I have been having the fuel problems i mentioned earlier, so I called the dealer and made an appointment to take it in just to hook it up to the computer to see why the engine light was coming on and to check out the fuel filter and bad fuel. I changed the fuel filter myself 2 weeks ago, so I don't want them doing it when I can save myself $50 right. My 06 is still under warranty, so even if it is just bad fuel, I want them to know I have been having problems just in case later down the road something comes up. First the service guy tells me it is $120 on diesels just to hook it up to the computer. He says, if something is wrong that is covered by your warranty they will pay it. He then says if it is just bad fuel and filter, I must pay the $120. So then I told him that was Bulls!!t because it is still under warranty. He didn't comprimise so I pulled my truck right out of the shop and left. Isn't this great service for buying a $42,000 truck. thanks, Brad

Time to find a dealer that cares a little more about you (the Customer) & a little less about him!!!!! ( He's getting paid to care about the customer)

I agree i thik you need to find another dealer.

Why is it the dealers fault that you have bad fuel in your truck and are going through filters? Dealers are not Non-Profit businesses. They have to get paid for their work.

$120 for a one minute hook-up with a TechII?

Didnt say that it was the dearlers fault that he had bad fuel at all. Its just not a good way to keep customers if you are charging them $120 to hook a scan tool and then tell them its just bad fuel.

If it was me I would check codes, see what the truck is doing and check the fuel quality. If all I found was some bad fuel and he said he just put a filter on it. Then I would recomend some fuel additive and changing fuel stations. Warenty would more than likely cover checking the truck out as a drivability problem and I couldnt see charging him for much more than some additive. Thats just my opion and you know what they say about opions.

$120 for a one minute hook-up with a TechII?
with a tech 2 that costs around $4000 it takes a lot of that to pay for it and pay the tech doing it. oh yeah but anybody can fix cars right???

Didnt say that it was the dearlers fault that he had bad fuel at all. Its just not a good way to keep customers if you are charging them $120 to hook a scan tool and then tell them its just bad fuel.

If it was me I would check codes, see what the truck is doing and check the fuel quality. If all I found was some bad fuel and he said he just put a filter on it. Then I would recomend some fuel additive and changing fuel stations. Warenty would more than likely cover checking the truck out as a drivability problem and I couldnt see charging him for much more than some additive. Thats just my opion and you know what they say about opions.
you could maybe get .3 out of warranty for a NPF but why should the tech lose out in that situation we dont see any of that 42k you spent on the truck we are supposed to be able to make some money from maintenance (which a lot of people do themselves) so we should lose out on maint and clear yoor codes for free. and $120 does seem a little high but it depends on labor rate shouldnt have paid for more than 1 hour. that would have been $78 here.

It takes ten minute to program the tech 2 & look through most of the data & if that costs anybody 120.00 then it's higher price than brain surgery!!! If your in there 4 times a week whining about something it is different, that does not sound like the case here. If they can't thhrow in 1 scan for a 40K truck they are a poor excuse for a dealer. This is why I buy my truck where I do, they take good care of my truck & me if needed.

took my car in the shop because the light was on, Not in warrenty but they said drive on in and we will look at it, place the tech2 on it said the fuel cap was off tightned and they said have a nice day NO CHARGE, I have bought 2 chevy trucks and 2 cars from the dealer BELL MOTOR 2ND oldest in the nation leonardtown MD.

Diagnostic tools are very expensive and usually have their own set of labor rates. These tools are sometimes obsolete in a years time. The dealer was up front with what they were doing. No surprises when he would of came back in.

Additives will fix water and bugs, but they wont fix dirt. If the dealer determined it was dirty fuel, what would the response be when he tells you how much to drop the tank and flush it out before it can leave his shop.

But for $399. you can score a predator on Ebay... or mebbe an Auto x-ray from $149 to $369.

I would not let the stealer near my truck anymore.

you could maybe get .3 out of warranty for a NPF but why should the tech lose out in that situation we dont see any of that 42k you spent on the truck we are supposed to be able to make some money from maintenance (which a lot of people do themselves) so we should lose out on maint and clear yoor codes for free. and $120 does seem a little high but it depends on labor rate shouldnt have paid for more than 1 hour. that would have been $78 here.

