help please???!!!!
  • t_text_tex Member Posts: 25
    Bran164 – Sorry to hear of your car’s electrical problem. But even more sorry is the extremely long line of GM car/truck electrical issues (from just this forum alone) that remain unsolved and correspondingly the enormous amount of consumer time and money wasted at the GM related dealerships and other repair facilities in pursuit of fixing these problems. Your vehicle, unfortunately, is most likely experiencing a failure of the GMLAN system. While the problem is not unfixable, GMLAN is very complex and so inadequately supported by GM that probably 95% the dealerships’ service departments have neither the expertise nor capacity to diagnose and properly fix these problems, in my opinion. You only need to read a number of the posts in this forum and you will begin to understand the frustration of consumers who have spent thousands of dollars as well as weeks and even months with their GM vehicles out of commission, all because dealer service departments have misdiagnosed the electrical problems and as a result, incorrectly replaced expensive electrical components that didn’t need to be replaced and ultimately didn’t fix the problem. I hope your vehicle’s electrical problem gets fixed soon and if it is please let the rest of us know what the problem was and how it was fixed. Click on the link to get a glimpse of just some of what can be causing your vehicle’s problem.
    http://www.autoserviceprofessional.com/article/92084/finding-gmlan-wiring-proble- ms (cut and paste into your browser if the link doesn't work)
  • bran164bran164 Member Posts: 13
    Tex,

    Thank you for your response. Have you had a similar problem with your Chevrolet? With your recommendations for possible remedies, am I able take those to a dealer or mechanic and ask them to trace those?
  • t_text_tex Member Posts: 25
    Have an '09 Tahoe with same problems except no starting issues - door locks cycling, ipc malfunctions, chimes going off, park assist messages, limp mode, ac/climate control malfunction. Chevy dealer was useless. Took it to specialty auto electric shop they had it for 2 months and fixed. It ran fine for 6000 miles now its doing the same thing. If you can get a dealer to take the time to check those things listed on that link you would be lucky. You need to find a tech who will systematically go thru each component in the gmlan system to check for problems. That's the problem - no easy way to pinpoint the problem like with an engine or emissions control issue that will show up on as a diagnostic trouble code with a simple scan at the dealer or repair shop. It's going to take a class action lawsuit to get GM to own up to these problems and create a diagnostic protocol that can pinpoint these problems.
  • bran164bran164 Member Posts: 13
    ck2012,

    I was wondering if you ever got a resolution to your electrical problem on the suburban? Sounds like you and I have the exact same situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • laytonicolaytonico Member Posts: 4
    edited April 2012
    Thanks Tex! Much appreciated. My Tahoe was at the shop for just over 2 weeks in total. Guess I mentioned this in previous post but will post my "start to finish" in case it helps anyone.
    After my vehicle started going haywire with the locks popping up and down, dashboard going dark and lighting back up etc while driving, key fob not locking/unlocking and random instances of not starting I took my car to a GM dealership to be looked at.
    1)They first replaced the negative battery wire/terminal and called to say it was fixed
    --I drove over and picked up my car but before even getting on the highway the computer and guages started going crazy again. So I had to turn it back in for more analysis
    2)A week later I went by to speak with the service tech and go over what they were doing.
    --he said that although they had replaced the negative battery terminal and wiring they hadn't reset the computer in my vehicle.(before they had only cleared the error codes but hadn't done a reset after battery wire replacement) They claimed that is the only other thing they did to fix my problem. Not a very comforting explanation but so far so good.

    I have had my Tahoe back since 3/20/12 and have not had any of these issues come back up (crossing fingers)...
    I do still have my 'Park Assist Off' message display about 50% of the time but I will take that any day over all the headache of the guages/computer problems that I was having.

    Hoping this info might be helpful to one of you.
  • traveler2012traveler2012 Member Posts: 7
    Yes, I finally fixed the electrical problems in my 2008 Chev Tahoe. 94,000 miles

    A bit of background on the matter. This electrical problem had been going on for over a month now. I'm unemployed so I wasn't about to take the car to the dealer and get raped with a giant repair bill.
    Here's was my summary of repairs and eventual sollution to the main problem.
    A. 3 brand new batteries over a month period,
    B. One new alternator
    C. One Loose starter cable
    D. Loose battery ground cable wire in pre-clamped factory cable.
    E. Small battery posts - sollution: Sanded/grinded clamps to allow for better grip on battery.

