I’m having 4WD problems with my Yukon, but the dealer keeps telling me there’s nothing wrong with it (this has been going on for 2 winters now), which is either code for, “let’s wait until it’s extended warranty expires, so we don’t have to pay for it,” or “the computer says nothing is wrong, so that’s all we’re going to look at.” When it’s in 4WD, anytime I make a sharp turn or even turn a corner there’s a grinding noise in the front, if I try to back up, it will only go as far as one revolution of the tires then stop (I have to take it out of 4WD to backup), eventually the “Service 4WD” light comes on, but apparently nothing gets recorded on the computer. It has 32,000 miles on it. Any ideas? The dealer doesn’t seem to have any… Thanks!
Get a new mechanic. You have a problem in the front axel would be my guess. No computer is going to tell you that.
Thanks – That’s kind of what I was thinking too (both axle & NEW mechanic), but I thought I would give the dealer one more try and I don’t know if the extended warranty service extends to other garages/mechanics.
“I don’t know if the extended warranty service extends to other garages/mechanics.”
If it is an extended warranty from GM, then…no, it does not typically cover work done by indy mechanics.
GM–like the other vehicle manufacturers–requires that repair work be done by one of their own franchised dealers in order to be covered.
The only exception might be if you broke down in the middle of nowhere, and an indy mechanic was the only one available. In a case like that, you would pay the indy mechanic, submit your invoice to GM, and hope for the best.
If the extended warranty is from anyone other than GM, that company would probably find a vague loophole to enable them to pay nothing or…at best…10% of the actual repair costs. Buying an aftermarket extended warranty from anyone other than the vehicle’s manufacturer is pretty similar to just throwing your money into a toilet, and then flushing your money away.
The bottom line is that you need to read the details of that extended warranty in order to know what your rights and options are.
You are going to be covered. You need to report your gm dealer visits and their failure to fix. Any issue reported to a dealer during the warranty period will be covered by the gm warranty. Even after the warranty expires. The dealer cannot fail to recognize an issue in order to expire your warranty. This is a violation of the warranty contract. Contact the GM zone rep and you probably have to report the issue one more time to the dealer to meet certain legal language in the contract. The dealer needs to tear down the transfer case and possibly the hubs to find the problem. This is MAJOR labor for which the dealer gets a smaller hourly rate under warranty than you and I pay.
Make sure you have time-dated paperwork from the dealership proving you asked the dealer to resolve this. That will help you if the problem should get worse after the warranty period.
Thanks euryale1 & GeorgeSanJose for the tips. I’ll dig out my paperwork, and take it back to the dealer. They had it for a day, and all they said was, “The Service 4WD light didn’t come on when they drove it” and they said they drained the hubs and there was no metal in the fluid, so they still don’t know what the problem is, and they told me it was normal that I couldn’t backup up when it was in 4WD (which is ridiculous!).