# 2006 Strut Leak



## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

I thought I would start new thread in this forum for anyone with updates on this snafu. Please take the time to submit a formal complaint if this affects you. Thanks.


File report here http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

Anyone who has had this repaired under warranty, post up. My dealer/parts mgr. told me 5-7 days due to an availabilty problem with the P/N 92158550 strut. According to the parts dept. there are only 10 available nationwide and he has a request in for 1 of them. It would be really good of GM to let me supply a better quality replacement strut and still treat it as a warranty claim but as a former Honda service mgr. I suspect this will not happen due to liability concerns. Will keep you guys posted.


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## radioboy (Jun 21, 2006)

Dealer is replacing one front strut first thing in the morning. Took a week to get the part. Filed complaint with the NHTSA about the strut failure. I believe the car was delivered to me with a failed strut, since I noticed small amounts of fluid on the garage after just one day home from the dealership. I will also give my service department a printout of the strut compalints (which number around 30 so far) and I will tell them to inspect other suspension components for any problems.


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

My dealer is replacing both struts although I can only detect a leak in one side. Also I for got to mention that when I arrived at the dealer with TSB # 050308009 in hand the service advisor looked at it and first said whats this. Not sure he knew what a TSB was. He then asked me if I believed everything I read on the internet and went on to say that anyone can post anything they want. I then pointed out to him that this was from the NHTSA.DOT.GOV website. He didn't have much to say after that. Go figure.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

Well, add me to the list. Noticed a dime-size spot of oil on the garage floor yesterday as I was sweeping it out. I felt around the bottom of the strut, and sure enough, its leaking, mine is the driver's side front strut. 298 EASY miles on the car. Build date 02/06. I was hoping I would avoid this gremlin.

Now a couple important (and perhaps stupid) questions: 
Obviously a leaking strut is a bad thing, but do I need to park the car until I can get it replaced? Is this a critical safety issue where I shouldn't be driving the car?

When I get the strut replaced, do I need to get the front end realigned or get anything else checked out, or is this just a bolt-in repair (like replacing a shock) with no change to the front end alignment or geometry?

KB


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

kegbelly said:


> Well, add me to the list. Noticed a dime-size spot of oil on the garage floor yesterday as I was sweeping it out. I felt around the bottom of the strut, and sure enough, its leaking, mine is the driver's side front strut. 298 EASY miles on the car. Build date 02/06. I was hoping I would avoid this gremlin.
> 
> Now a couple important (and perhaps stupid) questions:
> Obviously a leaking strut is a bad thing, but do I need to park the car until I can get it replaced? Is this a critical safety issue where I shouldn't be driving the car?
> ...


The front end will need to be aligned and should be a standard practice for your service dept. Also don't forget to have them check the stock radius rod bushings for wear. One question you should ask is were the clevis bolts replaced . Why, they are also single use bolts and should be replaced at every alignment. Strut bearings may also need to be replaced so ask to check them as well. 

Gpr1200r


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

Gpr1200r, thanks for the info. Have an appointment Friday morning, we'll see what happens.

KB


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## GTR944 (Jun 6, 2006)

*John Hine Pontiac*

Well, I went to the dealer (John Hine Pontiac) to get my struts checked out and they will replace only the leaky strut(driverside). I have an appointment to go in on friday. I was not very impressed with the service advisor but I guess that as long as they fix my car thats all that matters.


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

View attachment 447


Gpr1200r said:


> My dealer is replacing both struts although I can only detect a leak in one side. Also I for got to mention that when I arrived at the dealer with TSB # 050308009 in hand the service advisor looked at it and first said whats this. Not sure he knew what a TSB was. He then asked me if I believed everything I read on the internet and went on to say that anyone can post anything they want. I then pointed out to him that this was from the NHTSA.DOT.GOV website. He didn't have much to say after that. Go figure.


Ok......just came back from the dealer after my warranty strut replacement. Was told that there was no need for an alignment as they drove it and it was ok. Seems to drive ok but was dissapointed that they did not even bother to clean all the strut oil from inside the wheel wells and the underside of car. The doc attached is what GM is giving the dealer to save him from doing the alignment.