    I drove out of town. Six hours into the trip, the electrial problem began (at freeway speeds 65-70 MPH), power door locks kept going up and down, dash gauges flickering and reseting, radio in and out. Basically - complete electrical failure during freeway driving.

    We (family) safely pulled off the freeway into a Shell station which had a repair shop. The mechanic convinced me that it was the alternator. His meter was showing a reading of 1200 and it should have been showing a reading above 1400... blah, blah... lies, lies, lies...and yes- I bought a brand new alternator: $287.00 delivered to the shop and $45 to install it. My daugther paid for it with her college money. The mechanic did show me how the bearings on the pully of the old alternator Tahoe were also going out. Whatever!!! One day later, I'm still out of town- far from home....same electrical problem on the Tahoe. I noticed that the battery charge gauge on my dash would begin at 14 volts in early drive, then drop down to 9 to 12 volts over 30 minutes of driving. I took the Tahoe back to the same repair shop by the Shell station.

    I had read some of the previous comments in other online posts...and asked the mechanic to raise the car and check the starter for a possible loose cable connection. Sure enough: He found that the starter cable wire was loose. After tightening the cable, we went to reconnect battery and the starter would not shut off. Hmmm....scammer mechanic tried to sell me a starter? Nope... .turns out that there is a specially-made metal washer on the connector to the starter with a little metal piece that needs to sit or fit in a groove on the actual starter. We took starter out, readjusted the metal pin, put starter back and took car for a test drive on the freeway.

    I told the mechanic that I wanted to go on the test drive and did so. Guess what? Same electrical problem again. The Tahoe eventually died once we stopped at the back of the Shell station. The mechanic turned the car off and when he went to turn the car back on... Nothing! No electrical current. Then, we open the hood, Voyla!!- we jiggled the ground battery cable and all of the electrical juice comes back on. Mechanic figures that the problem is my battery posts (too small) and ground battery cable is a bit loose.

    Then, the mechanic tries to measure the posts on new Interstate batteries that he is selling at his shop and suggests that I should buy a new battery. His new battery's posts are obviously thicker...blah, blah.... Aaaahh....NO! I'm not buying a fourth battery... Sooo....

    Yep! You guessed it, the battery terminals on my (Third) and new Auto Zone battery were in fact too small in diameter. We took the Tahoe's black ground battery cable apart, un-screwing the tightening bolts and removed them. The mechanic sanded down the clamp's edges with a small electrical grinder so that it would close and grab the smaller battery posts with lots more strength and it fixed the entire problem! Before re-applying the black cable back on the battery, at my request, the mechanic smashed/hammered the metal factory pre-clamp area around the actual cable for a better connection. We found that even though the cable came pre-clamped from the factory, it was a bit loose and corrosion could possibly be preventing a stable electrical connection.

    Three hours of labor and I made mechanic feel pretty bad for mis-diagnosing first problem with a new alternator that we probably didn't need. I asked him how much I owed him and he said $40.00 should do it. WOW! I felt like I won the lottery! The local chevy dealership wanted to charge me $120.00 per hour and that it would take at least two hours to diagnose the problem. Plus, a new black ground cable for my Tahoe was $96.00 plus tax at the Chevy Dealer. I priced a similar cable at auto zone and they wanted $15.00.

    So far, driving the Tahoe for one week and a half without any electrical issues.

    It's amazing how such a simple problem caused so many electrical problems. My wife thinks I got screwed on the alternator, but hey - the Tahoe was built in 2007, sold in 2008 and so, the old alternator lasted five good years. The new one I installed is original GM parts so hopefully I'll be okay for another five more years.

