Any advice from some of you who have been down the oil consumption trail would be much appreciated.

I would like to say that I am not here to flame GM or my dealer. I am just very disappointed in my car, and the service I have recieved.

I have a 8500 mile 2001 Z06. I am the original owner who paid sticker when the cars were hard to get. The car was broken properly. In the 8500 miles the car has had four oil changes, always with Mobil1. This spring my low oil warning was displayed. I checked and the oil was a little over a quart and a half low in 1000 miles of street driving. I had the car in for some sort of a windage tray update.

Since my warranty expires this Winter, I had the dealer do a oil consumption test. In 1050 street miles (after the first update) it used a little over a quart and a half. If I drove the car the distance that the computer says it can go per oil change I would have NO OIL LEFT. If I went 3000 Miles, I would Have virtually no oil left.

I asked the totally useless customer service girl if there was a technical rep. at GM that I could talk to. She said that GM does not have anyone in that position. At this point I am concerned that there may be some damage due to low oil operation. I am also disappointed that the market value of my car has gone to crap with all of the issues it has. I'm not too excited about keeping it. I'm disappointed that GM does not have a viable customer service department. Any advice???

The dealer which has the car now said that I should have the rings replaced in the spring. I have had pretty good experiences with this dealer in the past. After thinking about it why would I want to wait until the spring to have the update done? I called GM's customer service line to see what the warranty implications were. The girl that took my call said she would look into it and call me back the next day at 11am. She called back at 6pm and asked if my car was fixed yet?! She told me that she was told my car had used 3 quarts of oil since the last oil change!!! The service writer at the dealership was the one that told me 1.5 quarts when I called back. The GM customer service was a complete waste of time.

Any advice on how and who to talk to at GM?

Thanks.


[Modified by Z06 Andy, 5:38 PM 11/18/2003]

 

depending on how your financial situation is, I'd trade it in for an 02+. Thats just too much of a pain to constantly monitor and have on your mind. Having the motor pulled and reringed by a possible quack dealer doen't sound too warm and fuzzy, either.

Even though I check it regulary anyways, my cammed 02 burns very little at 2500.

 

From what you've said:

o You've completed the oil consumption test.

o Your car is still under warranty.

o GM has verified that consumption is above the threshold.

o The dealer understands that a rering is necessary.


The only question is why the dealer wants to wait until Spring or why you'd let them wait until Spring.

I'd just get it done and enjoy the car! The job shouldn't take more than a few days.

In a few years, when the LS7-based C6 Z06 predecessor hits the streets, all Z06's are going to take a major hit in value. I don't think it is going to be a big deal what year you own.

The rering fixes the problem.

-pat

 

I'm in the middle of the consumption test. Going back to the dealer tomorrow to have oil added. In 500 miles it's down at least 1/2 a quart w/ agressive driving. Your car is under warranty so get the ring job done. Should the f'uck it up then you'll get a new motor on GM's bill. Yes GM customer service blows, there's really no way to contact them that would make any difference. I've had lots of problems w/ my car, but it runs fast as heck and I still love it.

 

My 2001 just came back from rering today. Using 1 qt every 600 mi. Dealer not perfect, but really pretty darn good. Did not make me take OC test. Replaced valley cover first and when that did not fix, did rering no questions asked. Find a dealer that is more up on vettes & talk to service managers. They should be all over this and stock the parts. My dealer does a couple per month. Get it done and it will be solved.

 

pinot
When they did your rering did they put in the new coated, closer tolerance pistons? I've been wondering if this was part of the procedure re Hib Halverson's article. Original poster may want to ask his dealer about this. From my reading of Hib's article this is a shot at curing pistonslap problems so they might as well do it when they rering.
thanks
g

 

Verysoon -
I know what you speak of, but this is not part of the bulletin. I went back to CAC to reread the bulletin to know for sure myself. The instructions are very specific as to not doing anything more while you are in there (for oil consumption anyway). What you are refering to is an "upgrade", not an "update" and to that the General would say no thanks to putting it on their tab.

Regards

 

:iagree: :iagree:

I just had the valley cover gasket replaced. I was using a quart every 300 or so. Talked to the tech. He said if it uses a quart in less than 1000, he would re-ring it no questions asked.

 

thanks for your response pinot. i figured that would be the case.

