shreck

I have some steam to vent,
On occasion, my steering wheel would stick when trying to turn; when the wheel would finally turn, you would hear it make a noise like the wheel was stuck on the road. It also made a clunking noise.
I took it to my local dealer "Trillum" in Toronto and I also mention to them that there was a recall for this problem. There response was that it did not exist.
Anyway, I booked an appointment to have it repaired, two weeks in advance. When I took the van in it sat for a whole week with no work done until the Friday. When they first inspected the van they said there was no problem found but said the rack needed replacement for some other reason that they failed to document. They said the computer was broken down and could not get parts from the warehouse, Bull #hit. Did they ever hear of a dam telephone?
In the end after he quoted me $1800.00 for the repairs they tried to stick me with a bill for $2500.00. Actually closer to $3000.00 You can't picture how mad I was when I found out that to replace the whole rack, power steering pump, claimed it was leaking, more bull !hit. And the real funny part is there was no problem found. Is it common practice to lie to the customer about repairs because I washed the engine down completely because I was trying to find the source of an antifreeze leak. As it turned out to be the water pump. I will say however, I think it is might also leaking in to the manifold as well, but only in extreme temperature.
I danced and complained and wanted an answer to why they replaced the rack when they could not find a problem with the rack in the first place. No answer.
On a smaller note, they also stole my wiper and the light fixture under the hood. I think in future if I go to a GM dealer for service or warranty work I should go in the correct position, as I know what will happen.
I complained to GM and they did nothing.

Dan_in_WA

Sadly, this is pretty common practice for a lot of places - not just stealerships.

Go to court over the bill, if they try to make you pay. $2500 to fix a non-existent problem? Good luck, stealership!

The only advice I can give, is to go to Helm,Inc. and get the factory manuals for your rig. Do most of the work yourself; anything beyond your ability you will at least take to a shop with some prior knowledge of what needs to be done. Most shops treat an informed customer very fairly.

I'm lucky. My dealer here is not only honest, but their service department is knowledgeable.

Sangster Motors in Wenatchee, WA USA if you're ever in the neighborhood. They impressed me, in a positive way. Not an easy thing to do, when it comes to cars.

shreck

Stealerships rule. Sadly the day will come when the Japanese will rule.
If the manufactures contine with their blinders on they will lose so much market share that will hurt them and our economy. The good thing is however the Japanese are building car plants here too. And their cars last much longer with fewer repairs. I have always supported our local maufactures but the day has finally come to do what is best for me.

Dan_in_WA

The Japanese are getting OWNED by the Koreans and their Kia's!

Now they know how it feels. They wouldn't be building plants here, except that they would be restricted in their market share by law: There has to be so much American content in the cars or they get slapped with a major duty fee. So the Japs built some plants here to avoid that.

I only have one grouch against the Japanese: They insist on the right to sell to the rest of the world, but their borders are all but closed to imports. Or at least face tariffs and other restrictions that make imports to their country uncompetative in the marketplace.

They won't buy lumber. Only logs. It used to be, if they put up a building here, all the materials and labor came from Japan. Nintendo got in a lot of trouble, saying "If you want to sell Nintendo, you can't sell a competitor's product in your store".

This is so unfair that I boycott all products from Asia. As much as possible. We need jobs too.

shreck

Trillium just called me again for a recall for the steering again, do you think they are up to some new kind of new trick. They said they are not sure if the rack they put in was the correct replacement. Well they are not getting a second shot at me, as I will drive this van into the ground.

Overall I would say this van is a fair mode of transportation with a few nagging problems, it is the stealer dealers that give this vehicle a bad rap. Other than the immense cost that they charge. I have learned my lesson well. Don’t buy from a GM stealer and don’t get a vehicle that is too big or difficult to work on because of the ease of access of the engine compartment. An SUV would probably have been a better choice other than the Transport is good body wise in our salty climate.

Have you ever seen a Transport that has been struck from behind? Well it’s not pretty, it looked like the back had just crumbled.

93cobra

Check with another source to see if infact there was a recall if so file a small claims suit and get your money back. Do it anyway since they appently fixed someting they told you didn't need fixing. DEALERS SUK!!!!!!!!

