danman_s

So my C5 Z06 leaks through the roof and doors as usual. The car has been into the dealership multiple times under warranty to get it fixed before I became the owner. The dealership has screwed it up multiple times before; they were never able to fix the leaks and the passenger side mouldings would never be reinstalled correctly.

I took it in one final time as the leaks were especially bad. The dealership did a complete hack job and the seals look worse now than when the car went in. We make a stink and complain about it to one of the service guys and he responds that they can't put the seals back in properly because our 'new' windshield wasn't installed properly and it wasn't GM's problem.

Now the fun part, the car has been in the family since we got it new in 2003. It has the original windshield but the tech guy was accusing us of getting the windshield replaced and improperly installed. He said that the part number on the windshield doesn't match the normal GM numbers. But, they were the guys that screwed up the seals in the first place when we tried to get the leak fixed a few years back, so it wasn't windshield related at all. We ended up getting into an arguing match with the service guy until finally they realized that the mouldings/seals weren't installed properly and left to let them attempt to figure it out again.

Anyhow, didn't a different company make the Z06 windshields as they were quite different than the normal C5 windshields? We figure the guy doesn't see many Z06's and doesn't realize they have a different windshield.

And yes, this is why I normally avoid dealerships anyhow but since the car had a history of attempted repairs to the seals, I figured I'd give them a last chance to fix it before I do it myself.

FasterIsBetter

Obviously, I don't know what's gone on with your car, other than what you've written, but the story and issue about the codes on the window raise a question for me -- I wonder if, during a prior repair session, the stealership broke your original windshield and replaced it without telling you and without documenting it in your record. It wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened.

Do a forum search and you'll find a couple of threads with pictures of the correct windshield numbers. IIRC, there are two sets of numbers for the correct windshield, either of them being the right ones. But it's also possible that they might have put in the regular C5 windshield, rather than the special Z06 windshield, hoping you would not know the difference, and the regular C5 glass is much, much cheaper.

Best of luck in getting this worked out.



p.s. If the stealership can't fix it and you are out of warranty, consider taking it to a good local glass shop. They generally know much more about windshields (most dealerships don't even do glass work, they farm it out).

danman_s

Thanks for the info, I'm checking out those numbers as we speak. The car was pretty much a garage queen for the last 4 years and turned into a track car as of 2008. Always babied, still had the original tires as of late 2007. It constantly leaked from the doors, and was taken into the dealership on a yearly basis to get the damn leaks fixed.

The car still has the original windshield as it has a distinctive rock chip that we got within the first year of ownership.

We think the big problem is the dealership monkeys being incapable of doing their job properly. The repair job they tried to present to us this morning was disgusting. The passenger side window moulding was barely attached and black goop was smeared on the roof along the edge of the moulding. The service tech and the service manager got it from us with both barrels.

danman_s

Yeah, the dealership service guy was a freaking idiot. His argument for it being a new windshield was the fact that the label said APTECH and not GM.

hotwheels57

It's possible that the windshield was replaced prior to the car being sold to your family new in 2003. Plenty of brand new cars arrive at the dealership with damage that gets repaired before the cars hit the showroom floor. It may or may not show up on the GM service history database.
In that case, a different "freaking idiot" may have done a poor installation of the replacement windshield...

danman_s

Even if they did, the moulding/window seal didn't become very problematic until the second year of ownership when they tried to fix the leak, so it had nothing to do with the windshield anyhow. There was no issue until they pulled the trim around the doors apart the first time and reassembled it incorrectly. From there on, every follow up repair made the situation worse and worse. Plus the guy was a freaking idiot because he immediately went on the attack and assumed that the customer was wrong. He handled the situation very, very poorly and tried to get us to leave with the hack job repair. He was also very unwilling to accept the fact that they caused the problem in the first place even when I presented the service history of the car showing were we took it in multiple times to get the leaks repaired, and then multiple times to get them to repair the moldings that were screwed up during the leak repairs.

But the issue with the windshield was that the guy accused us of having it replaced elsewhere and not using GM parts, and this is why they had to do such a crappy repair job on the molding.

The whole problem exists because they screwed up the repair and were unwilling to admit they made a mistake, and tried to pin it on us instead.

Latest update is that the moldings were broken yet they kept putting them back on. The service manager commented that they could fix it with tape and the problems would go away :S. We asked for them to order new parts and repair it to factory spec instead. That didn't seem to go over well.

BlackZ06

Here's a picture of an OEM (factory installed) Z06 windshield .....



Note a couple of things .... AP Tech is the maker of the glass ..... have him show you a GM car with GM listed as the maker in the glass .... GM usually buys windshields from companies such as PPG and AP Tech.

VERY IMPORTANT ... note the line that says HUD and 4.8 MM

That's how you know it is a Z06 windshield .... (except on an original 2001 Z06) all Z06 windshields are marked as having the HUD reflective panel in the glass, and the 4.8 MM indicates the THIN windshield for a Z06.

danman_s

Haha, done and done. We've sorted that out for now but now we're trying to get them to clean up the mess they made trying to fix the leaks. They threw the door moldings and seals back in there with big gobs of black goop so it's a freaking mess....and the car still leaks like a freaking sieve.

I hate dealerships, haha.

BlackZ06

If it helps, there is a section in the Service Manual called Waterleaks and it steps you through how to find and fix (and test) waterleaks. An example of a section .... Drip from the roof at the upper corner of A-Pillar. ... the manual has pretty good info on how to deal with these ..... sounds like the dealer isn't even looking at the manual.

danman_s

Yeah, I already readthrough that and was planning to fix them myself anyhow when I get the time. But I figured I'd take it in and get the dealership to quickly do it under warranty but of course that was too much to expect of them. so we just ordered the parts in and and will fix it ourselves.

CJR2

Bummer, my 03 is warm and dry, although I hate to have her out in the rain. GM and Ford dealerships are closing all over the place in Cincinnati so dealers and their service departments are very stressed. Poor service is the norm

MagMan44

I recomend that you file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. It's easy to do online and the BBB will contact the dealer about the complaint and post if there was a resolution reached or not. Believe me, the owner of the dealership will not be happy to have a complaint registered and on record. I did this and the service manager called me, apologised, gave me a free oil change, washed and detailed the car and told me to contact him personally any time I needed to bring the car in. Still hate dealership sevice, but at least they cleaned up their mess.

hotwheels57

Better yet, check with the state and see if there is a specific department just for automotive dealership/repair shop complaints. They will investigate/mediate the complaint until resolved. Many states have adopted the system just for this type of situation so they have (limited) authority. It's similar to departments who regulate towing company or cab company complaints.
The BBB has no statutory authority to enforce any regulations.

rickko

Just for information, my '04 C5 convertible's windshield is labeled exactly as your photo. The Z06's windshield is not unique to it alone.

There is a difference between HUD and non-HUD windshields.

danman_s, have you thought about going to a custom car restoration shop? They are usually quite good at replicating original equipment installations and usually not much more expensive than a dealership.

..rickko..

vetteb_96C

Great, I just had my glass replaced the other day, the guy had a tough time re-installing the trim and rubber pieces. I bet I'm in for some leaks, just what I was affraid of!