Ok this an additional info posted on 7/15/2006. I was trying to figure out why I still had the same out of balance problem after my dealer warranty replacement of struts. At that time I told the service advisor about the out of balance condition. The RO shows a force balance but in reviewing my before and after pics it looks like they did not do sh**. WTF??? The car pic was taken about a week before the car went back for the warranty work and balance. The wheel pic was taken yesterday. Front left wheel is in question. Looks the same huh??? Oh yeah almost forgot...they put a nice scratch inside the right rear wheel about 1 in from the inside. I verified that they did in fact do a rear wheel balance but not front.


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

Back to the top.........


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

kegbelly said:


> Gpr1200r, thanks for the info. Have an appointment Friday morning, we'll see what happens.
> 
> KB


Thought I'd follow up on this...
I haven't noticed any more oil on the garage floor since that first spot. No strange noises or handling issues, no oil slinging on the wheel or undercarriage, so I'm still driving the car. Dealer agreed that the strut is leaking, though, and will replace it under warranty. The work order said "very slight oily residue on strut". A leak is a leak as far as I'm concerned, and I assume it will get worse with time. 7-10 days to get the part in. They will also check the alignment and do whatever is necessary. I also asked them about replacing the other strut at the same time, they said GM will not replace it until it actually fails, because chances are it may never fail. I can understand that. So I'm waiting on a call to let me know the part is in, and we'll take it from there.

KB


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## jjoakl (Jun 28, 2006)

Thanks you guys for posting on this subject. Had a couple teaspoons of oil under the driver side wheel well yesterday ('06 M6 - 900 mi.). Looked under the car and could see no oil from the engine, but the wheel well was caked with oil. I'm suspecting the strut. Taking it in to the dealer on Monday morning. Wish me luck. Since the part is on intergalactic backorder, I suppose the dealer will give me a loaner for the interim???


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

kegbelly said:


> Thought I'd follow up on this...
> I haven't noticed any more oil on the garage floor since that first spot. No strange noises or handling issues, no oil slinging on the wheel or undercarriage, so I'm still driving the car. Dealer agreed that the strut is leaking, though, and will replace it under warranty. The work order said "very slight oily residue on strut". A leak is a leak as far as I'm concerned, and I assume it will get worse with time. 7-10 days to get the part in. They will also check the alignment and do whatever is necessary. I also asked them about replacing the other strut at the same time, they said GM will not replace it until it actually fails, because chances are it may never fail. I can understand that. So I'm waiting on a call to let me know the part is in, and we'll take it from there.
> 
> KB


You are correct....a leak is a leak. Why do some service advisors/techs put coments on the RO as to suggest that it's really not a big deal. "Slight oily residue" come on guys (GM). This is a big deal to new owners who laid down serious cash for their GTO's. Yes I understand that it was probaly due to either a bad batch of struts or improper shipping. (Who knows....GM won't comment and dealers are only covering their as# by telling buyers they haven't heard of this problem). In any event...would it not be commom sense to replace both struts in light of the current situation? Oh yeah...my dealer gave a nice new loaner while mine were replaced. Good luck mi amigos.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

Not to take up for the service techs, but I guess they're supposed to try to accurately describe the problem or defect. Since mine didn't squirt oil in the tech's eye a la Herbie, maybe he considers it to be a minor leak. But yes, a leak by any other name is still a leak. If GM had sold 250,000 GTO's rather than 30,000+ or so, I bet there would be a lot more publicity about some of the common issues we're experiencing, and a recall would probably already be in the works for some of them.
On a related note, a guy I know at work bought a '06 Mustang GT about 3 months ago. He's already had a front strut replaced twice for making loud clunking noises, and if I remember right he said one of the struts had actually broken. He said it was a design flaw from the factory, and they were going to have to rebuild the whole front end when new (and I assume redesigned) parts came off the line. Not sure if he knows exactly what he's talking about in that respect, but at least he got a free set of stripes out of Ford for his time and aggravation. 

I can't get him to race me, though... I wonder why?  

