A close personal friend is a certified dealer mechanic on the other side of the country. He is very disappointed in how GM is dealing with this common issue. I'm beyond disappointed. In his words 3 of 5 lifter failures result in cam shaft replacement as well. I would advise those looking at used GMC Pickup trucks with AFM (active fuel management) to listen carefully for any tapping noises that sound like they might originate from the part of the engine near the firewall when the engine is under load. As the tapping noise is a common precursor to total lifter failure. Once the lifter fails; then (under load) you get misfires and it sounds like you are driving over rumble strips. The replacement part numbers have changed; the fact that GM has re-engineered the lifter to overcome this issue but they are not willing to do ANYTHING to defray the exorbitant cost of repair; says a lot about the principles of the company.
My 2019 GMC Sierra Limited has an engine light and is running rough, and research tells me I have a lifter issue. Dealer says I'm on my own being 800 km over my extended warranty. I have read that there are countless issues with this and that there is a fix under warranty that the dealers are doing when these vehicles come in. Mine does not go to the dealer and I think it should be a recall, not a warranty fix!
Check engine light came on while I was towing a trailer. Initially there were no signs of any issues. I made it to my desitination with no problem. I parked the vehicle and upon the next start up the vehicle started shaking. I had it towed to the dealership. It was discovered that cylinder 7 was misfiring and upon further inspection it was determined the wall of the cylinder were damaged. It was recommended to have the vehicle's engine replaced. The vehicle had 68,000 miles on it and was out of the powertrain warranty. The estimated cost of the engine replacement from the dealership was $13,000. After contacting GM Customer Care and being strung along for weeks, they agreed to pay for 50% of the repair total. Not a penny more. At the end of the day, my cost was $5994 and 5 weeks without a vehicle.
The dealership never expanded on what caused the damage to the cylinder, and I'm not sure they even investigated any further. Regardless, this two year vehicle with 68,000 miles on it had to have an engine replacement.
The invoice I received from the dealership did not have the cost for any parts or labor associated with the repair. It had "warranty" beside every line item, and a Miscellaneous charge at the end of $5994 that I was responsible for. At this point, I have no idea what the true repair total was and if GM really covered their share of 50% of the total cost.
All in all, an extremely frustrating experience.
- Brandon M.,
Columbia, US
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
A close personal friend is a certified dealer mechanic on the other side of the country. He is very disappointed in how GM is dealing with this common issue. I'm beyond disappointed. In his words 3 of 5 lifter failures result in cam shaft replacement as well. I would advise those looking at used GMC Pickup trucks with AFM (active fuel management) to listen carefully for any tapping noises that sound like they might originate from the part of the engine near the firewall when the engine is under load. As the tapping noise is a common precursor to total lifter failure. Once the lifter fails; then (under load) you get misfires and it sounds like you are driving over rumble strips. The replacement part numbers have changed; the fact that GM has re-engineered the lifter to overcome this issue but they are not willing to do ANYTHING to defray the exorbitant cost of repair; says a lot about the principles of the company.
Dealer quote:
Lifter replacement: $4,000 (parts 1900)
Cam replacement: $2,500
Total: $6,500
- Mark M., Fort Mill, SC, US