mjahall

Hello all,

My check engine light is on my 08 Equinox sport so I ran the OBD on it. The error is a P0009, which is timing chain. I then took the car to my Chevy dealer who agreed with the error. However, when I asked for an estimate the service manager said I need to trade the car in. Shocked, I said why? Now, I should say that we have four Chevys in the home, (five if you include my oldest who moved out). He said that we are looking at thousands of dollars in repair as the entire motor needs to be broken down. He again recommends I just trade it in!

I trust my dealership, but I still have two kids in collage and no car payments presently. Why do you suppose Chevy wants to break the motor down? Is this a common problem with the 08 sport?

Thanks much! Mike

tech2

If they are quoting a timing chain; It's a ten hour job, plus parts and diagnosis. Depending on the condition, mileage, other needed maintenance it may or may not be worth it to fix.
Do you live in the rust belt?
Does it need tires,brakes; as that could add $1500 to the $2000 in engine work. i factor the cost of repair vs what the vehicle is worth.
its good to have a keep or discard number.

oldchevy

You can also go to a non dealer repair shop who charge much less. The trick is to find a good one.

mjahall

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I just changed the brakes and rotors about four months ago and new tires about a year ago. I always changed the oil every 3k. The car is paid off and only has 75k on it. I hate the thought of trading it in. However, I'm looking at over $3000 in repairs. I live in Chicago, so if anyone has any recommendations of a quality machanic, I would certainly take them up on it.
Thanks again.
Mike

mjahall

Hi all,


I'm still trying to find a good mechanic in or around Chicago. If anyone can recommend one, even a good GM dealer, I do need to get my wife's car fixed.


Thanks very much in advance
Mike

Silver Streak

GM is very well aware of this issue with this engine. You need to contact the Service Manager of your dealership or another Chevy dealership and see what they will cover. If you don't agree, then elevate your issue up with GM. This issue affected mostly every GM vehicle that used the 3.6L DOHC V6 and it's variants. You are not the only one to experience this problem.

mjahall

ironically, it was the regional service manager, Bryce, that called me after I challenged their statement of "trade it in". He agreed that I should trade it in as it would cost me thousands to have them repair it. I will take you up on contacting GM and open a trouble. I have a feeling this will end up asa legal matter, but I'llmgive it a shot. Thanks for your advice!!


Mike

mjahall

...I would like to ask if anyone else had this problem and had GM make good on the fix. I think it will help my case if I can use others that got this resolved through GM. I'm already seeing how they are trying to avoid their responsibility by keep telling me I need to trade it in. I told them that a simple google of this issue shows there is a known problem and they said I am wrong. ....Let the battle begin.

zekes

I'm in Canada, have approx 160000km (100,000 miles) on my Equinox sport, just got the P0008 timing chain error. The dealership charged me $1900 to replace the stretched chain.

I've also had the power steering pump die and replaced the rack and pinion.

Silver Streak

With some minor digging, I found the 2 GM documents that are on their system. The first was a Customer Satisfaction bulletin and this is the latest version;
#10287C Customer Satisfaction - Premature Timing Chain Wear - Reprogram Engine Control Module - (Apr 13, 2012)
There had been earlier versions released before this one.

Then for the replacement parts they released;
#12-06-01-009E: Information on High Feature V6 Timing Chain Kits and Chain Guide Replacements, DTCs P008, P009, P0016, P0017, P0018 and/or P0019 - (Apr 11, 2014)

Again this is revision E so there were 4 releases prior to this one. This latest revision shows the Equinox that you have.

I would elevate your concern up in the GM system. Look in the back of your owners manual and there should be a phone number you can call to get your concern into the system. They should provide you with a claim/concern number. They may have changed the title of these folks to now "Customer Care" or something along that line.