Blue lines (radio), Thump sound (reverse), and other questions

[MrFreeman]

Hey all. I've been browsing the forums a bit and figured I might as well go ahead and ask some questions and get some helpful insight. I guess i'll start buy saying I have a 2012 1LT. It's a pretty awesome car however it was one of the most frustrating and irritating car experiences I have ever had or heard of. Anyhow on to the questions.

-On my radio it has blue lines. Almost like a line of stuck pixels except it's a whole bunch of lines. It's not the most unbearable thing but just doesn't look right. It's only really noticeable when it's plain (as in not a whole lot of information on the screen) Is that normal? I wouldn't think it is but I'm not sure.

-When I reverse sometimes I hear a loud thump coming from the rear. I've read some threads about different thumps and such but I'm not sure if it's attributed to just changing from park to reverse or if it's some other issue that could be a headache later on. Again only notice it when reversing and it's not a repeated thump just happens once.

-Now that it's getting cold I've been turning on the heat and defroster before I go in for the night that way when I remote start the car it'll defrost the windows. Only thing I've noticed is when I get in the car and put the key in and turn it...the heat turns off. The display in radio still says it's on but I have to turn it off and then back on and it works normally. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. The other thing is with my 09 Cobalt when I remote started the vehicle the rear defroster automatically came on. In the Camaro it does not seem to turn on unless it was on when the car was turned off. Just seems a little odd.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

MrFreeman,
Since your car is a 2012 I'm going to assume you're still under warranty. I would recommend making a list of all of the issues you're having. Then, setup and appointment at the shop. Take the list with you and ask them to replicate the issues you're experiencing. These all may be covered under your bumper to bumper warranty if they're just manufacturers defects.

Chevrolet Customer Service,
Justin

[hypurone]

The radio sounds like a replacement unit is needed (prob got tweaked/twisted during install into the dash). The thump sound is most likely the center carrier on the driveshaft and the heat/defrost/rear defrost sounds like a BCM programming problem....

All dealer items and warranty for sure...

[MrFreeman]

Originally Posted by Chevrolet Customer Svc

MrFreeman,
Since your car is a 2012 I'm going to assume you're still under warranty. I would recommend making a list of all of the issues you're having. Then, setup and appointment at the shop. Take the list with you and ask them to replicate the issues you're experiencing. These all may be covered under your bumper to bumper warranty if they're just manufacturers defects.

Chevrolet Customer Service,
Justin

Yeah I'm still well within my warranty period (just under a month old).

Originally Posted by hypurone

The radio sounds like a replacement unit is needed (prob got tweaked/twisted during install into the dash). The thump sound is most likely the center carrier on the driveshaft and the heat/defrost/rear defrost sounds like a BCM programming problem....

All dealer items and warranty for sure...

So I took a closer look at my radio and while the lines are less noticeable than they seemed to be (perhaps I'm just going crazy) but they're still there. It's like certain parts of letters have lines shooting off them...but they move so it's not just a stuck pixel or anything. So I don't know if it's a defect, me being picky, or just a crappy display.

Also I listened for the thump again but didn't notice and oddly enough the heat stayed on when I put the key in. Maybe I'm just imagining all these things but regardless I'll keep a list and keep an extra eye on it.

[hypurone]

Originally Posted by MrFreeman

Yeah I'm still well within my warranty period (just under a month old).



So I took a closer look at my radio and while the lines are less noticeable than they seemed to be (perhaps I'm just going crazy) but they're still there. It's like certain parts of letters have lines shooting off them...but they move so it's not just a stuck pixel or anything. So I don't know if it's a defect, me being picky, or just a crappy display.

Also I listened for the thump again but didn't notice and oddly enough the heat stayed on when I put the key in. Maybe I'm just imagining all these things but regardless I'll keep a list and keep an extra eye on it.

I would go and get a look at another Camaro's display. Mine is not like this in any way shape or form. At least you have 3 years/36K to figure it out!

