Quality Control

[olyelr]

Another day, another few quality issues. First two pics are the tint issue/air bubble on rear passenger window I described in an earlier post. 2nd set of pics is the dashboard on passenger side...air bags?

Is that factory tint or did u have some installed over it?
The spot on the dash is no doubt where an airbag would deploy…im sure they all look like that.

 

[Silverado4x4]

Yeah that's not factory tint, the factory tint is infused in the glass no way that would do that if it was factory.

 

[rmsnickers]

Yeah that's not factory tint, the factory tint is infused in the glass no way that would do that if it was factory.

It's definitely factory tint as this truck was delivered to the dealer and I picked it up on arrival.

 

[Quark]

Ok, I finally got my hands on a brand new Z71 (2023) earlier this month after searching since Feb 2022! That being said, I am bit OCD and there are some things in the build quality that I find annoying...am I being unreasonable or is this the case with all cars?

1. Rubber seal when I lift tailgate up has a hole in it (bottom left hand side) that appears to be maybe a small drain hole but is "torn" and doesn't match the size of one on opposite side of vehicle. The rubber seal in this area is also distorted a bit and doesn't run flush like the other side.
2. The plastic backing that attaches to the interior of the trunk lid has plastic sticking out of the sides in multiple places...like the wrapper on the other side hadn't been removed completely.
3. Small scratch about 1.5" on the plastic in the 3rd row seating area.
4. When looking at the door seal on the frame of the vehicle with the driver side door open, it appears that the weld/shape is not completely smooth underneath the rubber as there's a "bump" instead of it running smooth like the other door side.
5. Similar "bump" in the rubber lining the far back passenger side rear window...you run your finger over it and it doesn't feel like the rubber is the problem but the metal underneath isn't smooth like it should be.
6. Tiny speck on the paint that is almost like a piece of salt got trapped under the clear coat...and it happens to be right on the front of the hood dead center and annoys me if I look for it in certain light.
7. Both red tow hooks have chips on them.
8. Small imperfection in the head liner right where the sunroof cut out is.

Overall, I'm probably the only person that would notice these and the truck looks great...but is this normal for Chevy or a new vehicle in general? I don't remember anything when I bought my last car (2014 Lexus IS 250).

You're not the only one, I'll bet I could find a few more nits. My 2012 which I still own has nothing on the order of what you've found the only real flaw is a slight bumper misalignment that I didn't discover before the first waxing. It's why I still own it robust and dependable that and it doesn't have a screen.

 

[ENTX]

I wouldn't worry about scratches on the plastic. I had one scratch when I got my 2023 suburban and now few month later I have a lot of them (kids did it ) because the plastic used in the trunk, 3rd row and bottom of the door is super soft and I can easily scratch it with my nail. Wish they used better plastic but it is what it is.

Have an air bubble too - stopped noticing it after few weeks.

 

[rmsnickers]

Plastic I get and I've got young kid(s) so fully expect it going forward but the air bubble is bad...looks fine unless truck is sitting in sun then it looks like a big bird shit. I've got an appointment at local dealer for late this week to take in and have them and inspect...we'll see what is/isn't fixed!

Would love if any of you could validate whether or not you have the air bag outline on the dash in low light...

 

[StephenPT]

Here’s my dash in low light (in the garage). I tried to look at it from multiple angles and never really could see the airbag witness lines like you’re seeing…

 

[rmsnickers]

@StephenPT great pic, just what I was looking for. TY!

 

[jforb]

you need to go on an off road weekend adventure, get the darn thing broke in, and all these minor imperfections will just disappear.



(hell, it's a Z71, that means it's supposed to get beat to shit as part of normal use)

 

[rmsnickers]

lol @jforb totally get your sentiment...I just want to be the one putting the marks on this thing and not the factory

 

[jforb]

heh....my sentiment comes from just getting back from a 2500 mile trip in my Chevy II, which has been on the cover of Hot Rod magazine. The trip I went on is called Death Week. Yeah, it included crossing Death Valley, along with 4 days of drag racing, and a bunch of other stuff.

Cars are made to be used, even the pretty ones. Don't take the cosmetics too seriously. Life is short.

 

[rmsnickers]

Update: Had appointment with local dealer yesterday and they submitted my complaints to Chevy and all were approved with replacement parts ordered.