KB


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

You are correct my friend.....the service advisors at major dealerships walk a fine line when they initiate an RO request for the service dept. Sort of like the guy/girl at your local ultrasound lab. They can see the problem but for liability reasons they are not paid to diagnose the problem. They are only the first line of contact at your local dealership and are only providing the service dept. with basic info based on their understanding of the customers complaint. There is a reason why dealerships seperate service advisors from the service dept. To keep the ordinary joe from knowing too much and to maximize profits.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

Another follow up...
My initial appointment was 7/14 to get the leaky strut checked, replacement strut was ordered that day, was told 7-10 days to get the part in. Been 12 days, no call from dealer. I called them today to see what's up, they told me that the part was indeed ordered on 7/14, they put a "spat"(or "stat"?..I didn't quite catch this word) order on it, meaning it was a highest priority order. After I pressed the service manager to give me more specific info, he called GM, then called me back and said there is an order with GM for 100 replacement struts that was placed on 7/17/06. He said apparently there must be a problem with the struts on the '06 GTOs. <Insert sarcastic laughter here>. He said since the parts are coming from Australia it would take about 6 weeks from the order date of 7/17 before the struts arrive at the PEC (?), and from there they will be distributed to the various dealers around the US to fill all the backorders. Sounded like a crock to me. GM ever heard of FedEx? I'm just glad I can still drive my car, otherwise I'd be raising all kinds of hell and demand another goat off the lot to drive while mine is waiting on parts.


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## LaPuzza (Jul 13, 2005)

I had my new April 2006 Goat in the shop for a replacement of a factory mis-install, and they just called and told me they noticed it needed new struts. I didn't have to ask or badger them, they just said they drove it and it was riding funny. 

I keep doing this, but I've got to give an A+ to Reagan Pontiac in Omaha. Lots of people seem to be having issues with getting this fixed, but these guys are treating this car like its their own, and I couldn't be more impressed.

EDIT: Also, the dealer explained to me what he understood was the reason for the leak. I guess the maker of the struts changed the viscosity of the oil in the struts without changing the design of the strut, so its seeping out when it shouldn't. To me, that sounds a bit odd, but we can throw that on the stack of reasons we've heard for the problem.


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## bozgto (Jul 22, 2006)

Hi,
I just got this info off another GTO forum. Hope it helps.arty: 

Document ID# 1848873

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Subject: Front Strut or Struts Leaking Oil - #PIC4141 - (07/20/2006)

Models: 2006 Pontiac GTO

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

Condition/Concern:
Front strut or struts leaking oil.

Recommendation/Instructions:
On the 2006 GTO the oil in the front struts was changed to a lighter weight oil. This change may cause the front struts to leak after only a few thousand miles. The oil in the struts was changed back to the original weight oil on May 5, 2006 both in production and for service. If a strut or struts are leaking replace the leaking strut(s) with current GMSPO stock. All old GMSPO stock with the lightweight oil has been purged.

Please follow this diagnostic or repair process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed.



GM bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, NOT a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions, and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, DO NOT assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See your GM dealer for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.
WE SUPPORT VOLUNTARY TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION


© Copyright General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved.


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## BILL06VA (Jul 1, 2006)

Gpr1200r said:


> Anyone who has had this repaired under warranty, post up. My dealer/parts mgr. told me 5-7 days due to an availabilty problem with the P/N 92158550 strut. According to the parts dept. there are only 10 available nationwide and he has a request in for 1 of them. It would be really good of GM to let me supply a better quality replacement strut and still treat it as a warranty claim but as a former Honda service mgr. I suspect this will not happen due to liability concerns. Will keep you guys posted.


I am having the same problem, front right strut is blown and it has been a week with no part to be found. I was driving and thought I had a flat, went under the car and saw that the right strut was leaking, in addition the vertical stabilizer was pressed against the bottom of the strut. Dropped the car off a week ago at the local dealer and since then they have had a "nationwide search" for a new strut, I can not believe it is taking this long. I got the same reply when I asked that both be replaced "GM would not allow". In addition they are not sure that an alignment is necessary. Incidentally, my car was built in Feb 06, amazing that most strut issues are tied to this month.


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## AUsomTiger (Jul 21, 2006)

Just got both front struts replaced under warranty today. Parts were ordered on or about 7/6 and arrived on 7/25. My service manager showed me the same bulletin that bozgto posted. He said mine was the first one locally to have the repair done.

I hear you can get a GMM Ripshifter shipped from Australia to your door in 7-10 days. I wonder why GM can't get a shipment of parts just as fast? Maybe a big box of struts has to come by sea.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

BILL06VA said:


> I am having the same problem, front right strut is blown and it has been a week with no part to be found. I was driving and thought I had a flat, went under the car and saw that the right strut was leaking, in addition the vertical stabilizer was pressed against the bottom of the strut. Dropped the car off a week ago at the local dealer and since then they have had a "nationwide search" for a new strut, I can not believe it is taking this long. I got the same reply when I asked that both be replaced "GM would not allow". In addition they are not sure that an alignment is necessary. Incidentally, my car was built in Feb 06, amazing that most strut issues are tied to this month.


