2019 GMC Yukon NO Trans Gears, NO Tachometer, NO Oil Pressure, NO Power Steering SECOND TIME!

[BlaineBug]

It happened twice yesterday, back to back, and to be honest those are the only two times I have ever noticed (heard) it occurring when starting.

As far as the power steering/stabilitrac issue, there is yet another 2019 Yukon owner and another 2019 Tahoe RST owner with the same error. Apparently they frequently get this error and have no power steering often, about five times they've said.

It seems like 95% of of the people that have this problem do not have any of the other power issues that I experienced simultaneously, like the gauges issue as well as the transmission not wanting to shift into reverse or drive.

I wonder if there's something electrically faulty with all of these electric power steering units that comes up and has the potential to cause other wonky electrical issues at the same time. The Tahoe RST owner stated smelling a burning smell before they lost power steering.

But for everyone, it always begins functioning again and then the dealers don't know what to look at. I hope more people call GM and complain about this, I suppose that's how TSBs and recalls get issued, through repeated contact by a group of people with the same problem.

Who knows this could be the start of something like that.

 

[Tahoe14]

Batteries are finicky at times and you could have a cell dying that may not be picked up with the usual battery testing equipment. They can cause all sort of wacky things to occur. With that being said I have read all sorts of grounding issues or electrical connection issues from all manufactures causing goofy things to occur like yours. The problem is tracking them down. Fuse block connectors, ground connectors ect. and the list goes on. You might try to hit up pgamboa on the other chevy site, He is pretty good with electronics and maybe pick his brain. He has developed a lot of wiring harnesses to add options that were not installed on your vehicle. The electrical gremlins can be a real pain in the ass and very discouraging. Good luck, try to keep a positive attitude and I hope you get it figured out. Google search if you have not already done so and read what it says not matter if it is GM, Ford or Chrysler. Maybe it will give you some new ideas.

 

[BlaineBug]

I finally received a call back from GM Customer Service. Apparently they spoke with the dealer, and the dealer told them that the fuse block wasn't receiving power, which caused all of my problems. I told the GM employee that the GM dealership, although they performed the TSB, informed me that they didn't find anything out of the ordinary in regards to the connections between the battery and the fuse block, therefore I am not confident that I will not experience this issue in the future. Also, how do they know what was going wrong, because in their report, they were not able to reproduce my problem! Also, nobody has had any interest in viewing my video thus far, which definitely confirms the issue I was experiencing. My main concern here is being out of the 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty in less than 1,000 miles. I'm asking them for some sort of guarantee that if this problem arises in the future that it be covered since I reported it prior to the expiration of the warranty. I also mentioned that the TSB mentions zilch about the transmission not wanting to shift into any gear. I'm calm and treated the customer service representative from GM very friendly, but overall, they know very little about what I am talking about.

I also pulled the battery from the vehicle and took it to my local Advance Auto Parts to test it, who verified once again that it is in good condition with, I believe, 732 cranking amps.

Considering I have had the battery tested at three separate parts stores, I would have to assume that it is not at fault here.

By the way, whoever placed the single battery location at the passenger firewall should be questioned. What a pain in the arse location, mashed in there between the coolant reservoir, fender, and A/C lines, and the firewall. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to replace in some parking lot with frozen fingers. Talk about a god awful nightmare if it has to be done again in the future, without the comforts of my very own private garage! I have to comment that this is the absolute most inconvenient battery location that I have ever had to work with in my experience! I also went through all of the 5 battery connections including removing the entire fuse block on the driver's side of the vehicle and not finding anything wrong with any of the pins. Nothing is bent or broken or anything and everything looks immaculate to be honest, as one could consider normal on a 2019 model year vehicle.

Once again, I highly recommend to each and every one of you with a similar problem to CALL GM Customer Support. Some of you have gone "quiet" which is typical of an internet forum, but that's all I've got so I hope everyone here with a troublesome GM vehicle never gives up!

