Losing Confidence in my ZL1

carbonguy · 03-15-2019, 05:01 PM

I've only posted a couple of times on this forum, and those posts were about my oil pump failure in my 018 while driving about 2mph in my driveway. Now a similar situation......

I get the oil changed on Tuesday at my dealer and drive the car a bit, maybe about 25 miles. All is well. On Wednesday, I take the car for a drive. Less than 10 miles in, my engine light comes on and I get a "Reduced Power" warning.

I call my service advisor and drive straight to the dealer. Nothing unusual driving the car but I'm very light on the throttle. They check out the code(s) and clear them, saying that they had to do with an oil sensor. They tell me go drive it so I drive away and the same thing happens, so back to the dealer.

After talking with techs at GM, they tell me that the oil sensor, oil pump, and some harness needs to be replaced! My ZL1 has just over 6000 miles.

I should get the car back by the middle of next week, but seriously, I'm not going to have a warm and fuzzy feeling about my ZL1 after these 2 incidents and having the engine partially disassembled twice.

I'm told that the oil change is completely unrelated to my problem (oil level was correct) but the timing strikes me as suspicious. But I can't imagine how an oil change could cause such a problem.

So now I'm wondering if my engine is a lemon and what to do next.

BDivine76 · 03-15-2019, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carbonguy

I've only posted a couple of times on this forum, and those posts were about my oil pump failure in my 018 while driving about 2mph in my driveway. Now a similar situation......

I get the oil changed on Tuesday at my dealer and drive the car a bit, maybe about 25 miles. All is well. On Wednesday, I take the car for a drive. Less than 10 miles in, my engine light comes on and I get a "Reduced Power" warning.

I call my service advisor and drive straight to the dealer. Nothing unusual driving the car but I'm very light on the throttle. They check out the code(s) and clear them, saying that they had to do with an oil sensor. They tell me go drive it so I drive away and the same thing happens, so back to the dealer.

After talking with techs at GM, they tell me that the oil sensor, oil pump, and some harness needs to be replaced! My ZL1 has just over 6000 miles.

I should get the car back by the middle of next week, but seriously, I'm not going to have a warm and fuzzy feeling about my ZL1 after these 2 incidents and having the engine partially disassembled twice.

I'm told that the oil change is completely unrelated to my problem (oil level was correct) but the timing strikes me as suspicious. But I can't imagine how an oil change could cause such a problem.

So now I'm wondering if my engine is a lemon and what to do next.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I also have an '18 that so far has been rock solid. I did however have a 2018 BMW that had electrical problems - the part that sounds familiar is they started replacing engine wiring harnesses. They never did get it sorted and the car was returned under lemon law. I had the car less than one year and it spent almost 2 months in the shop. I bought it brand new- straight from the cargo ship to me. My hope is you don't end up chasing electrical gremlins like I did...it's not fun. Best of luck to you, hopefully this service will do the trick.

DevilsReject97 · 03-15-2019, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carbonguy

I've only posted a couple of times on this forum, and those posts were about my oil pump failure in my 018 while driving about 2mph in my driveway. Now a similar situation......

I get the oil changed on Tuesday at my dealer and drive the car a bit, maybe about 25 miles. All is well. On Wednesday, I take the car for a drive. Less than 10 miles in, my engine light comes on and I get a "Reduced Power" warning.

I call my service advisor and drive straight to the dealer. Nothing unusual driving the car but I'm very light on the throttle. They check out the code(s) and clear them, saying that they had to do with an oil sensor. They tell me go drive it so I drive away and the same thing happens, so back to the dealer.

After talking with techs at GM, they tell me that the oil sensor, oil pump, and some harness needs to be replaced! My ZL1 has just over 6000 miles.

I should get the car back by the middle of next week, but seriously, I'm not going to have a warm and fuzzy feeling about my ZL1 after these 2 incidents and having the engine partially disassembled twice.

I'm told that the oil change is completely unrelated to my problem (oil level was correct) but the timing strikes me as suspicious. But I can't imagine how an oil change could cause such a problem.

So now I'm wondering if my engine is a lemon and what to do next.

I had the oil pump failure as well.... but I also had a supercharger blow off valve failure and a full ECU failure/replacement....all before 6k miles...

However, since that time...the car has been nothing but perfect and had no issues. Sometimes these things happen... My 5th gen had one issue the whole time... a defective window motor...

PROMETHEUS · 03-15-2019, 07:50 PM

Just keep an ongoing record of these events. Don't rely on GM to provide that information to you, if you do proceed with a lemon law return.

Fatty1707 · 03-15-2019, 08:11 PM

Trade it in. If the Dealer touches it, they will break something else.