    If your 2008 Tahoe is having similar electrical problems, it would behoove you to read my success story and do your best to avoid letting the mechanic take the car out for a drive by himself or herself. In these tough economic times, you should not trust anyone to drive your car by themselves! Don't lose signt of the mechanic near your car either. Although there are lots of honest mechanics, the few that aren't honest will drain your pocket books in the blink of an eye.
  • t_text_tex Member Posts: 25
    edited April 2012
    Congrats laytonico - thanks for sharing your experience. Everybody benefits when posters relate their vehicle problem/repair experience - especially the solution. Hopefully, your vehicle's fix will be lasting. As I related in my post, 6000 miles and 3months after my 09 Tahoe appeared to be fixed, it's acting up again. I'll definitely look into the battery connections issues. Thanks. Also, thanks to traveler2012 for his post and the thorough description on problem through the fix.
  • ut_texanut_texan Member Posts: 6
    Let me first say I love my Chevy's. I have had 3 and never a major problem. A 97 Silverado with 150K miles that I traded in for a 2003 model that I still have after 9 years with only 62K miles.

    I also have a 2007 Tahoe, bought it new and only have about 32K miles on it. About 6-10 months after having we did seem to be coming to a dead battery a few times. We thought maybe the son was leaving the interior light on or leaving his DS plugged in or something like that. After a few times of this happening we finally took it to the dealer. They looked at and didn't find anything wrong with it. Perhapas they updated some of the software at that time because we never had the problem again.
    It was a typical Sat. morning today. Went to get my haircut and while in the barber chair my wife came in to tell me the battery was dead. I sadi sure it is. Low and behold when I went out there it was as dead as a doornail. Not thinking about the battery, I left the key on for the wife so she could listen to the cd. I even think the ac was on low speed. The doorlocks on the fob and interior locks wouldn't work. Rear door won't unlock either. We had someone try to give us a jump but it did nothing. It didn't even put a drain on the other car. I figured it was the battery and it had finally died since during the winter it was a little sluggish/slow when cranking up the tahoe. We pulled the battery and went to Autozone, got the battery and installed it. Now everything was working from what I could tell except the door locks and it wouldn't crank or even turn over. I did notice that when we would open a door or tried the fob sometimes we would hear a click sound somewhere near the engine. We had it towed to the local dealer since their service dept was still open. The service guy did hook up his little scanner somewhere under the steering wheel and told us there were no codes. They said they would look at it Monday morning.

    So hear starts our story. I will definitely wait to see what the dealership says first but I will definitely tell them to make sure the software is up-to-date, inspect the wiring harness, look closely into the GMLAN wiring system. I have also read that it could be the starter relay or the GM High Speed LAN Resistor. I hope I don't get stuck with some large bill that doesn't even fix the problem permenantly.
  • gmcustsvcsarahgmcustsvcsarah Member Posts: 1,964
    ut_texan,
    I hope that everything goes well with your dealership! Please post an update on the progress there with your Tahoe, and if we can be of any assistance we can be contacted at socialmedia@gm.com
    Best,
    Sarah
    GM Customer Service
  • ut_texanut_texan Member Posts: 6
    They say it is the BCM and want to charge me $545 for it. they said everything else tested fine. they have been looking at it for 2 days. Headed there now to review the diagnostics and check to see if they updated the sw for the tahoe and perhaps try to get them to replace the resistor.
  • ut_texanut_texan Member Posts: 6
    Service foreman said this was the next logical step. the BCM wasn't communicating so it is at least fried. I still feel like they are grasping at straws at this point and hoping this fixes the problem but they won't know until they replace it. So far the toal bill will be $545 plus tax.
    He told me the BCM was solid state and nothing could be replaced in it when I mentioned the terminating resistor for the GM Hispeed LAN. He also said there were like 4 resistor modules. I didn't really follow what he was saying or necessarily trusted it.
    My biggest fear is that this isn't the real problem and that I don't wany my family to be in danger because the vehicle might fail again but this time fail while it is in operation.
  • gmcustsvcsarahgmcustsvcsarah Member Posts: 1,964
    ut_texan,

    I understand why you're apprehensive; have you decided to have the BCM done? Please keep in touch with us in regards to how your vehicle operates after the replacement. If this doesn't turn out to be the root of the matter, we'd be happy to look into this further.

