Can I get some real help, just got humiliated at dealership?

[2018YUKONSLT]

@OR VietVet Thank you for your service sir. Honestly sir, I’m naive when it comes to stuff like this. I take the blame for that, but since I don’t do this on a regular basis. This one got me good, real good. As mentioned before, I’ve had other cars, never, ever have I dealt with AC issues straight up. This situation just ran circles around me, if I would’ve known they were going act like this. I would’ve done it differently but all this is new to me unfortunately, now I’m paying the price.

 

[OR VietVet]

To try and help explain the length of time that it took for the a/c to go from cold to warm.....When work is done for a leak or if just charging a system that is low, you need to be aware that a/c systems are not supposed to leak...AT ALL. Topping off a system is just adding back the refrigerant that leaked out. The charge does not evaporate like water. When a system is charged fully, it is under high pressure. If there is a small seepage leak, that charge can stay high enough in the system to blow cold for a while. The fuller the system, the higher the pressure and as the charge leaks a little at a time, the pressure lowers and the seepage/leak can leak slower. That is why the cold can last for a while, even if leaking. When the pressure gets low enough, the low pressure clutch cycling switch senses a low pressure and will not allow the clutch to engage and the compressor will not turn and you have no chance for a/c, cold or cool. The oddest place for a leak is the enclosed evaporator and can be hard to pin down if not done correctly. The easiest places for leaks to be found is the external parts of the system because the oil that is in the system will leak out with the refrigerant and you will have a wet spot. When the original repair was done, they likely did a vacuum check for maybe 5 minutes and called it good before charging the system. I like to do vacuum checks for 30+ minutes. But I am old and do things the old way.

 

[2018YUKONSLT]

@OR VietVet This was exactly the answer I needed to hear. The goal of this post is to get educated by the knowledge of others. Also so new members learn from this exact mistake and don’t go through like me.

Lesson: Keep detailed records of your vehicles. In the end it’s your vehicle and your families transportation. Write notes, take pictures, etc etc

 

[OR VietVet]

@OR VietVet This was exactly the answer I needed to hear. The goal of this post is to get educated by the knowledge of others. Also so new members learn from this exact mistake and don’t go through like me.

Lesson: Keep detailed records of your vehicles. In the end it’s your vehicle and your families transportation. Write notes, take pictures, etc etc

When I have looked for used vehicles before, I always always always ask for either a very detailed CarFax or paperwork/documentation of repairs/maintenance of the vehicle history. If there is none, I count off the asking price, starting at $1000. With the paperwork, the value is closer to asking price. The thing about CarFax is that it only lists what has been reported.

 

[RST Dana]

Agreed, however, the problem may still be the dreaded condenser issue from earlier years, which is around a $1,400 repair.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

With full respect to all, I suggest that this thread be closed at this time.

@2018YUKONSLT, this has been a learning experience for you, something that we all go through at some point along the road of life and vehicles. I suggest that you cut your losses at this time, and make the best use of your own time, by finding an alternate place to get your truck issue serviced, even though it will cost you money. IMO, the reduction in your consternation and aggravation will be worth it to you in the long run.

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[OR VietVet]

Like @Joseph Garcia was alluding to, @2018YUKONSLT, find an independent shop that you can trust and find them thru recommendations from friends. When I ran shops, I made sure the front area and the shop was clean and not cluttered. Usually translates to organized/thorough work out of the shop. Look for ASE certifications on the walls. Not always means the best shop but is better than none. Have a heart to heart talk with the service manager/owner about your concerns and what you are looking for. Shops want customers like that and work hard to keep them.

 

[GMCChevy]

@GMCChevy Yes, the platinum plan covered the condenser, but they didn’t drive it to hear the hissing inside or maybe they did. I have audio proof. The audible hissing sound appeared and was present at the time I took it to dealership, they sat truck in bay and did not road test it to even see if anything else was wrong. The rear constant buzzing never went away, actually it’s still buzzing right now as I’m writing this.

To answer your question, the AC went out around winter 2024, it’s hard to get a dealer to see cold AC is not working when it’s 38 outside. Plus we were driving another 23 Encore we bought from this same dealership, and I waited to see the AC was acting up and get a constant feeling it was fried. I know everyone things I’m trying to shank anyone,

They don't need to road test for air conditioning. It also doesn't really matter what the temperature is outside because they do the work in a heated shop. They'll tell if there is cold air coming out or not. It's pretty much guaranteed the hissing noise isn't a refrigerant leak. Like what's been said already if you could hear it like that it would all leak out in a matter of minutes at most.
BUT do you hear the compressor under the hood cycling? On and off? Maybe there's another problem that it is cooling and just not blowing out the vents like it should.

If the suspension repair didn't do anything you should have gone back immediately. That you didn't is pretty much an acceptance that it was repaired. Anything can break in a year and a half so it would be pretty hard to prove at this point that any problem now is related to the original one.
It sort of sounds like the noise you're hearing is the little air compressor for the suspension?

The lesson here is don't wait that long to go back. If you had gone back even a couple months later they probably would have been a lot more likely to do something.

With a 2 year warranty on the repairs they should at least be looking at it to see if the problems are actually what they fixed or not.

 

[2018YUKONSLT]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice. Like I said before, this thread was so that people can educate me and so others can learn from it. But, yea I agree go ahead and close it. I learned my lesson, the hard way. Thanks fam I’m just glad you all didn’t beat me up too much.