DangerZL1 · 03-15-2019, 08:37 PM

Sorry to hear your car failed again and I can certainly understand your loss of confidence in the car. At least they know what’s wrong and know how to repair it. Hopefully it be repaired right and you won’t have any more trouble. It is strange that it had the same failure before. There is hope since few others are having the same problem.

nighttowl · 03-16-2019, 05:24 PM

I would give them one more chance to fix it. Its important to state to the manager when you drop it off that you are dissapointed in the vehicle, and that you suspect the car is a lemon. this way they will take it much more seriously.

If it messes up again then lemon law it unless they offer to take it back.

you need to show a history that the vehicle has had many recurring documented issues and was bought new.

The owner of the company I work for has lemon lawed nearly every car he has ever owned. a while back he bought a CTSV as a company vehicle and lemon lawed it with 30k miles with nothing wrong with it. GM gave him back almost all the money for the car.

And yes - the company paid for it - and GM sent him a check written in his name not the company that the payments were made in - tax free...
Gotta love america!

LS3 Machine · 03-17-2019, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nighttowl

I would give them one more chance to fix it. Its important to state to the manager when you drop it off that you are dissapointed in the vehicle, and that you suspect the car is a lemon. this way they will take it much more seriously.

If it messes up again then lemon law it unless they offer to take it back.

you need to show a history that the vehicle has had many recurring documented issues and was bought new.

The owner of the company I work for has lemon lawed nearly every car he has ever owned. a while back he bought a CTSV as a company vehicle and lemon lawed it with 30k miles with nothing wrong with it. GM gave him back almost all the money for the car.

And yes - the company paid for it - and GM sent him a check written in his name not the company that the payments were made in - tax free...
Gotta love america!

You just described a friend that scammed GM. And said “gotta love america”?? wTF dude? Scamming is ok?

nighttowl · 03-17-2019, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LS3 Machine

You just described a friend that scammed GM. And said “gotta love america”?? wTF dude? Scamming is ok?

It was sarcasm - I think its complete bs and I wish he would have gotten busted and had his a$$ handed to him.

same guy lemoned a lexus, bmw, SS tarilblazer, GTO, CTSV. hes working on a Z06 now...

carbonguy · 03-24-2019, 03:04 PM

Update: Got my ZL1 back last week. I must say, it runs as strongly as ever.

I reading my paperwork, a new oil pump, oil pressure control solenoid (which may be part of the oil pump (?)), and a wiring harness was replaced all per instructions from "GMTAC"

I'm told I have better oil pressure than before the repair.

I'm also told GM want my old parts for analysis.

As an aside, I didn't realize this repair necessitated coolant draining and replacing. So I've had the coolant replaced twice in just under 6000 miles.

Absolutely no oil or coolant leaks so everything seems fine. Till the next time.....

Got my fingers crossed.

19Nasty1le · 03-24-2019, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carbonguy

Update: Got my ZL1 back last week. I must say, it runs as strongly as ever.

I reading my paperwork, a new oil pump, oil pressure control solenoid (which may be part of the oil pump (?)), and a wiring harness was replaced all per instructions from "GMTAC"

I'm told I have better oil pressure than before the repair.

I'm also told GM want my old parts for analysis.

As an aside, I didn't realize this repair necessitated coolant draining and replacing. So I've had the coolant replaced twice in just under 6000 miles.

Absolutely no oil or coolant leaks so everything seems fine. Till the next time.....

Got my fingers crossed.

I’d push for having the warranty extended to cover those 6000miles after new parts requested by GM themself just safe measure, also reinstates you aren’t happy or playing around with the fact of failures

sleepy floyd · 03-27-2019, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nighttowl

It was sarcasm - I think its complete bs and I wish he would have gotten busted and had his a$$ handed to him.

same guy lemoned a lexus, bmw, SS tarilblazer, GTO, CTSV. hes working on a Z06 now...

I was looking at a 2017 GT350 with 2k miles for $45k. Dealer told me it's a buy-back --- when I asked the issue, he said the complaint was gas mileage. He sent me the documented paperwork that showed the official complaint, sure enough someone was able to turn it in based on a gas mileage complaint. I have actually bought a buyback car (truck) in the past, bought my 2007 Yukon Denali XL used in late 2007 for a huge discount because it had "faulty" power running boards. 12 years later I still have the truck and running boards work fine.

DangerZL1 · 03-27-2019, 06:51 PM

I’ve heard of buybacks for unusual reasons, but the average person who has real unreleased problems usually goes through an ordeal to get a buyback.

striker1le · 03-27-2019, 09:44 PM

Glad your car is doing great again.
I had a very similar situation happen to me with my '13 1LE. Repeated oil pump failures that led to damage to engine internals. All started at 66k miles. Warranty saved my pocket and gave a brand new engine when the car was at 72k miles.
Adding to these series of unfortunate events, the new engine although ran strong presented with a new kind of problem which the dealer was not able to find out.

Took matters with GM directly. And couple weeks later, GM offered to buy back the vehicle under CA lemon law. Sold it and got a '17 ZL1 recently.

