Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Worst case, a magnetic sign which states the facts.... "replaced my 4th door actuator" wouldn't cost much to make up. Heck, the Ford dealer might even kick in some assist bucks.
If you would email me your VIN and current mileage i will look into recall information for you.
Christina
GM Customer Service
I have purchased 4 Tahoes from Chevrolet in the last 10 years not to mention, my employer also provides chevrolet trucks to those who require them. Since writing my previous request for info regarding the door lock issue, the door moulding paint has begun to fail ( fade severely). When I noticed, I again went to my local Chevy dealer and asked if they would kindly resolve the paint issue. The response I received was sure ...... and here is our estimate to repaint this for you. I was dumfounded. It is clearly a defect in workmanship. When I contacted GM Customer Service, they responded by saying......it could be an enviromental issue. ???????? REALLY?. My only recourse is to stop filling GM's pockets with money. I WILL NEVER BUY OR DRIVE ANOTHER GM PRODUCT AGAIN. As we all know, Tahoe's sticker price is not for the faint of heart and I have bought 4 of them. you would think they would help loyal customers instead of driving them to imports. Tomorrow I will be purchasing a ML 350......not another Tahoe!
I suspect that would have been a 500 repair to have the dealer do it, since have to take the seat out of the vehicle and apart. (Did find a quarter, and some old cheerios for lunch, though).
So I don't know that Ford will necessarily be any better for you.
Can you please send me your VIN and current mileage? Please refrence this post and your problem. I look forward to your response.
Christina
GM Customer Service
D
I would like to interact with you via email to assist you with this situation. Please explain your situation (Military overseas warranty work) and include the VIN in the email and we can get things going for you.
Christina
GM Customer Service
I would like to get more specific information from you regarding this issue. In order to do some further research, it would be very helpful to have the VIN, current mileage, full name, address and best contact number for our records sent to me in an email. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Caron, GM Customer Service
Have you spoke with a dealer about your concerns?
Christina
GM Customer Service
GM customer service : Christina, Caron, it is encouraging to see you posting on here (if you are not just bots) and I hope you will follow through. Yes I have informed my dealer (Jim Ellis, Atlanta) about this issue and I will remind them again when I bring it back in for the next round of door lock replacements. They told me they are breaking on every Tahoe (and many other models) and there was no better version to replace with. You need to make the engineers at the tech center in Warren aware of this issue ASAP and have dealers start swapping in a better mechanism during the repairs. Ive got 3 kids and driving down the road with unlocked doors is very dangerous. It’s a deal breaker in a $20k car let alone a $50k car. I would be happy to go over this with you or any GM engineers in detail as Im an automotive and aerospace mech. Engr too. Please feel free to contact me directly. Paul at gruvenparts dot com. I can provide my VIN, ect..
Aside from the door lock issue, this car has made me proud of GM. The fit/finish on the body and interior are good. The ride is excellent considering its very low tech body on frame. The hybrid system works quite well and seems to net us about 18 mpg in our mostly city driving. Comparitively, the Ford Expedition of same year got us 12 mpg so this is a ~30% improvement.
Fix the door locks and its almost worth the hefty price tag. I couldn’t stand the thought of looking at an Odessy or Sienna and thankfully this vehicle has done us well. Ive got faith in GM but I will be renewing the warranty next year.
I’m glad to see that this problem hasn't overwhelmed you and discouraged you with GM. I will be contacting you directly to get some more information from you to see what we can do. Thank you for all of your feedback!
Christina
GM Customer Service
looked at the vehicle I noticed that the right rear door lock did not work and told the salesperson. We ended up buying the vehicle a few weeks later and they apparently had fixed it.
Starting in December the the right rear stopped working, then soon afterwards the front right, and then the rear left. So only the driver's door lock works now. We drive a lot so it was out of the original warrenty and certified used car does not cover it. Currently have 60,000 miles, started going out at 38,000 miles. Finally took it todealer to have it looked at as it is a pain with two kids in car seats to have to roll down the windows to unlock the doors and is dangerous when they do not lock. Anyway, got the estimate and dealer wants $850 to fix the three and got charged $75 to tell me that.
I asked the Service person if they did a lot of this lock repairs and he told me "you are the third one that has came in today." Wow was all I could say.
I think Chevy needs to recall this.
