2006 G6 GTP Conv - Steering Groaning and Popping

12722 Views 24 Replies 9 Participants Last post by legalcat, Aug 15, 2008

legalcat

Discussion Starter · Jul 15, 2008

Hi everyone...

I am hoping for some advice...

Ever since Ive had the car it has made some noise, groaning when I make a tight turn like in a parking garage etc... lately it has also started making some popping noises when I make a tight turn... The noise is only occasional and to be honest the performance of the car is fine except for this noise... it happens rarely and so I havent brought it in to get checked out...

On Saturday I had the car at the dealership getting an oil change, when I picked it up the guy pulled me aside and said "why didnt you tell me about all the noise the car is making???" and I was like, OH, the steering, sure, it makes that noise since I had the car, but not all the time, so when I brought it in, I didnt even think of it... so he says "You need to bring the car back in, I think it is the power steering pump... since its not a safety issue, I couldnt call yu and ask you if you wanted me to check it, we arent allowed to make suggestions of warranty work unless you specifically ask about it..." so he tells me to bring the car in on Monday (yesterday) and act like he didnt say anything and that I was just bringing the car in on my own to report the noise so he wouldnt get in trouble... he says their policy is that they dont tell you about problems that are warranty covered unless the problem is a life and death kind of problem... oook...

SO... i take the car in yesterday, again he tells me he is sure its the pump so they will have the car for two days probably... so now I just get a call and he says... the pump is fine, everything looks fine, the fluid level is fine... the car is not making any noise... so he suggests a synthetic fluid flush at the cost of $130 to me...

I'm no mechanic but I feel like I'm getting shafted... can the groaning when turning be caused by something else? and the popping? Is it possible its a drive train issue or something? Im not car smart at all.. but the car IS under warranty (20,500 miles) and maybe they see something else but as he said before,they arent going to tell me unless I specifically ask...

Is there anything specific I should request that they look at?

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geewhiz

· #2 · Jul 15, 2008

legalcat said:
Hi everyone...

Is there anything specific I should request that they look at?

Yeah, their conscience and the definition of integrity. Have them look hard at that. Your car may get fixed.
I don't trust dealer service shops. If I were you I would have a known and respected repair shop look at your car. The moaning could be anything from your tires to a bad alternator.

legalcat

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 15, 2008

I know! This dealership used to be independently owned when i bought the car, they would know your name before you said anything and they knew which car you had etc.. they even knew which car my husband had and would ask about his car etc... they were great.. then last year it got taken over by a bigger company... the first time I went there I had to spell my last name 4 times and its not that hard... ugh... now i feel like i'm the one getting shafted for sure...

legalcat

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 15, 2008

Obviously I'm well within warranty.. could I take my car to an independent mechanic, have them give it a full full look at, and then take their report to the dealership and have them perform the work under the warranty? I assume if an independent mechanic does it the warranty wont cover it...

geewhiz

· #5 · Jul 15, 2008 (Edited)

I believe the dealer will not value any independent estimate or report. Is there a different dealer to go to?

Edit

Something else to consider, is having the problem solved under warranty worth the BS?

You could take your car to a dependable shop and have them fix it for a few bucks. (?) Or have the dealer lollygag around with your time till they get it right. What is worth more to you?

To me, a warranty is nice to have for a major problem but I would not let a dealership piss me off because they don't want to make minimal profit on my "warranty" job. Put it on a scale and decide what suits you best.

legalcat

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 15, 2008

Well that obviously depends on what the extent of the problem is... i mean if we are talking about a few hundred bucks then getting it done right the first time is more important than getting it done for "free"... but if its a more extensive issue, then i would expect them to take care of it... there isnt another dealership in my area, luckily this one is very close to my house and I have a backup car I can use...

geewhiz

· #7 · Jul 15, 2008

legalcat said:
luckily this one is very close to my house and I have a backup car I can use...

Thats good, then it would be worth it to have them do it right under the warranty.

Gunia

· #8 · Jul 16, 2008

I thought all the 2006 cars had the electronic assist power steering. Maybe the GTP was an exception and has the hydraulic power steering.

Fusion

· #9 · Jul 16, 2008

I'm not exactly sure, but i think they switched to hydraulic at some point because of electronic assist cut out issues.