Not submitted:
1. Tow hook scuffs
2. Paint imperfection on hood (too tiny to even really see)
3. Irregular weld in driver door frame (really hard to see)

Submitted and approved for replacement:
1. Driver door seal (replacing full upper plastic area and seal as when seal was popped out it was irregular after being stuck under door frame)
2. Far rear passenger window seal (with multiple bumps/irregularities in seal)
3. Rear trunk hatch (will remove plastic from behind this and reattach)
4. Rear trunk seal (irregular in bottom left area with drain hole tear)
5. Smaller rear passenger door window (bubbles in tint)
6. Dashboard (airbag outline including crease in leather that extends past airbag footprint)

Not too excited to have my car worked on whenever parts actually arrive but will take the folks some beer and pizza and hope they treat it like their own. Appreciate all of you for your advice, pictures, and feedback

 

[olyelr]

Update: Had appointment with local dealer yesterday and they submitted my complaints to Chevy and all were approved with replacement parts ordered.

Not submitted:
1. Tow hook scuffs
2. Paint imperfection on hood (too tiny to even really see)
3. Irregular weld in driver door frame (really hard to see)

Submitted and approved for replacement:
1. Driver door seal (replacing full upper plastic area and seal as when seal was popped out it was irregular after being stuck under door frame)
2. Far rear passenger window seal (with multiple bumps/irregularities in seal)
3. Rear trunk hatch (will remove plastic from behind this and reattach)
4. Rear trunk seal (irregular in bottom left area with drain hole tear)
5. Smaller rear passenger door window (bubbles in tint)
6. Dashboard (airbag outline including crease in leather that extends past airbag footprint)

Not too excited to have my car worked on whenever parts actually arrive but will take the folks some beer and pizza and hope they treat it like their own. Appreciate all of you for your advice, pictures, and feedback

Heck yea man thats good news.

I hear ya on the part about people replacing stuff. Years ago, my travel trailer got beat up pretty bad on two sides from hail. Could have had it all replaced by insurance, but in the end chose not to because i figured it would probly end up getting more screwed up replacing everything than what it was as it sat (which it still has the damage…i just dont really notice it anymore lol).

 

[rmsnickers]

Update: dropped car for warranty work but, after meeting with the tech doing the work, decided against many of the fixes as being too invasive and/or parts looked no better than the ones being replaced. For instance, decided against swapping out the dashboard as tech was worried about possibly scratching up interior or creating rattles. Upper driver door trim looked like a used part with some of the coloring/plastic flaking off.

So, the only work actually done that was as planned was tech replaced rear trunk hatch seal (see original pictures I posted for part) as well as removed the factory plastic that was left on behind the trunk hatch plastic...all good.

Now, here's where the nightmare starts:

The rear passenger door vent window with the defective tint needed to be replaced but they had to use a 3rd party glass company to do this as the Chevy dealer doesn't do glass work. They brought in their company to use and replaced the vent window as well as the full rear passenger side cargo glass due to it having tint defects as well. Was told on a Thursday the work was planned for Monday and then my car would be good for pickup. I didn't hear from them and texted my service advisor on Weds morning. Weds eve got a text telling me the work was done but they scratched the paint on accident and truck will need to go to a body shop. I text guy back and tell him to call me...don't hear back until next day (thursday). Talk to my advisor on the phone and he tells me it's damaged, he will send a pic, he can call the glass company on my behalf if I want but stressed he would just be a "middle man" and that I should handle this myself. Gives me the name and number at glass company to call to cover the damages (Chevy says they don't cover as they didn't do the work) and then tells me I can pick up my car since they're done with it.

So, I dropped my car for warranty work with dealer, it's in their possession, the car gets damaged, and now Chevy tells me to come get my car and I'm on my own to work with the company that did the glass/damage to arrange repair and payment. Meanwhile, I've had an open case with Chevy customer service for my vehicle and they happen to call me knowing I had scheduled my repairs and they were hoping my issues were resolved. I told the rep on the phone about the damage and she promised to call me back after i told her they were responsible for the damages and she stated that Chevy warranty doesn't cover damage by other parties.

I call the auto glass place that did the work on-site; the guy says he has no idea what I'm talking about but he'll have a manager follow up when he returns from vacation on Monday. At this point, I have nobody taking ownership of paying for damages so i tell Chevy I'm not picking up my car until I get this confirmation and it will stay in their possession.

