Stereo Light out after recall service??!!!!!

So,

I take my 2001 Grand Am to Thorson Motor Center in Pasadena, CA for it's Hazard Light switch recall. Not a huge job, just pull out and replace the switch.

When I get the car back, the left side of the stereo was dark. Obviously, a light burned out. Now, I've been around cars for some time and have never experienced a burned out stereo light in a three year old GM because of age. Usually, it's a result of static electricity or a light power surge or something silly.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? The dealer AND GM refused to take any responsibility for this, calling it a coincidence.

I'm writing a nice love letter to GM to explain why I'm not happy that they cannot err on the side of a long time customer and just replace the stereo with one from a used or wrecked Grand Am. I'm thinking just never buying another GM again and sticking with my used BMW's.

Your thoughts?

dont blame you..get rid of it while its still newer and worth some cash and you still have your sanity because the car will prbably drive you crazy like mine does with all the problems.

Pontiac

PO Box 33172

Detroit MI, 48232-5172







To Whom It May Concern:



On September 22, I took my 2001 Pontiac Grand Am to Thorson Motor Center in Pasadena, CA for a recall to replace the Hazard switch. When I picked the car up about two hours later, the left side of the stereo display was completely dark. Obviously, a bulb in the stereo burned out.



I understand that bulbs burn out on occasion as a result of power surges and static electricity, also they can burn out due to age. My Grand Am is three years old. Since the work done on the car was electrical, my contention is that the static charge or surge that caused the bulb to burn out happened during recall service to the vehicle.



Thorson Motor Center refused to accept any responsibility for this issue. I contacted your customer service representative at 1-800-GMC-TRUCK and after she spoke with the service manager at Thorson, agreed with them. I didn’t expect anything different.



I am writing this letter to you as a long-time GM vehicle fan that has been given a very sour taste. I refuse to drive Japanese cars because I believe that American cars are superior. I’ve been told by several people over the years that I should stay away from GM products but I persisted, letting them know that I’ve never had a problem with service or quality.



Recently, I purchased a used 1997 BMW to drive as a second car. Yes, the car has a few issues given it’s age, but nothing that I can attribute to poor workmanship. Mostly broken cup holders, carpet wear and wear in the leather seats. I have decided that I will no longer purchase or drive another GM vehicle again and will purchase another BMW to replace the Grand Am. I don’t fully understand why GM would not fix a problem that I believe they caused during a recall service to my vehicle when it’s obviously not a huge expense to you. I even asked the service manager if he could swap out a working stereo from a wrecked Pontiac. He informed me that I would have to buy one at a cost of over $300.00. Both the service manager and my theories are equally valid, but I suppose there is no way to tell whether or not either theory was correct. Why not err on the side of a customer?



This dishonest treatment of your customers has convinced me that maybe my friends have all been correct in that the GM service is NOT oriented toward customer satisfaction; rather, it is concerned mostly with conserving its resources even when there is a chance that they did in fact cause the problem. This is unsatisfactory. I have worked on GM cars for the better part of my life, I have a thorough working knowledge of Pontiacs, Buick’s, and Chevrolet’s from 1976 up to 2001 and have never had a problem with Delco stereo lights burning out for no reason on a three year old car. I also am fully aware how static electricity and power surges work. I understand that the service manager contends that a power surge would have taken out the entire stereo and that the lights burning out was just a coincidence, but my experience has been different. There is no hard and fast answer as to what a power surge or static electricity will do to a car stereo.



If avoiding responsibility of honest mistakes caused by GM service personnel is the policy of General Motors, then you have lost a customer forever and I will spread the word among my car fanatic friends about this experience. No lies, no extra parts to the story, only the facts about what has happened. I will start online at automotiveforums.com.



I’m sorry that this issue cannot be worked out, especially with a long-time GM fan.



