Blown engine-dealer said they won’t fix?!?!
11-25-2017, 05:15 PM
#61
Safety Car
What you say above may have been true in the past, but I don't think any company has the ability to hide the fingerprints of a tune any more. Manufacturer forensics have progressed by light years over just the last couple of years. GM has the ability to do forensics more complex than the process you described above, which is now dated. Moreover, as NSC5 pointed out in post #24, the next step is an ECM that can't be broken into at all, and GM is already using technology in diesel engines.
Hopefully the OP will find out that all is good with his ECM on Monday.
Last edited by pkincy; 11-25-2017 at 05:16 PM.
11-25-2017, 05:17 PM
#62
seen this stuff happen a few times, not always catastrophic but people buying used and finding out later the car was tuned.....I think people need to start looking at making sure the car wasn't tuned when buying used....either take it to a GM dealer and have it checked pre-purchase or find a shop with HP Tuners or a Tech2 to take a look
I'm not even sure that a dealer will scan it for you to confirm if it's been tuned previously or not until you are ready for warranty repair. I say this because I recall another guy on here having a blown engine and it was a GM certified car, if I'm not mistaking. This leads me to believe that many dealers, just funnel them through without doing a deep dive into the car's tune/flash history.
11-25-2017, 05:32 PM
#63
Melting Slicks
Good advice, but there are still a few hurdles...For example, if the car was tuned and then returned to stock tune prior to trading it in, the HP Tuners isn't going to be of much help because all it is going to do is read the current tune and not show you what the previous tunes were. All you can do with it is see if it currently has a tune that matches a stock tune.
I'm not even sure that a dealer will scan it for you to confirm if it's been tuned previously or not until you are ready for warranty repair. I say this because I recall another guy on here having a blown engine and it was a GM certified car, if I'm not mistaking. This leads me to believe that many dealers, just funnel them through without doing a deep dive into the car's tune/flash history.
I'm not even sure that a dealer will scan it for you to confirm if it's been tuned previously or not until you are ready for warranty repair. I say this because I recall another guy on here having a blown engine and it was a GM certified car, if I'm not mistaking. This leads me to believe that many dealers, just funnel them through without doing a deep dive into the car's tune/flash history.
11-25-2017, 05:44 PM
#64
Instructor
Then IMO the dealers are taking the risk. I certainly believe if they don't want to do their due diligence and check a car with a higher probability of tuning than normal and something happens to an unsuspecting future owner who has been LIED TO and told BY THEM that there's a valid warranty still on the car then fixing whatever issue it is falls solely on them.
Now if the engine blew in the first few thousand miles or in the first month, they might be able to do something for the customer because they do want to stand behind their vehicles. But 1 1/2 yrs. and 31K miles is beyond reasonable for them to still be liable.
11-25-2017, 05:44 PM
#65
George,
I'm very sorry this happened to you, but we've seen several other cases here of folks buying what appeared to be very lightly-used C7s, had engine trouble expecting warranty to cover it only to find the car had been tuned at some point by a previous owner.
Follow the very good advice in post #41. I'd press CarMax very hard to make this right if GM's forensics shows that the car was tuned in the past.
Good luck, and I wish you the best!
I'm very sorry this happened to you, but we've seen several other cases here of folks buying what appeared to be very lightly-used C7s, had engine trouble expecting warranty to cover it only to find the car had been tuned at some point by a previous owner.
Follow the very good advice in post #41. I'd press CarMax very hard to make this right if GM's forensics shows that the car was tuned in the past.
Good luck, and I wish you the best!
11-25-2017, 05:46 PM
#66
No offense, but what a load of crap. I know someone that runs the operations dept. of a Carmax, and gave them a call to ask about this. Only the MANUFACTURER has the ability to forensically check the ECM data. Dealerships like Carmax sell cars from all makes and models (for the most part. They do have some vehicles they won't sell) and they don't have the ABILITY to check, not that they just don't WANT TO DO IT.
Now if the engine blew in the first few thousand miles or in the first month, they might be able to do something for the customer because they do want to stand behind their vehicles. But 1 1/2 yrs. and 31K miles is beyond reasonable for them to still be liable.
