[slimjim2525]

This morning my Camaro alarm goes off for no reason. I lock the car with the key fob. I was outside when this happened and there was nobody trying to steal the car. I go to leave later with the car and a warning comes up and says the hood is open. I know it's not. I drive the car for 2 miles to the store. Come out and once again the car says hood is open. Call the dealer, and make an appointment for today. Go to leave to the dealer and the info center says, attempted theft of the car, and my check engine light is on. So right now it's at the dealer getting looked at. Car has 7,400 miles on it.

[Nothing like an SS]

Is your battery charged and in good shape? I ask, as a few years back, one of my Montes was acting "buggy", random lights, horn beep, that kind of thing.It turned out the battery was slowly dying and the voltage was causing the control module to wig out. After replacing battery, then it started again, the module got fried when AAA jumped it!

Voltage change will make control modules do strange things....

[slimjim2525]

My voltage meter quite often reads 11 or 12. Then the next time it reads 16 or 17. Is that normal?

[Nothing like an SS]

Originally Posted by slimjim2525

My voltage meter quite often reads 11 or 12. Then the next time it reads 16 or 17. Is that normal?

Unfortunately I have not received my new Camaro yet, so not sure what is normal.

I am sure one the many very knowledgeable folks here will jump in with more help for you!

Just buggy things usually point to a control module, either already damaged or seeing voltage spikes/drops which lead to it not functioning correctly.

[easttxss]

Originally Posted by slimjim2525

My voltage meter quite often reads 11 or 12. Then the next time it reads 16 or 17. Is that normal?

Yes, that is normal with these new computer controlled charging systems. The computer lets the battery go through drain/charge cycles.

[Racerman27410]

Its a great idea to have a trickle charger that is designed for AGM batteries... it takes longer than you might think to charge a battery when driving..... and if left sitting the cars systems will drain a battery faster than you might think. Dang modern cars.

I'm thinking either faulty hood latch sensor or battery..... but since you also got a check engine light i'm going with battery as my final answer. the car does NOT like low battery charge. :-)

[2017Darkness]

It's more than likely a bad hood latch. The sensor is built into the latch as a theft/safety device and they do go bad every once in a while. See it more on full size truck and SUV's.

[slimjim2525]

Well they said it was a faulty hood latch sensor. However they have to order it, it will take a week. Drove the car home around 15 miles, and the open hood warning came up five times. When I got the car home, and parked, the alarm went off four times in 14 minutes. I brought it back to them, and they will keep the car at the dealer until its fixed. What a PITA.

[slimjim2525]

Originally Posted by 2017Darkness

It's more than likely a bad hood latch. The sensor is built into the latch as a theft/safety device and they do go bad every once in a while. See it more on full size truck and SUV's.

Yes, they said they see this in full size trucks more often.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by 2017Darkness

It's more than likely a bad hood latch.

DING, DING, DING! WE HAVE A WINNER!
Good call.

[DD goat]

I had the same thing on my Sierra...hood latch!

[slimjim2525]

Well, I got my car back today, and one little problem, I hope you can help with. I get in the car, and notice immediately that the engine is warm and verified by the temp gauge. I thought, hmmm, that's weird. I pull out of the lot and get on the gas and the car goes right into performance shift mode, and hear the exhaust is louder than usual and hear like a hat shield rattle type noise, and I'm like WTF. So I look at the odometer and the paperwork, and notice there are 24 miles extra on the car. I look in the back seat, and notice my rear seat is down, and I'm looking into the trunk. I was like, you MF'ers, someone took my car for a joy ride, and wanted to hear the exhaust, so they put the rear seat down. I drove it home and right away called the service manager. She says she will look into it, and just called me back. Of course she swears no one drove my car, perhaps they wrote down the wrong mileage, etc etc. I say, then how do you explain the car immediately went into performance shift mode with only half throttle, the rear seat being down, and the engine was warm when I got it. I told her I looked at the mileage when I dropped it off, and what they wrote on the invoice was in fact correct. She still stated that nobody drove the car. What is my next recourse? I'm thinking of calling GM customer service. Anything else?

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by slimjim2525

Well, I got my car back today, and one little problem, I hope you can help with. I get in the car, and notice immediately that the engine is warm and verified by the temp gauge. I thought, hmmm, that's weird. I pull out of the lot and get on the gas and the car goes right into performance shift mode, and hear the exhaust is louder than usual and hear like a hat shield rattle type noise, and I'm like WTF. So I look at the odometer and the paperwork, and notice there are 24 miles extra on the car. I look in the back seat, and notice my rear seat is down, and I'm looking into the trunk. I was like, you MF'ers, someone took my car for a joy ride, and wanted to hear the exhaust, so they put the rear seat down. I drove it home and right away called the service manager. She says she will look into it, and just called me back. Of course she swears no one drove my car, perhaps the wrote down the wrong mileage, etc etc. I say, then how do you explain the car immediately went into performance shift mode with only half throttle, the rear seat being down, and the engine was warm when I got it. I told her I looked at the mileage when I dropped it off, and what they wrote on the invoice was in fact correct. She still stated that nobody drove the car. What is my next recourse? I'm thinking of calling GM customer service. Anything else?

At this point it seems you have a classic 'he said, she said' situation with no proven damage to the car. However, there are a few steps you can take:

- call OnStar and ask for vehicle movement records for today, explaining your suspicion, so that you have actual proof on your hands

- return to the dealership and try to speak to their general manager, stay calm and factual and let them know how disappointed you are with the way they treated your car, hopefully they won't want to lose any of their Corvette service business over social media exposure

- reach out to GM customer service (I've never done that myself, not sure how much it'll help, as dealerships are standalone legal entities)

- get a proper dashcam with parking mode support and set it to record to the cloud so next time you have your own means of documenting affairs like this

- tell the dealership to fix the newly "installed" rattle and any other problems you might find (paint chips, interior scuffs etc.)

I for one wouldn't let this to escalate to threats or litigation, in my experience it's always better to try and be reasonable first. After all, although what they did is completely unacceptable, they didn't cause severe damage to the car, if I understand you correctly.

[slimjim2525]

The exhaust was louder because the rear seat was down. As soon as I closed the rear seat, it was back to normal. They did not at all damage the car, IMO took it for a joy ride, opened the rear seat so they could hear the exhaust better. Why the hell would you open the rear seat if you're replacing the hood latch? I called GM customer service and told them the situation. They were apologetic, and said they would reach out to senior management of the dealer, and also the regional GM manager. They offered me a 400 dollar service voucher, but I told them I'm not looking for anything, I was just making them aware of the situation, so they could look into it. Will look into the Onstar thing, but wouldn't the dealer look into that to see if the car moved, and then if it had not moved, they would have evidence to refute my claim.