More Proof GM Col Lock fix is NG

[ae1m]

You need to install a Column Lock Bypass or you will be left out in the cold calling for a tow someday when you least expect it. Here is yet another case of a C5 owner believing the BS from GM and getting left with a dead car.

"Recall notice came, took it in to the dealer, picked it up and left for a few weeks on work trips. About a month and 100 miles later the car is sitting in front of a store while I'm christmas shopping and when I get in to head home... "Pull key and wait 10 seconds" followed by the Column Lockup message.

Now the pin didn't kill the steering but the engine would die anytime I tried to move it. Called the dealer, out comes the flatbed and I ease the car up onto it.

Few days later they aren't able to reproduce it to troubleshoot it, so I picked it in the afternoon and drove a couple miles away for some lunch and when I leave the resturaunt the same thing happens. This time though, after about 30 minutes I go to start it up again (still waiting on the truck to arrive) and it's fine. Drove it back to the dealer and dropped it off."


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=960515

 

[Rain]

Man that sucks wind! Happened to a member of my local club as he was trying to leave after our recent Corvette Rendezvous.
Luckily they shook it loose after doing the "remove key.. seconds" thing.

Imagine he was at the dealership the next day. but have not heard of any additional problems.
I take possesion of a 2000 coupe on Sunday.. Imagine the first purchase will be the bypass.

 

[atmmac]

It hasnt happened to me ever again since i had the cloumn motor replaced in 2003. Im hoping it never happens again. Sorry to hear it happened to you.

 

[Terry Holtz]

Happened to me a year or more ago in my 98, fortunatly in my own driveway, but exactly the day before a date flew in to see me for the weekend. Instead of running around town in the convertible, we had to use the truck.

The good news is the local dealership repaired it and I haven't had any problems since. Also the occasional gas gauge problems I had been having went away about the same time. Rain... I can't wait to see your 2000 and those wheels!

 

[Rain]

Im just across the Bay, my friend.

Drop by anytime!

Car is SWEET!
Rain

 

[Terry Holtz]

You have GOT to change your "signature" pic. The hott blonde leaning against the car leaves me all confused. Think what it does to the members who don't KNOW you! ;-)

Besides, none of your Vettes are yella.

 

[Rain]

HAHAHAHA
Hey, I had a hot blonde, then she went back to her natural color!

btw, what the hell you doing up at 8 am on Saturday!?!?!

 

[hcolon]

Hey guys, same deal here on my 99 M6. Tokk it to the dealer, got the recall work done, same old crap. Incredible. Tried to install a thunder racing CLB, that did not work either.... ****ed off. Tired of this BS..... what do we have to do? Car is dead in the water in the garage....

herb

 

[tghawkins]

Tried to install a thunder racing CLB, that did not work either.... ****ed off. Tired of this BS..... what do we have to do? Car is dead in the water in the garage....

herb

I was just curious what you meant by Thunder Racing CLB did not work.
The CLB will not unlock a column if it is stuck in the locked position. It will only keep it unlocked if you can cycle it to the unlocked position first.
Was the column unlocked, then you tried to install CLB, and you got error codes?

 

[hcolon]

I was just curious what you meant by Thunder Racing CLB did not work.
The CLB will not unlock a column if it is stuck in the locked position. It will only keep it unlocked if you can cycle it to the unlocked position first.
Was the column unlocked, then you tried to install CLB, and you got error codes?

No, my column lock was intermmitently working, sometimes when I started, ok, then drive normally. when she get's hot, or when I have driven for awhile, if I try to re-start, then comes the "service column lock" on the display. Dead. Leave her for awhile to cool, bang, I can re-start again. When I recieved the CLB, she was in the garage, cool. When I turn the key to check, column unlocked, as normal. Did not start the car, just checked to make sure the column was not locked. Proceeded to install the CLB, per instructions on Ls1howto.com, install was a breeze. Did a few on off ignition cycles, did not see any error messages. Shut down. Buttoned her up. went to take her for a spin and.."service column lock"! Pulled fuse #25 from the floor panel, waited twenty minutes, same thing again. Un buttoned her up again, put it back to stock, waited awhile, she resarts! took her for a spin to Home-depot, in the parking lot half hour later, "service column lock" again. Came back for her a few hours later( it's close to my house so the wife picks me up, I just left the car there at this point) and, yep, she starts, I take her home. she is at the dealer right now. CLB, did not work in my case....
Herbie

