kylerob70

OhSixNox, About May of this year had a similar conversation with a rep on the phone and she assured me the repairs would be covered as well as a rental from the dealership. She inquired at to which local dealership I was going to be using. I was assured by this rep that the diagnosis would be covered on the condition that it was in fact the blend door issue of the recall. I had 140,000 miles on my 2006 Equinox at the time. I then contacted my dealer's service department and spoke with the super of said dept. I was informed by him to use caution as this situation had occurred before and the bill was ultimately left to the car owner, despite what the rep had said. His advice to me; Get a case number from the rep and assure through the dealer's service dept. that the diagnosis and repairs will be covered before taking it in. I contacted the rep asking for some type of confirmation to the effect that these would be covered, despite the mileage, if this was a recall, blend door issue. I asked for a case number or for a case to be initiated, per the Chevy service department’s advice. She put me on hold and came back in 10 minutes or so and informed me that she would try to get this approved thru said dealership. Later that day she called me back to say that the dealer would not perform said repairs under the recall and that all of the repairs, including the diagnosis, would be my responsibility. I bought the new blend door and spent that weekend fixing the problem with my wife handing me tools and giving me morale support!
Not that this is what will happen to anyone else, I just wanted to share my experience. You see, I had previously worked for two G.M. dealerships in my small town, including the Chevrolet dealership herein involved, and felt the need, after reading the many commentaries in various posts about this recall, to dig deeper before taking the word of a rep over the phone. I certainly hope this outcome is not the case for anyone else in this situation, but proceed with caution. The rep that answers the phone at the call center typically does not have the authority to insure this type of override of the recall guidelines, as I have discovered.

Best of luck in your dealings...KyleRob70<O</O

OhSixNox

KyleRob70, I'd only hope everyone gets the help I got. When I spoke to the rep they said it wasn't a recall but a extended warranty repair. Which I guess is different not sure how though. She also said it covers '06 Equinox's with under 120k miles. Do you think maybe that is why they declined to help? Hope not, since this is a safety hazard as far as this problem goes. Like you said though, I do recommend making sure your covered 100% since that's a hefty bill to be stuck with. For me they handed me paperwork/workorder after they diagnosed the car stating the warranty would cover all cost. I'm not saying your wrong in any way, since I've been screwed by dealers before. But if I can try and help some fellow equinox owners on this, the least I can do is try. Thanks for all the help, you're who gave me the idea to ask of it was free of charge like 999 times.

kylerob70

That's what we're here for, at least most of us I believe, to try and assist one another on this issue! I am very proud this was handled in such a professional, courteous manner for you! I only wish that was the case for so many others out there, reading this now and in the days and years to come.

qsand13

Has anyone been able to have this covered under warranty/recallwith over 120K miles? I noticed this problem about 2 weeks ago, and went over 120K miles last week uggh.

Terry Kalal

Factory Technical Service Bulletin, Document ID: 2862658/Subject: 11135 - Special Coverage Adjustment - Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Operation - Loss of Heat (May 30, 2013)

From the bulletin:

Condition: On some 2006 model year Chevy Equinox & Pontiac Torrent, the HVAC system may not operate as designed due to a fracture of a HVAC temperature valve (some call it a blend door).

GM is providing owners with additional protection for the the condition above. If your 2006 Pontiac Torrent or Chevy Equinox is within 10 years of age, and or has less than 120,000 miles, which ever come first, the condition above will be repaired for you at no charge.

Reimbursements: Bring documents to your dealer and complete a form for reimbursements.

michael2290

I registered an account just to say thank you to the person above me who listed the Service Bulletin number, and the person who posted the phone number to call to deal with this issue. Here's my experience for anyone who may be going through the same issue.

I have a 2006 Pontiac Torrent with 123,000 miles, and called to see if they would be able to do anything for me. At first they tried to brush me off and say that no service bulletins showed up when they looked up my VIN, but I insisted that they look up the bulletin number in the above post, and they did. They told me that this service bulletin did exist, but since I was above the mileage parameters, I was out of luck. I persisted until he finally decided to call the local GM dealership on three way, which the dealership service adviser agreed to pay half of the price. I made sure to ask for a reference number for the call, because you never know with this kind of thing. I then asked the Pontiac customer service rep if he would pay the other half, and he said he would put it in for approval and give a call back in 24-48 hours. Even if he doesn't call back, I'm happy the GM dealership was willing to pay half. When I asked how much half would be, he said $300 with no taxes, because they aren't allowed to charge taxes on warranty repairs. I'm sure if they didn't agree to pay half, the repair would be more than $600, but that works out for both I and the dealership.

qsand13

Hi Michael... I was able to get my fixed free even though I was over the 120K miles. Granted I was only about 750 miles over.


It also took sometime to coordinate as I was traveling, and they generally only perform the diagnostics during the week at the Chevy dealership I went to in Paramus.


So, I had to call the customer service # and open the ticket. GM customer service was great, always the same person calling, and extremely helpful. But note:
1- They require a dealership to confirm that the problem is the warranty issue. (They basically set up the appointment for me keep the service manager of the dealership in the loop)
2- They would NOT commit to reimbursing me, and only told me they would do their best to "help" in the situation because I was over the limit.
3- If it wasn't the same issue I would be responsible for $100 diagnostic cost.


So, after it was confirmed by the dealership to be the issue. It was escalated to a supervisor, who waved all repair costs.


My advice would be to be VERY nice to everyone, because once your over the limit its completely discretionary.


Good luck!!!!!

Eric Althouse

Would this TSB also apply if the blend door is stuck the opposite way? meaning when the AC is on only hot air comes out?

ruley73

The TSB should cover it. It's the same problem. The only difference is that the blend door is stuck in a different position.

Gabummer

Just found out from a GM Tech that GM has a Document # 2862658, "Special Coverage Adjustment #11135 - Heating, Ventilation, Air conditioning Operation - Loss of heat - (May 30, 2012) " for 2006 Equinoxes and Torrents.

The condition reads : On some 2006 model year Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent vehicles, the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) System may not operate as designed due to a fracture of the HVAC Temperature Valve. If this occurs, the Blower Motor speed and Mode selection ( floor, vents, defrost) will continue to function; However, heated air will not be available.

This special coverage covers the condition described above for a period of 10 YRS or 120,000 miles whichever occurs first, from the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, regardless of ownership.

( Will update this information once, I talk to the Dealer about this condition)