    Best,
    Sarah
    GM Customer Service
  • t_text_tex Member Posts: 25
    edited May 2012
    ut texan - The service foreman telling you that replacing the BCM was "the next logical step", is a good illustration of how poorly GM techs are trained and equipped to diagnose and electrical problems in their line of cars and trucks. That was the first thing replaced in my Tahoe and it wasn't the problem. In fact as I later found out the BCM is rarely the problem - it is the "gateway" to the gmlan system and handles most of the low speed lan functions although there is a high speed lan port that interacts with this module. You could get lucky and this could be the problem. However, this is the problem that is so frustrating with GM - there is no quick and definitive way to diagnose what the real problem is, if there is an electrical problem that is affecting mechanisms and processes that are linked to the gmlan system. It takes an immense amount of diagnostic work to peel the onion back to find the root problems of electrical malfunctions in vehicles equipped with gmlan. And I also have another Tahoe (07) besides my 09 and it doesn't have and never has had an electrical problem, so I assume that the majority of gm vehicles don't have gmlan problems but the ones that do have a problem seem to be almost "unfixable". Or at the very least, it takes an immense amount of time and money before the dealer tech gets lucky and stumbles on to the solution to the problem.
  • ut_texanut_texan Member Posts: 6
    thanks, that is my main concern. He tried to talk around me in circles and tried to make me feel like I had no clue as to what I was talking about. I know my way around a vehicle pretty well. I have replaced intake manifold, carb, head, pulled an engine, put one in, replaced axles, rear gear, drive shafts, starters, etc and I know when it comes to a problem in the eletrical system it could be almost anything like a bad ground, bad solder, pinch in a wire, short, and so on.
    To me this is like having a problem on your computer and the technician tells you to re-install the operating system. It is a hail mary pass that is a huge cost when other components are much cheaper and could be the problem.
    This is my family vehicle and luckily this happened when it was parked and I was with them. My wife will freak and be very upset if this happens with her and our son.
  • ut_texanut_texan Member Posts: 6
    Yes, they are replacing the BCM and said my Tahoe would be ready this afternoon IF they don't find other issues. I was very concerned when he told me he has seen issues where a battery drain or dead battery could damage the BCM. I don't have a deep wallet to have a $545 service done everytime this happens if it continues to happen. Like all the other posters I don't believe this is an isolated issue and believe GM should be covering my repairs under warranty. We had this battery drain issue after we got the Tahoe (within 10 months) and took it in to be checked.
  • ut_texanut_texan Member Posts: 6
    They replaced the BCM in the tahoe for a total of $569. So far so good. I am a little considered about my battery gauge because it has bounced around from about 12 to 14 during identical situations and things running or not running. I will continue to monitor things over the next few weeks.
  • fixmycar13fixmycar13 Member Posts: 4
    Just spent 3200 bucks to fix suburban. The instrument panel went out. Brakes, steering, water pump. Seems like a lot of dough.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited May 2012
    It is a lot of money.