Now if the engine blew in the first few thousand miles or in the first month, they might be able to do something for the customer because they do want to stand behind their vehicles. But 1 1/2 yrs. and 31K miles is beyond reasonable for them to still be liable.
11-25-2017, 05:53 PM
#67
Too lazy to read all of your replies however I experienced something very similar earlier this year. 4th of July weekend I was driving home at normal speeds, only owned my 2015 Z51 for maybe a month or two. Either way, bought it with 26k miles and at this point it had about 28k miles, broke down on me in the middle of the night and I had no clue what was going on. Towed it to the closest Chevy first thing in the morning, advisor explained everything is on stand by until after the Holiday weekend. 3 days later I finally get some answers, they say I need an entire engine rod bent and blew a piston or something crazy like that and they couldn't promise me that anything would be covered under warranty until running tests and getting certain people involved. Basically for two weeks they jacked me around and said they cant guarantee anything is covered, finally after about 3 weeks with no car they said everything checked out and I got a new engine at no cost. Whole process took weeks and it was extremely stressful not knowing what the outcome would be. Being that you purchased from Carmax is don't see you having any issues with your warranty! After you get your new engine, any warranty work after that will be a much easier process. Good luck!
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Landru (11-26-2017)
11-25-2017, 06:01 PM
#68
Instructor
I really feel for ya brotha! I'm hoping all will go well for you. Just hate when people think a selling dealer is "on the hook" for a car they sell in good faith. Would be nice if the vehicles had a tune counter in the instrument cluster so we could check this kind of stuff before hand.
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George Dediashvili (11-25-2017)
11-25-2017, 06:02 PM
#69
Melting Slicks
No offense, but what a load of crap. I know someone that runs the operations dept. of a Carmax, and gave them a call to ask about this. Only the MANUFACTURER has the ability to forensically check the ECM data. Dealerships like Carmax sell cars from all makes and models (for the most part. They do have some vehicles they won't sell) and they don't have the ABILITY to check, not that they just don't WANT TO DO IT.
Now if the engine blew in the first few thousand miles or in the first month, they might be able to do something for the customer because they do want to stand behind their vehicles. But 1 1/2 yrs. and 31K miles is beyond reasonable for them to still be liable.
Now if the engine blew in the first few thousand miles or in the first month, they might be able to do something for the customer because they do want to stand behind their vehicles. But 1 1/2 yrs. and 31K miles is beyond reasonable for them to still be liable.
I only can tell you that if it were my dealership I would stand behind the car if I or one of my employees told someone that he had warranty and he had a failure.
That's just how I run my businesses. It's not hard. I just try and do what is right every single time. Do I make everyone happy? No I don't. Do I try? Yes I do. Can it be expensive? Sure it can. I just happen to feel that the goodwill and customer loyalty earned is far more valuable.
If their car was still supposed to be under factory warranty and someone representing CarMax told them it was still in good standing then yes it's absolutely on CarMax to fix this. That's how I would vote if I were on a jury and I would not be swayed. Pretty simple.
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11-25-2017, 06:07 PM
#70
Too lazy to read all of your replies however I experienced something very similar earlier this year. 4th of July weekend I was driving home at normal speeds, only owned my 2015 Z51 for maybe a month or two. Either way, bought it with 26k miles and at this point it had about 28k miles, broke down on me in the middle of the night and I had no clue what was going on. Towed it to the closest Chevy first thing in the morning, advisor explained everything is on stand by until after the Holiday weekend. 3 days later I finally get some answers, they say I need an entire engine rod bent and blew a piston or something crazy like that and they couldn't promise me that anything would be covered under warranty until running tests and getting certain people involved. Basically for two weeks they jacked me around and said they cant guarantee anything is covered, finally after about 3 weeks with no car they said everything checked out and I got a new engine at no cost. Whole process took weeks and it was extremely stressful not knowing what the outcome would be. Being that you purchased from Carmax is don't see you having any issues with your warranty! After you get your new engine, any warranty work after that will be a much easier process. Good luck!
11-25-2017, 06:33 PM
#71
Le Mans Master
I am not offended.