Good luck





VIN: 1G2NF12E31M534806

are you serious? wow thats unlike anything ive ever heard. I personally have not had any major problems with my 95 GA. I bought it with 119k and it now has 156k and the only things ive had to replace were spark plugs and the alternator which had a barring go out last week.

But back to the subject, i had never heard of GM being this way. Ive heard good to moderate reports about their service (though ive never needed it) but never anything this poor! I would definitly like to think that its just the manager/owner at thorson but if you said the GM techie agreed with them....id say screw it too

I have a 2001 Grand Am and my husband likes to hook up his speaker box and neon lights in our car and he hooked up something once and it blew out part of the light on the left side of our radio too. Whenever you find out what caused it, please let us know so I know how and IF it can be fixed!

This same thing just happened to me two days ago. I took my car int Quality Poniac to have the ignition tumbler set replaced because the security light kept coming on. They had to disconnect the trc switch and the emergency flasher swithch to take off the face plate around the key switch. when I picked up the car the turn signals the trac on/off light didnt work and the emergency flasher switch did not work. I took it back immediately. The service manager had the guy that worked on it come out and look at it, he removed the face plate and had forgotten to hook up the switches. The radio leds worked fine when I took it in after he hooked up the switches the left and right leds no longer work. I complained about it and was told there was nothing they would or could do that the leds just burned out. First of all I responded to them was before you go around disconnecting switches and stuff you should disconnect the battery cable. I stated that by just plugging in the switches could have caused a surge and burned out the lights, They said no way, I then asked how much to replace the burnt out leds, response was you have to replace the whole radio. Hows that for 2- $.30 bulbs. Replace it with a $700 radio. I will fix it myself by replacing the leds but this was bull crap. No wonder people buy foreign cars.

This same thing just happened to me two days ago. I took my car int Quality Poniac to have the ignition tumbler set replaced because the security light kept coming on. They had to disconnect the trc switch and the emergency flasher swithch to take off the face plate around the key switch. when I picked up the car the turn signals the trac on/off light didnt work and the emergency flasher switch did not work. I took it back immediately. The service manager had the guy that worked on it come out and look at it, he removed the face plate and had forgotten to hook up the switches. The radio leds worked fine when I took it in after he hooked up the switches the left and right leds no longer work. I complained about it and was told there was nothing they would or could do that the leds just burned out. First of all I responded to them was before you go around disconnecting switches and stuff you should disconnect the battery cable. I stated that by just plugging in the switches could have caused a surge and burned out the lights, They said no way, I then asked how much to replace the burnt out leds, response was you have to replace the whole radio. Hows that for 2- $.30 bulbs. Replace it with a $700 radio. I will fix it myself by replacing the leds but this was bull crap. No wonder people buy foreign cars.

You can replace the LED's? I didnt know that. Any tips on how to do it? I gotta sell this POS before I end up setting it on fire. The day I buy another damn GM is the day that hell freezes over and Osama Bin Testicle becomes President of the US.

The Exact!!!!! same thing happened to me. With the same results.

Oh man, this is a BAD sign! And they NEVER take responsibility for their own ****up!!!

Cmon GM! Why? You KNOW there is a problem! WHY dont you fix it?!!

You can replace the LED's? I didnt know that. Any tips on how to do it? I gotta sell this POS before I end up setting it on fire. The day I buy another damn GM is the day that hell freezes over and Osama Bin Testicle becomes President of the US.
Yes you can replace the leds. you will have to unsolder them from the circuit board then solder new ones back on. Be warned this takes a steady hand and probably having done soldering on circuit boards before. if you get sloppy with the solder or get other areas too hot you will or could ruin the whole thing. If you know someone who has done soldering before let them do it.

WWW.DISCOUNTOEMRADIOS.COM
what i suggest is just buy a used stereo off of ebay. you can pick them up for as little as $5. i did it and just swapped faces a few times. you can also just get a simple am/fm and use the bulbs. some of them actually just snap in and out.
WWW.DISCOUNTOEMRADIOS.COM