2012 Camaro RS Engine Replacement

[MariJ04]

Hi everyone,

So my stupid engine went out on my 2012 RS with only 65000 miles on it on wednesday, how can this be???

I was driving down to work when the car started to slow down and it wouldn't change gears from 3 to 2, all the lights stayed on for a while so I thought it was probably the starter. I was in the middle lane of the freeway and was not able to do anything, thank God no one hit me. I tried the ignition key mutiple times but nothing happened with the exception of the lights going out and then the smoke started!! WTF, I thought to myself sitting there. I dialed OnStar so a wrecker came to pick me up after about 45 min. What's the deal with this damn cars? I've had the car for about a year and never had issues till now. GM is supposed to cover it and replace since is under factory warranty, but when I got to the dealer I was told they need proof of oil changes and maitenance, really who keeps thousands of receipts?? I did manage to find some of sometime last year so I hope this will helpful enough for GM to replace my engine. Is a danger and safety hazard to have such crap car, and I will be making a complain about this.

[nyrfan]

Sorry this happened to you, but what are you going to complain about? It's unfortunate but engines to fail. And it's up to the owner to keep maintenance records if you choose not to go to the dealer for service, again not GM's problem. Even if you changed the oil every 3K miles this would only be 22 receipts, not thousands.

Good Luck either way.

[Demon War Horse]

Do you use the same oil change place regularly, or do them yourself? If you use a lube shop, they may have a history of changes you did in the last year. Kwik Kar has a record of repairs/work done on my other cars for example.

I wonder if the prior owner did the maintenance at the prescribbed levels. Did you get this from a dealer or private party? If a dealer, they may be able to see if it had a service history based on the VIN also.

Good Luck. This is the first car that I have owned where I started documenting (just had one so far) my oil changes in the actual manual just to be sure.

[Destructo09]

Wow man, crap happens. I don't think your experience is the norm around here. I VERY rarely see anyone complain about total motor failure unless it's been modified heavily.

I don't think there is any requirement for proof of oil changes, they should easily be able to tell just looking in the motor whether the oil has been changed.

A motor that fails due to no/too few oils changes is going to be VERY gunked up inside.

[Demon War Horse]

Originally Posted by Destructo09

A motor that fails due to no/too few oils changes is going to be VERY gunked up inside.

I agree, this will be evident fast when they pull the intake or heads off of the car. That may be why they started asking for receipts.

[hworth18]

65000 miles is a lot of miles on a 2012, and hopefully you kept your oil change receipts. Keeping the records of the work done to your car is something you should be doing if you ever hope to have warranty work done or just proof to a future owner that the car was maintained as it should be.

Good luck!!!!

[Evergreen6]

Whoa...sorry to hear about your troubles. This definitely isn't a typical experience.

I hope the dealer takes care of it quickly. They have to do their due diligence too--if the engine was neglected and maintenance wasn't done, or it was done improperly, they wouldn't owe to fix that. I'm not saying that's your case at all, but give them the bit of time they need to get their own documentation in order.

It's always a good idea to keep documentation of maintenance and repair work done to the car when there's a warranty riding on it, and, it's just a good thing to do overall. In 65,000 miles, I'd expect to only need to keep about 13 receipts if I changed the oil every 5k, fewer if I went by the oil life monitor. The ones I keep go in a file folder in my desk drawer noted with the date and mileage. It's something I can hand the dealer if there was ever a question, and it could also help me land a top-dollar sale if I ever wanted to sell the car--I can prove it had been very well maintained.

Good luck...hopefully everything gets taken care of!

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by Destructo09

Wow man, crap happens. I don't think your experience is the norm around here. I VERY rarely see anyone complain about total motor failure unless it's been modified heavily.

I don't think there is any requirement for proof of oil changes, they should easily be able to tell just looking in the motor whether the oil has been changed.

A motor that fails due to no/too few oils changes is going to be VERY gunked up inside.

Yes in most instances they do require proof or maintenance on a catastrophic failure. Who is to say you were using the correct oil? Who's to say you changed it at or before the OLM indicated?
I know from first hand experience. That is why I either have the dealer do it or I make sure all receipts are in the pouch in the glove compartment if I do it myself or take it somewhere else. Even if they didn't say it was necessary it is much easier proving your case if you have them.

[CamaroCracka]

I change my own oil and I don't keep receipts of the oil I buy. If they want to refuse warranty work based on the lack of oil change receipts, it better be spelled out as a requirement in the warranty. Of the bazillion pieces of paper they make you sign when you buy it, I don't remember that one. Seems like if it was that important it would be in there. I'm pretty sure it's there burden to prove you abused the engine not yours to prove you didn't.

If they refuse to replace it, I would lawyer up, call corporate, hell find out Marry Barra's email address. Local news might help as well. I've never had to use those tactics on a dealer (and I did some abusive chit when I was young), but I've used on lots of other companies. One point I used on Home Depot was that their receipts fade over time. I handed them a faded receipt where only the Home Depot logo at the top was legible.