I agree Warenty wont pay much more than .3 for a road test/NPF and I also would say that 1 hour is a fair. Our labor rate here is a little bit more than $78 but not my much I dont think.
True service doesnt seem a dime from the sale of the truck and scan tools are very expensive. I guess it also would depend on how good of a customer that you are to weather i would take the .3 and see you soon for some service work or know that you would only be back for more warenty work and are going some where else for service or doing it at home. In that case i would want a hour for my time.

If you give most customers 15 min of your time & GIVE them 2 minutes worth of honest effort & a honest opinion you will probably see them when they need something that does make you money & the reward will be at least 10 fold in most cases

It all depends on the situation. When I was writing and selling parts, I'd go out in the parking lot with the TechII and check/clear codes for most people in warranty for loose gas caps, etc., and the better customers that we knew with older stuff. I would not do any diag above reading data to keep from stealing money from the techs. The gas cap codes were a 1 shot deal, if you were dumb enough to leave it loose twice, you paid.

The sad truth is there are enough bad people to force dealerships to make you sign for diag money on warranty orders, because if they don't,then find your vibration is from the dent in the driveshaft from running over a tree stump, the dealer doesn't get paid from GM. Everyone has to cover their behinds. Techs don't get paid unless they flag hours. I know I sure as hell don't work for fun.

A guy would spend some time working for whats in your Avatar.

hook it up to the computer to see why the engine light was coming on and to check out the fuel filter and bad fuel.

Not going to get into the right and wrong of dealers, however, he was asking for more than a code pull by the way this is written. Looks like he wanted codes pulled, fuel sample and fuel testing, along with testing for a restriction in the fuel filter.


And on another note, if you want a tech to work for free, you really need to do more than oil changes and warranty work on your truck, such as that extra 50 or whatever you might have spent on a filter might have saved you the 120 diag they wanted.

If you have a good tech to work on your truck, I can almost promise they spend a lot on tools and working on trucks, cars or whatever does not pay for them.

well. I got what I wanted after going through so much crap. I called the GM customer service line anf filed a complaint about the dealer. I got a claim number and all of that. Then, I called my salesman and told him that charging to hook up to the computer with your vehicle under warranty was bull. He agreed and I took the truck back in and, guess what, they hooked it up for free and found that it was a fuel restriction and the fuel pump, etc was okay. I asked the service manager, it shouldn't matter whether I have a diesel or gas, if a check engine light comes on under warranty, I should not have to pay just for them to hook it up to the computer. Yes, I knew it was probably fuel because I changed the filter 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to make sure the engine light wasn't for something else. Is that too hard to explain? It was for my dealer. After it was all said and done the service manager apoligized and started sucking up after I told him I filed a complaint. A lot a bull theses days. You have to stand up for yourself sometimes.

Sure does pay to have a good relationship with a dealer that has good techs.

Oh yeah, I just changed the fuel filter and saved a quart of the fuel. The fuel dosen'n look too bad, no dirt, just a little waxy. I cut the filter in half and found a snotty type build up in the outer part of the filter. So, it was cold weather and somewhat bad fuel, but at least now I know that is all it is and nothing else when the engine light comes on.

The problem is you tried to diagnose it half way yourself and tell them what you wanted them to do. If you reported a problem like check engine light on or performance problem, and told them you replaced the fuel filter 2 weeks earlier and it shouldn't need replaced, then have them check out/fix the problem, it would have been covered under warranty, regardless of whether a problem is diagnosed or not. If they asked you to pay then, I would contact GM for resolution on your cell phone while standing at the service desk. However, bad fuel could cause filter problems and probably wouldn't be covered under warranty.

well. I got what I wanted after going through so much crap. I called the GM customer service line anf filed a complaint about the dealer. I got a claim number and all of that. Then, I called my salesman and told him that charging to hook up to the computer with your vehicle under warranty was bull. He agreed and I took the truck back in and, guess what, they hooked it up for free and found that it was a fuel restriction and the fuel pump, etc was okay. I asked the service manager, it shouldn't matter whether I have a diesel or gas, if a check engine light comes on under warranty, I should not have to pay just for them to hook it up to the computer. Yes, I knew it was probably fuel because I changed the filter 2 weeks ago, but I wanted to make sure the engine light wasn't for something else. Is that too hard to explain? It was for my dealer. After it was all said and done the service manager apoligized and started sucking up after I told him I filed a complaint. A lot a bull theses days. You have to stand up for yourself sometimes.
your right gas or diesel if someone comes in with water in the tank on agas job the customer is responsible to pay to drop tank flush lines and sometime dissasemble and clean injectors and rail. you can fight it out with the gas station later cut and dry gm will not pay for fuel contamination. if your pissed off girl friend pours sugar in should gm pay for that too?

