Dealership service issue - Need advice

Birdie2000

Club Member
I’m having some troubling symptoms from my car and the dealer isn’t doing much to fully investigate the issue. I’m wondering what my next steps should be.

Car is a 2012 Buick Regal GS 6MT w/ 57k on the odometer. Car is in very nice shape and came with the balance of a 6 year/90k GM Major Guard warranty when I bought it last May. I paid a little more for the car because of this since I knew I’d be driving a lot of miles in the immediate future and I didn’t want to worry about any unexpected costs, and the warranty is essentially bumper-to-bumper. Unfortunately, I’ve had to use the warranty several times already and while logistically a pain because of where I live (Traverse City) and not knowing many people there, it has come through and has paid for itself.

About a month ago, the turbo quit producing boost for some reason. I was on the freeway, and I realized I couldn’t gain speed regardless of gear. I pulled off the freeway and when driving at slow speeds the car felt completely anemic and I couldn’t hear the turbo spooling. I turned off the car and restarted it, then it seemed to drive normally and I could hear spooling. I have no idea why this would be or how/why the pcm would control anything mechanical with the turbo, but I’m guessing for some reason either the BOV or the wastegate got stuck open and somehow restarting the car fixed this. No codes were thrown. Ever since, I feel like the whole induction system has been making more whistling/air noise along with a load- and speed-based howling when I press the accelerator at freeway speeds. Also, there seems to be much more vibration and noise related to the engine. Also, fuel mileage has dropped, and I feel like I’m down on power (although it’s not slow so most people wouldn’t notice this).

I’ve also experienced a slightly unsteady idle recently. Not enough to throw any codes, but I can just tell it’s hunting more than it should be at times. I took it to the dealer and they recommended a fuel injection cleaning :rolleyes: which of course the warranty doesn’t cover, but I declined figuring I can throw a bottle of Techron in it for much cheaper than they can. I chocked it up to me just being picky, but then Wednesday it finally stalled on me while idling in traffic. Again, no CELs thrown.

So the issue is that my warranty expires at the end of March, and the dealer isn’t doing much more than taking a quick test drive (no dry roads near the dealer nor anywhere with a speed limit of more than 45mph) and hooking a scanner up to it. The noises/vibrations aren’t that bad to someone who isn’t familiar with what the car sounded/felt like previously, but I’ve definitely noticed a change recently and it feels/sounds like a different car to me.

Anything engine/turbo-related related scares me from a repair cost standpoint. My fear is that no one is going to take these concerns seriously then I’m going to end up with a several-thousand-dollar repair bill when something finally fails a month after the warranty expires. Every time I take it in I’m charged a diagnostic fee because the warranty doesn’t cover anything if they don’t find anything wrong, nor a rental car (which is a huge problem for me) unless there are 2hrs labor charged, which they don’t know until the car is inspected and I’ve committed to the rental.

Any thoughts on how I should handle this with a ticking clock and a dealer who doesn’t want to do any real investigative work? Any suggestions as to what the issue may be?
 
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There is a bulletin for no boost/lack of power (PI0849A) which requires the ECM to be reprogrammed.

If you shoot me your VIN i can attempt to see if that’s been completed in the past or not.
 
2G4GV5GV9C9132372

Dealer did mention that I have the latest calibration, but who knows. Do you think the idling issue could be related?

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2G4GV5GV9C9132372

Dealer did mention that I have the latest calibration, but who knows. Do you think the idling issue could be related?

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ECM was updated in 2015 so it should have the software to address that issue in it.
 
Did you check the turbo? If it has a lot of thrust play it might be going out. Maybe the bearing is seizing up or something. Should be pretty easy to check. I can probably find you a thrust spec for it if it feels loose.

-Geoff
 
Honestly I haven't done anything myself. Part of me doesn't want to touch much at the risk of inadvertently voiding the warranty, but the reality is that I don't have the time or resources to work on it with my current living/work situation. I was, however, thinking that this is something that a technician would be checking out when I bring it in with these symptoms.

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I wouldn't assume anything. It depends if they are just following their instinct, or more often than not, following a service procedure designed for whatever complaint you gave. I wouldn't hesitate to find that tech and try to talk to him though.

-Geoff
 
if you take it in a few more times for the same issue, does it fall under lemon law? If it does, will it help you if the lemon law is applicable?
 
I bought it used from a private party and it's 6-7 years old, so I don't know but am guessing not. :(

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I just went through this scenario with my Ecoboost. It turned out to be a stretched timing chain, retarding the intake cam so bad that there was enough intake pressure to tell the ECM to went all boost pressure.

I would recommend looking at the tubing for cracks/tears/loose hose clamps or boots. Can you hear the turbo spool? It is possible that the blowoff valve is stuck open and bleeding boost.
 
If you have those kind of things happening, there should at least be some pending fault codes. Maybe no actual fault code and light, but something should be pending.
 
Could be your cam position actuator solenoids. I was having the same symptoms with my 12GS and it fixed it.
 
I just changed them, it was only $50. and 5 minutes of work. I figured even if it wasnt the issue it was cheap enough to not upset me.lol
 
Thanks! Was there any syncing/calibrating to be done after installing them? I might give it a try too for that price. Cheaper than diagnostic fee that gets me nowhere.

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Nope, pull off the plastic engine cover, unplug them, take out one bolt each and swap them out. Just make sure you dont mix up the two when you put them back in.
 
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