I have a 2002 35th Anniversary SS Vert with all the SLP options including the Auburn Performance Differential. The following is my nightmare saga with the damn Auburn:
1.) At 3000 miles the differential was chattering excessively and Brown and Brown Chevrolet in Mesa, AZ ended up rebuilding it. 2.) Several thousand miles later the differential was leaking oil so I brought the car to Chapman Chevrolet in Chandler, AZ where they proceeded to repair the leak and then upon finishing they torqued it improperly leading to a blowout when I got a block away from the dealership. They then repaired the blownout differential and proceeded to torque it improperly again so when the service manager was bringing the car out to me at my work it blew out again and needed to be towed back to the shop. They then repaired it yet another time; finally doing it properly(or so I thought). They admitted everything to which I have documentation. 3.) Several thousand miles later the differential started chattering excessively again. After reading a thread on the SLP SS Forum(that used to exist); I became aware that the SLP Auburn does not use synthetic oil(this is also in the SLP owners manual). I was curious so I checked my service receipts and to my surprise, each time the differential had been worked on they used the wrong fluids. At that point I contacted Dave Hamburger at SLP who verified that the Auburn uses Dino oil and that using the synthetic would lead to premature wear and blow out the differential again. He stated that the dealer should replace the differential. To make a long story short, GM refused to replace the differential and the GM rep simply had a different dealership flush the differential and put the correct fluids in it. 4.) Now several thousand miles later the differential is leaking agian. I have been dealing with the GM rep for the past 2 months and he refuses to replace the differential stating that it is fine with synthetics; even though the owners manual and Dave Hamburger from SLP state otherwise. I have e-mailed Scott Settlemire whom I met personally over a year ago but have not gotten a response.
The bottom line is I have a car that was over $40,000 MSRP and I am stuck dealing with incompetent dealerships and people who want to put a bandaid on the problem instead of fixing it properly; just so they can save a few bucks. It is not like I am trying to get something for free; to be honest I could care less whether or not they replace the differential as long as I don’t have to keep bringing it back every few thousand miles to get repaired. However considering the owners manual says NOT to use synthetics and the company that GM contracts to put the part on the car says it needs to be replaced if it has run 20,000 miles with synthetics; then I don’t think it us unreasonable to have it replaced. Does GM think that I enjoy visiting their dealerships every couple of months to get my car fixed? Do they really think in the long run they are saving money by continually having to repair this?
I honestly don’t have any idea how it is good customer service to treat people like this. Between me and my wife, our last 6 cars have been Chevrolet(4 Camaros, 1 Lumina, and 1 Prizm). Is it any wonder that my wife’s latest vehicle is a Honda. Does GM honestly think that I am going to drop another $40,000 into a GM car and have to deal with bull**** like this again.
Where I come from, I was raised to take responsibility for your actions and when you screw up to accept the consequences and do whatever is needed to rectify. You don't impose your mistakes on others. In other words, when you put the wrong fluids in someones differential and following they end up having continual problems; you then replace the part and resolve the problem.
Posts: 24 | From: Phoenix, AZ | Registered: Jan 2004
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quote:Originally posted by FirstLast: Tuff luck. Keep up the documentation, and if it fails from leakage, you might win the battle.
Automatic trans are sensitive to synthetic. Very long post on SLP site before it went down. Must stay with factory fluid.
SLP convinced me to stay away from Auburn since wasn't buying it for the track. Glad for it now.
His trouble had nothing to do with it being a Auburn. I have had 5 torsens and 2 auburns and the auburns are the only ones I have not had trouble with also I like auto-x so the auburn is better for that. 60,000 hard miles on my auburn now and no leaks on trouble
-------------------- Willard (Mike) Scott Worldwide Camaro Club North Carolina state Rep. 2001 SS convertible with all SLP opts. Sunset Orange Neutral top Neutral leather http://community.webshots.com/user/wmss Posts: 737 | From: Siler City N.C. | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
First- I would ask- no mail a letter to- the GM rep to mail documentation addressing the synth in the Auburn. (Use registered mail, return receipt requested)If he wasn't ready to do that, I would consider small claims court.
Second- vote with your feet- buy where you want to! As far as dealerships, my belief is that a good many have their head where the sun doesn't shine . My experiences with my 2004 Volvo XC90 and that dealership haven't been exactly stellar, and this is for a vehicle that is almost $50K.
You probably need to find a dealership that you feel you want to work with, and see if they sell anything you want.
Another way is to purchase the vehicle you want at the cheapest possible price, and figure on doing most of the maintenance yourself, just taking to the dealership for the real hard or costly stuff.
-------------------- 2002 35th LE #3117 SS#6709 A4 SLP stuff: CAI, OEM Airbox, Smooth Bellow, Y-pipe, Bolt-On SFC, Driveshaft Loop, CME, 35th Grille Hotchkis Red STB, Power antenna, Power Slot rotors
1994 Corvette LT1 Coupe Polo Green II Camber Brace, Edelbrock IAS shocks Posts: 185 | From: Livermore, CA | Registered: Dec 2002
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. My experiences with my 2004 Volvo XC90 and that dealership haven't been exactly stellar, and this is for a vehicle that is almost $50K.
