Help!! / GM Warranty / Im PI$$ED

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:03 pm

The TSB refers to discolouring of the cladding, not scratches.The TSB text:Quote Â»2003 Pontiac Vibe - FWD/AWD --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wheel House Opening Molding Discolored (Replace Molding) #02-08-111-005A - (07/31/2003)2003 Pontiac VibeThis bulletin is being revised for additional Correction, Parts and Warranty information. Please discard Corporate Bulletin # 02-08-111-005 (Section 08-Body & Accessories)ConditionSome customers may comment that the rear wheel house opening molding or the rear door lower molding is discolored.CauseRoad debris contacting the molding may discolor the molding.CorrectionReplace the moldings and clips.Parts Information88973242 Molding Rear Wheel Opening-Right88973243 Molding Rear Wheel Opening-Left88963246 Molding Rear Side Door Lower-Right88973247 Molding Rear Side Door Lower-Left88973089 Rocker Molding-Right88973090 Rocker Molding-Left94848834 RetainerParts are currently available from GMSPO.

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:25 pm

I think we can all agree( as the dealer did in my case ) the "discoloring" is caused by the scratches making them look white/grey.Regardless of how I phrased it here( all wound up ) the dealer agreed the TSB and conditions of my vehicle match. JSD

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:31 pm

I've seen scratches, and I've seen the effect they're talking about here...and I can always see how they differ...Not being able to see your car, I can't say either way.Pics perhaps?

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:36 pm

No digital Cam. The problem is the dealer agrees(he'seen the car),the DSM doesn't(he hasn't see the car)!?

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:40 pm

Have you tried calling GM Canada and asking them to look into it?Quote Â»Monday to Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (E.S.T.)Saturday: 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (E.S.T.)Closed SundaysCustomer Satisfaction Line:1-800-263-3777 (English)1-800-263-7854 (French)1-800-263-3830 (TDD users)

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:42 pm

BEEN there! She said whatever DSM says Goes?

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:43 pm

Call back, talk to someone else.Call back 10 times, talk to 10 diff people.Eventually, you'll get someone who gives a damn and will help you out. Gotta get past the disgruntled employees and get to the people who give two shts.

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:46 pm

Looking into CAMVAP( third party arbitrator ), News papers,TV

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:50 pm

That's excessive.One person tells you no and you're going to the media (who probably won't care anyway).Work your way up the ladder. A customer service rep saying no means nothing. Go above them.If no satisfaction at that level, go higher.

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 2:59 pm

Two people told me NO, on this subject( 1 of many, always no first) and the second told me to try http://www.camvap.ca .Also the http://www.thestar.ca has somthing called the "WHEELS" section which deals w/ these complaints on a weekly basis. You should read some of the replies given by the manufactures.We also have a TV program W5 which loves doing stories like these!?

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 3:16 pm

wow! so, you're pissed because they denied your tsb claim??? this is at the dealership you went to right? i thought it was up to the dealerships on the wearing/discoloring of the cladding, no? can you try a different dealership?sorry to hear about your frustrations dealing with the cladding issue. i can understand it would be very irritating to go back and forth w/ them over something like this. believe me... still annoyed with the battery issue. but to be honest, i'm surprised GM is even doing anything. most car manufacturers would have considered it normal wear and tear... so just by GM even offering the replacement as an option is pretty commendable in my book. and trust me, i am a TOYOTA fan. can't complain aobut my cladding because i have a monotone. and yes i have some rock chips in the paint, but in AK, not many cars don't.if i were you, as raging has suggested, i'd call GM canada every day until they saw that this was an issue. i'd take it to the service manager to see if he can help. but i will give you some advice: don't be a jerk and throw a temper tantrum because no one will want to help you. they'll just shoo you away. it's good to be assertive and firm, but go thru the necessary channels before you start to cry "wolf!"you can agree or disagree, but just mho. if all you talked to was 2 people, then well... sorry you're SOL. gotta go up the chain until you get a decision maker.

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 3:38 pm

Thanks for the advice. I'm not crying wolf, I'm sick and tired of not getting any customer service from any retail outlet anymore.There are no temper tantrums, I'm typical Canadian, polite, apathetic,naive. This is the last straw!