Sure sounds like there was a bad batch of struts from the supplier that went into cars built in Feb. Why the change in viscosity? Was it error, or was GM trying to scrimp and save a buck? It would seem that it had to be a pretty significant change in viscosity for so many struts to fail, especially at such low mileage. 

Now suppose you have two struts with the lower viscosity oil: one fails and (eventually) gets replaced with a strut containing the correct heavier oil, the other doesn't leak (at least right away) and doesn't get replaced... now you have struts with two different weight oils in them...are they both going to react and handle the same? Is one strut going to be softer or spongier than the other? Is your car's handling going to be adversely affected? Or would it even be noticeable? 

There _should_ be a paper trail, either at GM or the supplier of the struts, identifying when the oil was changed, including beginning part numbers, lot numbers, or the specific production run dates, and another set of ending part/lot/production numbers/dates when the oil was changed back, and GM should be able to isolate the suspect batch of struts and the cars they went into, issue a recall for all affected vehicles, and replace ALL suspect struts, leaking or not. That's Quality Control with traceability in a nutshell. I've got 21+ years in QA with a major automotive supplier, and this type of recordkeeping and traceability should be a no-brainer for any ISO-certified company, even more so when you consider GM only made around 40,000 goats, not 300,000 of them.


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## TexasAggie (Mar 2, 2005)

kegbelly said:


> Now suppose you have two struts with the lower viscosity oil: one fails and (eventually) gets replaced with a strut containing the correct heavier oil, the other doesn't leak (at least right away) and doesn't get replaced... now you have struts with two different weight oils in them...are they both going to react and handle the same? Is one strut going to be softer or spongier than the other? Is your car's handling going to be adversely affected? Or would it even be noticeable?



I had wondered the same thing yesterday when I learned I couldn't just replace both.


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## Mickey21 (Jun 18, 2006)

"Luckily" both my struts failed at the same time (or both came defective from the beginning of the sale) so they are replacing both of them. WTH is taking so long???


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## LaPuzza (Jul 13, 2005)

kegbelly said:


> Sure sounds like there was a bad batch of struts from the supplier that went into cars built in Feb. Why the change in viscosity? Was it error, or was GM trying to scrimp and save a buck? It would seem that it had to be a pretty significant change in viscosity for so many struts to fail, especially at such low mileage.
> 
> Now suppose you have two struts with the lower viscosity oil: one fails and (eventually) gets replaced with a strut containing the correct heavier oil, the other doesn't leak (at least right away) and doesn't get replaced... now you have struts with two different weight oils in them...are they both going to react and handle the same? Is one strut going to be softer or spongier than the other? Is your car's handling going to be adversely affected? Or would it even be noticeable?
> 
> There _should_ be a paper trail, either at GM or the supplier of the struts, identifying when the oil was changed, including beginning part numbers, lot numbers, or the specific production run dates, and another set of ending part/lot/production numbers/dates when the oil was changed back, and GM should be able to isolate the suspect batch of struts and the cars they went into, issue a recall for all affected vehicles, and replace ALL suspect struts, leaking or not. That's Quality Control with traceability in a nutshell. I've got 21+ years in QA with a major automotive supplier, and this type of recordkeeping and traceability should be a no-brainer for any ISO-certified company, even more so when you consider GM only made around 40,000 goats, not 300,000 of them.


My dealer told me the change was intentional to try and soften out the ride a little bit in the front end. Well, it worked. I've got a sportscar tail and a Buick front end. Wait - Monster power, no handeling? It IS a real muscle car!


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

LaPuzza said:


> My dealer told me the change was intentional to try and soften out the ride a little bit in the front end. Well, it worked. I've got a sportscar tail and a Buick front end. Wait - Monster power, no handeling? It IS a real muscle car!


:willy:
Again, that must have been a pretty significant viscosity change for it to have this effect.


