[Gpr1200r]

I thought I would start new thread in this forum for anyone with updates on this snafu. Please take the time to submit a formal complaint if this affects you. Thanks.


File report here http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

 

[Gpr1200r]

Anyone who has had this repaired under warranty, post up. My dealer/parts mgr. told me 5-7 days due to an availabilty problem with the P/N 92158550 strut. According to the parts dept. there are only 10 available nationwide and he has a request in for 1 of them. It would be really good of GM to let me supply a better quality replacement strut and still treat it as a warranty claim but as a former Honda service mgr. I suspect this will not happen due to liability concerns. Will keep you guys posted.

 

[radioboy]

Dealer is replacing one front strut first thing in the morning. Took a week to get the part. Filed complaint with the NHTSA about the strut failure. I believe the car was delivered to me with a failed strut, since I noticed small amounts of fluid on the garage after just one day home from the dealership. I will also give my service department a printout of the strut compalints (which number around 30 so far) and I will tell them to inspect other suspension components for any problems.

 

[Gpr1200r]

My dealer is replacing both struts although I can only detect a leak in one side. Also I for got to mention that when I arrived at the dealer with TSB # 050308009 in hand the service advisor looked at it and first said whats this. Not sure he knew what a TSB was. He then asked me if I believed everything I read on the internet and went on to say that anyone can post anything they want. I then pointed out to him that this was from the NHTSA.DOT.GOV website. He didn't have much to say after that. Go figure.

 

[kegbelly]

Well, add me to the list. Noticed a dime-size spot of oil on the garage floor yesterday as I was sweeping it out. I felt around the bottom of the strut, and sure enough, its leaking, mine is the driver's side front strut. 298 EASY miles on the car. Build date 02/06. I was hoping I would avoid this gremlin.

Now a couple important (and perhaps stupid) questions:
Obviously a leaking strut is a bad thing, but do I need to park the car until I can get it replaced? Is this a critical safety issue where I shouldn't be driving the car?

When I get the strut replaced, do I need to get the front end realigned or get anything else checked out, or is this just a bolt-in repair (like replacing a shock) with no change to the front end alignment or geometry?

KB

 

[Gpr1200r]

Well, add me to the list. Noticed a dime-size spot of oil on the garage floor yesterday as I was sweeping it out. I felt around the bottom of the strut, and sure enough, its leaking, mine is the driver's side front strut. 298 EASY miles on the car. Build date 02/06. I was hoping I would avoid this gremlin.

Now a couple important (and perhaps stupid) questions:
Obviously a leaking strut is a bad thing, but do I need to park the car until I can get it replaced? Is this a critical safety issue where I shouldn't be driving the car?

When I get the strut replaced, do I need to get the front end realigned or get anything else checked out, or is this just a bolt-in repair (like replacing a shock) with no change to the front end alignment or geometry?

KB

The front end will need to be aligned and should be a standard practice for your service dept. Also don't forget to have them check the stock radius rod bushings for wear. One question you should ask is were the clevis bolts replaced . Why, they are also single use bolts and should be replaced at every alignment. Strut bearings may also need to be replaced so ask to check them as well.

Gpr1200r

 

[kegbelly]

Gpr1200r, thanks for the info. Have an appointment Friday morning, we'll see what happens.

KB

 

[GTR944]

John Hine Pontiac

Well, I went to the dealer (John Hine Pontiac) to get my struts checked out and they will replace only the leaky strut(driverside). I have an appointment to go in on friday. I was not very impressed with the service advisor but I guess that as long as they fix my car thats all that matters.

 

[Gpr1200r]

View attachment 447

My dealer is replacing both struts although I can only detect a leak in one side. Also I for got to mention that when I arrived at the dealer with TSB # 050308009 in hand the service advisor looked at it and first said whats this. Not sure he knew what a TSB was. He then asked me if I believed everything I read on the internet and went on to say that anyone can post anything they want. I then pointed out to him that this was from the NHTSA.DOT.GOV website. He didn't have much to say after that. Go figure.

Ok......just came back from the dealer after my warranty strut replacement. Was told that there was no need for an alignment as they drove it and it was ok. Seems to drive ok but was dissapointed that they did not even bother to clean all the strut oil from inside the wheel wells and the underside of car. The doc attached is what GM is giving the dealer to save him from doing the alignment.