I have turned it in to the NTSB as a safety issue. They recomend that anyone who has the problem do the same. There are two many of these problems with a too high cost to fix for GM to not help out.
http://www.nhtsa.gov/Contact
NHTSA Contact Information
NHTSA Headquarters
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
Toll-Free: 1-888-327-4236 / Hearing Impaired (TTY): 1-800-424-9153 / Media inquiries: 202-366-9550
USDOT General Information Main Switchboard (including personnel locator): 202-366-4000 / Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm Eastern, excluding Federal Holidays.
________________________________________
VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE
Please use the toll-free number above to report suspected safety defects in your vehicle, vehicle equipment, and child safety seats. You can also obtain information about air bags, highway safety, and the proper use of child safety seats.
Remember to always buckle up, never drive when impaired, and ensure that child safety seats are installed and used properly.
Here is my email :
**
Dear NHTSA :
I own a 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid with 26k miles. The front door lock actuators failed at 12k miles and were replaced under warranty. The rear door lock actuators failed at 25k miles. The faulty door lock actuators prevent locking or unlocking of the doors from the drivers seat. As I have small children, I feel it is a safety issue to drive with unlocked doors. After researching this issue I’ve discovered the problem to be widespread on a number of Chevrolet vehicles. Please reference the following internet forum discussions :
http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=98284&st=165
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f206d4b/75#MSG75
I suggest the NHTSA look into this issue and mandate the installation of a more reliable door lock actuator. Please let me know how I can be of further assistance in this matter.
**
FYI - I did receive a call and email from GM regarding my post shortly after making it. The representative who called provided instructions on how to schedule a service visit at the dealer. I already know how to do that, what I was asking for is a FIX to the problem, not merely another faulty replacement door lock actuator. I was contacted again shortly after via email by another representative who said :
Paul,
The best way to make GM aware is to have a case set up with GM Customer Assistance.
Either you can call and do this or I can do it for you. Please let me know how you
would like to proceed.
Christina
GM Customer Service
I asked her to set up a case for me regarding this, will let you know if anything comes of that c’mon GM, fix this problem. This truck is great but we need working door locks!
Paul
I also love the Surburban, in fact it is the third one that I have owned and the others did not have any major problems and I drove the other two for over 200,000 miles. We traded a Toyota Sequia in when we got this new Suburban that had 175,000 miles and it never had one problem and the certified used car warrenty was 100,000 miles bumper to bumper. We decided to give the suburban another try for the room.
Just can't really stomach paying $1,000 to have the door locks fixed.
GM reps : do you have anything to report to us regarding switching to more reliable door lock actuators yet ?
RE : auto climate control – I think its kind of nice, whats difficult to understand ? Set it to temp, chose A/c or no, Aux (rear) or no, pretty simple (when its working correctly). No ones doing slide cables anymore, but yes those are simple to work with. You might need to step back a few decades (or a few more decades if it’s a Mercedes)
Anyone see the latest from consumer reports naming Tahoe hybrid the Worst Vehicle for 2010 ? I can see beating up on it from a price standpoint, the truck is $10K too expensive, but its not a bad vehicle. If fuel hits $5/gal it will make a lot more sense over a 12 mpg Expedition. Hope GM gets the nagging issues taken care of
Paul
If you have not already done so, you should turn it in to the NHTSA using the links in the posts above. It is a short process.
Also, here is the repost from earlier where someone posted some repair instructions :
the driver door lock was a little involved however the rear passenger is straight forward , you have to be careful removing the inside door panel, to not break the clips (they are $8 a piece at the dealer here)
15 for $15 through Auveco most parts places carry their Generic Gm oem # for clip is 11519031 auveco # is 20616
anyway I digress the panel is removed by first removing a cover piece behind the door handle use a plastic utensil ,
doesn't scratch, there are two bolts there remove them,
then take off the plastic door lock cap,
pull up on the small tab and then it lifts right off ..
now you can pulloff the interior panel start at the top on both sides and pry off carefully ,
again use a plastic set of tools you can buy a cheapset for a couple of bucks,
as you pull the panel out also pull up because it is hooked over the window sill.
the only thing still attached will be the door handle cable you can either take it off using needle nose pliers to crimp the clip a bit to remove it ,
or you can leave the panel dangling to the side. To get the old lock out undo the 2 screw on the side of the door and then from the inside youcan slide the whole mechanismout enough to see the connections initially and undo them and then slip the entire mechanism out reverse to install new actuator .
the new gm actuator is $230 I found a wrecker who removed them from a 2007 denali for $50 and he offered to install it for another $50 a great deal in retrospect. Don't be intimidated the job sound s more involved then itis . Even for a Gm tech its an hour to hour and half job at over $100 an hour you can save yourself a good chunk of change .... if you have any further questions just ask.....good luck.