    Then again, that's "only" 6 or 8 car payments, especially for an expensive new SUV.
  • nancy2009nancy2009 Member Posts: 5
    I purchased a used Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2011 that had 35000 miles on it. About 3-4 months ago the vehicle would not start several times. I took the vehicle to the dealership where it was purchased, and I was told that the battery was bad although I had taken to Autozone where they assured me that the battery reading was fine. The battery was replaced at my cost as I was told that this was not part of the extended warranty I had purchased. Approximately a month ago the message "Stabilitrak off" began flashing periodically A few days after this began, I picked up my 5 year old daughter from daycare and as we proceeded to drive home, the locks began locking/unlocking repetitively, chiming, multiple warning lights, and the vehicle seemed unresponsive to the gas pedal so slowed at an alarming speed. I pulled over and turned the car off and was able to drive home. This happened again approximately 2-3 days later while accelerating at an intersection and again when I was leaving work. I contacted the dealership and took the vehicle in. After the technician drove the car over 40 miles (at my expense of gas), I was told that they could not locate the problem but to contact him if it happened again. Unfortunately for the consumers with this faulty system, they are only able to "diagnose" the problem if it happens in their care and because there is no warning for when this could take place, this is virtually impossible! The car did not have this issue again until yesterday when my mother was in the car and we were traveling back from my prenatal appointment in Houston, Texas on the freeway when this happened again while traveling approximately 65 mph. We were fortunate enough that there was not a car behind us when the car unexpectedly felt as though it went into neutral and began all of the above mentioned chaos again. This was incredibly scary at such high speeds for myself and my mother. I am currently 6 months pregnant and again as I mentioned have a 5 year old daughter. I feel as though we could pull into any intersection or on any freeway and could have this malfunction. I have purchased a lethal weapon on 4 wheels to put my family and myself in daily. I took the car back to the dealership this morning and expressed my grave concern as well as contacting safecar.gov and GM. I feel as though GM is disregarding the seriousness of this matter and wants to wait until my family or someone else's family is killed to react. The manufacturer is responsible for the proper and safe production of their products, are they not? McDonalds can be sued for serving coffee that was too hot but GM can allow their consumers to play Russian roulette with vehicles?
  • t_text_tex Member Posts: 25
    Nancy 2009 -It sounds like you have read a number of posts before yours and yes, it is scary when your vehicle goes into "limp mode" and you're in cross traffic or any traffic for that matter. If you're in the Houston area I can tell you that there are no dealers that "specialize" in electrical problems with gm vehicles. I finally took my 09 Tahoe to Lonestar Auto Electric on the southwest side of town after getting nowhere with the chevy dealer up in Humble. Lonestar did find multiple problems and did fix the car and I drove it for around 6,000 miles to Florida and Maryland with no problems but it did have an episode of door lock cycling a few weeks back but that may have been related to the negative battery post coming loose. We tightened it and no problems since. The only other place you could try is a Christian Brothers shop on the west side off of hwy 6 near Bissonett, I think. However, if you take it to any shop other than a dealer they must have a Tech II scanner with up to date software in order to diagnose GMLAN issues. Good luck.
  • nancy2009nancy2009 Member Posts: 5
    Thanks so much for your reply and advice. My car is still at the dealership right now; I do not live in Houston but I do go there to see my doctor. I am going to make technician aware of this. I spoke to the GM at the dealership as it is also the dealership that I purchased the car at. I am still uncertain as to how GM can continue to ignore these expensive vehicles with such safety concerns; what angers me the most is the attitude regarding these issues as if it is no concern to them. I plan to continue on this pursuit for some sort of rectification of the problem. I do not think that GM or the dealership that I purchased the car at should be comfortable with me driving off with the vehicle that could malfunction at any given moment with no warning. It seems as though these automotive companies do not have to react until someone is killed and they are publicly scrutinized. I do, as I said though, intend to not let this issue go until I can be assured that I am in a vehicle that is safe for myself and my family. I do not believe that we should have to make the news for GM to think that this is an important issue.
  • bran164bran164 Member Posts: 13
    Ok so my truck started acting up again by doing the chiming, door locks up and down, radio cutting on and off etc. I took it the mechanic and when I cut the truck off it wouldn't restart. No power, no clicking, nothing. Anyway, my mechanic (been going to him for years) ran a battery of test on the truck and found that the 175amp fuse on the firewall was shot and was barely connecting, which made the truck cut in and out. Fuse replaced and truck has been running great. Truthfully, I'm still pretty hesitant to say that it's fixed, after reading some of the other posts on here about multiple trips to the mechanic. Fingers crossed.
  • t_text_tex Member Posts: 25
    bran164 - Can you be more specific on what fuse it was an where it is located? My 09 Tahoe has a fuse box in the engine compartment and another fuse panel inside the vehicle on the side of the dashboard just across from the driver's door but I can't find a fuse panel on the firewall. Thanks
  • bran164bran164 Member Posts: 13
    T tex,

    The 175 amp fuse I am referring to is located against the firewall on the passenger side under the hood. If you're looking at the battery (on the left) from the front of the truck it should be located above and slightly to the right on the firewall. It's not inside of a fuse box or anything like that, it's a stand alone fuse.
  • 12knowcars12knowcars Member Posts: 1
    My wife and I have a 2005 Tahoe Z71 2WD that was purchased in 2010 with 80K miles. The vehicle has numeous upgrades. After driving the vehicle for a few months the following problems occured: 1) The dual heated seats started working intermittently. Over time only one could be turned on at a time but it would not stay on. 2) The ABS warning light began flashing with the warning alert dinging 33 times each time it activated. This began happening every time we drove the vehicle. A diagnostic test showed it to be the ABS module which is mounted on the drivers side frame (Dealer part priced at $1030.00. I found a used one at LKQ for $375.00. Only the top portion needed replacement. 3) The transmission went out without warning at a little over 100K miles (We were 150 miles away from home for the weekend when it happened and had to rent a car and be towed back home. A short inexpensive getaway ended up costing a fortune.) I replaced the transmission with a used one that had 69K miles, Hope it lasts. 4) the illuminated buttons on the steering wheel do no illuminate. I have asked mechanics about it but they are leary to mess with it due to the airbag. 5) some speedometer cluster lights are out. 6) One side of the A/C temperature selector does not illuminate 7) The fuel gauge will go from displaying nearly empty to all the way full without adding fuel. This also affects the Miles To Empty feature as if the tank was just filled up so if we didn't track our mileage we would think the tank was full and run out. 8) The passengers side mirror turns down intermittently as if it were in curb view and the mirror has to be re-adjusted. 9) The Driver 1 and Driver 2 seat settings do not stay programmed. 9) Occasionally the A/C blows hot air on the drivers side but stays cold on the passengers side. 10) The vehicle gets HORRIBLE gas mileage no matter how slow we drive or what octane fuel is used.

