Warranty work opinion

So I took my car in to the dealer for a clicking sound originating from the left rear axle. It sounds like metallic clicking or ticking noise. Not overly loud but loud enough that it's noticeable with the windows down. It only does it on take off and shifts. The car is an 08 and is under GM's drive train warranty until Sep 13. Dropped it off this morning and they say it's the axle nuts that need to be replaced (mainly just re-torqued there is a TSP that has them going up to 160 lb-ft from 130). They claim this is a wear item and that it is not part of the drive train, thus not covered under warranty. What do you guys think?

Axle nuts wouldn't be covered under any powertrain-only warranty I know of. The nuts aren't internally lubricated components. That is what usually stipulates a covered component. The TSB looks like they replace the nut and add thread locker. This should be a gravy job, what do they want to charge you? If it's too rediculous, just do what other Vette guys are doing and add thread locker and torque them yourself. Shit, if I lived near you, I'd lend you my torque wrench and you could go to town.

My understanding of TSBs is that they are done free of charge to prevent other issues. This may not be the case, but I would think that if the manufacturer says 'check for/fix this problem," it's on them. If not, I gotta say I'd just do it myself. (Sorry, Tux.) You can buy/rent torque wrenches from several places, and other than that, you shouldn't need any special tools.

Simcik wrote:My understanding of TSBs is that they are done free of charge to prevent other issues. This may not be the case, but I would think that if the manufacturer says 'check for/fix this problem," it's on them. If not, I gotta say I'd just do it myself. (Sorry, Tux.) You can buy/rent torque wrenches from several places, and other than that, you shouldn't need any special tools.

Your understanding of TSBs is incorrect. They are simply common failures/complaints/fixes that the manufacturer have investigated and, usually, confirmed a repair for. Recalls are always covered free of charge, unless the vehicle is insanely old.

From my perspective it's drive train. They clearly call out in the warranty that wheel bearings, brakes, tires, clutch, and electronics aren't covered but this is part of the axle for crying out loud. I've heard that lubricated line before... but are you saying if the axle snaps it's not covered? Only part of that is lubricated not all of it... Any way just got a call saying GM will cover it. I mean seriously the car only has 11.5k miles on it, I can't see how it wouldn't be covered either from a recall or warranty. Moral of the story I should have just done it myself. I already have several torque wrenches and lock tight...

TSP's aren't necessarily covered for free. If it's under warranty then yes if not you have to pay unless it was part of a recall. I've been through that before when I had my dodge.

And when I say GM is covering it they are paying it for it out of pocket... they are still claiming it's not warranty work.

Hey, I'm just answering your question. You can argue until you're blue in the face, but you're asking someone to pay for something you own. It's up to them to cover it or not, and they said they'd cover it, so good for you. Your axle wouldn't snap by the way, it's splined to the hub and there's hardly any backlash in there.

*Edit: And, worst case scenario, the only real failure you may have seen was a premature wheel bearing failure, which you said clearly was not covered.

Actually the axles do snap due to wheel hop. I'm just saying it's hard for me not to see it as part of the drive train. To me it's like saying the bolts/nuts on the (insert obvious bolt/nut from any part of the drive train here) aren't part of the drive train. I appreciate your input. I wanted to phrase the question in a non-biased way to obtain an un-biased opinion which you provided, so thank you! Plus you have an inside view of how things work in the auto network and it's nice to get that side of the story. I have found that things that appear to be common sense out here aren't common practice in the industry. Also I should note that I brought this up with the other engineers in the office and they all agreed it wasn't a wear item which is what the service rep indicated initially to justify it being not covered (however i understand that since it's only me telling the story that inherently the resultant answers are biased).

Wheel hop may snap an axle, but wheel hop is caused by your 428c.i.(yeah I said 428) engine overcoming the traction available, not a "relaxed" axle nut as G.M. puts it. Either way, I DO agree with you. You can make the case all day. In fact, I've done it for you.





I pulled these right off the Chevy website. I'm just telling you how they justify it. In your case, I agree with you and so do they. But, you should see the shit people think should be covered. It's insane. There's no owness with consumers anymore. It's not like the manufacturer is driving the vehicle around. Shit breaks, welcome to the laws of physics and thermodynamics. I'm not talking about you in this case, but this is what the manufacturer and dealers deal with day in and day out. Like people that want their fuel system repaired under warranty due to contamination. The manufacturer didn't put that contaminated fuel in the tank, the owner did. You see my point. Many people also don't understand that it's NOT the dealership's call to cover something, it's the manufacturer. If the dealer covers it, and the manufucterer doesn't, guess who eats it? That's right, the dealer.

Completely agree with you tux. I worked for Universal as a parking attendant one summer and saw that BS first hand. Everyone wants something for free in this country now a days. The ironic thing is it would have been easier for me to fix it myself instead of dealing with all the logistics of dropping the car off (and cheaper after fuel cost).

On a somewhat separate note/issue: I totally understand the reason for having the service department attendants or whatever you call them (to protect the mechanics from the idiots/assholes and to keep from wasting the mechanics valuable time on said idiot). For me it's a hassle though, I would much rather talk to the mechanic face to face to discuss the problem and maybe even shoot the shit with him. Which eventually is what happen when I rode with the mechanic to troubleshoot.

Very good point, Tux. We had many people complain that Dodge should cover the repair of the NOx/Particulate system on the 6.7L Rams because they would sit there and idle the things for hours and hours and hours and never get it up to temp or drive on the highway and let it clog up. Now those same guys are bitchin' because they gotta buy DEF every week... Stupid humans...

I just wish more people were honest about it. (Like you're responses are.) Yes, the manufacturer should try to build something that won't break, but by the same token, there are limits. Seems the diesel guys are the worst about that. The above example, people blowing turbos, intercoolers, melting their pistons, frying their injectors, etc. all because they modded something or tuned it and didn't beef anything up? Yeah - that's the manufacturer's problem alright...

By the same token, there are MANY dealers who tell the consumer it won't be covered, then claim it so they get paid twice. (We lost a service manager because of that. Good ridence...) Also, there are something where the manufacturer draws a line because of a few idiots, and it spoils it for the rest of us. I just wish it was more open and honest, and not all about shear profits, but rather maginal profits on repetitive occurances. (Don't make $1000 one time, make $250 ten times.)

My biggest beef with dealership service is that shear amount of mark-up charged to customers on some repairs, and the lack paid to the technicians on others. Both are bad for business. The first (like charging $100 to take 2 minutes to hook a scanner up to the vehicle) just discourages people from going to the dealership to begin with. The latter causes many less-than-customer-focused techs to cut corners in an attempt to actually earn a decent paycheck for the day. It's sad. You realize most auto-techs get paid less than $25/hour? And yet the standard labor rate is over $100/hr? I understand overhead, but c'mon, man... Okay, rant over. Keep up the good work, Tux.

BTW, do you guys sell BG Products? If so, are they worth it?

BG?