Ok this an additional info posted on 7/15/2006. I was trying to figure out why I still had the same out of balance problem after my dealer warranty replacement of struts. At that time I told the service advisor about the out of balance condition. The RO shows a force balance but in reviewing my before and after pics it looks like they did not do sh**. WTF??? The car pic was taken about a week before the car went back for the warranty work and balance. The wheel pic was taken yesterday. Front left wheel is in question. Looks the same huh??? Oh yeah almost forgot...they put a nice scratch inside the right rear wheel about 1 in from the inside. I verified that they did in fact do a rear wheel balance but not front.

 

[Gpr1200r]

Back to the top.........

 

[kegbelly]

Gpr1200r, thanks for the info. Have an appointment Friday morning, we'll see what happens.

KB

Thought I'd follow up on this...
I haven't noticed any more oil on the garage floor since that first spot. No strange noises or handling issues, no oil slinging on the wheel or undercarriage, so I'm still driving the car. Dealer agreed that the strut is leaking, though, and will replace it under warranty. The work order said "very slight oily residue on strut". A leak is a leak as far as I'm concerned, and I assume it will get worse with time. 7-10 days to get the part in. They will also check the alignment and do whatever is necessary. I also asked them about replacing the other strut at the same time, they said GM will not replace it until it actually fails, because chances are it may never fail. I can understand that. So I'm waiting on a call to let me know the part is in, and we'll take it from there.

KB

 

[jjoakl]

Thanks you guys for posting on this subject. Had a couple teaspoons of oil under the driver side wheel well yesterday ('06 M6 - 900 mi.). Looked under the car and could see no oil from the engine, but the wheel well was caked with oil. I'm suspecting the strut. Taking it in to the dealer on Monday morning. Wish me luck. Since the part is on intergalactic backorder, I suppose the dealer will give me a loaner for the interim???

 

[Gpr1200r]

Thought I'd follow up on this...
I haven't noticed any more oil on the garage floor since that first spot. No strange noises or handling issues, no oil slinging on the wheel or undercarriage, so I'm still driving the car. Dealer agreed that the strut is leaking, though, and will replace it under warranty. The work order said "very slight oily residue on strut". A leak is a leak as far as I'm concerned, and I assume it will get worse with time. 7-10 days to get the part in. They will also check the alignment and do whatever is necessary. I also asked them about replacing the other strut at the same time, they said GM will not replace it until it actually fails, because chances are it may never fail. I can understand that. So I'm waiting on a call to let me know the part is in, and we'll take it from there.

KB

You are correct....a leak is a leak. Why do some service advisors/techs put coments on the RO as to suggest that it's really not a big deal. "Slight oily residue" come on guys (GM). This is a big deal to new owners who laid down serious cash for their GTO's. Yes I understand that it was probaly due to either a bad batch of struts or improper shipping. (Who knows....GM won't comment and dealers are only covering their as# by telling buyers they haven't heard of this problem). In any event...would it not be commom sense to replace both struts in light of the current situation? Oh yeah...my dealer gave a nice new loaner while mine were replaced. Good luck mi amigos.

 

[kegbelly]

Not to take up for the service techs, but I guess they're supposed to try to accurately describe the problem or defect. Since mine didn't squirt oil in the tech's eye a la Herbie, maybe he considers it to be a minor leak. But yes, a leak by any other name is still a leak. If GM had sold 250,000 GTO's rather than 30,000+ or so, I bet there would be a lot more publicity about some of the common issues we're experiencing, and a recall would probably already be in the works for some of them.
On a related note, a guy I know at work bought a '06 Mustang GT about 3 months ago. He's already had a front strut replaced twice for making loud clunking noises, and if I remember right he said one of the struts had actually broken. He said it was a design flaw from the factory, and they were going to have to rebuild the whole front end when new (and I assume redesigned) parts came off the line. Not sure if he knows exactly what he's talking about in that respect, but at least he got a free set of stripes out of Ford for his time and aggravation.

I can't get him to race me, though... I wonder why?

