I get it. My 01 z06 was always tagged as an " oil burner ". Also dealing with the column lock fiasco never did anything to instill confidence.

My C6 had a harmonic balancer failure early and again that is a well known issue.

So I can see the frustration over priblems. Many are well known and repetitive and GM just can't seem to fix them.

 

That might sour me on these Corvettes and GM service. In my case I guess I'm lucky. You see what I have by my signature. It has almost 54,000 miles on it now. The only issue I have had was getting the belt tensioner replaced at 37K. It has been the best car I have ever owned. And I drive it hard. I mean real hard! I even have the infamous A8 transmission. It hasn't skipped a beat.
I was considering a new Z06 or ZR1 this year, but with my current car being so reliable I am beginning to hesitate on buying a new one.
I should knock on wood.

 

In my experience prior years were much better. The C7 with all its problems is a dog. GM can't wait to put this puppy to sleep and come out with a new generation. I have never seen so many problems with any car like the C7. From torque converters to windshields. Just unbelievable. It comes down to cheap junk parts by Shoddy manufacturers. My friends 17 brand new the bumper and panels have to be repainted because of chipping paint and GM just says that's the way it is.

 

As Bill noted when the CEL is on remote start is disabled, that is common across vehicles.

A big part of your problem is your dealer in not immediately taking care of the well known issue with the early production belt tensioners. I think your dealer was feeding you a line about looking for a new manufacturer for the electric power steering assembly. The only common issue with this power steering setup was overheating on the track and that was cured by providing better airflow across the motor assembly.

There are a lot of things that can cause the CEL and OnStar can pull the underlying DTC(s) that caused it to be set so that you will have some idea of the problem before you even take it to the dealer-and I would seriously consider a different dealer.

My current 2014 Cadillac ATS took 4 trips to the dealer in its first 500 miles to cure an emissions fault due to a cracked vapor storage canister. My previous 2nd gen CTS took 4 trips to a different dealer to properly replace and program a recalled OnStar module because the dealer kept ordering and installing the older version that wasn't BT capable. Both of these were minor issues that required 4 trips instead of 1 and it is likely my next daily driver won't be a Cadillac but only because both area dealers have lousy service. The small town Chevrolet dealer who does my Corvette stuff is excellent and it is too bad they don't have the Cadillac franchise. I will soon be replacing my 2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD with a new 3500 model and I am trying a new dealer this time because my old GMC dealer is the one who kept screwing up the OnStar module recall.

 

Why not go with a Silverado from your Chevy dealer instead?

 

I like the GMC Denali styling better than Chevrolet's High Country package. Originally I was looking at the 3/4 ton (2500 HD) instead of the single rear wheel 3500 1 ton version and with the GMC you can get 18" wheels with the Denali while the Chevrolet only offered 20" wheels with the 3/4 ton and low profile tires are not a good match for a heavy duty pickup.

I decided to order a 3500 instead because the unloaded ride is actually better AND the insurance cost is slightly less. With the current Chevrolet/GMC HD pickups the only difference between the 3/4 and the single rear wheel 1 ton models is the wheel size (18" instead of 20"), badging, and rear spring pack with the 1 tons having heavier overload springs; but frame, brakes, powertrain, etc. are identical. With the Denali even the badging is the same since both simply read Denali HD on the sides.

The 1 ton also doesn't have TPMS and for me that is a good thing with the pickup because proper rear tire pressure varies between 40 PSI up to 80 PSI depending upon how much of the payload capacity is being used. Although dealers can reduce the low pressure warning setting for the TPMS the apparent low limit is still too high for proper ride and handling when the truck isn't loaded. With 3,900 pounds of payload capacity the TPMS system needs to be user programmable over a wide range to be useful

 

Well you certainly did your homework. Sounds Good. They are handsome trucks. Best of luck with it!

 

Thanks! Like my Z06 it won't be a daily driver but each definitely serves a purpose. And the truck doesn't get to sleep all winter like the Z.

 

The owner always loses when this happens...Loss of the car while it's in the shop, aggravation, the dealer always comes out ahead because his job is to fix it