 

[c4c5specialist]

Hm, then I would suggest that those that have had problems change your dealership.
Someone isnt doing something correctly.
Allthebest, c4c5

 

[c5vetter]

Paul, couldn't agree more - the dealership I take my 2001 Z to for all service, performed the column lock fix before I even received my recall notice - when I received the notice, I called the dealership and they said bring the Vette in and we will reverify that when we did the fix it is still valid - GREAT DEALERSHIP and service

 

[hcolon]

Well, finally got it fixed. Went to Maroone Chevrolet and they performed the A4 fix. After speaking with tech guy he told me they installed new actuator(2003),
new harness and relay, and something about a shorter pin? Anyway, she's working good again, and the lock is disabled(no locking). Let's see how long.....
Herbie

 

[EHS]

Same thing happened to me.

Here's the text of a post from a thread I posted in another forum:

I have a 2000 Corvette C5 convertible, which had the the recall (GMP04-112 - 04006A - Electronic Column Lock System) performed by the dealer on June 17, 2005, i.e., less than 90 days ago.

As a strong advocate (on this and other fora) of c4c5specialist's position, not to install the column lock by-pass, I felt confident after the dealership performed the recall inspection (according to the repair slip, no work was required, other than the PCM reprogram).

The lock plate (26094767 Plate, Strg Shf Lk) and 88952428 Wire Kit were not installed. 1/2 hour of tech time was listed.

Well, last Saturday, "it" happened, and approximately 100 miles from the dealership performing the recall. Locked up, stuck, and towed.

Since the car is under GMPP extended warranty, they towed it to the nearest Chevy dealership, and of course there I am now told that the recall was closed by the first dealer, so now I may be getting charged for the work.

Does anyone know how the lock plate inspection that is supposed to be performed under the recall is done, and how long does it take, i.e., does the steering wheel, knee bolster, or whatever need to come off? Can the PCM reprogram, function check, and lock plate inspection all be done within the allocated 1/2 hour labor?

Here's the specific language from the bulletin: "On vehicles equipped with a manual transmission, and export vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, dealers are to 1) reprogram the PCM, and 2) verify there is adequate lock plate clearance and, if necessary, replace the lock plate. After the service correction, the steering column will continue to lock when the key is removed. Refer to the Product Safety Recall Bulletin #04006A for further information."

Thank you.

===============

I guess, if you get the recall performed, make sure that the complete inspection is done, and even then, maybe insist they replace the lock plate and wire kit, even if it's not "needed."

 

[EHS]

UPDATE

Well, I heard back from the service manager at Dealer #2 (where the car was flat bedded), and he stated that it looks like Dealer #1 "didn't do the recall," but they won't fix the car until the Chevrolet area rep looks at the car, which could be days.

This is after I had received assurances from Chevy customer service that Dealer #2 was authorized to do the fix under warranty.

The service manager at Dealer #2 claims that the customer service rep does not have that authority, only the area rep.

He did suggest that this may be a case of the car needing to be flatbedded back to the original Dealer #1, who is about sixty miles away. Of course, that's something I need to take up with Dealer #1, according to the service manager.

And, in all this, my fancy GMPP extended warranty won't spring for a rental car, because Dealer #2 hasn't even contacted them yet.

So, I sit car less, waiting for the CHevy area rep to make his appearance some time this week -- and this is on a recall.

The quality goes in, before the name goes on.

 

[MsSchroder]

UPDATE

Well, I heard back from the service manager at Dealer #2 (where the car was flat bedded), and he stated that it looks like Dealer #1 "didn't do the recall," but they won't fix the car until the Chevrolet area rep looks at the car, which could be days.