Monday, glass company calls me and is really nice about it. Tells me that if they did the damage they'll cover it and the guy sent me a couple pics (never got pics from Chevy dealer service advisor despite multiple texts asking). I go pick up my car as Chevy won't do anything to get me fast tracked at a body shop (glass company told me they would call around and find a shop that could get me in) and I meet the new head of service as I had emailed the GM/talked to Chevy dealer GM on phone and he moved me from my existing service advisor to the new/head guy. He asks me to sign the ppwk to pick up my car and i ask him to do a walkaround before I do that. We look at car together and other areas of paint damage are evident so i take a couple pics. Then I pop the rear cargo door to inspect the interior and the glass guy messed up the inside and scratched up the plastic around glass, tore the headliner, and left it in bad shape. New service advisor is like WTF and I take a couple more pics, he documents it, I sign ppwk and then leave.

I drive straight to my auto body shop and the quote to repair comes in at 7.5k and they are over a month out to get me in. I send the quote to glass company and they tell me if i'm going to use my own shop I need to get 3 quotes and 1 has to be from one of their preferred/recommended shops. I tell the guy fine, take the car to one of their shops the next week, and they give me a quote for 8k. Glass company tells me they'll cover it at my shop, i don't need a 3rd quote, and they are really sorry they messed up my car. No other comms from Chevy other than me forwarding them the emails with quotes for their records that this damage occurred under their care. The customer service rep from Chevy did follow-up with me and confirmed Chevy doesn't cover 3rd party damage and then basically hung up on me when I told her I may need to involve my attorney if I can't get damages covered by somebody considering the car was in Chevy custody at the time of damage.

As of right now, waiting for repair appointment in 2nd half of March.

71k MSRP; 7.5-8k damages with 700 miles on the truck. AWESOME!

 

[olyelr]

A small spot of defective tint sounds much more appealing to me. Good luck with everything !

 

[StephenPT]

How bad are the scratches? Down to the paint or just into the clear coat?

It's a frustrating situation - these type of QC issues shouldn't be making it to the customer, but alas here we are. Some dealers are better than others, but I know personally I loathe the idea of bringing my rig to a dealership. Honestly I'm probably not going to bother getting my parking sensor retrofit because I have a sinking feeling they'll screw up some of the plastic trim in the process.

 

[rmsnickers]

How bad are the scratches? Down to the paint or just into the clear coat?

It's a frustrating situation - these type of QC issues shouldn't be making it to the customer, but alas here we are. Some dealers are better than others, but I know personally I loathe the idea of bringing my rig to a dealership. Honestly I'm probably not going to bother getting my parking sensor retrofit because I have a sinking feeling they'll screw up some of the plastic trim in the process.

A couple of the scratches below the glass are pretty minor; the scratches above the glass look like the tool slipped and just gouged out sections of the paint (almost like the tool was spinning based on how the scratches are circular). Def below clear coat and messed up the black plastic trim as well. Interior plastic areas in cargo area are gouged and all of it needs replaced on the glass side in the rear interior...the headliner is torn/tattered near where it meets the class and entire thing needs replaced also. Honestly, the headliner replacement has me the most nervous at this point given how invasive it is but I do trust my shop and they've done great work before so hoping they deliver me a vehicle better than what Chevy did out of the factory.

 

[Baja_Bob]

First time you use a tow strap on those tow hooks you won't notice the small chips, if they weren't meant to be used they should have been chrome.

 

[KMeloney]

RMS -- So sorry. Wow. This all sucks. I'm nit-picky about my vehicles (and most things), too; so, I know that finding all these issues (and then having them compounded) is rotten.

My new truck off-the-lot wasn't/isn't perfect, either -- but my dealership has been very helpful. Keep us posted on what happens with your situation.

Good luck!

 

[Tinbadtin]

Sorry ya’ll have to deal with all the issues. This is why I buy my Chevys as base models only lol. If they kinda suck, I don’t feel bad about keeping them. Funny our LS diesel has been actually pretty solid put together, at least so far. Still have a fully loaded X7 for “real” luxury.. that thing depreciates as a rock though so there’s always something to complain about

I hope Cadillac is better, or at least the dealership experience is?