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## speedracer835 (Jul 28, 2006)

*Brand new cgm*

My 3/06 CGM M6 i picked up on tuesday I noticed today that the passenger side front was leaking all over the wheel. Less than 150 miles on the clock I am less than happy but I knew it was an issue before i bought the car I just figured I might get a few more miles out of it before failure. btw this car is f'ing bad [email protected]@ I love it best decision i could have made as long as the dealer doesnt givve me any hassle.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

speedracer835 said:


> My 3/06 CGM M6 i picked up on tuesday I noticed today that the passenger side front was leaking all over the wheel. Less than 150 miles on the clock I am less than happy but I knew it was an issue before i bought the car I just figured I might get a few more miles out of it before failure. btw this car is f'ing bad [email protected]@ I love it best decision i could have made as long as the dealer doesnt givve me any hassle.


Congrats on the new goat, and bummer about it leaking so soon. Replacement parts are on the way, and each strut is being individually carried to the US by an Australian three-toed sloth. GM spared no expense on this one.

I really like the cyclone gray metallic, I love the subtle blue undertones that come out in the daylight. I came sooooooooo close to getting that instead of torrid red. I had the salesman pull a red one and a CGM one around to an open area at the back of the lot and park them side by side, nose to nose, end to end, and front to back, looking at each of them from every possible angle... finally after about an hour and a half of this in 98 degree heat, I got the red one. But it was close.


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## TexasAggie (Mar 2, 2005)

Oddly enough, my new replacement came in today. They did a great job cleaning the mess and adding new undercoating. I can't tell it was even the same car. We'll see how the strut holds out. No more thumping though. Driver's side (still original) has no issues...so far.


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## MrGrandNational (Jul 12, 2006)

I took my car in this past monday and they told me that there was a "spat" on it as well. There is no news as of yet about replacement parts. I just got the car on the 12th of this month! If it spends more time in the shop than I've owned it I'm gonna be so pissed off!


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

TexasAggie said:


> Oddly enough, my new replacement came in today. They did a great job cleaning the mess and adding new undercoating. I can't tell it was even the same car. We'll see how the strut holds out. No more thumping though. Driver's side (still original) has no issues...so far.



How long since your dealer ordered the strut? There may have been some still available at that time or there were some already in the pipeline. Evidently those have all been spoken for. My dealer told me he would see if there were any available at other dealerships first (he said there weren't) and then he would have to order it.

No handling issues due to two different weight oils? That's good news.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

MrGrandNational said:


> I took my car in this past monday and they told me that there was a "spat" on it as well. There is no news as of yet about replacement parts. I just got the car on the 12th of this month! If it spends more time in the shop than I've owned it I'm gonna be so pissed off!


Maybe I've just been lucky so far, but I've only noticed my strut leaking oil one time, and since then there has been no more oil on the garage floor, no signs of leakage on the wheel or inner fender, etc. I've been driving the car fairly regularly, and I've put about 500 miles on it since I first noticed the leak, with no noises or handling issues. Still going to get it replaced though, just glad I can still drive it and it's not setting in a shop waiting on parts.


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## bigmac (Jul 9, 2006)

*add me to the list*

I had an aweful noise every bump I hit... it got progressively worse till it made noise just driving! So my goat is at the shop for strutz. Part on backorder so I am looking at a week this coming Tues. I dont care as long as its fixed, plus I get to tool around in a rental car!:cool


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## TexasAggie (Mar 2, 2005)

kegbelly said:


> How long since your dealer ordered the strut? There may have been some still available at that time or there were some already in the pipeline. Evidently those have all been spoken for. My dealer told me he would see if there were any available at other dealerships first (he said there weren't) and then he would have to order it.
> 
> No handling issues due to two different weight oils? That's good news.



I'm not a good one to ask about the handling since I hadn't really driven it with both original struts. I got the car off delivery with 5 miles on it, and 23 miles later, it was dripping. The strut had been ordered on the 17th of August.


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## all4goat (Aug 1, 2006)

TexasAggie said:


> I'm not a good one to ask about the handling since I hadn't really driven it with both original struts. I got the car off delivery with 5 miles on it, and 23 miles later, it was dripping. The strut had been ordered on the 17th of August.



Ok I am about to buy a brand new 06 GTO M6 but how serious is this strut problem. Is it something to really worry about? Should I say something to the dealer befor I take the car off the lot? I would be really depressed if I just get the car and while I am trying to enjoy it, it falls appart on me. How common is this issue. Do all of them have it or like 30%?