 

[BlaineBug]

Which Chevrolet site are you referencing? I am only a member here and also at gm-trucks.com.

 

[BlaineBug]

Batteries are finicky at times and you could have a cell dying that may not be picked up with the usual battery testing equipment. They can cause all sort of wacky things to occur. With that being said I have read all sorts of grounding issues or electrical connection issues from all manufactures causing goofy things to occur like yours. The problem is tracking them down. Fuse block connectors, ground connectors ect. and the list goes on. You might try to hit up pgamboa on the other chevy site, He is pretty good with electronics and maybe pick his brain. He has developed a lot of wiring harnesses to add options that were not installed on your vehicle. The electrical gremlins can be a real pain in the ass and very discouraging. Good luck, try to keep a positive attitude and I hope you get it figured out. Google search if you have not already done so and read what it says not matter if it is GM, Ford or Chrysler. Maybe it will give you some new ideas.

Which other Chevrolet site are you referencing? Thanks.

 

[Tahoe14]

That would be the one. Look under the 2014-2018 Silverado-Sierra mods. He is on page 1 in reference to the center console swap.

 

[BlaineBug]

I'll have to take a look over there. Thank you.

 

[BlaineBug]

Here's a private message I received about a fellow 2019 Yukon with an identical issue:

"Hey so I went to pick my Yukon up yesterday. They found codes U0100 and B1325 codes stored in several modules. They performed a voltage drop test on battery cables pos=90 NEG=209. They replaced the negative battery cable and the battery fuse block.

im hoping this takes care of it."

I should say, "nearly" identical, because his vehicle exhibited a check engine light whereas mine did not!

 

[Rdr854]

He bought it used. Most lemon laws only cover new vehicle purchases.

Correct. I believe that Virginia is unique, where it will also apply to used vehicles within certain parameters.

 

[Rdr854]

it applies to ones under warranty. he still has some left (36k) depending on the state.. i would get a print out of it from the dealer and see what work has been done

Depends upon the state. There are usually time and mileage parameters for lemon law claims.

 

[BlaineBug]

Normally lemon laws apply to a repeated repair for an "un-fixable" issue. Which I have yet to experience "again." I would be satisfied with a repair to be honest. I sent all of my descriptions and video to GM Corporate on Friday and haven't heard back yet. I'm suspicious that anyone knowledgeable will take a look but you never know. There are a shit ton of electrical issues with all of these full size trucks and SUVS. Most all seem to be centered around the power steering error but then everyone has different symptoms, some have a reduction in braking, and then like me I had no forward or reverse gears. Very strange.

 

[K2 Kaiju]

You pulled the battery, but didnt try a new one to see if that fixed the issue? A complete electric circuit is imperative in any modern vehicle. I had a newer MDX essentially stall in middle of hwy with no steering and christmas tree lights when the battery cable came loose. No fun on family trip, but easy to fix (tightened up - no more problems). Was the vehicle in a flood? Often flood vehicles look great, but have hidden corrosion you will never flesh out. Stock batteries are crap these days, and dont last very long - I think my burb with 7500 miles is a little hesitant starting already. If the problem resolves after a change, talk to gm and they may reimburse your purchase...

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[BlaineBug]

The issue hasn't returned since the first time on January 13th. The dealership did perform a TSB that outlined "most" of the faults I experienced, minus being unable to shift into any gear.

With that being said I did have the battery tested at three separate parts stores. The last store showed something like 730 cranking amps. Or cold cranking amps. Most of the employees don't know what they are looking at, but I took a quick peek.

I can afford a replacement battery but am hesitant due to the fact that it passed three tests. I am also awaiting a response from GM Corporate.

If the vehicle was in a flood it would have been well hidden. Also the CarFax didn't report it. It was a Hertz Rental in its prior life from late 2018 until sometime in late 2019.