KB

 

[Gpr1200r]

You are correct my friend.....the service advisors at major dealerships walk a fine line when they initiate an RO request for the service dept. Sort of like the guy/girl at your local ultrasound lab. They can see the problem but for liability reasons they are not paid to diagnose the problem. They are only the first line of contact at your local dealership and are only providing the service dept. with basic info based on their understanding of the customers complaint. There is a reason why dealerships seperate service advisors from the service dept. To keep the ordinary joe from knowing too much and to maximize profits.

 

[kegbelly]

Another follow up...
My initial appointment was 7/14 to get the leaky strut checked, replacement strut was ordered that day, was told 7-10 days to get the part in. Been 12 days, no call from dealer. I called them today to see what's up, they told me that the part was indeed ordered on 7/14, they put a "spat"(or "stat"?..I didn't quite catch this word) order on it, meaning it was a highest priority order. After I pressed the service manager to give me more specific info, he called GM, then called me back and said there is an order with GM for 100 replacement struts that was placed on 7/17/06. He said apparently there must be a problem with the struts on the '06 GTOs. <Insert sarcastic laughter here>. He said since the parts are coming from Australia it would take about 6 weeks from the order date of 7/17 before the struts arrive at the PEC (?), and from there they will be distributed to the various dealers around the US to fill all the backorders. Sounded like a crock to me. GM ever heard of FedEx? I'm just glad I can still drive my car, otherwise I'd be raising all kinds of hell and demand another goat off the lot to drive while mine is waiting on parts.

 

[LaPuzza]

I had my new April 2006 Goat in the shop for a replacement of a factory mis-install, and they just called and told me they noticed it needed new struts. I didn't have to ask or badger them, they just said they drove it and it was riding funny.

I keep doing this, but I've got to give an A+ to Reagan Pontiac in Omaha. Lots of people seem to be having issues with getting this fixed, but these guys are treating this car like its their own, and I couldn't be more impressed.

EDIT: Also, the dealer explained to me what he understood was the reason for the leak. I guess the maker of the struts changed the viscosity of the oil in the struts without changing the design of the strut, so its seeping out when it shouldn't. To me, that sounds a bit odd, but we can throw that on the stack of reasons we've heard for the problem.

 

[bozgto]

Hi,
I just got this info off another GTO forum. Hope it helps.arty:

Document ID# 1848873

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Subject: Front Strut or Struts Leaking Oil - #PIC4141 - (07/20/2006)

Models: 2006 Pontiac GTO

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

Condition/Concern:
Front strut or struts leaking oil.

Recommendation/Instructions:
On the 2006 GTO the oil in the front struts was changed to a lighter weight oil. This change may cause the front struts to leak after only a few thousand miles. The oil in the struts was changed back to the original weight oil on May 5, 2006 both in production and for service. If a strut or struts are leaking replace the leaking strut(s) with current GMSPO stock. All old GMSPO stock with the lightweight oil has been purged.

Please follow this diagnostic or repair process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed.



GM bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, NOT a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See your GM dealer for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.
WE SUPPORT VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION


© Copyright General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

 

[BILL06VA]

Anyone who has had this repaired under warranty, post up. My dealer/parts mgr. told me 5-7 days due to an availabilty problem with the P/N 92158550 strut. According to the parts dept. there are only 10 available nationwide and he has a request in for 1 of them. It would be really good of GM to let me supply a better quality replacement strut and still treat it as a warranty claim but as a former Honda service mgr. I suspect this will not happen due to liability concerns. Will keep you guys posted.

I am having the same problem, front right strut is blown and it has been a week with no part to be found. I was driving and thought I had a flat, went under the car and saw that the right strut was leaking, in addition the vertical stabilizer was pressed against the bottom of the strut. Dropped the car off a week ago at the local dealer and since then they have had a "nationwide search" for a new strut, I can not believe it is taking this long. I got the same reply when I asked that both be replaced "GM would not allow". In addition they are not sure that an alignment is necessary. Incidentally, my car was built in Feb 06, amazing that most strut issues are tied to this month.

 

[AUsomTiger]

Just got both front struts replaced under warranty today. Parts were ordered on or about 7/6 and arrived on 7/25. My service manager showed me the same bulletin that bozgto posted. He said mine was the first one locally to have the repair done.

I hear you can get a GMM Ripshifter shipped from Australia to your door in 7-10 days. I wonder why GM can't get a shipment of parts just as fast? Maybe a big box of struts has to come by sea.