I only can tell you that if it were my dealership I would stand behind the car if I or one of my employees told someone that he had warranty and he had a failure.
That's just how I run my businesses. It's not hard. I just try and do what is right every single time. Do I make everyone happy? No I don't. Do I try? Yes I do. Can it be expensive? Sure it can. I just happen to feel that the goodwill and customer loyalty earned is far more valuable.
If their car was still supposed to be under factory warranty and someone representing CarMax told them it was still in good standing then yes it's absolutely on CarMax to fix this. That's how I would vote if I were on a jury and I would not be swayed. Pretty simple.
I only can tell you that if it were my dealership I would stand behind the car if I or one of my employees told someone that he had warranty and he had a failure.
That's just how I run my businesses. It's not hard. I just try and do what is right every single time. Do I make everyone happy? No I don't. Do I try? Yes I do. Can it be expensive? Sure it can. I just happen to feel that the goodwill and customer loyalty earned is far more valuable.
If their car was still supposed to be under factory warranty and someone representing CarMax told them it was still in good standing then yes it's absolutely on CarMax to fix this. That's how I would vote if I were on a jury and I would not be swayed. Pretty simple.
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Racingswh (11-26-2017)
11-25-2017, 06:33 PM
#72
Burning Brakes
I don't get why people keep saying it's on Carmax if the car was tuned. Carmax does an excellent job of verifying their cars aren't damaged by both data available via internet, and visual inspection. In a case where a car has been previously tuned, Carmax would have no knowledge of this. You can't see a cars been tuned and no reports are issued stating that it has. No dealer that I'm aware of (and I worked in auto sales for years) reads the cars ECM to see if there's ever been a tune added, and they probably don't have the equipment to do so. Carmax sells their cars in good faith and stands behind those cars wayyyyy more than the average used car dealer ever would. This guy's had his car for 1 1/2 yrs and driven 31,000 miles. I'd say Carmax sold him a very decent car. Who knows what's been done to this car during that year and a half. Proper scheduled maint. done? Did this owner tune the car then try to hide it? We don't really know, we just have his side of the story. One thing I do know from experience. Customers lie! Not saying OP is lying, just saying it happens. Hopefully, if the car was tuned, the date can be obtained. Maybe this will help his case, maybe it wont, but Carmax isn't liable because they wouldn't have known the car had been tuned previously either.
11-25-2017, 06:59 PM
#73
Le Mans Master
Interesting topic. I am in the middle of trading in a car and also traded in 2 others earlier in the year. In all three cases I was asked if any of the trade in’s were modified from stock and if any modifications were made to the vehicles computer or exhaust system. The wave of the future.
11-25-2017, 06:59 PM
#74
Depending upon the state you live in the consumer affairs or attorney general's office may be of assistance. If the car was tuned then it likely falls under a violation of the Clean Air Act since it is no longer conforming to the original emissions compliance certification. A lot of states take this very seriously and a dealership is generally more concerned with getting crossways with the state as opposed to an issue with a customer.
This is a gray area of consumer protection that is definitely in need of regulation because the customer is caught in an untenable situation where he/she is sold a product with a stated warranty but finds out later that actions by the previous owner resulted in loss of the warranty.
Both national outfits like the one mentioned in this thread and individual dealers in the manufacturer's franchise network often try to hide behind the "in good faith" sale of used cars and do so because to date there isn't a federal consumer protection requirement that these vehicles be checked for warranty compliance prior to sale. Either the car should receive the same check, prior to sale, that it would have for warranty conformance in the event of a major powertrain failure OR it should be sold with language disclosing that the powertrain warranty MAY be void and the customer buys at his/her own risk. The average customer doesn't perceive this risk prior to purchase so it would be reasonable to require some consumer protection in this domain.
This is a gray area of consumer protection that is definitely in need of regulation because the customer is caught in an untenable situation where he/she is sold a product with a stated warranty but finds out later that actions by the previous owner resulted in loss of the warranty.