[Sterling]

I know in the 2010's you have to manually turn on the rear defroster... I remember a thread about the newer models saying that it automatically turned on depending on the outside temperature though.

[Fuel Fire Desire]

My front defroster, if left selected, will turn on to a preset level (about 50%) until I adjust it when I start the car. Even if I have the fan speed set at 10%. Kind of annoying when its 10 degrees out and you get hit with a face full of cold air when you start the car. It this one just me too?


Woo-hoo CANbus.

[MrFreeman]

Originally Posted by hypurone

I would go and get a look at another Camaro's display. Mine is not like this in any way shape or form. At least you have 3 years/36K to figure it out!

Yeah. Just trying to figure out if it's worth the time to get it replaced. It does mildly annoy me just not quite to the point of driving to the dealer for them to fix it. (Pics below. It's a phone camera so not the greatest but you can see the lines)

Originally Posted by Sterling

I know in the 2010's you have to manually turn on the rear defroster... I remember a thread about the newer models saying that it automatically turned on depending on the outside temperature though.

I was starting to wonder the same thing but I looked in the manual (again) and supposedly the climate controls get set to whatever they were when you turned the car off. I'm assuming this includes the rear defroster and everything seems to match up with it (minus the weird times it doesn't).

Originally Posted by Fuel Fire Desire

My front defroster, if left selected, will turn on to a preset level (about 50%) until I adjust it when I start the car. Even if I have the fan speed set at 10%. Kind of annoying when its 10 degrees out and you get hit with a face full of cold air when you start the car. It this one just me too?


Woo-hoo CANbus.

I have to say I haven't had that one happen to me.

I went ahead to see if I could replicate the heat turning off once I put the key in so I sat in there and remote started it, unlocked the door, open/closed the door, and sure enough as soon as I put the key in the heat turned off. If I turn the knob, so long as I never hit the off position, I can turn it and it still registers as being off. Once I turn it off and back on it works as expected. The only thing is out of the three times I did this. It only happened once so it's not a readily producible problem.

Also still hear the occasional thumping noise when backing up. I think I'm going to give it maybe another week or two and see what happens. Really not looking forward to going to the dealership.

[Fuel Fire Desire]

I have those faint lines too. Its worse when its cold (below freezing).

[MrFreeman]

Originally Posted by Fuel Fire Desire

I have those faint lines too. Its worse when its cold (below freezing).

I'm guessing by that statement that they go away (or are at least less noticeable) when it's warmer? I'm just trying to figure out if it's normal.

[Fuel Fire Desire]

Originally Posted by MrFreeman

I'm guessing by that statement that they go away (or are at least less noticeable) when it's warmer? I'm just trying to figure out if it's normal.

They do. I think the LCD is slower to react/ not as responsive when really cold.

[redhotcandy]

I have a 2010 V6 and I have heard that thumping sound while reversing several times. I read somewhere that it's a software issue and that there is an upgraded software program available to fix the problem. Sorry, can't remember specifics, it's in here somewhere. Anyway, that sound concerned me as well and I took it to my dealership along with several other items to be checked. Well, of course they couldn't replicate the sound. It never fails... It is a random noise, doesn't happen all the time, so to get lucky enough to have the dealer hear it is almost impossible. I only have about 1800 miles left on my warranty and I'm worried that when it's up, I'm going to be stuck with a problem. Sure hope not.

[vthokiefan]

I have noticed the lines too on my radio when it's cold. Freaked me out a bit when I saw them cause I thought the display might be going bad or something but I think it's just normal...

Also, I was wondering about the rear defroster... I thought I was going crazy with mine. Sometimes I would start the car and it would be on, other times not. Thought maybe my wife was accidentally pressing it when turning on the heated seats.... Finally went back to the manual and figured out it is normal too when the temperature is low enough. Not sure about with remote start though since mine is garaged so I don't usually use that feature.

[WildL16]

I have the lines on my radio too, started about the time when it started getting cold out. Hoping it goes back away in the spring.