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 3:46 pm

Realistically, a scratch on the plastic is wear and tear and/or an act of God...in either case, not a warrantable issue. The "discolouration" that they're issuing a TSB on is an extenuating circumstance which GM has taken upon itself to make good on, even though, technically, it's not their fault. It's not a defect in the product.Again, without seeing pics, I side with GM on this one. It's like taking them to court for failing to honor a warranty on a clutch that was abused and destroyed from racing.Just my $0.02.

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 4:39 pm

Thanks I think!?The problem is. The cladding on this vehicle has discoloring/scratches/pitting/(ad your term here) because road debris passes around the front cladding because the tire is wider than the body. The body cladding should have been designed better and/or mud flaps should have been standard.( ya ya i know this wouldn't have been 100% effective ) Hind sight is 20/20. This can not be wear and tear or an act of god because GM has already addressed the issue and therefore admitted guilt.(not extenuating circumstance, not like an abused clutch)( changed cladding for '04 and issued the TSB and given other customers new cladding under warranty directly relating to this TSB) If GM, from the onset, had done nothing then there would be no legal arguement. My concern is not who you all side with, it's that my dealer has seen the vehicle and he agrees with me, the district service manager hasn't seen it nor has the GM CAN REP and they have declined my request and told me to take my concerns elseware. Also others have had their cladding replaced( I have seen the pics posted, my car looks the same thats why I started this whole fiasco),I think I deserve the same treatment.It's not Cheer Leaders I'm looking for it's solid info, $.02 or $200.00 worth.If somehow? I've offended anyone( russ257 ) I apologize! I need solid info on this subject as do other GENVIBER's, and I need IT ASAP!If you can help? Please Do! Thanks JSD

scherry2 · Post by **scherry2** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 6:24 pm

does it look like this? http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...8.JPG if it does you have a ligitamate complaint. keep calling GM untill you get a good ear also keep returning to the dealer and tell them about the cladding and tell them you are going above their heads and reporting them.GM hates crappy dealers especially now in these times of GM wanting market share.

Mavrik · Post by **Mavrik** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:41 pm

I happen to work as a service advisor and often find myself in the middle of issueslike yours were we as the dealer want to help but GM who WE work for will not let us and its very frustrating. If you have your dealer backing you up, then complain every day. Don't be rude to who ever answers but let them know how you feel. Keep going up the ladder if you must. The DSM has a boss, go to him, if he says no, he also has a boss and go to him. Scratches from road projectiles is not a part defect... mud flaps will correct the prob... But Mudflaps are ugly.Anyway good luck and let us know what happens, switching dealers won't work if they are all local dealers because the same DSM would probably control that whole district.

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:21 am

Thanks guys. Yes i have seen all the pics and yes it looks like that.As i have stated i'm not being rude, i'm just sick and tired of GM's stonewalling! JSDHi guys, I'm Gim67's friend. I have watched the events unfold here, from the deal right through to GM Customer service. I think you guys are missing the point. Gim67 brought this issue to his dealers attention; the dealer agrees that he has the right to the repair. But you need to go through GM Customer Service for authorization. GM Customer Service has told Gim67 to resolve this issue he needs to go to arbitration they will not honour the TSB. So that being said, what he is looking for is anyone who has had the TSB honoured. It is a fact through this web site some of you have had it done. This will help him when he gets to arbitration. Showing that GM has honoured the TSB will make it a short case to say the least. Probably when it gets filed GM will just honour it. But with out this info it is a much harder battle. Calling GM everyday in my opinion will only frustrate him. GM, Iâ€™m sure has computers that keep track of these complaints, and Iâ€™m sure each customer service rep will be able to access the file since you need to give you VIN number when you call. Just my two cents, I was looking at buying a Vibe when Gim67 got his, I thought it was a great car, but if I have to go through this kind of bull@$%^ to get what GM has already acknowledged is a problem, (TSB says it all) and wonâ€™t fix the problem or rescind the TSB as a mistake (yes the dealer acknowledges it is still a valid TSB) Then Iâ€™m not interested in any GM product.Corey Brooking

AKLGT · Post by **AKLGT** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:11 am

have you done a search on replaced cladding???? i KNOW their are some canadians who have had theirs replaced. that way you can im them and see what they did when they took their into the dealer....sorry, GM is giving you such the runaround. lol... sad to say, but that's just how big business works. wouldn't matter if it's a toyota, a honda, or a dodge. i had paint issues with my tundra and didn't get far w/ toyota on that. still a great truck and i'd buy one again.... like i said before, if the cladding is such a prob, then just don't buy a two-tone! or put mud flaps on or whatever... but, if you keep being persistant, i think you will get somewhere.