Oh yeah, I just changed the fuel filter and saved a quart of the fuel. The fuel dosen'n look too bad, no dirt, just a little waxy. I cut the filter in half and found a snotty type build up in the outer part of the filter. So, it was cold weather and somewhat bad fuel, but at least now I know that is all it is and nothing else when the engine light comes on.

Are you starting to use bio for the first time? It's pretty common to plug a few filters when 1st using it because of all the sludge stirred up by the bio solvent effect.

That was my thoughts also, he got a good dose of Bio and does not know it. I cant imagine Illinois has had cold enough weather to gel straight #2. Bio gets stiff at 50 degrees and is pretty solid at 36 degrees. Straight Bio will also strip paint, so it is cleaning up the distribution system and using your truck filter as a last resort.

Most all service depts have a write up sheet that the customer has to sign authorizing them to T/S what ever the specific complaint is. Usually printed on that form is some verbage that states "minimum 1hr fee". Whether the dealer should have or shouldn't have charged the $120 for the diagnostic reading is a moot point if you signed that paper.

However, when a CEL comes on with an active fault the customer, under the warranty agreement, has to provide the truck in a timley manner to an authorized repair facility. Since GM doesn't provide the customer with the tools to read fault codes then what choice does the customer have but to take it to a dealer. Yes, Autozone, etc... can pull codes but that doesn't really help in a warrantable failure situation.

The point has been made already that it helps to build a relationship with a shop.

It is not the dealer Or GM's fault if you have bad fuel or are in need of regular maintenance. Connecting the tech 2 just to tell you what code is stored may only take a couple of minutes but they are also diagnosing the problem for that $120.00 or at least our dealership also diagnoses the problem. I haven't seen many fuel quality problems other than gasoline mixed in with the diesel fuel. Our service writers say the same thing, you have to let the customer know it may not be covered under warranty. How would have you felt if they said yeah sure it won't cost you a thing then they come back later and say well sir we found you have gasoline in your fuel and this isn't covered under warranty so it is going to cost you this much for Diag and this much to fix your truck. Just an example.

Techs don't get paid unless they flag hours. I know I sure as hell don't work for fun.

Dang, are the techs not paid hourly or salary?? Do techs get paid on what they fix? If this is true, then this is shCensored tty for the customer. You will have techs only wanting to do the jobs that pay the most and have other techs bCensoredtch about doing a ten minute diagnosic job.... Not saying anyting about benjammin here personally, but it seems true. GM should cover this for customer service.
I personally believe that since they took my light from underneath my hood and carpet from the inside doors, they should be able to cover the 120 dollars :D :D :D

Good job for standing up for yourself, but sure does suck that you had to stand up for this one.... I get ALL my oil, fuel, tires rotated, and all required maintenance done at the same dealership........

Dang, are the techs not paid hourly or salary?? Do techs get paid on what they fix? If this is true, then this is shCensored tty for the customer. You will have techs only wanting to do the jobs that pay the most and have other techs bCensoredtch about doing a ten minute diagnosic job.... Not saying anyting about benjammin here personally, but it seems true. GM should cover this for customer service.
I personally believe that since they took my light from underneath my hood and carpet from the inside doors, they should be able to cover the 120 dollars :D :D :D
Most American (+ or -) companies pay warranty time by the flat rate system (I've heard that some foreign high-end companies pay hourly, but I don't know for sure). Example: To R&R and lube the steering shaft, operation E7700 pays .3 hours. The tech gets .3 hours at his pay rate, regardless if the job took him 2 minutes or 2 hours. If a tech is at work for 8 hrs each day, but only flags 6.4 hrs, guess what, he's payed for 6.4 hrs. The flip side is a person who's very skilled at something (like one trans guy I knew) can rack up 16+ hrs in a day.
GM pays .3 hrs diag time for most electircal issues, some modules etc. are up to .5 or .7 hrs. Dealers can claim extra time on certain things, but that depends on their history, item in question, and a whole lot of other variables.

