GM Active Fuel Management Woes
September 6th, 2013, 8:21 AM
#22
Administrator
As I understand it in 2011 GM went to recommending synthetic only in all vehicles see your owners manual, if it references the "Dexos" brand then you should be using synthetic ONLY
See this list for approved Dexos compatible oils which as I read it are all full synthetic....
GM dexos information center
using anything other then that, and you are open to voiding your power train warranty...
See this list for approved Dexos compatible oils which as I read it are all full synthetic....
GM dexos information center
using anything other then that, and you are open to voiding your power train warranty...
February 10th, 2014, 10:04 AM
#24
CF Beginner
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For historical info, at 62K my 08 Yukon Hybrid started running roughly. Took to dealer, within one hour they called and said they would replace the engine under warranty, no cost to me. When I asked what the problem was they said some issue with the number 1 cylinder. Has the 6 liter engine. So far ok at 85K.
February 26th, 2014, 11:58 AM
#25
CF Beginner
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
5.3L AFM Failure
In July '13 when my 2002 Blazer started to have continuous problems (@146,000 miles) I started shopping.
'Ole Betsy had given me good service even after four years in Mexico while teaching English. All in all not disappointed with that purchase made in 2002.
Anyhow I bit the bullet last July '13 and bought a 2009 Impala SS used with 59,000 on it. That was thinking I was getting some thing dependable.
Golly am I glad I bought the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty from the Chevy dealer. Mid Feb 2014 when I started it up in the Fry's parking lot after shopping, the instrument panel lit up with "traction control", "stabilitrak" and the "engine" light lit up. The engine sounded really sad with a rough idle; the dealer's garage was two miles away and that was my next stop. I left it running with the panel indicators lit up and they took it in right away. That was two days ago and they said it was a lifter problem (sound like the AFM?). They tore the engine down and said they would cover it 100%, but will have to have it for a couple more days for the adjuster from the warranty company to confirm the problem.
Let's see how good the extended warranty is!
I'll keep this updated.
Well, next day the dealer called and said all twenty-eight hundred dollars {oops that turned out to be $3,100} of parts and labor would be covered under the warranty I purchased from the dealer with the car. Also covered the rental of a 2014 Impala for the four days to get everything taken care of. So, not out of pocket anything.
They are replacing all 16 of the lifters.
Whew.....
So I had the car back ten days later on Tuesday...and on Thursday when starting the engine it sounded rough again and the panel "traction..etc" lights were on again.
Then back to the Chevy dealer again and of course left it running and the service tech took it in immediately. (this time they loaned a new "equinox") to me again at no charge.
Next day I called them and they said they reloaded the computer software and the problem disappeared, but they wanted to keep it for a while to see if the problem reappears.
Today it has been a week since taking it back and they said they have driven it 'off & on' about eighty miles and there has been no problem. However the service mgr said he has the Division rep coming in and he will drive it too.
It looks like I get the car back tomorrow and the AFM problem is finally solved with new computer software (and the new lifters installed previously)
Hope this does not turn out to be a continuing saga but the dealer and warranty folks have had the car for going on three weeks.
Whew.....
Next Day.
So I went in to the dealer around 9:30 on my day off. The service mgr said they had the problem fixed, but consider that the SS model is a very attractive resale so you might want to talk with the sales boys about trading it for a new car. (Umm...that sounded a little uncomfortable) But it was my day off so I figured what the heck. Then I spent about two hours with the sales folks and they just would not take NO for an answer. I did not want higher payments or a longer loan term, all I wanted was a car that was dependable.
I finally broke loose from the sales folks and test drove my SS.
After putting it on the 303 at 60 mph it did not drop down into 4 cyl mode. The outlook of getting 19 mpg highway instead of the 31 highway that I had been getting before this all started...well that was a grim sight. (I am widowed, on SocSec, work part time @Lowe's)
Then the lights for engine, securetrak, stabilitrak came on and I drove it right back to the dealer and sat in the car engine running and the svc mgr came out and looked at the dash, felt how rough it was running, shook his head and took the car back in. They gave me the a loaner I had returned earlier in the day. It's now the middle of March and all this started in the middle of February.
No prognosis at the moment but I am getting to like the 2014 loaners they are giving me to drive.