Last step : Contact www.safercar.gov to suggest a recall.
Tricia, GM Customer Service.
Can you advise me on how to set up a case with GM Customer Serivce for this issue?
Thanks
You can email socialmedia@gm.com or call Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center at 1- 800-222-1020. They will tell you how to schedule an appt with your local chevy dealer for another round of discrepant lock actuators.
Tricia –
My Case number is 71-940114261. Please look into this issue ASAP and let me know what GM is doing to correct the issue with faulty door lock actuators. You can see by the # of posts on this thread alone that this is a design flaw. What is GM doing about it ? I know it wont happen overnight, but let us know status of your work to rectify this problem.
Paul
PS – if anyone has any of these actuators please let me know, I would like to look at designing a fix myself (email paul at gruvenparts dot com)
front drivers :258-763-86
front pass :258-763-88
rear drivers : 207-838-57
rear pass:207-838-58
The case has been closed, due to unable to make contact with you. Your agent will be contacting you within 24-48 hours. Please keep me posted if the agent has not contacted you.
Thank you,
Caron, GM Customer Service
I would be able to assist in setting up a case with GM Customer Assistance. Could you please email me with your complete contact information, VIN, current mileage, involved dealership and a brief description of the problems you are experiencing. Also, please include the screen name used on the forum.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
Caron, GM Customer Service
I have e-mailed the information that you asked for.
Thanks.
Thank you, I received your email. I will be setting up the case and will email you directly with the case number.
Thank you,
Caron, GM Customer Service
I have looked into your case and I encourage you to keep working with your agent.
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Caron, GM Customer Service
I have asked repeatedly if GM will look into FIXING the door lock actuator problem, not merely replacing them with more discprepant lock actuators.
IS GM GOING TO FIX THIS PROBLEM OR NOT !??? Quit dodging this issue.
Paul
>>a2t,
>>I have looked into your case and I encourage you to keep working with >>your agent.
>>Thank you and have a great weekend!
>>Caron, GM Customer Service
I understand your frustration however I have looked further into your situation and have notified your agent of our interactions. Your agent has been trying to get a hold of you and has been unable to and your case will be closed 5/11/2011. I strongly encourage you to contact your agent as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Caron, GM Customer Service
Can you give some insight it to how these cases are being handled.
I have been contacted by GM Customer Service (Anderson is the name of the person handling it). I have returned his calls twice and do not get him.
Today they said he will call back tomorrow.
The person I talked to yesterday and today (Michelle) both state that I have to take the vehicle back to the dealership to have the problem diagnosed. I had the vehicle at the dealership in mid March and they advised that the 3 actuators are broken, which cost me $75 to find out. They have the record of this already. Michelle stated that it has to be diagnosed in the last month. This seems ridicules to me, the problem is the same and I don't think I should have to spend money and time for them to tell me the same thing again, plus that is wasting the dealers time also.
I told them I would take it back but that I was not going to pay for it. I doubt they would waste the time to pull all of the door panels off again to "diagnose" that they are still broken and did not fix themselves.
I think GM Customer Service could just verify this with the dealer themselves.
Please look into this and advise.
Thanks.
I apologize for your frustrations however the vehicle must be diagnosed within the last 30 days. I would encourage you to keep working with your agent to get these issues resolved.
Thank you,
Caron, GM Customer Service
Has GM Customer Assistance actually said that they would pay to replace them? Or are they telling you need to get it diagnosed?
That want me to take it back to the dealer to get it dignosed again. What a waste of time and money. I was charged $79.95 in March to tell me that they were broken. I agreee that they need to get the actuators fixed, but for now I would let them put them in and hope they last a little while. It is a pain and not safe for my wife and children. I have begun looking at other vehicles again.
Thanks for responding. I have been trying but Anderson has not called me back.
I apologize for your frustrations. Can you please email me your contact information including your mailing address and a good number to reach you, VIN, current mileage, and involved dealer? I look forward to your response.
Christina
GM Customer Service
I apologize for your frustrations. Have either of you spoke with Customer Assistance? I look forward to your response.
Christina
GM Customer Service