Thanks we appreciate our customers The repair actually involves quite a bit, drilling the case apart, then reinstalling the fasteners, and TIG welding. It isnt something the average user could do, without access to full machine shop. Anyone else having issues with these door lock actuators? My 08 hybrid is going back into dealer tomorrow morning for the pass/front repl under warranty. I will talk to the tech again and hopefully see if he has figured out if GM is using better motors. Last time he said no changes, no mention of a fix. Just a boat load of late model GMs in there with their door panels off getting new actuators.

Bummer. Last week the truck was in for lock actuator replacement. The rear left one was gone. The driver one is dying and I'll send it to you when it does.

I wanted to update you all on the status of our work, and also seek assistance.

We are all pretty sick and tired of visiting the dealer to have these actuators replaced over and over and we would like to put an end to this. I know many of you are like me and frequently drive with kids in the car and do not like the safety risk of having locks that only work sometimes. Its unacceptable in an inexpensive vehicle, and ridiculous in vehicles as expensive as these. While GruvenParts.com specializes more in similar problems with German cars, we are happy to step in and also look at any vehicle problems we can offer assistance on. I also recently bought a 2008 Tahoe, so fixing this issue is very important to me.

We have sourced several replacement motors which we can use in the repair. As some of you may or may not already know, the OEM motor within the actuator has a special end bell and is not available on the aftermarket (in quantities less than several million).

Because of this, we will need to modify the actuator case slightly to accommodate the type of motor we CAN procure.

What we need from our customers is more lock actuators from GM 2007 and on vehicles – either functioning or not functioning. Once you send them to us, we’ll dismantle the actuator, alter the case, install the more durable replacement motor, and send it back to you. There will be no cost for this service, aside from the shipping fee to send us your old actuators. We will ask you to provide your input on how the repaired actuator is holding up from time to time. We expect you to use it as much as possible and report status every few months.

If you can help us, and would like to receive a free repaired actuator with a more durable electric motor in it, please send your old actuator (complete, intact, as removed from vehicle) to the following address :

GruvenParts.com LLC
PO Box 20834
Atlanta, GA 30320

Please include your return shipping address and a brief note as to the condition of the actuator you are sending (ie, working, not working, working sometimes, ect…).

Please email me with a tracking # if possible so I know its coming. We are only accepting actuators from customers within the US during this free repair offer timeframe.


***
PLEASE NOTE : We cannot guarantee that we can repair your broken actuator. We’ll try, but if the damage is beyond repair, or the actuator you send for some reason is totally different than what we have been repairing, we would not be able to repair it. I cannot say for certainty if we can repair it until I see it. Unrepairable actuators will be discarded or returned to the sender at the senders request.




Please feel free to post this message on the forums to anyone having issues with the 2007 on GM door lock actuators.

Thanks,

Paul@GruvenParts.com
www.GruvenParts.com

I have this same problem for the first time. My truck is at the dealership. It was under the used car warranty, but the dealership is saying I went over on miles. The service writer told me that the sales manager and the service manager were "going to take the night to sleep on it." After sleeping on it, the sales manager decided not to fix it. Clearly they do sometimes handle these problems for people, but not me. I have called GM and the person I talked to said she would definitely take care of this for me. After she got the run around in regards to speaking to the service manager (he was allegedly in meetings) she escalated the claim to a specialist who had the authority to authorize the repair. The specialist called me today (day 3) and basically said she would call the service manager tomorrow (day 4 - why not today) but that she couldn't really do anything to help me. I can't seem to get a hold of Katie (our GM specialist on this board) and the specialist I spoke with said there is no one else to help me, so I guess I am off to the NTSB website too. I honestly believed in fixing each customers vehicle as it occurred, but if they won't, time to let the NTSB create a recall.

Off topic, I also have an issue related to the defective software revision they put in my truck, and they won't update it to the revision that fixes the error with the previous revision. They programmed an error into my truck, and won't fix it?


WOW!

I may just return the truck and sell my trailblazer and avalanche.

What is the error? Once the dealer plugs in and contacts the "mother ship", he is highly restricted in what can be put in.

Any error would be system wide. Care to explain please?

The error is absolutely system wide. Surely you realize that anytime there is a software revision it is essentially to correct an error in the previous version, even when they call it a "customer enhancement." The situation is still that the previous software was "undesirable."

In this case, the error is related to maintaining a charge in the 12 Volt battery. when we talk about reasons that the truck will switch into battery mode or ICE mode, one variable that was not previously considered was the SOC of the 12 Volt battery. It was always assumed that as the ICE ran in the normal course of vehicle use, the 12 Volt battery would remain charged. In some cases that does not happen, and multiple errors can occur ranging from the stabilitrak off on the DIC to the full set of errors that goes with a dead 12 Volt battery.

This is what was explained to me by the woman at GM customer service. I subsequently searched for info on it and found an extensive write up on this issue on this site, and more concise write ups on other sites.

Did someone tell you that the ICE needs to be "running" to charge the 12V system?

If so they are flat wrong. In fact the 12V system voltage increases in auto-Stop.

Don't believe me? Plug a volt meter in the 12V cig ltr jack and watch. The SOC of the 12V battery has absolutely nothing to do with ICE on or off.

Hi Winchester_Fire,

I have sent you a direct message and am catching up on this thread today (many apologies for my delay!), and I'm so sorry to hear about your frustration. I look forward to investigating on your behalf and working towards a resolution.

Best,

Katie
GM Customer Service

I had a problem that was fixed under warranty and now I am on vacation and wouldn't you know it, my pass. side failed. I may be sending you one to keep for swapping as I won't replace it till I get home next week.

Hillbilly,
I am not sure that anyone told me that, or that I said that. Perhaps what I said could be interpreted to mean that. I don't recall it that is true or not, but I can check. Putting a volt meter on the cigarette lighter would not tell you much. First, the values would be inaccurate due to the resistance of the 20 gauge (off the top of my head) wires that feed them. If you were just looking to see if the voltage was higher or not, it would not prove anything. Unless GM manufactured a vehicle that had 12 Volt outlets that only got power when the vehicle was running on ICE, then there would have to be a way to power the outlets when under battery power. the obvious answer would be to take power from the hybrid battery and put it through a voltage regulator to give 12 volts to the outlets. That would certainly result in a higher voltage than a typical ICE would give. With a running engine, a typical ICE would power the outlets through the alternator more than the battery (when running). The other two options would be that the power is derived from a generator on the electric motor or an alternator on the ICE. Each of those would have their limitations. An unlikely setup would be similar to that of an outboard marine motor. Anyway, I will find out and let you know. In the end, the software update did not fix the Stabilitrak light.