LMP

..Ok this is a '96 isn't it?..last of the "plastic" body. I do like mine too..('93 3.8 ..only 120000km..). I drive it with extreme care....and I do all repairs myself. It pays. NEVER GONE TO THE SHOP, except during warranty. As said before, the front end has always some part ready for replacement, and I have replaced a lot, but it is easily done, with minimal complement of tools. I have taken the rack and pinion out one time to replace the inner tie rod ends..did it with my wife: you have to lower the engine cradle to do it...I'm happy I had the shop manual cause I would not have imagined that in hte first place.
So as Dan say, get a shop manual in the first place. in the mean time, if it helps,you can take a look at some schematics from my collection at www.avigex.ca/xport.

shreck

I would love to take them to court over it but they will have GM standing beside them as a witness to something they cannot prove, I don’t think I need that kind of stress right now so I think I will keep driving it the way it is until it starts to show signs of a major problem.

It’s a 96 3.4 fuel injected and I have really enjoyed it the early years as it is great for traveling and camping. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a service manual for this year, the manual I have right now is probable the same as yours but my van has the inner workings of the Montana. It was built between models. Half breed?

I have also believed that the warranty is for the stealer dealers and the non warranty items have been looked after by me. But body flexibility and small hands help when it comes time to mess around under the hood.

Do you have daytime running lights? Because I have never from day one when I bought it. It’s law here and I don’t know how this got missed. The clips are not even in the fuse box for them. But when it gets dusk the lights come on. Thank you know who for that.

llerrad

I thought there is some law for shops they must quote the job in writting and are not allowed by law to increase beond 20%. If the guy is wanting it back for warranty then get it on paper warranty no charge.
In my dealing with the theives I alway go over every detail of work to be done before and on Paper sign off what it will be and cost. Soooo many times I have the quote and they call me for more because of new found stuff that's then I just tell em "put the van outside I'll pick it up" and that's when they loose the work. Midas will never see my van again because every time I go there get a quote for a muffler I find my wheels
off when I ask why did they take the wheels off for a muffler they alway like to tell me I really need brakes badly, that's when I tell them they had no authorization to do so I'm leaving. More owners need to take a hard line with repair shops give them a slap when they ASSUME needed repairs and try to up sell their work.

93cobra

I think we should be able to drag those lying cheating STEALING crooks out into the street and shoot them like a rabid dog and let the vultures despose of their remains

shreck

I think they wanted to rip me off to recoup lost money because of poor customer service promises.

First, they said it would take just one day for the repairs and that I could pick it up in the evening of (Monday) the day I dropped it off.

Second, when I went to pick it up that evening they said the parts did not arrive from the GM warehouse, (Van was sitting where I left it)

Third, Service attendant agreed to give me a lift home and said he would prefer that I leave the van.

Fourth, Service attendant lied and would not give me a ride home now, (I live out of town). He then agreed to lend me a Grand Prix car from the leasing company at no charge in the same building.

5th, I did not get my van back until the following Monday, When they hit me with a bill for the steering rack, power steering pump, power steering lines, and the cost to rent a car for a week.

I refused to pay for the rental as the Service attendant said it should be no charge (I just paid for the insurance under duress). I refused to pay for the pump and the new lines because I know both were not leaking one bit. They told me to contact GM when the recall comes to get my money back for the rack, GM of course refused to pay for the steering rack because the service department at Trillum did not document the reason for replacement.

I called customer relations at GM’s head office and issued a complaint about the stealer dealer. They sent some kind of investigator to the dealer to see what was going on. The service attendant told GM something that made them decide not to refund my money. I would think with all this going on the dealer would keep the rack as proof knowing what was going on, but instead they send it back for the core charge refund.

This Sucks!

Sorry for Rambling on.

93cobra

TAKE THEM TO COURT!!! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOOSE AND ALL TO GAIN!!! Just the dealer.

shreck

Well forget court and forget about the recall. This baby is heading straight to the bone yard.

It's clanking like a son of a #itch.

Anone need parts, just put a new moto master battery and Pirelli tires last fall. New blower motor and wiper motor too.

Van only has 188,000km.

How about a reese Class II/III hideaway trailer hitch , bought that last summer. has 2 balls

Location Ajax, Ontario, Canada. About 45min east of Toronto