Both national outfits like the one mentioned in this thread and individual dealers in the manufacturer's franchise network often try to hide behind the "in good faith" sale of used cars and do so because to date there isn't a federal consumer protection requirement that these vehicles be checked for warranty compliance prior to sale. Either the car should receive the same check, prior to sale, that it would have for warranty conformance in the event of a major powertrain failure OR it should be sold with language disclosing that the powertrain warranty MAY be void and the customer buys at his/her own risk. The average customer doesn't perceive this risk prior to purchase so it would be reasonable to require some consumer protection in this domain.
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11-25-2017, 07:58 PM
#75
I read this forum a good bit, but it is not generally a friendly forum unless you are praising Corvettes. Otherwise you are a troll by default and must prove your sincerity or be shot down in flames.
A moderator recently commented on the nasty attitude on this forum and how he felt that it must change. But I am not sure that this problem can be fixed, since it comes from the attitude of some of the people who post here.
On most forums that I use people are trying to help each other, listen to what others have to say and offer support, but here that is often not the case.
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George Dediashvili (11-26-2017)
11-25-2017, 08:47 PM
#77
Drifting
If it was tuned outside of your knowledge (previously) you may have a claim against the guy who sold it to you. That is, if a dealer sold it to you and didn't tell you of the problem he is liable. Let's say he took the car on trade from a customer who didn't tell him it was tuned. He should have inspected the car on trade-in which means hooking the 'puter up to it to see the car's health and would have found a tune. Go after the guy who sold it to you and with an attorney if necessary which will be cheaper than buying a new engine ($25,000 Ouch!).
Hello my friends,
I’m in a very sticky and infuriating situation right now. As my wife was driving my 2014 corvette Z51 at normal speeds and revvs, the engine suddenly exploded with such force that we received seat belt cuts although we luckily didn’t crash. There was oil everywhere and shrapnel/bolts as well. The Corvette has 61,000 miles left under the powertrain warranty and I purchased it with 8000 miles as a pre-owned vehicle. Of course I thought replacing the engine will be no issue, but the dealership is saying that they suspect “someone” re-calibrated the corvette for performance upgrade and because of that GM will void the warranty. When I asked what they mean by recalibration, he said that somebody tampered with the engine’s computer to boost hp, although I have a very hard time believing this bs. He says that they have to send the calibration numbers in to GM and if they don’t match “what factory is supposed to be,” than they will void the entire powertrain warranty. Does anybody have information on what I should do? I bought the car from CarMax and I think they are bsing me honestly in order not to do the cheap warranty work. Please help!
I’m in a very sticky and infuriating situation right now. As my wife was driving my 2014 corvette Z51 at normal speeds and revvs, the engine suddenly exploded with such force that we received seat belt cuts although we luckily didn’t crash. There was oil everywhere and shrapnel/bolts as well. The Corvette has 61,000 miles left under the powertrain warranty and I purchased it with 8000 miles as a pre-owned vehicle. Of course I thought replacing the engine will be no issue, but the dealership is saying that they suspect “someone” re-calibrated the corvette for performance upgrade and because of that GM will void the warranty. When I asked what they mean by recalibration, he said that somebody tampered with the engine’s computer to boost hp, although I have a very hard time believing this bs. He says that they have to send the calibration numbers in to GM and if they don’t match “what factory is supposed to be,” than they will void the entire powertrain warranty. Does anybody have information on what I should do? I bought the car from CarMax and I think they are bsing me honestly in order not to do the cheap warranty work. Please help!
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11-26-2017, 01:51 AM
#78
Depending upon the state you live in the consumer affairs or attorney general's office may be of assistance. If the car was tuned then it likely falls under a violation of the Clean Air Act since it is no longer conforming to the original emissions compliance certification. A lot of states take this very seriously and a dealership is generally more concerned with getting crossways with the state as opposed to an issue with a customer.
This is a gray area of consumer protection that is definitely in need of regulation because the customer is caught in an untenable situation where he/she is sold a product with a stated warranty but finds out later that actions by the previous owner resulted in loss of the warranty.
Both national outfits like the one mentioned in this thread and individual dealers in the manufacturer's franchise network often try to hide behind the "in good faith" sale of used cars and do so because to date there isn't a federal consumer protection requirement that these vehicles be checked for warranty compliance prior to sale. Either the car should receive the same check, prior to sale, that it would have for warranty conformance in the event of a major powertrain failure OR it should be sold with language disclosing that the powertrain warranty MAY be void and the customer buys at his/her own risk. The average customer doesn't perceive this risk prior to purchase so it would be reasonable to require some consumer protection in this domain.
