Dealership service issue - Need advice
I’m having some troubling symptoms from my car and the dealer isn’t doing much to fully investigate the issue. I’m wondering what my next steps should be.
Car is a 2012 Buick Regal GS 6MT w/ 57k on the odometer. Car is in very nice shape and came with the balance of a 6 year/90k GM Major Guard warranty when I bought it last May. I paid a little more for the car because of this since I knew I’d be driving a lot of miles in the immediate future and I didn’t want to worry about any unexpected costs, and the warranty is essentially bumper-to-bumper. Unfortunately, I’ve had to use the warranty several times already and while logistically a pain because of where I live (Traverse City) and not knowing many people there, it has come through and has paid for itself.
About a month ago, the turbo quit producing boost for some reason. I was on the freeway, and I realized I couldn’t gain speed regardless of gear. I pulled off the freeway and when driving at slow speeds the car felt completely anemic and I couldn’t hear the turbo spooling. I turned off the car and restarted it, then it seemed to drive normally and I could hear spooling. I have no idea why this would be or how/why the pcm would control anything mechanical with the turbo, but I’m guessing for some reason either the BOV or the wastegate got stuck open and somehow restarting the car fixed this. No codes were thrown. Ever since, I feel like the whole induction system has been making more whistling/air noise along with a load- and speed-based howling when I press the accelerator at freeway speeds. Also, there seems to be much more vibration and noise related to the engine. Also, fuel mileage has dropped, and I feel like I’m down on power (although it’s not slow so most people wouldn’t notice this).
I’ve also experienced a slightly unsteady idle recently. Not enough to throw any codes, but I can just tell it’s hunting more than it should be at times. I took it to the dealer and they recommended a fuel injection cleaningwhich of course the warranty doesn’t cover, but I declined figuring I can throw a bottle of Techron in it for much cheaper than they can. I chocked it up to me just being picky, but then Wednesday it finally stalled on me while idling in traffic. Again, no CELs thrown.
So the issue is that my warranty expires at the end of March, and the dealer isn’t doing much more than taking a quick test drive (no dry roads near the dealer nor anywhere with a speed limit of more than 45mph) and hooking a scanner up to it. The noises/vibrations aren’t that bad to someone who isn’t familiar with what the car sounded/felt like previously, but I’ve definitely noticed a change recently and it feels/sounds like a different car to me.
Anything engine/turbo-related related scares me from a repair cost standpoint. My fear is that no one is going to take these concerns seriously then I’m going to end up with a several-thousand-dollar repair bill when something finally fails a month after the warranty expires. Every time I take it in I’m charged a diagnostic fee because the warranty doesn’t cover anything if they don’t find anything wrong, nor a rental car (which is a huge problem for me) unless there are 2hrs labor charged, which they don’t know until the car is inspected and I’ve committed to the rental.
Any thoughts on how I should handle this with a ticking clock and a dealer who doesn’t want to do any real investigative work? Any suggestions as to what the issue may be?
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Originally Posted by Birdie2000
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