Caretaker · Post by **Caretaker** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:20 am

I got my cladding replaced. The problem is clearly caused by road debris which sand blasts the cladding into a milky white discoloration. I would call the gm customer support line if I were you. Otherwise, you can take your car to my dealer in Alexandria. I'm sure he'll fix you up. Sorry for your troubles.

Intron Depot · Post by **Intron Depot** » Sat Mar 27, 2004 11:34 pm

I brought a copy of this service bulletin to the service manager back in Sept/03 and within a week I had all the parts changed as per that bulletin (very happy with my dealer). One of GM's engineers did say it was a soft type of plastic used for the molding but I don't think they could form those pieces out of a harder plastic such as... HDPE or UHMW. I have noticed that my molding has discoloured again. No sense in going back and having another set discolour again. A design quirk that we as Vibe owners have to live with? Keep trying Gim67 but it will happen again on your new set. Still love the car!

Caretaker · Post by **Caretaker** » Sun Mar 28, 2004 1:14 am

You had the '05 cladding with the flaired out running board installed???....and it still is discoloring???? Or did you have the same flat running board put on??

trocar · Post by **trocar** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 7:21 am

How long did it take to start to notice the discoloring and sandblasting.I am still waiting for mine to change. I want to change my cladding to the monotone but am waiting see if I can get the 04 look before painting everything

Caretaker · Post by **Caretaker** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 8:08 am

I currently have 34,000 miles on the car which is 25 months old. I only noticed it after the good folks on this website alerted me to the problem a few months ago. Once I got down on the ground, it was quite apparent; when you rub your hand over the milky white surface, it was clearly eroded from road debris. In all, I keep my cars very clean and do not go off road with them. Therefore, this defect was caused by simple urban water and dirt hitting it. If you go to the dealer with the roughened up cladding, I think the problem should be fixed: common sense would dictate that if the '03 cladding can get discolored and roughened, the crappy paint would likewise show significant damage if you were abusing the car. The fact is, you aren't abusing the car; the damage is localized to a thin area where the rear door cladding meets the wheel housing cladding. Your dealer should recognize this (after you pin him up against the wall and make him cry uncle) and put the order in to fix it.

Gim67 · Post by **Gim67** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:56 pm

I noticed late last summer.(45000k) Really noticed late this winter while trying to clean some salt and crap off the car.(55000k)

SCTM · Post by **SCTM** » Tue May 18, 2004 1:13 pm

Some of our fellow Vibers got their cladding replaced in Ontario...beginning with Salsa. (worksheet included on following tread)http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=7365Go on SEARCH and look for "cladding", there's a lot of treads on this subject.Mine not been changed yet but still looking for agrement with GM concerning this subject AND new upgraded battery...

pmh013 · Post by **pmh013** » Wed May 19, 2004 5:42 am

Gim, I also had my DSM reject my claim to get the cladding replaced. My story went down a little differently, though.The dealership was clueless about the TSB, so they phoned the DSM for a "ruling." The DSM (who I know because I had other warranty trouble with this car) said that GM would not replace it under their "goodwill warranty" because I was past my warranty period. I argued that it was not my fault it took GM so damn long to issue the TSB that my warranty expired. They still said no. I decided it wasn't worth fighting on this point, because I had fought them so much on my catalytic converter issue ( http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=8119)If you really want to get GM to fix this, I can give you some contact names higher up in the GM Canada chain of command. When you phone these people, heads roll. I got the information from members of this website, and am happy to pass it along to members sho really need the help.That being said, the TSB is poorly written, so take some comfort in that.

cobra55 · Post by **cobra55** » Mon May 31, 2004 11:45 am

i think you must have a bad dealer, a friend of mine also bought a new 04 vibe a couple of weeks before i did, he had to take it backbecause of the paint chips on top,dealer looked at it and said it was a factory defect, and repainted (no charge)that week,good luck

Help!! / GM Warranty / Im PI$$ED

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