Cats Killed Engine

[SRT10KLLR]

My brother in law's Suburban started making a rattling noise then the truck shut off on the freeway. He had it towed home then to the dealer and they finally looked at it yesterday because of the holidays. They tell him that the engine is down two cylinders and that it needs to be replaced. They are saying it was abuse if he drove it with a bad cat.

 

What should he do?

[Big O]

Get their response in writing .... then call GM customer service.

Edited December 27, 2007 by Big O (see edit history)

[nxtnlne]

How many miles? Get there response in writing and have them but it back together.I would try another dealer.

[Black2003SS]

Either way they are going to hold his truck hostage until he pays the tear down fee and they will put abuse int he system so that if he goes to another dealer they will see it and classify it as abuse. He now has to go up the customer service chain at GM and let me tell you they stand behind their dealers decisions more than their customers. I know from personal experience. The only way to make GM see it your way is to get an attorney.

[SRT10KLLR]

The truck is a 2004 but it was purchased in Dec of 04 and he has 30K miles so he is right at the 3/36 warranty. What gets me is that the truck is driven normally and never abused since 90% of the time my sister drives it to work and back.

[Black2003SS]

Are there any mods on the truck? Even a K&N? What is their "eveidence" of abuse?

[Big O]

Were there any indications of a failure of the cats? Lights, driving poorly, etc? If not I think they would be hard pressed to say you knew of the bad cat and that you drove it anyways causing the damage. Why did the cat fail?

[04fullsize]

Do GM cats have a warranty other thant he factory 3/36K? I know here at Benz all cars have a 8yr/80K warranty. If the truck is under warranty there shouldnt be a problem. I just think its weird that the cats are all clogged up at 30K.

[Black2003SS]

Oh yeah...and emissions are covered by a 100,000 mile warranty anyways. Subsequent damage may not be covered, but at least the cats are, as are O2 sensors.

[SRT10KLLR]

No mods whatsoever no even a drop in K&N. I was told the cats are covered for a longer amount because they are smog/emissions related but not sure if it covers engine damage caused by faulty cats.

 

They did start rattling a few days before the bam and the cel light came on the day before but only a few miles had been put on(maybe 100 miles tops) total after the noise. The noise was only there when at an idle but not during normal driving.

[zippy]

If she fights that, she will win. Something caused the cat to plug that early on and since the truck is still stock and under warrenty they need to fix it.

[Vortec MAX]

They don't have a leg to stand on. First of all, what they say is evidence of abuse is really evidence of a faulty emissions part. I would ask them what they are basing that claim on since it was not abused. Secondly, you wer bringing it to them as quickly as you could, but the engine failed before you could get to the dealer.

 

There is no requirement that I know of that says if any "check engine" light comes on, you must immediately pull over and have your vehicle towed to the dealer.

 

Fight it, don't give in. They are in the wrong.

 

Mike

[Turbocoop]

If it was a major problem that occured while driving the MIL (-cel) would blink on and off, not just stay on like I assume it did. Cats are covered under the 8yr 80K warranty. They can tell what kind of code it was by looking at the tech2, which will tell them if the MIL was blinking or not when it shut off. Theres no way they can say it was caused by abuse if your'e telling the truth, call GM direct and talk to someone about it

[shreveportSS]

I had a service manager served with papers naming him as the defendant in a claim on an engine that was under warranty. I went at his ass because it was his decision and GM said they were following his lead. Since a replacement was about $8,000. He folded like a cheap lawn chair. GM covered the warranty per his recommendation. I also made a very quiet and polite threat to catch his ass on the street sometime and give him some pain and suffering, but it never had to get to that point.

[Fireman31]

If it was a major problem that occured while driving the MIL (-cel) would blink on and off, not just stay on like I assume it did. Cats are covered under the 8yr 80K warranty. They can tell what kind of code it was by looking at the tech2, which will tell them if the MIL was blinking or not when it shut off. Theres no way they can say it was caused by abuse if your'e telling the truth, call GM direct and talk to someone about it

The 8/80 coverage on the cats are federal mandate. It says in the owners manual that if the SES light starts to flash that you are supposed to pull over and shut the vehicle off immediatly to prevent further damage. If the tech2 tells the dealer that the driver kept going with a flashing SES light, then you might get caught with your pants down. Either way fight it because the cat failed prematurely. Good Luck.