FYI, companies that offer warranties and then expect customers to jump through hoops before they honor them get me cranked up. I love to make managers wish they never heard my name.

[RubyCamaro]

Yep, you gotta kep up with that stuff. Just common sense that is not so common these days. Very sorry about your engine. Perhaps it is time to make lemonade, maybe an engine upgrade???????

[bucolic]

Originally Posted by MariJ04

Hi everyone,

So my stupid engine went out on my 2012 RS with only 65000 miles on it on wednesday, how can this be???

I was driving down to work when the car started to slow down and it wouldn't change gears from 3 to 2, all the lights stayed on for a while so I thought it was probably the starter. I was in the middle lane of the freeway and was not able to do anything, thank God no one hit me. I tried the ignition key mutiple times but nothing happened with the exception of the lights going out and then the smoke started!! WTF, I thought to myself sitting there. I dialed OnStar so a wrecker came to pick me up after about 45 min. What's the deal with this damn cars? I've had the car for about a year and never had issues till now. GM is supposed to cover it and replace since is under factory warranty, but when I got to the dealer I was told they need proof of oil changes and maitenance, really who keeps thousands of receipts?? I did manage to find some of sometime last year so I hope this will helpful enough for GM to replace my engine. Is a danger and safety hazard to have such crap car, and I will be making a complain about this.

Is it just me or does anyone else think post like this is only some GT500 owner busting balls over here. "Is a danger and safety hazard to have such a a crap car". Really? Who says that LOL.

[Evergreen6]

Ultimately it's GM that has to pay for these kind of replacements, so the dealer is trying to protect themselves against fraudulent claims from its customers, as much as gm is trying to protect itself from fraudulent dealers.

There really are people who think just because something has a warranty that a replacement is "owed" regardless of how they treat it or maintain it. If you read the terms of the warranty, that's not the case. Maintenance done in accordance with the service schedule is generally required.

I agree that the burden of proof is on the dealer, and it's not written anywhere that receipts are required. But it's a really easy way for a Service Manager to say "yep, customer did all the right stuff, we owe for this replacement"

If there is suspicion that the vehicle wasn't maintained, they might opt to do additional tests at their own costs, like an oil sample test to determine the viscosity and type of oil used, particulate matter, overall oil "life" (i.e. had it been changed, ever?) if they think they've got ground to stand on in rejecting the claim.

Both Gm and the service folks at the dealer should be acting in good faith, though. It's very rare for an engine to just fail, especially at only 65k miles, with good maintenance and normal use, so I'm sure they want to document the findings and support their own claim to GM (since the dealer has to pay the employees for the work, buy the parts, they want reimbursement). It's a high dollar warranty claim, so it's going to be scrutinized--but they shouldn't be accusatory, and they can't deny work based on the fact that you didn't keep oil change receipts. Be confident of that-- and it sounds like at this point they've only asked for them, not denied work based on not having them.

The OP really hasn't said he has maintained the car according to schedule (I hope he has), but if it's obvious it hasn't been maintained-- then I'm not sure what anyone should expect, other than to have to pay for a new engine out of their own pocket.

Keep us updated and let us know how it turns out!

[mariojmoe]

Sorry op, that freakin sucks. Just stay on top of them and move up the ladder if they try to give you the "shaft". Start off at the service dept and move up to corporate. Dont go out without a fight

[nyrfan]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

I change my own oil and I don't keep receipts of the oil I buy. If they want to refuse warranty work based on the lack of oil change receipts, it better be spelled out as a requirement in the warranty. Of the bazillion pieces of paper they make you sign when you buy it, I don't remember that one. Seems like if it was that important it would be in there. I'm pretty sure it's there burden to prove you abused the engine not yours to prove you didn't.

If they refuse to replace it, I would lawyer up, call corporate, hell find out Marry Barra's email address. Local news might help as well. I've never had to use those tactics on a dealer (and I did some abusive chit when I was young), but I've used on lots of other companies. One point I used on Home Depot was that their receipts fade over time. I handed them a faded receipt where only the Home Depot logo at the top was legible.

FYI, companies that offer warranties and then expect customers to jump through hoops before they honor them get me cranked up. I love to make managers wish they never heard my name.

Do you actually think car companies would be stupid enough not to have something like that in the warranty to protect themselves. This is straight from he GM warranty book:

Receipts and records covering the performance of regular maintenance
or other repairs (such as those outlined earlier) should be retained
in the event questions arise concerning maintenance. These
receipts and records should be transferred to each subsequent
owner. GM will not deny warranty coverage solely on the absence of
maintenance records. However, GM may deny a warranty claim if a
failure to perform scheduled maintenance resulted in the failure
of a warranty part

In other words, no receipts and your claim can be denied as you have no proof.