So, if the issue shows up again, take it up with GM directly.
With a new car like yours, you'll get the full money back (at least under CA lemon law)

03-15-2019, 05:01 PM	#1
carbonguy Drives: 2018 ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Virginia Posts: 8	Losing Confidence in my ZL1 I've only posted a couple of times on this forum, and those posts were about my oil pump failure in my 018 while driving about 2mph in my driveway. Now a similar situation...... I get the oil changed on Tuesday at my dealer and drive the car a bit, maybe about 25 miles. All is well. On Wednesday, I take the car for a drive. Less than 10 miles in, my engine light comes on and I get a "Reduced Power" warning. I call my service advisor and drive straight to the dealer. Nothing unusual driving the car but I'm very light on the throttle. They check out the code(s) and clear them, saying that they had to do with an oil sensor. They tell me go drive it so I drive away and the same thing happens, so back to the dealer. After talking with techs at GM, they tell me that the oil sensor, oil pump, and some harness needs to be replaced! My ZL1 has just over 6000 miles. I should get the car back by the middle of next week, but seriously, I'm not going to have a warm and fuzzy feeling about my ZL1 after these 2 incidents and having the engine partially disassembled twice. I'm told that the oil change is completely unrelated to my problem (oil level was correct) but the timing strikes me as suspicious. But I can't imagine how an oil change could cause such a problem. So now I'm wondering if my engine is a lemon and what to do next.

03-16-2019, 05:24 PM	#7
nighttowl Sarcasm loading -------- Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: TX Posts: 1,806 View My Garage	I would give them one more chance to fix it. Its important to state to the manager when you drop it off that you are dissapointed in the vehicle, and that you suspect the car is a lemon. this way they will take it much more seriously. If it messes up again then lemon law it unless they offer to take it back. you need to show a history that the vehicle has had many recurring documented issues and was bought new. The owner of the company I work for has lemon lawed nearly every car he has ever owned. a while back he bought a CTSV as a company vehicle and lemon lawed it with 30k miles with nothing wrong with it. GM gave him back almost all the money for the car. And yes - the company paid for it - and GM sent him a check written in his name not the company that the payments were made in - tax free... Gotta love america! __________________ "The salesman actually told me to stop getting it sideways during the test drive" 2018 MBM ZL1 1LE - Stock 2014 CRT ZL1 574 rwhp, 537 rwtq - SOLD 2010 IBM SS Camaro VVT L99 w/ TR6060 swap, 489 rwhp, 444 rwtq - SOLD

03-15-2019, 07:50 PM	#4
PROMETHEUS Drives: 2019 ZL-1, Shadow Gray, Sold Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 1,390	Just keep an ongoing record of these events. Don't rely on GM to provide that information to you, if you do proceed with a lemon law return.

03-15-2019, 08:11 PM	#5
Fatty1707 Drives: 2019 ZL1 A10 Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 100	Trade it in. If the Dealer touches it, they will break something else.

03-15-2019, 08:37 PM	#6
DangerZL1 Drives: 2023 Black ZL1 Auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: FEMA Region 4 Posts: 2,935	Sorry to hear your car failed again and I can certainly understand your loss of confidence in the car. At least they know what’s wrong and know how to repair it. Hopefully it be repaired right and you won’t have any more trouble. It is strange that it had the same failure before. There is hope since few others are having the same problem.

03-24-2019, 03:04 PM	#10
carbonguy Drives: 2018 ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Virginia Posts: 8	Update: Got my ZL1 back last week. I must say, it runs as strongly as ever. I reading my paperwork, a new oil pump, oil pressure control solenoid (which may be part of the oil pump (?)), and a wiring harness was replaced all per instructions from "GMTAC" I'm told I have better oil pressure than before the repair. I'm also told GM want my old parts for analysis. As an aside, I didn't realize this repair necessitated coolant draining and replacing. So I've had the coolant replaced twice in just under 6000 miles. Absolutely no oil or coolant leaks so everything seems fine. Till the next time..... Got my fingers crossed.

03-27-2019, 06:51 PM	#13
DangerZL1 Drives: 2023 Black ZL1 Auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: FEMA Region 4 Posts: 2,935	I’ve heard of buybacks for unusual reasons, but the average person who has real unreleased problems usually goes through an ordeal to get a buyback.

03-27-2019, 09:44 PM	#14
striker1le Drives: '17 M6 ZL1 Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SF Bay area Posts: 47	Glad your car is doing great again. I had a very similar situation happen to me with my '13 1LE. Repeated oil pump failures that led to damage to engine internals. All started at 66k miles. Warranty saved my pocket and gave a brand new engine when the car was at 72k miles. Adding to these series of unfortunate events, the new engine although ran strong presented with a new kind of problem which the dealer was not able to find out. Took matters with GM directly. And couple weeks later, GM offered to buy back the vehicle under CA lemon law. Sold it and got a '17 ZL1 recently. So, if the issue shows up again, take it up with GM directly. With a new car like yours, you'll get the full money back (at least under CA lemon law)

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