Dealership Rip Off ?
 

So, my 07 has been problem free for years. So, I drove it the other day and all was fine. Next day, it would start but would idle really bad then quit. CEL light on w/ DIC - Reduced Engine Power. It has 48,xxx miles on it. The only mod is a blackwing Air Filter and Electric Cut Outs.

Cleaned with great care the MAF, No change. Took off Throttle body and cleaned it as well. No change. Checked battery - it was fine (less than 6 months old). Disconnected Bat for and hour - No change. Stuck in the garage only one option. Flatbed to dealership.

First, I get a call and was told "no stock airbox - we won't work on it". Took stock airbox to them. Next call, the Throttle body is bad - still throwing codes. Next call, the ECM not reading throttle body. So, waiting for next call..

Needless to say, the bill is running into the thousands of dollars to get this car running again.

Does this "just throw parts at it" until it works make any sense? Why, one day it's running fine...then next day it's like it's been nuked with an EMP burst from a bomb. Makes no sense to me, but am being held hostage by the dealer - what else can I do?

As an aside -- I did speak to two different highly respected tuners in the DFW area, and both said that on the 05, 06 and 07, (LS2 engines) there are known problems that can arise from aftermarket intake systems. Both said they can tune the ECM for running the Blackwing air filter, but didn't make practical sense (at the time) to pay to flatbed to one of them. I'd rather just put it back stock........

Thinking I'm getting ripped by the dealership....

I would take it to another dealership or mechanic who specializes in corvettes. Return it back to stock before doing so.

When they called about the air box that should have been the warning sign to get your car out of that stealer. Not sure about your issue but I have had electrical gremlins like that and unhooking the battery has fix them.

Dealerships use a "parts replacement" mentality. Even their labor hours are listed as RR hours. Remove/Replace labor hours + the price of the part. They are less structured or trained to diagnose. They typically keep replacing parts until the problem goes away....or surrender the car back to you with the statement, they couldn't find the problem.

Last thing I would do is take it to ANOTHER dealership.

Pick the car up from the dealership and take it to 21st Century Muscle Cars. They'll figure out what is actually wrong and fix just that without throwing parts at the car. They don't believe in charging for unnecessary work.

"Treed" ya Ed.....

Yeah....but I did provide the name of the best place to take the car. :toetap: :lol:

Your first mistake was taking it to a dealership, but I can understand doing this as its usually the easiest and fastest route. Definitely get it over to a mechanic who is familiar with Corvettes. :thumbs:

udaman!!!

We have bought 12 new vehicles and 2 used vehicles from the local Chevy dealer since he bought the dealership 37 years ago. Every 4 or 5 years, he still tries to get us to accept maintenance work and charges that are unnecessary. These charges are usually on the order of $200 - $300, but we're still partial to GM vehicles and he's the only GM dealer in our small town. Glad it's not any worse than that.

Many dealerships (and garages) today are nothing but "parts changers". Finding a tech that can perform true diagnostic work is very hard for a few reasons. How would you feel if your problem was as simple as a broken wire, but it took 6-8 hours of labor @$ 125/hr to find it ? Unless it is a shop that works only on one make/model of car the mechanic will not know all the in and outs of the car. Dealership techs may only work on Chevys, but there is a big spread between an Aveo to a Suburban. To answer your original question are you getting ripped off ? Probably.
I would be interested to know what codes you are getting. Many times idle/drivability problems in "drive by wire" cars can be traced to the pedal/throttle relationship.

I agree. No money in diagnosis. Out of HS, before college, I worked as a tech in a Chevy dealership. At the time it was squeaks and rattles. I could spend an hour hunting down a rattle then find a loose shock bolt. That paid 0.1 hours ( 6 minutes at my hourly rate) . Techs learn quickly not to diagnose, just RR.

Did you check all of the spark plug wires? When one dislodges, it causes all kinds of weird problems..

I second checking the pedal. I wonder why the stealership didn't check that.

I don't know if you have a code reader because from your original post it seems like you were just trying things randomly?

:iagree: Step 1 was read the code causing the CEL to illuminate. Then troubleshoot what's causing the code.

I speak from experience, those tuners are full of it, the dealer ship is lousy, with the computer in these cars it will show you if not tell you what is wrong with it, I have an 06 LS2 and I love it not an issue 84000 on the clock owner installed cam, roller rockers, full ZO6 exhaust, K&N intake. the K&N and a ported & polished TB went on before any of the others and without a tune for a long time NO ISSUES just installed a ported manifold and still no codes but I will be taking back to my tuner to touch up the tune, find a GOOD shop and tuner.

I would've taken it to a competent garage before I'd have gone to a dealership.

Sounds like a plug wire came off the coil or the spark plug. Hope they think to check the simple things first.

My suggestion is to check the plug wires at both ends. Sometimes they work loose. Slightly crimp them and reinstall. Try to get the air out of the boots by using a paperclip to lift the ends so that there is no air in the boot. The air heats up and expands the metal.

Clif