This week vin #126 went in for a check engine light issue that had existed for over 2 months. The car was running fine and since I use the engine so little it was not a priority.
I took it to Fox Chevrolet in Baltimore. I had one other service experience 8 months ago that was uneventful. This experience; however, took a different twist. The repair of the check engine light required the replacement of the EMC (referred to as the Powertrain Control Module; its odd that that acronym does not match). After installing the new unit, the check engine light was still on; however, a software update cleared up the issue. This was a 4 day event.
I picked up the Volt this morning filled with optimism that the $22. in gas I had spent on the GM provided rental was the worse part of the experience. When I returned to the office to plug in my Clipper Creek 240V charger (that I had learned about on this forum) it was missing. I searched the car twice, but the charger was AWOL. I did not think that it was stolen since its $1000 purchase price would appeal to a very limited and more importantly an unknowing market.
I returned to the dealer and spoke to the service manager who immediately inquired as to the tech that had worked on the car. In a few minutes, Jessie the tech, appeared and told that he had to “confiscate all the chargers in the car since they were under a GM recall”. He then informed me that all recalled items were “destroyed” before returning them their earthly remains to GM. I attempted to educate Jessie that the Clipper Creek charger was an after market unit that GM bore no responsibility. That fact did not sink in immediately, until I turned to the previously silent service manager and educated him that the Clipper unit value was $1,000. The manager then instructed Jessie to see what they could find of the Clipper Creek unit. Five minutes passed and they emerged with a plastic bag containing the remains of the Clipper unit. After a quick look at the remains, the unit was intact except for the 240V plug that was severed from the unit. Fortunately, Jessie was not all that through in his following orders to “destroy” recalled items before returning them to GM.
After 15 minutes back at the office I had reattached the plug to the remaining portion of the Clipper unit and it was back on-line providing 240V power to the Volt.
It will be a long time before I take the Volt to any dealer for “non-essential” repairs. It’s a reminder that blind obedience to instructions from superiors is a dangerous mindset.
I took it to Fox Chevrolet in Baltimore. I had one other service experience 8 months ago that was uneventful. This experience; however, took a different twist. The repair of the check engine light required the replacement of the EMC (referred to as the Powertrain Control Module; its odd that that acronym does not match). After installing the new unit, the check engine light was still on; however, a software update cleared up the issue. This was a 4 day event.
I picked up the Volt this morning filled with optimism that the $22. in gas I had spent on the GM provided rental was the worse part of the experience. When I returned to the office to plug in my Clipper Creek 240V charger (that I had learned about on this forum) it was missing. I searched the car twice, but the charger was AWOL. I did not think that it was stolen since its $1000 purchase price would appeal to a very limited and more importantly an unknowing market.
I returned to the dealer and spoke to the service manager who immediately inquired as to the tech that had worked on the car. In a few minutes, Jessie the tech, appeared and told that he had to “confiscate all the chargers in the car since they were under a GM recall”. He then informed me that all recalled items were “destroyed” before returning them their earthly remains to GM. I attempted to educate Jessie that the Clipper Creek charger was an after market unit that GM bore no responsibility. That fact did not sink in immediately, until I turned to the previously silent service manager and educated him that the Clipper unit value was $1,000. The manager then instructed Jessie to see what they could find of the Clipper Creek unit. Five minutes passed and they emerged with a plastic bag containing the remains of the Clipper unit. After a quick look at the remains, the unit was intact except for the 240V plug that was severed from the unit. Fortunately, Jessie was not all that through in his following orders to “destroy” recalled items before returning them to GM.
After 15 minutes back at the office I had reattached the plug to the remaining portion of the Clipper unit and it was back on-line providing 240V power to the Volt.
It will be a long time before I take the Volt to any dealer for “non-essential” repairs. It’s a reminder that blind obedience to instructions from superiors is a dangerous mindset.