Andy
sounds like its a done deal that you can get a rering. why not ask about the new pistons and see what that would cost extra. if they have to take the pistons off the crank to do the rering it couldn't be too much of an extra cost. please report back with your findings. my research here on the forum suggests most people have been satisfied with the rering procedure.
best of luck

 

I was using 1 Qt. per 800-900 miles and had the rering done on my 2001 in January with about 21,000 miles on the car. Tomorrow I will change the oil for the first time since the rering, am about 1/2 pint down, and have put on over 4000 miles!!
Get the rings done NOW! Don't wait until your warranty is ended. Just tell your dealer that you want it done now, and make sure the mechanic is good with engines. The guy that did mine had just done two rerings on other Z06's. :yesnod:

 

Just go find a dealer that has sucessfully done the re-ring several times (at least) before. I have a great dealer and Tech, they did the work and returned the car to me in perfect condition.
My dealer even put in all my speed parts for $500 During the re-ring. No oil burning now. Car is a rocket. Good luck!

 

Just wanted to give you an update. I called the dealer who is the largest Vette dealer in the state. This is also the dealer that I paid sticker price for my current car(over $7K profit). I saw that they had two '02 used Z06's in stock. For a one year newer car with three thousand less miles they wanted 11K+tax. This tells me that they want to make a pretty profit on both sides of the deal. I didn't expect a handout just some consideration into my situation.

GM customer service has done nothing but delay the repair. I'm going to have the car fixed. Next spring the thing is going away. The new '06 Z06(07) I was planning on will be something other than a GM product.

My vette has been in four times for warranty work(twice for stereo issues and twice for the oil issue). In 120,000 miles the three other vehicles I have purchased new have never needed to go to back to the dealer. Don't get me wrong, I understand problems will happen. I own a boat dealership which I think gives me a unique view of the customer, dealer, mfgr. relationship. I am not as disappointed by the fact that my car has had problems as by how those problems have been handled. There is no better measure of a company than by how they respond when problems arise. GM does have the highest performance, best priced product in this class. I guess they saved all the $$ in the customer service department & product durability testing.

PS. '01 Z06 For Sale!

GM & My dealer= :reddevil


[Modified by Z06 Andy, 5:13 PM 11/20/2003]

 

...i've been in your shoes!

sounds like you have a bad dealer, or you're not talking to the right person at the shop....i'd ask to speak with the dealership owner about this! They are VERY sensitive to customer survey feedback, and sounds like you could threaten a big whipping for them: Let them know you're going to talk to GM's regional sales representative because your dealership has refused to address a lemon-law issue with you!

My 01 burned a quart every 400-700 miles. I took it to the dealer with a whole bunch of "01-oil-burning-problem-forum-exchanges" from corvetteforum.com, and they didn't even blink....they said they needed to rering the car, and told me to come back in a week.

I was very nervous about that....having some schmuck tear into my motor, but they did an Excellent job, right down to love & care when replacing the wires, clips, shielding, etc. Put another 20,000 miles on the car with it getting 1800 to 2500 miles per quart (just traded for an 03).

I think if you wake these guys up or speak with the right person there, you will be happy with the result. Heck, you might even stick with chevy (even I was a die-hard Ford man until i drove a Z....in about 10 seconds, i knew i'd been on the wrong team!)

Good luck!

 

ANDY
I noticed your car is now for sale and your ad says you have HAD the rering.
WHAT''S UP WITH THAT?

 

My car is still at the dealership waiting for service. I figured that by the time anyone looked at the car it would be done. My for sale post was just done last night.

If the dealer can't finish the work very soon, I am going to put the car in winter storage and deal with it in the spring(we have snow in the forcast). I will know if that is the situation later today. If so, I will change my for sale posting.

Are you interested?

Thanks.

 

hey andy
you are definitely a class guy for going ahead with the rering under warranty, rather than putting it on the market for a new buyer to fix without one.
i hope you get a chance to drive her some and see if the problem has been cured. I am sure lots here would be interested in the outcome.
As to your question "interested":
I will be looking for a coupe in one of the silver colors in a couple of months, but i always look at the z's. if the right one comes along i might have to do that one. A successful rering car would be a plus for those (me) looking at 01's particularly.
I hope you decide to keep the car if your rering works out. best of luck.