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## BILL06VA (Jul 1, 2006)

I heard back from Pontiac today and the news was terrible, 8-10 weeks from July 19 for my struts to get here. They are on a boat, aircraft precluded due to compressed gas in strut. They also said they would make restitution on my payments if it took over 30 days. I am amazed at how bad GM customer service is. My dealer did not even know until they put me on hold and called him! Why is it necessary for me to prod GM! Got to get an upgrade from this Buick, can not drive it for another 8 weeks.


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## Holden (Sep 10, 2005)

BILL06VA said:


> I heard back from Pontiac today and the news was terrible, 8-10 weeks from July 19 for my struts to get here. They are on a boat, aircraft precluded due to compressed gas in strut. They also said they would make restitution on my payments if it took over 30 days. I am amazed at how bad GM customer service is. My dealer did not even know until they put me on hold and called him! Why is it necessary for me to prod GM! Got to get an upgrade from this Buick, can not drive it for another 8 weeks.


:agree


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## Intense (Aug 3, 2006)

*My Might Fine Intense blue GTO*

I was as happy as the day my son was born driving home in my Brand new GTO. I write Service Bulletins and Maintenance Manuals for a living. I took delivery of my GTO on Saturday 07/15/06. Drove it home from the dealership and to work for two days and went to a local dealership to have it checked out after the first day noticing oil on the garage floor and subsequently a loud noise. I did not buy my GTO from the local dealership. They called and told me within an hour that it was both front struts and it would be a week. 

They put me in a brand new 2007 Caddy for one day and then called and said it was safe to drive. I think not. I had them put it on the rack and I personally went and looked at it. Now I am a small female and I was dressed in my professional attire heels and all and I am not quite sure what all of those nice young techs thought when I crawled under the car and started analyzing the problem. I talked directly to the technicians you see they know what is going on and do not have to be politically correct. Hydraulic fluid is a BAD thing and you have all of those nice parts that support your front and rear end for a reason. I know from doing stress and damage fatique test on array of articles that if one componet is not in place you cause undue stress and wear and tear on the supporting parts.

I had to call GM Corporate before I got to at least to stay in that 2007 Caddy. You see it is a *saftey issue *and you should not be driving them in that condition. I know that GM pulled all of the current stock of parts off of the shelves and changed vendors. It is a Manufacturing Defect. In other wards they will have to start production some where else and then do first article testing and 100% quality inspection on the parts and then actually ship them. So, to be very honest it will be a couple of months. I hope I am wrong.

I loved the whole 50 miles I got to drive it though. I am calling corporate today and request they make my payments untill my GTO is delivered to me in a 100% deliverable condition.


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## BILL06VA (Jul 1, 2006)

*Resolution*

I finally got the strut issue resolved, new Pedders. It took a visit to the dealer and a e-mail to the "zone-rep" GM is one huge bureaucracy with very little reasoning in terms of financial decisions. They were going to pay for my loaner ($2K) and then make my payments another $1K and have a pissed off customer instead of installing Pedders They are reticent to put the Pedders on due to liability issues, hum, the existing shock are an accident waiting to happen but they are OK, the Pedders are dangerous, interesting logic. Anyway had a nice conversation with Frank of Rossi and hopefully I will be on my way to driving my "new" car as well as upgrading the suspension myself in the future. I do not fault the dealers in all of this, some are trying but there is such a screwed up system that they work within and GM seems to put the screws to them. Key points to resolution: bring up the cost, ask to speak to the service lead at the dealership and then the "zone manager", show up in person. Good luck to all of you out there, this is a small problem that GM incompetence exacerbates. I love the car but GM is a joke when it comes to customer service above the dealer level.


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## MrGrandNational (Jul 12, 2006)

The service department told me that my part would be in September 23rd! They gave me the car back which I then drove home and washed. It's now sitting however I REALLY want to drive the thing. September twenty third??? I will have made two payments on the car at that point and couldn't really use it. Thankfully I have a few other vehicles to use. I also asked if the service department would install some aftermarket parts in place of the stockers under what would be warranty issues and that they could flag that part of the suspension as no longer being covered if they'd just do it. They flat out told me that it wasn't going to happen. This was the last BOM car near me with an M6 for 700 miles and they wouldn't come down on the car at all because they stopped production. I've had issues with my GM cars before but one of them was built in 68'. To have such issues with a new car is just frustrating! Are you guys getting the dealership to pay for the car payments or is it GM? It's upsetting that I'll be paying for a brand new broken car!


