Camaro Problems. (GFX??)

[Mayhem]

So.... For the past while I've had this very annoying high pitched squeeling and rattling sound in the cabin of my Camaro.. (2SS/RS m6 with.. GFX)

It is super loud... and seriously distracting.... It occurs in every single gear.. 1st through 6th.. at a certain RPM. So... for example one of the hot spots is in 5th gear going 65kmph or in 4th gear at approx. 50-55kmph.

It sounds as if it's coming from the front end, but they said that they found it to be coming from the back.

And the sound is constant at those speeds in those gears..... and does not let up unless you alter speeds.... now unfortunately those happen to be probably the two most common steady speeds travelled due to traffic and what not.... so I am basically ALWAYS hearing this sound.. It's ridiculous because people in the street just watching the car.... all notice it... and it's embarassing. The car already gets enough attention but getting attention for being the squeeky rattling car is not something im enthusiastic about..

It's also imo a driver hazard.... having a loud squeeling noise distracting from other sounds that might be important to notice.


Anyways so it's been in the shop for two days.. I was able to reproduce the sound fairly easily for one of the shop tech's to witness... so they've been working at it.. and they believe that it is a problem with the ground effects...

They told me they spoke with GM & were informed that it was "normal" and "just the way they were designed".

And that there is nothing they can do for me, and that warranty doesn't effect it in any way since it is basically working as intended.

Why haven't I heard of this problem at all before? And why... are they selling me a 3 thousand dollar option +an additional 800 to paint... (canadian dollars)

That puts me in the hole for nearly 4 grand. They said the only solution they can think of is to revert the car back to its non GFX state... at my expense.

So I have to pay for the reversal and eat the 4 grand that the GFX cost me and they claim none of this would be covered or compensated?

This is ridiculous.


I have heard of GFX falling off, ripping off, etc etc.... Mine seems to be fastened on there just fine.. They didn't specify HOW the gfx is making this noise.. just that it is making the noise.. something to do with the bezels on the rear and the design.

Has anyone else had this problem? And am I really expected to be left on the hook for an option that cost me 4 G's.... with no help from GM/Dealership?

I am probably the least proud to be driving a GM product as I ever have been at this moment.. What a dissappointment.
Dream car? Or nightmare car.. This is far from my first issue since having the car too... I had a very dragged on problem a while back with my dealer calling me up several months after buying my car claiming I owed them several thousand dollars more because they made an error in their math..... My entire experience so far has been nothing short of hellish & consistently stressful.

Don't get me wrong.. I wan't to sing the Camaro itself nothing but praise... easily the sexiest car out there.
But my GM & Dealer experience... not so much.

[djsnoflake]

Do you still have the stock exhaust tips on? Cause they are supposed to get cut off. If they don't, they will rub on the exhaust bezels

[Mayhem]

They assured me they followed every instruction to the last detail.. so assuming that is a measure which is pointed out in the instructions I would assume they did this.. However.. I will have to ask them that specifically as I am not 100%.

Here is a few pix of my GFX from the rear.. not sure if you can tell/see from this angle/distance.

[Revo1]

Dude if it comes to removing the GFX, don't let them charge you to do that. Easy peezy, just get under the car and find out what size wrench you need...

[Sax1031]

If they said they couldn't do anything about it, and you can readily reproduce the sound, they would be buying the car back from me or offering me a trade.

[djsnoflake]

Hmm looks like those are the special GFX ones. The stock ones are chrome, the GFX ones are more of a stainless steel.

It is possible that they are still rubbing on the bezels though. Get down and look really close at the tips. How much clearance is between them and the bezels? If there isn't much, see how much you can wiggle the pipes. At certain RPMs, the exhaust pipes vibrate a bit, and might be pinging off of your bezels.

[Sheitskees]

Did you pay more when they asked for more or did you tell them to shove it?

[BalogUK]

ive got absolutely no issue with the GFX 13k miles- it almost looks like the tips were'nt cut back enough before they put the caps on- not sure if that could be causing the problem or not- it just seems fishy that the GFX are causing the noise--its a body panel not a mechanical assembly.

[Mayhem]

Originally Posted by Sheitskees

Did you pay more when they asked for more or did you tell them to shove it?

I innitially told them to shove it... Fought with them over it...

I did end up paying more after they demanded more... I just went thru 5 years of legal problems for being in a car accident.. (A stolen car full of teenagers T-boned me and I required spinal surgery).

Theres a big thread about this topic.. that I started.... "Not impressed with this call" or something like that.... I forget the exact title.

I had spoken "unofficially" with a lawyer.. who due to the details stated in the contract.... felt that I might get screwed if I went to court over it.. because it clearly states in the contract agreement.. "if there is any error on behalf of either party which results in a balance owed by either party, it is to be paid in full immediately". etc etc.... and because thats exactly what the problem was... that leaves me getting the short straw... with no compensation for the inconvenience caused by having to pay several thousand dollars unexpectedly with no warning due to a math error on their end...

The dealership threatened to take me to court over the money they felt I owed ... it's complicated but on the reciepts & invoice whatever.... if I did the math myself... the total came up to what they claimed... the total the guy who did the transaction with me came to.. fell short of that.. He subtracted something twice that he shouldnt have or something like that... because he wrote it in two spots and made a mess.

Not my problem after several months go by as far as I'm concerned.. but I wasn't willing to go thru legal stuff again.. so I caved..

They also originally delivered my car full of swirls... (I didnt check for those on pickupdate) so that was a mistake on my behalf... but I had to argue with them and they only agreed to detail the car after I paid that balance.

Theres a grocery list of other issues I had with them... but I'm mostly trying to get this GFX issue sorted out.

They originally after the balance owing issue... agreed they owed me "something" for compensation.. but have yet to give me any sort of compensation.... didn't get that on paper... cuz I am not the brightest when I find myself in moments of high stress.

[SharpSS]

Get in touch with someone from GM. Your dealer sounds like a Grade A A$$

I have the GFX and have had no problems. Would not consider taking it off.

[Angrybird 12]

It almost looks like the tips are too large or too high for the opening and the tops of the opening is actually acting like the inside of a whistle.. when you blow a whistle it splits the airflow causing a vibration, I bet this is what is happening...

Whistle physics
The whistle works by causing the smooth flow of air to be split by a narrow blade, sometimes called a fipple, creating a turbulent vortex which causes the air to vibrate.

[Steve Dallas]

After getting my car repaired, the shop found that the dealer I bought the car from had installed the front GFX improperly, using double sided tape. He followed the instructions and it is apparently attached much better now.

I suspect a lot of dealers may not have installed the GFX properly to begin with...

[Screaminz2002]

It sounds more like you have a bad Rep at this dealer. I would suggest going to the problem forum and following the problem escalation page.

[Number 3]

Please PM me. I'll give you a number for customer service and you can contact GM directly.

What you are describing isn't normal in my opinion.

Did you drive the car before the GFX installation? Was it ok then?

Did the dealer install the GFX?

I would agree, if you simply wanted it removed you should pay for it. Say you didn't like how it looked. But installing GFX shouldn't be causing anything like what you describe.