This is a gray area of consumer protection that is definitely in need of regulation because the customer is caught in an untenable situation where he/she is sold a product with a stated warranty but finds out later that actions by the previous owner resulted in loss of the warranty.
Both national outfits like the one mentioned in this thread and individual dealers in the manufacturer's franchise network often try to hide behind the "in good faith" sale of used cars and do so because to date there isn't a federal consumer protection requirement that these vehicles be checked for warranty compliance prior to sale. Either the car should receive the same check, prior to sale, that it would have for warranty conformance in the event of a major powertrain failure OR it should be sold with language disclosing that the powertrain warranty MAY be void and the customer buys at his/her own risk. The average customer doesn't perceive this risk prior to purchase so it would be reasonable to require some consumer protection in this domain.
What he said!
Last edited by Foosh; 11-26-2017 at 01:52 AM.
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11-26-2017, 02:33 AM
#79
You are new to the forum and you are getting a rude introduction to the attitude that you will often find here.
I read this forum a good bit, but it is not generally a friendly forum unless you are praising Corvettes. Otherwise you are a troll by default and must prove your sincerity or be shot down in flames.
A moderator recently commented on the nasty attitude on this forum and how he felt that it must change. But I am not sure that this problem can be fixed, since it comes from the attitude of some of the people who post here.
On most forums that I use people are trying to help each other, listen to what others have to say and offer support, but here that is often not the case.
I read this forum a good bit, but it is not generally a friendly forum unless you are praising Corvettes. Otherwise you are a troll by default and must prove your sincerity or be shot down in flames.
A moderator recently commented on the nasty attitude on this forum and how he felt that it must change. But I am not sure that this problem can be fixed, since it comes from the attitude of some of the people who post here.
On most forums that I use people are trying to help each other, listen to what others have to say and offer support, but here that is often not the case.
its okay, it seems like it’s an online type of atttide that we see on so many different platforms
nowadays. It’s mob mentality but if you’re strong enough to not act like that, you are above average
. Thank you for your comment you’re awesome
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JOEHAWK (11-26-2017)
11-26-2017, 02:39 AM
#80
Depending upon the state you live in the consumer affairs or attorney general's office may be of assistance. If the car was tuned then it likely falls under a violation of the Clean Air Act since it is no longer conforming to the original emissions compliance certification. A lot of states take this very seriously and a dealership is generally more concerned with getting crossways with the state as opposed to an issue with a customer.
This is a gray area of consumer protection that is definitely in need of regulation because the customer is caught in an untenable situation where he/she is sold a product with a stated warranty but finds out later that actions by the previous owner resulted in loss of the warranty.
Both national outfits like the one mentioned in this thread and individual dealers in the manufacturer's franchise network often try to hide behind the "in good faith" sale of used cars and do so because to date there isn't a federal consumer protection requirement that these vehicles be checked for warranty compliance prior to sale. Either the car should receive the same check, prior to sale, that it would have for warranty conformance in the event of a major powertrain failure OR it should be sold with language disclosing that the powertrain warranty MAY be void and the customer buys at his/her own risk. The average customer doesn't perceive this risk prior to purchase so it would be reasonable to require some consumer protection in this domain.
This is a gray area of consumer protection that is definitely in need of regulation because the customer is caught in an untenable situation where he/she is sold a product with a stated warranty but finds out later that actions by the previous owner resulted in loss of the warranty.
Both national outfits like the one mentioned in this thread and individual dealers in the manufacturer's franchise network often try to hide behind the "in good faith" sale of used cars and do so because to date there isn't a federal consumer protection requirement that these vehicles be checked for warranty compliance prior to sale. Either the car should receive the same check, prior to sale, that it would have for warranty conformance in the event of a major powertrain failure OR it should be sold with language disclosing that the powertrain warranty MAY be void and the customer buys at his/her own risk. The average customer doesn't perceive this risk prior to purchase so it would be reasonable to require some consumer protection in this domain.