Thank heaven for the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty, however this is the third visit for the same problem. It really sounds like Chevy has a defective design with the 5.3L AFM engine and I don't know what else to do beyond hope the dealer and warranty can fix this and make it dependable.
Next?
You tell me!
I made the call to GM in Detroit on the 18th of March and they were very good listeners on the phone, but that does not give me a reliable car. I told Detroit that I wanted a new motor installed because the car is in the dealer's shop for the third time for engine work and the latest prognosis from the dealer is that the camshaft needs to be replaced. Maybe that call to Detroit will result in having a reliable car. However in the back of my mind I am losing confidence in ending up with a reliable car. It's the 22nd of March and the call to GM on the 18th has not brought on the Charge of the Light Brigade of GM customer service.
Wish me luck.
Next?
'Ole Betsy had given me good service even after four years in Mexico while teaching English. All in all not disappointed with that purchase made in 2002.
Anyhow I bit the bullet last July '13 and bought a 2009 Impala SS used with 59,000 on it. That was thinking I was getting some thing dependable.
Golly am I glad I bought the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty from the Chevy dealer. Mid Feb 2014 when I started it up in the Fry's parking lot after shopping, the instrument panel lit up with "traction control", "stabilitrak" and the "engine" light lit up. The engine sounded really sad with a rough idle; the dealer's garage was two miles away and that was my next stop. I left it running with the panel indicators lit up and they took it in right away. That was two days ago and they said it was a lifter problem (sound like the AFM?). They tore the engine down and said they would cover it 100%, but will have to have it for a couple more days for the adjuster from the warranty company to confirm the problem.
Let's see how good the extended warranty is!
I'll keep this updated.
Well, next day the dealer called and said all twenty-eight hundred dollars {oops that turned out to be $3,100} of parts and labor would be covered under the warranty I purchased from the dealer with the car. Also covered the rental of a 2014 Impala for the four days to get everything taken care of. So, not out of pocket anything.
They are replacing all 16 of the lifters.
Whew.....
So I had the car back ten days later on Tuesday...and on Thursday when starting the engine it sounded rough again and the panel "traction..etc" lights were on again.
Then back to the Chevy dealer again and of course left it running and the service tech took it in immediately. (this time they loaned a new "equinox") to me again at no charge.
Next day I called them and they said they reloaded the computer software and the problem disappeared, but they wanted to keep it for a while to see if the problem reappears.
Today it has been a week since taking it back and they said they have driven it 'off & on' about eighty miles and there has been no problem. However the service mgr said he has the Division rep coming in and he will drive it too.
It looks like I get the car back tomorrow and the AFM problem is finally solved with new computer software (and the new lifters installed previously)
Hope this does not turn out to be a continuing saga but the dealer and warranty folks have had the car for going on three weeks.
Whew.....
Next Day.
So I went in to the dealer around 9:30 on my day off. The service mgr said they had the problem fixed, but consider that the SS model is a very attractive resale so you might want to talk with the sales boys about trading it for a new car. (Umm...that sounded a little uncomfortable) But it was my day off so I figured what the heck. Then I spent about two hours with the sales folks and they just would not take NO for an answer. I did not want higher payments or a longer loan term, all I wanted was a car that was dependable.
I finally broke loose from the sales folks and test drove my SS.
After putting it on the 303 at 60 mph it did not drop down into 4 cyl mode. The outlook of getting 19 mpg highway instead of the 31 highway that I had been getting before this all started...well that was a grim sight. (I am widowed, on SocSec, work part time @Lowe's)
Then the lights for engine, securetrak, stabilitrak came on and I drove it right back to the dealer and sat in the car engine running and the svc mgr came out and looked at the dash, felt how rough it was running, shook his head and took the car back in. They gave me the a loaner I had returned earlier in the day. It's now the middle of March and all this started in the middle of February.
No prognosis at the moment but I am getting to like the 2014 loaners they are giving me to drive.
Thank heaven for the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty, however this is the third visit for the same problem. It really sounds like Chevy has a defective design with the 5.3L AFM engine and I don't know what else to do beyond hope the dealer and warranty can fix this and make it dependable.
Next?
You tell me!