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## burnz (Jul 26, 2006)

you dont have to take it to just the gm dealer, you can take it to a gm certified shop. and gm covers that.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

MrGrandNational said:


> The service department told me that my part would be in September 23rd! They gave me the car back which I then drove home and washed. It's now sitting however I REALLY want to drive the thing. September twenty third??? I will have made two payments on the car at that point and couldn't really use it. Thankfully I have a few other vehicles to use. I also asked if the service department would install some aftermarket parts in place of the stockers under what would be warranty issues and that they could flag that part of the suspension as no longer being covered if they'd just do it. They flat out told me that it wasn't going to happen. This was the last BOM car near me with an M6 for 700 miles and they wouldn't come down on the car at all because they stopped production. I've had issues with my GM cars before but one of them was built in 68'. To have such issues with a new car is just frustrating! Are you guys getting the dealership to pay for the car payments or is it GM? It's upsetting that I'll be paying for a brand new broken car!


Wow, the waiting list for replacement struts seems to grow longer with almost every new post...
So you're a month and a half from getting a replacement part in, and then another week or more working the car in with the dealer's schedule and yours, but in the mean time you're still making payments on a broken car that you can't drive... There's definitely something wrong with this picture.
Man, I'd be raising all kinds of hell with the dealer and with GM directly. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere in another post on this forum where someone had a similar problem and made enough noise where GM picked up the payments while the car was inoperable. I'd also make the dealer furnish me with either another GTO to drive or something of comparable value. You've got something else to drive, which is good, but the point here is you paid upwards of $30K for your car, and you have every right to expect it to be in useable condition, and it should be. That's what GM promised you in return for your $30K+. If it's not, that's GM's problem, not yours, and they are the ones that should eat the bill, not you. So don't let them stick you in some POS loaner, which they'll readily proclaim is the best they can do.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

*No strut till October?*

Went to the dealer today to get my 1st oil change (976 miles) and service, while I was there I wanted to check on the status of the strut that was supposed to have been ordered for me on 7/16/06. Parts manager got on the GM parts hotline, ETA of October 8 for the strut. Can you believe that??? Frigging October? :shutme

Another probably stupid question regarding the ridiculous wait time for the strut delivery... someone else posted that the struts had to be shipped by boat because they contain gas and therefore couldn't be shipped by air. Um, don't these struts contain OIL (or hydraulic fluid), which is what we're finding in/on/under our cars? Do the struts contain gas also? I don't know a lot about the subject, but I thought there were only two basic dampening methods for struts/shocks: 1) Oil 2) Gas. Didn't know they contained both.


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## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

I've been holding off for some time from posting on these strut leak threads.
Of course, all the while with my fingers crossed. If I remember correctly wasn't 
the majority of the problems coming from 02/06 and 03/06 builds? Mine is a
01/06 build, and I've yet to see anything...Has anyone had this problem with a 
Jan/06 build date?


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## BILL06VA (Jul 1, 2006)

Finally got mine back today with help from Rossi and Pedders, it feels great to be behind the wheel. Dealer paid all cost to include shipping, and wheel alignment is spot on. After driving a Buick for 3 weeks the Goat feels so tight. My advice to everyone out there is to work directly with the GM Zone Manager and request Pedders. Stress the fact that this is a purely financial decision for GM. GM needs to balance cost of rental and reimbursement (after 30 days they will pay your loan payment), not to mention customer satisfaction. I went ahead and ordered the rear shocks and front and rear stabilizer bushings from Frank at Rossi today. GM is a bureaucracy, they can not make decisions w/o your help, just keep pushing them, you will prevail.


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## Mickey21 (Jun 18, 2006)

Got word that they will be going aftermarket after I complained to Pontiac Customer Support. Parts on their way 3 business days. Should be repaired the same day the parts arrive they said so I am looking at as early as Monday. Finally... Will be 3.5 weeks waiting when the car is repaired early next week...