    I know the post is long but any suggestions for any of the above problems would be greatly appreciated. We still owe too much money on the vehicle to get out of it so I would like it to work in a manner that all of the ammenities we paid for can be enjoyed.
  • ncukfanncukfan Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2005 tahoe that I bought with 15k miles on it. I bought the extended warranty through 88k and glad I did. I have had 3 transmissions, 2 4wd sensors, rear AC actuator, and something in the steering column under the warranty AT $100 a piece for deductible. I have 105k on it now and I am still having tons of issues. Rear AC went out almost 12 months to the day it did before and the dealership stated that it wasn't the actuator part that would be under warranty it was the housing around it (quoted at $400). I am having all the same issues with the reduced power message when i try and downshift to accelerate. I replaced the wiring and plug for the throttle and it didn't work. The dealership told me that the butt splices that come with the ACDelco part that i put in would not work and that I should solder them so I now have to try that. They recommended that if that didn't work i should replace the throttle body. We shall see. Not a year ago i was getting the Service 4WD light and i called the dealership to see what it could be. The advisor recommended that i put it in 4WD once a month in and around the yard and it should fix it and IT DID! Until today when i did it my normal route around the yard and got the Service 4WD light again after. I turned the truck off and back on and now the entire dash switch is out and i can't even put it in 4WD. I am sure they will want $500-$1000 for that one too. I would trade it in if i could do a new payment now but can't. Guess i will have to keep trying to fix myself! Never buying a Chevy again unless it is pre-80's with NO electrical anything!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

    Seems that everyone is have one or more of the same issues!
  • whittier44whittier44 Member Posts: 1
    I have been having the following problems with 07 Tahoe - 1) the rear wiper doesn't work; 2) the window on the rear lift gate won't open; 3) the driver's door lock will not work with the FOB or the panel button; 4) the driver information center (odometer, gas mileage, air pressure readings, etc.) is dead.
    My dealer just diagnosed the vehicle with a short in the rear lift gate, a broken actuator in the door, and the need to replace the instrument panel cluster. Total cost is $1300. Based on my research, these all seem to be common problems with Tahoes of this era, but GM has not issued any recalls. Has anyone gotten anywhere by appealing directly to GM to cover some of the costs of these repairs. It seems like things like this would make their consumer satifaction ratings take a plunge. I'm not sure if I will stick with GM next time around.
  • src13src13 Member Posts: 2
    The last few months my 2009 Tahoe has been what I called possessed. The dash dings and blinks most of the time, the "stabilitrak" light flashed off, door knobs go up and down without warning, car alarm goes off for no reason, hestitates when accelerating at times which is very dangerous, a/c panel will go from 60 degrees to 74 and every light on the panel lights up so I have to set it back to where it was before the dash went bananas and not on 3 occasions, I will get in to go and nothing! Its like the battery is dead but I hear clicking on both driver and passenger side door where all the window and lock buttons are, my gauge needles are moving up and down slightly while making a buzzing noise. All of the noises sound like and electrical wire is barely connected but when we took it to the dealership for the day, they say they can find anything wrong. Said the even called GM to ask questions and got no where. Like others, I love my Tahoe....when it is doing what it is suppose to do. It only has 59k miles on it. Sometimes I think I will walk outside and its on fire or something or worse I can be driving thru a busy intersection and it stalls out. Nancy2009 and I have the same problem but no results. On friend told me the thought it was the body control module and would be expensive to replace as they have to reprogram everything which sounds wrong all the wa around. If it is something to this magnitude, then I feel GM should fix it as it is not like an alternators, battery or something that is normal when it goes out although nothing should be going out on a 4 yr old vehicle...
  • src13src13 Member Posts: 2
  • bran164bran164 Member Posts: 13
    Nancy 2009,