The floor beneath driver and passenger footwell is most certainly rust free and immaculate. I took a peek under the carpeting on both sides to check for myself. That would be the lowest point in the floor in the vehicle where I would think the majority of water would accumulate, given that the vehicle is generally higher in the rear.

 

[BlaineBug]

If anyone is curious, here is a screenshot of the service performed while I had it in the shop. There were 3 codes stored in "history" pertaining to loss of communication to the ECM, ABS, and BCM.

 

[Doubeleive]

I would still recommend a new battery and new battery cables, if for nothing else than piece of mind, you can order both online and save some money. The reason I say this is because the problem is obviously electrical, so why not be certain that your electrical system is up to spec or better. No telling what is occurring under a load and how the heat/cold is effecting it.

 

[BlaineBug]

As mentioned the other 2019 user had both the negative cable and the fusable-link box on top of the battery replaced. Apparently the dealership did a test on the cables and it showed that the ground cable had high resistance or a voltage drop.

The TSB that I read that was apparently performed on my Yukon does say to test for voltage drop on all of the battery cables. I would assume if they complete a TSB that they do all of the steps? This is hard to interpret as in the service description on the invoice it only says that they cleaned battery connections. So did they follow the entirety of the TSB? Are they supposed to?

I attached TSB 18NA161. It is 7 pages long. I recall asking the service manager at the dealership what was done and he really didn't know, he was just reading off what notes the tech wrote on the invoice, which wasn't much.

 

[Doubeleive]

As mentioned the other 2019 user had both the negative cable and the fusable-link box on top of the battery replaced. Apparently the dealership did a test on the cables and it showed that the ground cable had high resistance or a voltage drop.

The TSB that I read that was apparently performed on my Yukon does say to test for voltage drop on all of the battery cables. I would assume if they complete a TSB that they do all of the steps? This is hard to interpret as in the service description on the invoice it only says that they cleaned battery connections. So did they follow the entirety of the TSB? Are they supposed to?

I attached TSB 18NA161. It is 7 pages long. I recall asking the service manager at the dealership what was done and he really didn't know, he was just reading off what notes the tech wrote on the invoice, which wasn't much.

The difference between a TSB and a Recall is the TSB they will bill you for (presuming any parts replaced were not under warranty), a recall will have no charges, unless the dealer comped you for a TSB then there would have been some kind of charge otherwise.

 

[BlaineBug]

It is still under warranty so I am not concerned about a charge. My question was, if a TSB tells them to check ten items, do they automatically go and check all ten? The TSB that they quoted as performing is 7 pages long and has them doing a variety of tests in different areas of the truck. Yet their descriptive text only said that they cleaned battery connections. It is very short, in comparison to what the full TSB says they are supposed to check.

For instance, they never physically mentioned doing a voltage drop or resistance check, yet it is clearly identified within the TSB. As is checking the starter connections, and infamous dashboard mounted grounding stud.

Like I said I asked the service manager and all they knew about what was done, was what was printed on the invoice. I was asking them about the G218 ground and they had no idea. Then again they didn't perform the work, and obviously didn't feel like questioning the technician.

 

[Tahoe14]

I forget if we discussed it before but another Dealer would be in my future and show the Service Manager the notes from the first Dealer. As vague as they are maybe he could get the TSB approved with proper notes and proper tests followed to a tee step by step. It would be very interesting to see if something else was discovered. As before good luck and I hope you get it figured out. I don't think cleaning the cables is the fix for your issue.

 

[BlaineBug]

Thanks Gary. I doubt it is a long term fix either considering that they found nothing wrong to begin with. With that being said it hasn't happened again since it was returned to me but that hasn't even been two weeks yet. And it took about 4-5 weeks for it to happen the first time from when I took ownership.

I'm in communication with GM but I haven't heard from them in about a week since I sent them the video. I don't know what is up with them. Their telephone communication was very good but then it just seems to have dropped dead. I don't know what happened and emailing them hasn't garnished a reply so who knows if they're even receiving my video to begin with.