Amy5, it seems they all think the BCM is the magic fix, and often times it is, just not in this case. I think Chevy Captiva electrical problems are directly related to poor quality control at the factory and most likely a ground issue. I cannot think I'll ever buy a Chevy again, and I'll definitely be sharing my bad experience every chance I get. I've never been so disappointed in the response from Chevy on this issue. I think I've given Chevy every opportunity to make this right, and yet nothing.

 

Honeill,

That's disappointing that their Customer Care hasn't even responded to you on this board. I"m surprised. I initially heard from them pretty quickly on here and they helped me get the ball rolling at the dealership. I understand what you mean. I feel that way too - like I'll think twice before purchasing another Chevy.

 

so for some reason Im feeling nice since I've already post in this thread...I have fixed MULTIPLE captiva electrical issues by replacing the positive battery cable assembly (OEM part). They usually have .3-.5v voltage drop which would cause a lot of techs to think its not the issue if they even check it.


Now that's the 2nd time I've posted that in this thread....so if no one wants to read it then I guess have fun griping and hoping for magic to happen.

 

Last year the alternator died after only 37K miles, and in the middle of the california desert, ( nice 105mi. tow in the middle of the night.) but the $700 cost was covered by 3rd party warranty, since it was just past 3rd year.

Having the more issues recently. Radio will blank out if using turn signal or braking heavily. (fuse blown twice.) gauges will blank and radio time will reset. yesterday the car just completely died, wouldn't unlock, couldn't remove car keys, and no lights or gauges. called for a tow to the dealer, but within an hour it revived just as the tow truck arrived.

Since i arranged for a visit at the dealer the next morning and after a $90 diagnostic, battery is failing and battery cables need to be replaced. however now, none of the work is warrantied. quoted: 3hrs of labor @ $130 and a battery cable for $210 for in the over $600. i am going to replace the battery myself, but how ridiculous is it that it cost so much for a cable and the time to replace it?? i googled the run of the cable, and I think I can just run a generic cable as a jumper from point A to B.

 

Recently my wifes 2012 LTZ has had a random electrical issue. If we unlock the door's with the remote the rear window washer pumps runs nonstop. As soon as you lock it, it stops. Also you can not open the rear hatch door when this happens. After reading all the posts about electrical issues I am figuring its the same issue. I checked that the battery was good and all the connections are tight. The car now has 65k and is out of warranty of course and I cant afford to take it to a dealer. The electrical issues are know problem for the captiva and would love to find out its under a recall.

 

So the fix, was an 51" $8 alternator to starter cable that i was able to place on the positive output on the alternator to the battery.

Alternator was on the front of the engine and took only a few minutes to remove the beauty cover and back off the nut on the alt. i then ran it over to the positive on the battery. two zip ties to the keep the cable looking pretty along the front and it was done. after a month of testing, the voltage used to drop from 14.2v to 12.3 over a matter of 14 minutes of driving on a new battery; now stays in the area of 14.3v to 14.8v.

so $8 part vs a $210 one; and 30 minutes of work vs 3 hrs. bite me chevy.

 

My car radio plays and then blinks to searching for usb or not supported by this device!? Not sure what the problem is. Nothing is plugged in to anything. It will flash back and forth. After first year of owning this my thermostat control center/unit went out and I luckily still was under warranty. I had to change out my alternator last year and purchase a new battery. My air has been out due to the condenser line rubbing the fan and now my radio is acting up. I have had car for three years and am not real happy with all these problems. Your help in the matter(s) would be appreciated.

Melissa Richardson
2012 Captiva LT v6

 

After reading through everyone's posts last night, I went to bed a little disheartened as the intermittent electrical outages described in the posts above are beginning to happen in my wife's 2012 Captiva. Ironically, today marks the year anniversary of purchasing our Chevy. It has just over 45,000 miles. After a long morning of research and sifting through forums, I stumbled across a website that does a pretty good job at describing what is going on and offers a simple (and inexpensive!) fix to the problem. I will admit that I have not yet attempted the repair but figure it is worth trying after reading the horror stories from above. I wanted to share the link in hopes that anyone else experiencing the same issues might be able to benefit from it. Check out the following link and thanks to "The GM Problem Solver" for the expertise and advise! Saturn VUE and Chevrolet Captiva Sport Electrical Issues |

 

Thank you small, I am going to share this with the dealership where my car is at as we speak, They just had it for 5 weeks replacing the rear and front differentials on my 2012 Captiva LTZ and i did not have the car for a year. I am very disappointed swore i would never own another Chevy product again cause the last one I owned we had to replace the transmission twice and it left us stranded. Here i am with the curse of the Chevy again I knew i should have kept looking. I have always been a Dodge girl I had a magnum for 10 yrs and not a problem once with it . I hope this fixes the issue. We had many things going on after we received it back, parking break light, parking break service light, break light, traction control error, radio would go off, turn on the blinker and the cruise control would shut off, turn on my high beams and the cruise control would also shut off. This morning the car would not turn over at all and the key was stuck in the ignition. I put a battery charger on it and it still wouldn't go. Called for a tow to the dealership he put his booster pack on and got it to jump. Seems to be a common problem with this car and I really wish i would have read up on it a little bit more. It is sad cause the car really is comfortable and drives nice just everything else is going wrong. Thanks for your time

 

Hi all,

My radio just started acting up as well all with the same issues. I took it in on Friday and they disconnected the battery to reboot the car. It seemed to work but after a while quit. Mine displays "Device not recognized and also something about the USB. The car does seem to feel like it's loosing power also. I will likely have to take it in also, but, it appears this is a CAPTIVA issue. So I hope this will be covered under warranty.

evowmn