2015 LTZ with a couple gremlins

[Traveling Man]

Hello,

I posted he following at another forum with no response other than suggesting that I post here.

My 2015 Tahoe LTZ is currently at a dealership for service work w/ 52,000 miles. My passenger seat lower cushion heating element does not work. I agreed to have the dealership diagnose the problem for $114 and another $114 to diagnose why my A/C completely stopped working.

I received a call about an hour after dropping the car at the dealership that the A/C is $900 to fix and another $1000 dollars to replace the seat element.

The dealership was great in that they agreed to fix the A/C for $300 but that they could do nothing about the seat heating element. I figured I would call GM customer support seeing as though I am a loyal GM owner (3 and still making payments on 2). I figured that would get me somewhere...nope. It was suggested that I should have bought an extended warranty. I think they were right, lol.

Anyhow, any suggestions on a cost effective fix for the seat would greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
John

 

[gat0r]

what is issue w/ seat? broken wire or element? defective part?
if wire, you may be able to repair it.


maybe look in forum classifieds or fleabay for a replacement...

 

[Tahoe14]

Before putting any money towards the repair check on line pricing for GMPP extended warranty(google search). Bell or Vaden are the two that I found and they are both automotive groups that sell the GM warranty at a discounted price. Whatever you do do not buy an aftermarket warranty. GM only. Good luck.

 

[Traveling Man]

Great suggestions and thank you!

what is issue w/ seat? broken wire or element? defective part?
if wire, you may be able to repair it.


maybe look in forum classifieds or fleabay for a replacement...[/QUOTE

what is issue w/ seat? broken wire or element? defective part?
if wire, you may be able to repair it.


maybe look in forum classifieds or fleabay for a replacement...

The lower cushion element is fried. Dealer says the part is $700 plus labor.
good suggestion to check EBay or classifieds. I paid for the diagnosis ...I think they would give me the part number. Thank you

 

[Traveling Man]

The lower cushion element is fried. Dealer says the part is $700 plus labor.
good suggestion to check EBay or classifieds. I paid for the diagnosis ...I think they would give me the part number. Thank you

 

[Traveling Man]

Before putting any money towards the repair check on line pricing for GMPP extended warranty(google search). Bell or Vaden are the two that I found and they are both automotive groups that sell the GM warranty at a discounted price. Whatever you do do not buy an aftermarket warranty. GM only. Good luck.

 

[Traveling Man]

Thank you for the aftermarket warranty advice. The GM customer service rep made me feel stupid for not buying additional warranty coverage at time of delivery.

 

[iamdub]

Thank you for the aftermarket warranty advice. The GM customer service rep made me feel stupid for not buying additional warranty coverage at time of delivery.

Salesman: "For $60,000, I'm selling you a premium vehicle. Yessir! Top-of-the-line, best-of-the-best! No worries about power, comfort or reliability..."

Customer: "I'll take it!"

Salesman: "You really should buy our extended warranty. There's so many cut corners in this thing that it may not even get you home today. But, if you pay me a few thousand dollars more, I'll consider fixing those issues for you if we determine that they fall within certain guidelines that we set"


Joking aside, I don't see how paying someone to warranty their vehicle makes any sense. Calling it an insurance policy is more accurate. On that note, how much was the extended warranty? If you feel like you're probably not gonna have any other issues, then paying to have the seat and A/C fixed would still be cheaper than that "warranty", right?

 

[Tahoe14]

But look at what he has already paid for just the check out fee, $228 not counting what he has to pay for seat repair $300 plus $1100 for the AC. GM extended warranty $1500-$2000 and also takes care of any future repairs. Do the math. And yes an owner should not have to repair their expensive vehicles in a perfect world. Too many complicated and expensive electronics in these new vehicles not to have an extended warranty or just don't buy the new electronic laden vehicles.

 

[gat0r]

poking around online...
good general info...

this site from vid (http://www.theseatshop.com/) sells seat parts for older ones... i dont see 2015+ listed. might be worth calling them for options or recommendations.

 

[ajs800]

I have a complete seat out of a 16 LTZ that I'll sell you for less than $700. Jet black leather.


Unfortunately, 50k miles is when these trucks seem to start falling apart. Our 15 yukon XL has had numerous issues over the past 6mos and is now sitting around 55k miles.

 

[mtocrs1]

I have a complete seat out of a 16 LTZ that I'll sell you for less than $700. Jet black leather.


Unfortunately, 50k miles is when these trucks seem to start falling apart. Our 15 yukon XL has had numerous issues over the past 6mos and is now sitting around 55k miles.

50k miles is all we get? That seems absolutely ludicrous. My 2005 Avalanche is still going strong at 150k
I have thought from day one these 2015+ GM suvs were not going to last. Our 2015 Yukon looks nice but if it starts having problems at 50k I'll go buy a Dodge......
We plan to Trade for the Tahoe RST next spring so I don't think we will hit 50k though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Traveling Man]

Thank you for all of the replies, video and suggestions. I cannot recall what the warranty cost was at time of delivery....probably wasn't cheap but at least it would have been financed in with the car payment.

I do not feel the need to bash the Tahoe as there are people on this forum that don't have the issues I'm having. It has been a very good vehicle up until now but I do find it disturbing that the a/c went out. From what I can tell the seat heater problem is hit or miss affecting all years of Tahoes but at the end of the day I do not believe it should not be a $1000 fix...over engineered? GM will not offer any goodwill ...perhaps they perceive it as a luxury item and not a necessity?

I drive a lot of miles but I properly maintain my vehicles. I changed the oil, filters,etc at GM dealerships according to maintenance requirements. In fact, during this service I was going to have the 60,000 mile service done which includes transmission fluid change and intake induction cleaning. I decided to hold off on this 60K maintenance for now until I decide what I am going to do.

I planned on keeping the Tahoe for another 2 years to trade out before it reached 100,000 but I now find myself in the market for something else. I spent the weekend looking at other brands but really none of them compare to the Tahoe in terms of style, value....imo.

Perhaps I'm overreacting but more than anything... I really do not like the way the customer service handled my situation. I have a survey that just popped up in my email so I will speak my mind.

 

[Tahoe14]

Follow the owners manual for scheduled service. The Dealers try to up- sale service when it is not needed as a way to make money.

 

[ajs800]

Thank you for all of the replies, video and suggestions. I cannot recall what the warranty cost was at time of delivery....probably wasn't cheap but at least it would have been financed in with the car payment.

I do not feel the need to bash the Tahoe as there are people on this forum that don't have the issues I'm having. It has been a very good vehicle up until now but I do find it disturbing that the a/c went out. From what I can tell the seat heater problem is hit or miss affecting all years of Tahoes but at the end of the day I do not believe it should not be a $1000 fix...over engineered? GM will not offer any goodwill ...perhaps they perceive it as a luxury item and not a necessity?

I drive a lot of miles but I properly maintain my vehicles. I changed the oil, filters,etc at GM dealerships according to maintenance requirements. In fact, during this service I was going to have the 60,000 mile service done which includes transmission fluid change and intake induction cleaning. I decided to hold off on this 60K maintenance for now until I decide what I am going to do.

I planned on keeping the Tahoe for another 2 years to trade out before it reached 100,000 but I now find myself in the market for something else. I spent the weekend looking at other brands but really none of them compare to the Tahoe in terms of style, value....imo.

Perhaps I'm overreacting but more than anything... I really do not like the way the customer service handled my situation. I have a survey that just popped up in my email so I will speak my mind.

I don't mean to bash either but it's beyond frustrating dealing with these type of issues, especially when GM is not willing to assist in any way. A few months back, we dropped our yukon off for reg service and mentioned that there were some leaks and when we picked up we had a quote of $5k in repairs. This for a truck less than 3yrs old and 50k miles. What's more comical is for the dealer to state that these issues are not unusual with this mileage.

 

[Woodman-LTZ15]

I had the same problem with both front seats (Heater not working). The passenger seat had to be fixed twice. In each case the dealer broke the tabs on the back panel of the seats and then tried to secure it in knowing they were broken. Both panels fell off the front seats into the back seats within two days of leaving the dealership. A tech told me, off to the side, that they had quite a few of these come in and that they had become good at fixing them while the seat was still in the vehicle because they were scraping up the doors and sills so much. That said, they cracked the speaker cover. I have already had my whole suspension replaced and now my sunroof gasket has torn and is jammed in the sunroof so it cannot close. I'll be back to the dealership yet again for the premium vehicle...

 

[FLY60S]

Makes me very happy to still be driving my 2004, with 330,000 basically trouble free miles.

 

[Traveling Man]

Wow, $5k for leaks is concerning to say the least. My Tahoe was $72K which is certainly in line with "luxury" manufacturers but without the concierge treatment they often provide. Would it taken care of I'd it were an Escalade and not a Chevy?

I had the same problem with both front seats (Heater not working). The passenger seat had to be fixed twice. In each case the dealer broke the tabs on the back panel of the seats and then tried to secure it in knowing they were broken. Both panels fell off the front seats into the back seats within two days of leaving the dealership. A tech told me, off to the side, that they had quite a few of these come in and that they had become good at fixing them while the seat was still in the vehicle because they were scraping up the doors and sills so much. That said, they cracked the speaker cover. I have already had my whole suspension replaced and now my sunroof gasket has torn and is jammed in the sunroof so it cannot close. I'll be back to the dealership yet again for the premium vehicle...

Wow... you have a lot more patience than I do. There has to be some underlying issue causing the seat heaters to malfunction?

 

[Traveling Man]

Makes me very happy to still be driving my 2004, with 330,000 basically trouble free miles.

That is impressive. For the most part, drive trains are bullet proof ...if properly maintain. That being said, we have no control when or if electrical components start to fail.

 

[Traveling Man]

Well, Friday I was told that my A/C would be fixed this evening (Tuesday). I called the dealership to see if it was ready and they told me that the condenser is on national back order ( I guess they didn't think it was necessary to call me with this little piece of information) To make matters worse, they could not provide me any information on when the part will become available...inspiring to say the least.

However, they advised that I come and pick up my Tahoe (which I did). So 6 days at the dealership and I am back at step 1. I called GM to find out when the part is to become available and she said that the person handling the case would find me an answer by Friday. I jokingly said that the Tahoe will be sold by then.

The Service Manager also commented that he was surprised that GM didn't goodwill the seat heater and he acknowledge that it is a problem.