One thing all should remember, it is a hug expense to just open the doors to a dealership , its not the tech's that make the money it is the owner.

Dang, are the techs not paid hourly or salary?? Do techs get paid on what they fix? If this is true, then this is shCensored tty for the customer. You will have techs only wanting to do the jobs that pay the most and have other techs bCensoredtch about doing a ten minute diagnosic job.... Not saying anyting about benjammin here personally, but it seems true. GM should cover this for customer service.
I personally believe that since they took my light from underneath my hood and carpet from the inside doors, they should be able to cover the 120 dollars :D :D :D


What about the light in the glove box?

Relationships with dealers are a two way street. There is no reason whatsoever I should have to put all my cards on the table every time I want work done on my vehicle while the dealer is charging 2X - 3X the going street price for parts not to mention a labor rate I'll never earn and I perform highly skilled labor. And dealerships do it all the time. There are many ways to make money and one of them is charging the highest possible price in all possible situations. Another is to approach customer service as many have suggested here, as a long term relationship. Two parties typically ease into a relationship and its no different between a car buyer and a car seller. Sorry but I'm not going back to a dealership after being anally abused for anything. I don't need that kind of relationship. However, when I'm looking to get something done, warranty or not, and the dealer is willing to work with me, I'll be standing on their door to get service done I can't do or to buy my next truck.

Unfortunately the character of a dealership and its service dept is based on the personality of the person in charge at the time. I've gone back to a dealership within 3 years of leasing a vehicle that was so totally different from when I originally leased, I walked the he11 out. Service is one of those lost arts. Some places get it, but preciously few do, in this day and age.

As for getting codes out of the truck for $120, I'd go out and buy one of the currently available code checkers for that price or slightly more before I'd put up with any service department dealing me with the way they were dealing with Stemle. Its not hard to wonder why people are trying to do as much maintenance on their own as they can deal with. Some meeting with much more success than others. All the mfgs are raising prices to keep up with current trends as well as legislation, dealerships and techs have to keep up with tools and techniques, and the poor slob that buys a car or truck has to support all of them. Sooner or later somethings going to break. For a prime example look at Ford Motor Co.

Very very very did I say very? few shops are salary or hourly. I would dare say 98% of the shops are flat rate. So yes, we only get paid for what we work on.

And if you think getting quality work is hard now, wait a few more years, quality/qualified techs drops off every year, not just in dealers but in-dependent owned shops also.

Oh and if you think thats bad... Lets see who really is in touch

Take a guess at what just my toolbox setup list price is

Setup is: bottom box, hutch on top (stainless top, with sides,back and roll down door), side locker, top locker all made by Matco tools

Oh and if you think thats bad... Lets see who really is in touch

Take a guess at what just my toolbox setup list price is

Setup is: bottom box, hutch on top (stainless top, with sides,back and roll down door), side locker, top locker all made by Matco tools

I'll guess $50,000 :think:

lol...Just for the box, not that bad

I am not counting any of the tools in it

:o: I guess some of the guys I've worked with have been "exaggerating" what they paid for their stuff;)

can i sell you some tools ,ive got 2 toolboxes full of tools [snap-on and mac and matco] and 3 scanners [tech2.,snap-on,and a laptop]and a lot of specilty tools ,,i just went thru a detailed list for my insurance comp. and ive got 60,000 in all of them

When you deal with the public, everything seems to be a battle. We're lucky we can afford and purchase such great trucks.

i made a lot of friends working at the dealership, would usually have enough work that it wouldnt hurt to do a few favors. become friends with the techs usually they are pretty cool.

boxes are anywhere from $5000 to $15000 dollars not counting the tools to fill them.

boxes are anywhere from $5000 to $15000 dollars not counting the tools to fill them.
:exactly: All I have to say is my box doesn't open for free!