DM7j1318

· #10 · Jul 17, 2008

Poping noise

I just wanted to add to the topic I have an 06 GTP that was doing the same thing the dealer told me it was a recall or something with the steering shaft and they had to adjust it. That took care of the problem so you might want to check and see if thats you problem as well.

legalcat

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 25, 2008

hi everyone... ok so a week or so ago they had my car for three days... they couldnt find anything wrong with it then tried to talk me into doing a $130 power steering flush "just in case"... I declined... ok so they acted like I was making the noise up, even though THEY told me they heard the noise and told me to bring it in...

anyway... last night on the way home the car started making the noise again, its basically a loud groaning noise every time i turn the steering wheel.. especially to the left... so we finally realized that the car only makes the noise at low speeds and when the car is hot... so it makes no noise when i am leaving for work in the morning but 45 minutes later when i get to work its making a lot of noise...

ok so with that in mind i left work early and drove directly to the dealership... let me skip over how rudely i was treated but finally we got a mechanic to actually come out and see the car... it as the same machanic that worked on the car last week...he was positively giddy to see that the car was actually making the reported noise, immediately took it to the back and put it up on the lift and came back a few minutes later and said that the tie rod is defective (??) and they have to replace it and the carw ill be ready inthe morning... so i will see what happens

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geewhiz

· #12 · Jul 25, 2008

Let us know!

Fusion

· #13 · Jul 25, 2008

Hope to hear that your problem is solved.

legalcat

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 26, 2008

Update

OK so on Thursday is when the mechanic looked at it and said it was clear it was a bad tie rod end and it would be fixed by Friday morning...

ok so by 3 pm on Friday i havent heard a peep so I call them... now I speak with the service guy alex who is the guy who on the first day said he heard the noise and told me to bring it back....

OK so he starts by telling me they cant hear the noise... im like... what... the other servic guy Eddie heard the noise AND the mechanic heard it and even said he found the problem.. so he says, oh yeah well they replaced the tie rod end but i personally dont think that was the cause of the noise, but the car isnt making the noise now so we have to keep the car until we get it to make the noise again so we can see what the real problem is.... WHAT????
so now the service front end guy is saying the mechanic doesnt know what hes talking about??? but the noise stopped but yet the mechanic was wrong?? huh???

so so they still have my car lol

legalcat

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jul 28, 2008

ok so on Saturday they basically told my husband that the reason they are keeping my car is that they do not think the tie rod was the problem and they basically want to prove the mechanic wrong... so, even though the car stopped making the noise after the tie rod was replaced, they think the mechanic was wrong and they insist that it wasnt the problem... so on Saturday they gave me a loaner car, a brand new (less than 50 miles on it) Saturn Aura... so...right now i'm not minding as much lol cuz at least I have a car to drive and its a decent car... and it still has that new car smell... but now it seems like my car is in the middle of an office drama issue, LOL

Fusion

· #16 · Jul 28, 2008

That is bad customer service, unless there is something beneath the surface that they are hiding. Atleast you get a free car out of it!

geewhiz

· #17 · Jul 28, 2008

Fusion said:
That is bad customer service, unless there is something beneath the surface that they are hiding. Atleast you get a free car out of it!

FISHY!
You may want to give your car a goooooood look before you drive it off. Almost sound like a fender bender at the shop.

Fusion

· #18 · Jul 28, 2008

That happened with my in-laws car when they were buying it brand new (fender bender). They made the dealership get them a new car, and upgrade the wheels to chrome for their inconvience. Gotta work the system!

legalcat

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jul 29, 2008

Yeah its very bizarre... well i looked at the car on Saturday when I picked up the loaner, they just had it parked in the regular lot where they park it when they are done working on it... anyway it looked fine, I didnt see anything to indicate they had damaged it or anything... I havent heard from them yet but honestly I'm not pushing it right now cuz the car they gave me gets much better gas mileage so I figure I'll enjoy it while I can, its nice to be driving around in a brand new car, lol

jabbott

· #20 · Jul 30, 2008

RE: Popping Noise

Not sure about the groaning sound, but I have a 2006 G6 GTP Coupe and it's making the popping noise; I can hear it and feel it in the steering when making a slow left or right turn. I attempted to research the problem myself (so I didn’t step into the same trap you fell into), and found that the tie-rod is not the problem; ask them to check your rack and pinion. The rack and pinion on the 06 G6’s is hydraulic; consequently, a little more expensive ($300-$500). From what I understand, after the rack and the pinion are both replaced, the popping will go away. I am soon to send my baby off to the dealer to get this fixed before the factory warranty runs out. Hope this helps; let us all know how it goes.

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