I agree. I had my tires rotated at this same dealership, Today Chevrolet in Bremerton, and the technicians did not know how to put the hub caps on. I lost three on the way home. I found this out the next morning when my husband asked "What happened to your hub caps?" The dealership replaced them after many conversations and it took three extra trips. One for them to find out which hub caps to order. One to get them installed when they came in... and another because the exterior door handle broke off in the service manager's hand when he was checking the mileage. This is the issue I am having with the door handles. The exterior door handles separate from the car. There is no water in the door. Maybe with the 99 models that was a problem they figured out and had enough complaints. The failed actuator on another door on my 2008 Suburban was replaced under warranty, but they would not check the other door even after they showed me how the actuator had corroded. That is when they told me the grease had separated and caused the corrosion. I wanted all the handles replaced at that time and actuators but they refused.

 

If you ran over something and damaged a tire, and the remaining tires were still in good shape and had many miles remaining on them, would you necessarily replace all of them...
It comes down to cost, and every business has to make money and the rule of thumb in maintenance and repair, especially in a non-critical item its:

If it ain't broke don't fix it....

I know that is not going to make things any better or anyone any happier but its the prospective you have to see from the dealers side...

The dealership didn't get to pick the parts GM used in the vehicle...

 

That analogy would apply to the door handles but maybe not the actuator unless they are saying that water is getting in because the driver's side window is down more often and more chance of rain getting in. However, I think that if the driver's side actuator was corroded, most likely they all would be since if rain is penetrating one area, it will go in another. The driver's door handle gets the most workout so I can understand them only wanting to change that.

My inside driver's door handle broke and I replaced that myself. Other handles appear to be ok. I still cannot accept an inside door handle breaking under any circumstance. These should be good for life for safety reasons. I've never heard of that happening on anyone's cars or trucks. My '67 GMC still has the original inside and outside handles although the driver's handle is a little loose from 40+years of wear.

I think we buy trucks because we think they are tough and durable which used to be the case. I think they have added to much cosmetic/comfort stuff to make them luxury vehicles and this is what is letting us down.

 

TECHNICAL

Bulletin No.: 09-08-64-032

Date: September 25, 2009

Subject: Chrome Outside Door Handle Loose/Cracked at Attachment Screw (Replace Handle)

Models:
2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT
2007-2008 Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe
2007-2008 GMC Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL, Yukon Denali, Yukon Denali XL

Condition

Some customers may comment that a chrome outside door handle is loose or cracked in the area of the attachment screws.

Cause

This condition may be caused by grease used on the attachment screws during the assembly process, which can migrate into the handle screw bosses and cause degradation. Another contributing factor to this condition is that the initial assembly torque of the attachment screws was too high, which may have helped initiate cracks in the screw bosses.

Correction

Important
When replacing a chrome outside door handle for this condition, be sure to address the following: - Ensure that the attachment screws are free from grease before installing the new handle. Clean the screws with Kent Automotive Acrysol(TM), or an equivalent grease removing body solvent.
- Torque the screws to 6 Nm (53 lb-in).


Replace the affected chrome outside door handle. Refer to Front Side Door Outside Handle Replacement, Rear Side Door Outside Handle Replacement, or Rear Side Door Outside Handle Replacement (Crew Cab) in SI.

Parts Information

Acrysol(TM) is available from Kent Automotive at 1-888-YES-KENT or online at www.kent-automotive.com.
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ASE master Tech, L1 emissions certified


This is an issue from assembly and their parts. If they know this is an issue, and you bring it in for one, they (Chevy Customer Service) should agree to replace them as they fail. This is my third Suburban...not my first car. They will not say they will or won't replace the failed parts with labor after I bring it in for the $102.50 diagnostic fee. What is their procedure for handling this issue. I can't be the first one.

Yes, I agree the local dealership should not have to pay for the fix. The fix should come from Chevy Customer Service. However, their procedures come to no conclusion when you ask them a question. It is worse than trying to deal with a politician.

I am glad this has sparked interest in others.

As for the bulletin above, it came out before my handles started breaking and all of them should have been replaced at that time. It was a known issue. 2 of the 4 have been replaced and one actuator. Check out the list of vehicles involved with the bulletin. Now I have another handle and actuator that need replaced. Once again, this could become a safety issue. If a handle breaks and you must get a child out due to an emergency, Chevy is leaving themselves wide open for a lawsuit.

 

Your right on the money there...

But lets not let ourselves off the hook.. we(through our government) demand that our vehicles get better MPG... to do that we have to replace metals with plastics...
Plastics can be produced to be very strong, but that cost money/time We consumers also demand affordability, so its a trade off for durability for affordability...
For every person that challenges the "defect" there are probably 6-8 that just trade it in for something else, ignore it, or just fix it themselves...

Social media, like this forum is a great way to get concerns addressed, in this case GM is listening, that is why they have legit representatives in here, that have in fact helped resolved many of the issues... Louis is one of those

 

Social media, like this forum is a great way to get concerns addressed, in this case GM is listening, that is why they have legit representatives in here, that have in fact helped resolved many of the issues... Louis is one of those[/quote]

Amen-Thanks to Louis as well for stepping up.

 

[quote=in2pro;212730]Your right on the money there...

But lets not let ourselves off the hook.. we(through our government) demand that our vehicles get better MPG... to do that we have to replace metals with plastics...
Plastics can be produced to be very strong, but that cost money/time We consumers also demand affordability, so its a trade off for durability for affordability...


That's what the service manager said when the handle broke off in his hand. He was quite embarassed. It was his defense on the poor manufacture as well. All else is speculation.

 

I have a 2008 Suburban Z71 (this is my 5th Suburban since October, 2001). Today I went to my Dealer for an LOF, and when I picked up the truck the rear door locks and the driver's door lock do not work. The tech said that it's probably the lock actuators, and that they fail in approx. 10,000 cycles. But after reading this forum thrtead it appears to be a major problem with the OEM part. Has anyone received satisfaction from GM and/or their dealer on making this right?

 

I had the very same problem uwith my Tahoe. Out of warranty, dealer charged me a deductible of $100.00 per door. Now I see a recall on 06-07 SUVs. I'm going tundra next time.

 

I recently had very good luck getting this problem fixed on two doors of my 2008 Suburban with about 88,000 miles and clearly out of warranty. I had actually read this thread to see if it was a known problem and when I called the local dealership to have it checked out I mentioned that these door issues appeared to be an ongoing problem. They confirmed they had replaced many and just needed to look at them to order the right parts.

After a quick look, they ordered parts, and the GM service center, or whatever they are called, followed up with me a few times. Not only did they replace the two doors that were broke (front right, and rear left), but also the driver's door which was still working. The dealer said they replaced that one because it is the one that always goes out eventually.

Total cost: $0. So, I am VERY happy with the resolution of this problem. Of course, this is a local dealership in a small, Rocky Mountain town that my family has been doing business with for 30 years. This Suburban wasn't bought there though.