Yet Another Systematic C5 Defect.

A funny thing happened on the way to work two days ago. My traction control started going off and on while I was driving! OK, mental note, When I get to work check the Forum for similar problems ... I didn't get a chance. I locked the car and entered my office. Two minutes later my alarm goes off. I go out and silence it. Return to office ... The alarm sounds again. Hmmm something is seriously F****d UP. I silence the alarm again. Before I can re-enter my office, the hatch pops open! I close it, it pops open again.

Now I say to myself, self you've got some really serious problems here. Self mutters and cusses a little and then tries to find a solution. Self says foolishly "It's probably some kind of computer module gone haywire ... Let's pull and reset some fuses and maybe It'll go away" (yea right -- self is a hopeless optimist, or just doesn't want to admit something more serious is going on).

So self instructs the idiot that he manages to pull up the passenger floor panel to gain access to the fuse panel there under. The idiot informs self that something strange is found therein. "What! says self ... water in the electrical box! ... WTF??!! It hasn't been raining, and I didn't pee my pants, WTF??"

Self pauses for a moment and deep within the recesses of his (it's) feeble brain it recalls something it read on the Forum regarding AC drains and water in the passenger foot well.

Enough this third person crap. I called the nearest dealer made an appointment and drove there on side streets not trusting that this electronic marvel would make it. It made it. The AC drain had become clogged and overflowed into the electronics bay, which had not been designed to be water proof. A day later after three soaked modules were replaced and the carpet was removed and dried, my car is again whole. I wonder for how long? Did they replace all the effected connectors and modules? Do I now drive an electronic time bomb just waiting to go into limp home mode at the least convenient time? Who knows.

So I pick up the car, now get this, the service writer says he has seen this before. He recommends blowing out the drain at regular intervals to prevent this from reoccurring. WTF!!? (I know I have a limited vocabulary … but, it says so much in so few words). Blowout the AC drain? I HAVE NEVER IN ANY CAR THAT I HAVE EVER OWNED, EVEN THE CHEAPEST LEAST SOPHISTICATED OF CARS, HAD TO BLOW OUT THE AC DRAIN TO PREVENT SOAKING SOME VITAL COMPONENT!!!

The dealer charge to GM for this was over $700, my guess is that if I had to pay for it would have been over $1000.

I can see from other postings and the service writers comment), that this is not an isolated incident, so I have proudly added to my own personal list of systematic C5 defects. Someone with connections, please ask Dave Hill fix these things … these don’t seem like rocket science issues. These problems along with things like excessive oil consumption (which I have not been plagued by) are just not acceptable in a car built in the twenty first century.

Please see my rant in the C6 section.