I thought I'd start a new thread about this issue. If you have a 2008 or 2009 GM Hybrid Truck and has experienced loss of brake assist accompanied by DIC error messages such as Service Traction Control, Service Stabilitrak Soon, Service Brakes Soon, Stabilitrak Off and a Check Engine Light. This thread is for you.

My vehicle is currently in lemon law proceedings and I'm publishing my experience in my blog - Chevy Tahoe Hybrid Problems.

This problem seems to affect both 2008 and 2009 Hybrids and circumstances vary greatly. I acknowledge that not everyone is affected but for those that have experienced it, it is very scary. Maybe this thread will help educate all users and we can avoid some of the BS we get from the dealers.

This thread aims to pick up where the 2 other threads left off: Power Brake Problem and Problems with my Tahoe Hybrid

I assume that most of you have brought the vehicle in to the dealer for repair with the error codes intact but they are unable to replicate the problem. In my 6th and most recent service, my vehicle was towed to the dealership, started fine when they brought it to the service bay and would not start when they were ready to perform diagnostics. At that time, I already had a new battery and firmware upgrade.

This may be an problem more than skin deep but we won't know until we hear from more people.

 

I think it is important to add that for most people a simple battery recharge or replacement and software update or reset seems to have fixed the problem.

 

It is also worth noting that it is possible to get these messages all at once and not have a brake failure. There is a specific bulletin out there to address these error messages by reprogramming both the brake and engine control modules as well as performing an EBCM relearn.

 

Today I got a clarification on the trade assist offer from GM:

Since options and colors may vary, it would be your in your interest to find a specific vehicle that meets your requirements in terms of color, options, price. Since the dealership that you previously purchased your vehicle is no longer in business, you many contact any local GM dealership that sells the vehicle you are looking for ( Ie if you want a Chevy contact a Chevy dealers, a Cadillac ... a Cadillac dealership) and then can help you find either in their stock or do a locator to find a vehicle or vehicles meeting your criteria or similar criteria with perhaps different options or choices. GM will cover the retransfer cost of any vehicle within a 200 mile radius of the NorthWest Atlanta area. If the only vehicle meeting your criteria is in excess of 200 miles then additional transportation fees will be added the balance. ( Ie if you find a vehicle in the GA area we will cover the re-transportation costs to get the vehicle to the area however if you select a vehicle that is only in Washington State then the cost to transport that vehicle would be your responsibility.)

The 7500 mile/ ten day offer is simply to provide the offer of a discounted (reduction is the usage miles) for a trade assist. Ie if you put 10,000 miles on the vehicle before deciding to trade with GM it is not reasonable to expect the miles to be backed down to only 5000 miles of usage. In effect this limited offer was provided as a goodwill gesture to give you up to 2500 miles for FREE with no depreciation or usage charges if you choose to trade for another GM vehicle using the terms previous noted. MSRP to MSRP difference and usage based on purchase price / 100,000 miles x number of miles on the vehicle 5000 miles was the offer vs your current miles which is at near 7200 +/- miles). Thus in this case, GM has provided goodwill above and beyond any legal requirements by reducing the miles usage factor.

My Tahoe is Gold Mist with Tan Interior. I asked my sales rep to check the inventory database and there is no available stock for my color in the 2008 and 2009 model years. I still think 0.50/mile is too steep and restricting my use to 7500 miles is like rubbing salt. And what do you think about paying to ship the car to me?

By the way, I called BBB today and they told me mileage stops at the time I filed the repurchase and that GM is responsible in providing the replacement at their cost if that is what I want. Also, the "resonably equivalent" clause in the lemon law applies to the features of the vehicle and not the color. GM cannot legally force a different color down my throat and ask me to pay for it. So there you go. I get BS during purchase, I get BS during service and now I get BS from the manufacturer.

Today I filed for arbitration with the BBB because I'm tired of the BS.

 

I have seen a bunch of these letters and it looks pretty standard. I think charging you for only 5000 miles is fair, but the 50 cents still seem like they are raping you. As far as the color and options, you are pretty lucky since the only options are the RSE and Sunroof and I assume you have both. You might have to go with a different color choice or you could always have them order you a new truck which might take a while (Possibly up to 8 weeks) to get and would definitely cause you to go over the mileage goodwill. I personally think a 200 mile radius for transporting is fair. Also, you might want to check if they still make your specific color. I am not sure, but there may have been color changes in '09.

The problem might be if MSRP on the 2009 models went up. They are swapping MSRP for MSRP, not what you paid for the vehicle or what you could negotiate. This makes it objective and fair, as long as there has not been a larhe increase in MSRP from '08 to '09.

 

How can you think paying for transporting is fair when all I want is a working and reliable version of the vehicle that I have purchased? The MSRP hasn't changed but the color I want is not available. How many times have you bought a 50,000 vehicle and not cared about the color? Besides, if I'm going to compromise on my original choice, why should I be penalized for it?

 

I definitely agree with you and think you are right. It sounds like you might have to order one to get your color. If they will let you do that then I would play "Hard Ball" on either getting more mileage to cover the additional time or tell them to find you one. Out of curiosity, was your sales rep able to find one in that color and options anywhere (Outside the 200 miles) or are there none at all? I think you should still be able to negotiate on this as long as the color is still manufactured.

Bottom line is that as long as they are negotiating this with you prior to an arbitration or court ruling they can offer you whatever they want. You are not in the driver's seat until you actually file the case and I think you did the right thing by filing the BBB case today. Hopefully this will put some fire under GM since you will be able to introduce in a hearing that they already offered to repurchase your vehicle. They will either cave in once they are notified of the BBB case or they will not budge and clam up. I hope you can resolve this without having to arbitrate. Once you have to arbitrate it tends to taint your feeling towards the car and the brand.

 

The Gold Mist with Tan is not available anywhere in the US for both Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon (2WD / 4WD). There are 2 in Atlanta for the Cadillac Escalade (2WD/4WD) but they will probably kill themselves before they give me that as a replacement.

I'm just tired of the delay and manipulation and just want to get things back to normal. If I were GM, this is the time to suck up and not negotiate with me after their product has caused harm and inconvenience.
I had every intention of amicably settling this outside of arbitration. Now that I have filed it, my mind is set on repurchase. Between a vehicle that stalls and a SM, AVM that gives me BS, what else should I be expecting?

 

Go for it killer

I can't blame you. OK, have to get back to life now, enough posting

 

nicka,

Pick your brain on this. Drove my vehicle almost all day today but a bunch of trips less than 15 miles each. Saw the Battery voltage on the DIC fluctuate between 13 - 15 volts which is what I normally see.

This afternoon, I saw a brief message - "STABILITRAK OFF" and then the voltage read 12v. So I took my digital battery charger just to get a reading of the charge level and voltage. It read 11.8v - 45%. Does this make sense? An hour later, it is 12.1v. Vehicle starts fine, message did not appear again and no CEL.

The last time this happened, I lost my brakes the next morning backing out of my garage. Which makes me think, if the voltage dropped this low after an all day use, the battery should be less efficient when it is cold the next morning right? But if I'm getting a reading of 13-15 volts while it is running, how did it drop to 11.8?

If the new firmware is supposed improve the charging system, why is it still not topping off?