I made the call to GM in Detroit on the 18th of March and they were very good listeners on the phone, but that does not give me a reliable car. I told Detroit that I wanted a new motor installed because the car is in the dealer's shop for the third time for engine work and the latest prognosis from the dealer is that the camshaft needs to be replaced. Maybe that call to Detroit will result in having a reliable car. However in the back of my mind I am losing confidence in ending up with a reliable car. It's the 22nd of March and the call to GM on the 18th has not brought on the Charge of the Light Brigade of GM customer service.
Wish me luck.
Next?
Last edited by dco8; March 22nd, 2014 at 12:55 PM. Reason: Even Further Further information
February 26th, 2014, 1:37 PM
#27
Administrator
Wouldn't the lifter problem be covered under the powertrain warranty which is good for 5 years or a hundred thousand miles? Or is yours older than 5 years now?
March 12th, 2014, 1:54 PM
#28
CF Beginner
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The trouble is real!!
Thank goodness I decided to snoop around and found this forum. I have a 2007 crew cab LTZ Vortec Max 4wd. I only have 50k miles on it. I drive about 5 miles each way to work and back, and not much other than that. Started my truck one morning and all the lights came on...stabilitrack, service traction control, etc. With just the truck idling it was making my teeth chatter. Very loud and rough. It kept stalling too like it was about to run out of gas. My initial thought was that someone had spiked my gas tank with something. I have a friend who has a tuner, and he hooked it up and the diagnostics said failure in valve 4. I had it towed to local Chevy dealership. First of all, it's going to be $192 just to take off the valve cover and look at what's wrong. Just to look...$192. No guarantee that anything under the valve cover would even be the issue. Later they tell me that the lifter in valve 4 is out, and I will need to either replace all the valves and cam shaft $3,469.51 + tax or get a new engine. Bargain price of a new 6.0 vortec max installed would only be $6,300 + tax. My powertrain warranty expired in 2012 because of the age, but only 50k miles, are you kidding me? What choice did I have? I can't drive it like it is.
I had just about gave the green light to replace the valves and cam shaft when I stumbled upon this forum. I called them immediately and told them to not touch my truck until I called them and told them to do so. I called GM direct and explained the situation and how I have seen that this is a widespread problem. I explained that I have seen where a lot of cases GM provided a brand new engine because they have admittedly sold a "damaged product" from the start. These 2007 and 2008 models are starting to reach the mileage and/or time frame where all of these problems are beginning to come forward. They transfered me to a district support manager and I plead my case again. She explained that they would see what they could do for me and someone would contact me back within 24 hours. Within 20 minutes of speaking to the district rep, the service department called me back and dropped the price of the repairs by about $3k. My concern was that if I replaced these valves and cam shaft, what is to say this won't happen again within the next few months or a year or so later. I told them I wanted some type of warranty that it wouldn't happen again which they said could only be provided with a new engine. I told them that in that case, I want a new engine. The request has been issued, and I am currently awaiting on a response. I will post when I get an answer.
Thank you guys so much for this thread. This has saved me several thousand dollars and a few ulcers already. Hopefully a new engine with a warranty as well.
I had just about gave the green light to replace the valves and cam shaft when I stumbled upon this forum. I called them immediately and told them to not touch my truck until I called them and told them to do so. I called GM direct and explained the situation and how I have seen that this is a widespread problem. I explained that I have seen where a lot of cases GM provided a brand new engine because they have admittedly sold a "damaged product" from the start. These 2007 and 2008 models are starting to reach the mileage and/or time frame where all of these problems are beginning to come forward. They transfered me to a district support manager and I plead my case again. She explained that they would see what they could do for me and someone would contact me back within 24 hours. Within 20 minutes of speaking to the district rep, the service department called me back and dropped the price of the repairs by about $3k. My concern was that if I replaced these valves and cam shaft, what is to say this won't happen again within the next few months or a year or so later. I told them I wanted some type of warranty that it wouldn't happen again which they said could only be provided with a new engine. I told them that in that case, I want a new engine. The request has been issued, and I am currently awaiting on a response. I will post when I get an answer.
Thank you guys so much for this thread. This has saved me several thousand dollars and a few ulcers already. Hopefully a new engine with a warranty as well.
March 13th, 2014, 10:26 AM
#30
CF Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: NH
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts