[camaromatt1995]

Hey guys, my name's Matt, new proud and soured/irritated Camaro owner.

Here's the story I'd like to share perhaps as a source of comfort for anyone who's had a poor experience with Chevy and as a source of hope from those who haven't gone through this ordeal.

Saturday I picked up a new '21 LT1 in Wild Cherry with the Tech Package and the NPP exhaust with no miles after waiting a few weeks for the dealer to get it. Drove about 5 hours up to pick it up. About 10 miles in on the drive home, the screen on the cluster started artifacting and getting dim. Then the screen eventually went completely out. After about two more miles it tried to come back on. Then it immediately shut back off again. So at this point I have no temps, no odo, no tripmeter, no drive modes, no cruise control. Turned around and went back to the dealer right away. Tried disconnecting the battery for five minutes (I'm a auto repair shop manager by trade) and had no luck with that. I also noticed on the drive home that the Fav and Vol buttons on the wheel didn't work either, and the cruise control was intermittently not working. In addition the infotainment screen was freezing up and would intermittently crash. This is all within hours of owning the car. Also noticed a prominent rattle from the driver's side door with bass hits (when the music would work). At this point I'm wondering if this thing is a lemon and I should just turn it around and leave it at the dealer and Uber hours home.

They said there was nothing they could do since I was five hours away and out of state and it was a Saturday so their service was already closed, I'd have to book a hotel and stay the weekend. I told them I'd just take it back home and take it to a dealer near me.

Fast forward to Sunday, I drove an hour from my house to find a dealer with service that was open, only for them to tell me that they didn't have a tech to look at it because they only had GSers there today and have no loaners so they don't have a vehicle to give me while the car was in the shop. Great... so I go turning around and driving an hour home.

Was told to bring it back today at 6am (an hour before open) and so I did. When I got there there were two guys inside smoking and having coffee but neither of them wanted to acknowledge me before 7, so I sat there for an hour. Then when I finally got into service the guy seemed pretty perturbed like he didn't really want to be there and said "we'll get it in when we can". Still didn't have a car to give me.

I then called GM corporate to ask them to get involved, I don't believe they ever contacted anyone at either dealership.

Tried to call the service manager multiple times today, didn't get an answer. Stopped back by this afternoon and they said they think it's an instrument cluster but they aren't 100%.

Have any of you guys had this kind of experience or have this kind of issue with a 6th gen?

As a car guy and as someone who is in the automotive industry professionally I can't help but feel soured with this and have this fear that over the long term (as someone who likes to buy older vehicles and keep them going for 200K+) that this car won't be reliable. I want to love this car, but I don't know how. It's perfect in every way.

I'm also worried about the level of disassembly required for the IC replacement and having rattles & squeaks after. I'm really anal about noises.

I'm at this point where I don't know if I should just give it back, keep it, wait for a new one, and what the long term implications of them having to dig the dash apart with almost no miles on the clock are.

Any suggestions or advice is appreciated in advance.

Best,

Matt

[SHE'Z 18]

With this many issues and for all the BS you’ve been through, the dealership should send a flatbed to pick it up and wipe the slate clean. Go get another one elsewhere Sorry to hear what you’ve been through.

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by SHE'Z 18

With this many issues and for all the BS you’ve been through, the dealership should send a flatbed to pick it up and wipe the slate clean. Go get another one elsewhere Sorry to hear what you’ve been through.

I agree, have had my 2020 2SS for 18 months and only had one issue with it that had a TSB for a software update that fixed it, other than that, it has been great and a LOT of fun...

[3.8TransAM]

Let them check it out and see what it is. Could be something stupid or something serious, at least let them find out. Anywhere near me right now is short staffed at all job levels, the crappy ones and the good ones.


It doesn't sound like the dealership is really trying too hard, but again most are backed up 2 weeks or more right now as well. Be calm, firm and stress the safety factor as well as you drove the car for 10 miles before you had issues.


While I am not against ordering/buying cars from dealers not located close to ones proximity, it is situations just like this that do occur from time to time that prove it is not always the wisest decision.



Good luck and keep is updated, I'm sure someone will chime in fi they had something similar happen.

[CamaroSSStlfan]

I would lemon this thing if possible and have them order another and replace it depending on your states laws.

I guess that's the one good thing about buying a car off the car lot or a "slightly" used one. Seems the bugs would already be noticed right away.

Not shocking about the Chevy dealer. Chevy dealers for any sort of service, even tire rotations such as in my case really is a roll of the dice.

I mean, in the future if something minor went wrong being you're an auto mechanic and run the shop I would just do the work myself even though it means buying parts at cost and doing the work yourself. At least the work is performed to your standards and you probably know more about cars than most of these "techs" at the chevy dealer.

[Aragorn]

Try a different dealer. I had a similar experience and the dealer proactively reached out to GM and asked for guidance. It was long ordeal but the issue was eventually taken care of. Also I have a left side vent rattle, may be what you’re hearing. Lastly, like in most industries, many of these dealers are short staffed right now. Fyi.

[CamaroSSStlfan]

Originally Posted by Aragorn

Try a different dealer. I had a similar experience and the dealer proactively reached out to GM and asked for guidance. It was long ordeal but the issue was eventually taken care of. Also I have a left side vent rattle, may be what you’re hearing. Lastly, like in most industries, many of these dealers are short staffed right now. Fyi.

Where did the staff go? Dealer mechanic makes more than unemployment, and many states have stopped it anyway.

So where did they go? I can see your mcdonalds and restaurant type workers though.

[He11bent]

Check these out:


https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466687 and https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=509006

[camaromatt1995]

I mean that's the thing with this situation is that the issues could be indicative of something or they really could be indicative of nothing major and it's just a fluke. I feel like the handling of the situation by all involved parties leaves a lot to be desired. When I get the car back from that dealership I'm going to go over it with a fine toothed comb and make a decision from there. It seems like that's going to be the best way to go. If the dealership scratched/damaged/reassembled anything properly I think that will be the last straw for a week old car.

For anyone technical after speaking with someone with some GM experience on a FB group and quizzing about why the IC going down could cause the issue with steering wheel controls/infotainment this is the response I got:

"It looks like the two radio switches (volume and presets) connect to the right side front steering wheel switch module and then that connects to the cluster via LIN bus, so the cluster does appear to act as a gateway for these switches to the rest of the vehicle."

So right now I guess it's a game of hurry up and wait. I'll definitely keep you guys in the loop though and hopefully I'll be a long term member of this forum.

On a positive note, I love the car, being a stripped out car with just the right features to make it great on the street imo. Stay tuned.

[jamala00]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Definitely takes the wind out of your sales when you have to deal with this kind of thing on a new purchase. Hopefully the dealer will get it sorted out and you will soon have this ordeal behind you and simply just enjoying your new ride. Try not to get to discouraged. I had a bike shipped to me this spring and the shipping company damaged it. It took some time to get things sorted out, but it did and I've simply just been enjoying the miles on my new bike. Keep us posted.

[LT4Greg]

Sorry to hear about your new Camaro but I feel the issues will be resolved using a different dealership. And you can’t just take it back and ask for another one because once you sign the contract it’s yours and not the dealership’s car and also it’s considered a used car now. Good luck and I hope you get it repaired because the LT1 is a awesome Camaro!

[zaimer]

Most shops aren't going to have the full staff late on Saturdays... what would you make think that it is safe to show up on a Sunday, basically unannounced..? It is unfortunate the issues you are experiencing with your new car, but some of these "issues" seem self-inflicted IMO.

I agree, that I would be less than thrilled to have anything in the interior worked on. The IC MAY be fixed, but what sort of scratches, dings, etc. am I going to have on the interior? Most guys can't do a damn oil change without just about wrecking the car. That is why my vehicles will never see the inside of a shop again, unless it is something outside of my control/ability.

[FarmerFran]

Meh it is just the radio, trust me...it could be a LOT worse.

[camaromatt1995]

Fair enough. As far as the returning the vehicle goes I thought that there was a 2015 ruling on the Consumer Rights Act that basically allowed cars if the vehicle was essentially sold "not as promised" or in "differing condition" again, I haven't studied law so that could all be for nothing.

I didn't expect the dealership to be fully staffed, and to be frank I tried to call the dealership six times before I drove the hour to get there, but nobody picked up in service but online clearly it showed their business hours were open. Being in the service business I assumed their service just sucked, which could have been a red flag, but I was impatient.

I didn't want to have to wait to get an issue resolved on a brand new car, that if the dealership had been closer to me I would've just left it there and drove off in a demo vehicle.

That was the other thing that irritated me, I feel like there is no expectation of "service" in the sense that yes I purchased a brand new vehicle that had a defect, so I would expect that the dealership would accommodate and provide a secondary mode of transportation in order to make the situation right.

I know the level I go to with my clients and it is above and beyond. If I have to call a guy in on a Sunday to make the problem right because of something we screwed up I pay the guy DT and make it happen. It's just the right thing to do for the customer/client in my personal opinion, so to be on the helpless receiving end (can't touch the car myself since factory warranty) and getting the shaft and feeling like nobody gives a crap is quite irritating.

With that said though, yeah it's just the worry in my mind. I don't ever really purchase new vehicles, all 12 cars I've owned previously have been used and I just fix them up and keep them going, so with the added anxiety of the new car purchase already and then this experience on top of this it just isn't pleasant for something that should be.