This is after I had received assurances from Chevy customer service that Dealer #2 was authorized to do the fix under warranty.

The service manager at Dealer #2 claims that the customer service rep does not have that authority, only the area rep.

He did suggest that this may be a case of the car needing to be flatbedded back to the original Dealer #1, who is about sixty miles away. Of course, that's something I need to take up with Dealer #1, according to the service manager.

And, in all this, my fancy GMPP extended warranty won't spring for a rental car, because Dealer #2 hasn't even contacted them yet.

So, I sit car less, waiting for the CHevy area rep to make his appearance some time this week -- and this is on a recall.

The quality goes in, before the name goes on.

ARRGGH!! That's ridiculous. Both of those dealers sound like... well... maybe you should find a dealer #3 after all of this is over.
So much for resting easy knowing I have the GMPP extended warranty.

I had the column lock recall done this spring, and had the CLB installed for good measure while I was there. I just wasn't confident that the work done as part of the recall was any guarantee that it wouldn't lock up.

 

[EHS]

ARRGGH!! That's ridiculous. Both of those dealers sound like... well... maybe you should find a dealer #3 after all of this is over.
So much for resting easy knowing I have the GMPP extended warranty....

I would normally agree with you, but the mechanic from one of the dealers in question contributes quite a bit to the Corvette community (and to this forum in particular), and has done virtually all the service on my car (including the recall). He is a specialist in c5s, so I'm sure the recall was done correctly.

He also recommended GMPP for an extended warranty, so, I'd hate to be too pushy about this. On the other hand, the Chevy customer service rep indicated today that there was nothing they (Chevy) could do if a particular dealer (also Chevy) doesn't want to service the car.

As I said to her, if Chevy doesn't want to address the recall, and GMPP doesn't want to look at it as a warranty issue, what does the customer do, with a car that's at a dealership, and unfortunately, at this stage, not even
pointed in the right direction to be pushed back out?

 

[LLC5]

GMPP is the best aftermarket warranty you can get for your car. Your tech and dealer can only do what G.M. lets them do. This is G.M. at it's worst, and why people buy foriegn cars. This attitude has been going on for way too many years. Let us know how it gets resolved.

 

[EHS]

UPDATE

I started this thread mostly as a help to folks, so that when you go to your friendly dealer for some service you are forewarned. Now, I have even more amazing news -- things I really never knew about.

1. The second dealer (where the car is stuck) has confirmed in at least two discussions with both GM Executive and Chevy Customer Service that the recall was not properly done, and because of that, resulted in this direct failure. Nevertheless, here's the truly amazing part, GM Executive has decided that, since the part that allegedly failed (the actuator) is not specifically noted in the recall, I need to pay for the repair, then chase the first dealer for the refund, at my option.

I kid you not, I confirmed this with Ken Fichtner as well, GM (or Chevy) will not stand behind a faulty recall repair, nor are they responsible for damage caused by the faulty repair.

I did not know that, and like I said to the GM lady -- so Ford, on the Explorers, only needed to replace the tire, and not pay for the damage to the customer's roof when the car rolled?

2. BTW -- the debate remains open as whether the second dealer knows what they're talking about -- and the first dealer service manager has now said to just pay the bill, send him the invoice, and he would see what he could do about reimbursement.

Here's the problem -- my fancy GMPP warranty won't cover a part whose failure was to have been addressed in the recall, so now I have to pay the deductible on a part that shouldn't have failed, plus the parts the dealer claims should have been replaced under recall but weren't.

What an amazing car company.

 

[LLC5]

I would contact your state attorney general. That is a safety recall that was not done properly, not just service work. G.M. admits they have a problem, issues a recall, does it improperly, then tells their customer they have to pay to fix the problem that was created by G.M. and their servicing dealer. Unbelievable. Any wonder the American car companies are losing market share? Honda or Toyota wouldn't even consider this an issue. It would have been fixed as soon as possible. With an apology.