    I had the exact same problem. My local mechanic here replaced what he called a 'mega fuse'. It's located on the firewall under the hood next to the battery. It cost me $107 out the door for diagnositcs and repair. Mechanic said the connectors were barely making a connection. My truck has been running fine for approximately a month and a half (fingers crossed). You might want to give that a try...
  • nancy2009nancy2009 Member Posts: 5
    I feel your pain! I have spent a lot of time in contact with GM as well as the dealership that I bought mine at. They did replace the wiring to the battery and my car has not had all of those issues since. Until last week when I set the keys on my seat and the car began locking itself and locked my keys in the car (which I do all of the time because my parents live in the middle of nowhere.) So tomorrow they are coming to get my car to replace the body control module. I loved my car until now.....now I feel as though I have no clue what it may do. GM and the dealership have basically said its my problem. GM offered me a "customer loyalty package" so that I could get rid of it (probably for them to sell to another unsuspecting victim.) They offered me 2000 dollars to use on another car....and said they could do nothing about the loss I would take on the vehicle which is definitely more than 2000. Its amazing that taxpayers bailed them out a few years ago! I would suggest having them look closely into the battery wiring/fuse...I am considering seeing a lawyer as I am 7 months pregnant and have a 5 year old daughter, and I am fearful this car could kill us! GM and the dealer won't really care until it happens.....so sad
  • nancy2009nancy2009 Member Posts: 5
    I think this is what they did at dealership....mine has been ok until the locks began acting up again! Did you have your batter changed previously? And how many miles do you have on it? I am just trying to see the amazing "coincidences"!
  • nealphxnealphx Member Posts: 6
    My Tahoe had the exact same problems and after taking it in 7 times to the same dealer, I took it to a different Chev dealer and they immediately found that the negative battery cable was bad. They changed the cable and I never had the problem again....The first dealer I took it to claimed they checked the battery cable and there wasn't anything wrong with it.
  • laytonicolaytonico Member Posts: 4
    I had the exact same symptoms with my Tahoe. After a few days of checking everything they replaced the negative battery cable/terminal AND reset the computer to clear all the old errors it was throwing. initially my dealership hadnt cleared the errors and reset the comp so the problems started happening again. Once they did both of these two things the vehicle operated normally. havent had any of these issues since then.
  • traveler2012traveler2012 Member Posts: 7
    I had the same problem with negative battery cable. The area where the factory crimps (pressed) the cable to the battery connectors gets loose with rust. Instead of paying $85.00 for a new cable, I had my mechanic hammer (collapse) the connected area so that the cable had no room to move. Plus, I found out that my new battery connector rods were skinnier than my factory battery. We too battery connector apart and did some grinding of the ends do that we had a better grip on the battery poles. Problem resolved!
  • gl2009tahoegl2009tahoe Member Posts: 1
    We took our 2009 Tahoe in today for door locks up and down, guages going haywire, not starting after it was shut off. Dealership cannot find any errors or codes, nor can they replicate the issue. They also stated GM has not issued any notices. Those of you that had the "mega fuse" replaced, did you have any other issues arise?
  • earwitchearwitch Member Posts: 1
    Let me start with I love my 2005 Tahoe 4X4 but..... My truck has 117,000 miles and I am starting to think it is possessed. So far this year I have had the car at the dealer for a total of 3 weeks for assorted issues including the shorts in the wiring to the rear wiper, knock sensors and other assorted emissions systems sensors, tire pressure sensors, gas cap issues, rear a/c issues, intake manifold gasket replacement, altenator, the radio issues(it stops and starts whenever it feels like it) are yet to be resolved and there is the sporadic gremlin that takes all the dash board lights out or sometimes causes the window and door lock switches to stop working. I am starting to think the car has a demon possessing it. I am seeing here that electrical problems are quite common in the Tahoe, but I am curious if anyone else is having issues with the emissions system sensors. I look forward to your responses.
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