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## bigmac (Jul 9, 2006)

*its been a month...*

yes today makes one month. So are you telling me GM will now make a payment for me until its repaired? very nice. I have a call into Pontiac and will keep harrassing them until its complete! thanks for all the postings on this topic :willy: :confused


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## Intense (Aug 3, 2006)

*GM making payments*

The dealership is cutting me a check for my first payment. I am also in a 2007 Caddy CTS. Took a little mud wrestling but they are stepping up to the plate.


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## NWeber (Jul 27, 2006)

Intense said:


> The dealership is cutting me a check for my first payment. I am also in a 2007 Caddy CTS. Took a little mud wrestling but they are stepping up to the plate.



I spoke with my service manager at the dealership where I got my goat, and they told me that the struts are being shipped as we speak by boat from Aussie Land to here. Supposedly, its gonna be another two-three weeks. My car was made in March 06. I have a very small leak on both sides, but my service manager said its still good to drive til the new struts show-up. I guess im one of the lucky ones, Ive read on here about some people's leaking that bad to where they couldnt drive them at all, thats nuts, i feel for you guys. But hey, getting GM to help make payments isnt that bad of a deal either. But why boat? Last time I checked, we werent living in the 16th century, airplanes have been around for about 100 years now, come on GM, pull your head out of them kangaroo asses and fly them over here.


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## Intense (Aug 3, 2006)

*By Boat*

The vendor of the parts was not willing to ship by air. My dealer tried the best he could to get that done. I was there when he was talking about it. Hell, the aircraft company I just got laid off from was willing to fly them for me.

Oh well!


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

Hey guys/girls....This is crap.....GM has known of this problem for some time. Demand your local dealer gives you some compensation. Who pays 30k for a car that takes a strut dump after 200 miles.??? I'm thinking there is a something more GM can do for us.?? Yeah it seems to be a vendor problem but GM knows and has known of the problem but continues to act ignorant at the dealer level of this. WTF ????


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

*Replacement strut finally arrived*

My dealer called me Friday afternoon to let me know my strut finally came in. They ordered it on 7/16. Hopefully some of you will be hearing from your dealers and will be back on the road again.


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## bchguy111 (Aug 15, 2006)

I just noticed my leak this weekend. I've had the car for a weak today. Taking my car in on Wednesday. Wish me luck. Anyone had any experiences with the Pontiac dealership in Van Nuys, Ca or anyone recommend a good dealership in the San Fernando Valley? I know this is a dumb question, but where do I find the build date?


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

bchguy111 said:


> I know this is a dumb question, but where do I find the build date?


It's in a couple locations...on the driver's side door jamb there are a couple stickers, one of them is tire data and the other is a Holden (GM) sticker with the build date. It's also on a metal plate riveted above the driver' side headlight. Pop the hood and it's right there.


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## bchguy111 (Aug 15, 2006)

NICE!!! Thanks.


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## bchguy111 (Aug 15, 2006)

BTW, I just checked. My car was built in 01/2006.


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## bchguy111 (Aug 15, 2006)

I just filed a complaint. So, I feel a little bit better.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

If I recall correctly, the majority of cars that have had the strut problems were primarily Feb builds, but there have been some from other months that had the problem also.


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## MSTNGKILLA (Jul 27, 2006)

So if I don't want a factory replacment what would be a good aftermarket setup? Is pedders a factory unit or is this better upgrade?


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

I don't know anything about the Pedders other than what I have read here on the forum. They are aftermarket replacement struts, but are supposed to be better that the factory OEM struts, so I guess it would be an upgrade. Do a search for "pedders" here on the forum and decide for yourself if that's what you want to do. Some people have got their dealers to install the Pedders in place of the factory struts. Can anyone that have had the Pedders installed chip in here?

edit... check out their website at http://www.peddersusa.com/GTO Directory.htm


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## Severn Wes (Aug 9, 2006)

*I called pontiac tech support and was stonewalled*

Hey All,

I think I have the strut leak problem, have an 06 M6 build date Feb 2006. I reported that online forums have reported the problem and that people have not been satisfied with some dealerships. Brought up the NHTSA documents and Document 18488732 PIC4141 and was told the latter was not a real GM document. I will call dealership tomorrow and see how my luck goes. I have taken pics with my digital camera for documentation, and will post some here to see if this looks like the problem others have experienced. Thanks for any input that can be supplied. I will post how my experience goes.

Thanks all.

Update: Called dealer this AM, service guy played a little coy, but I think they are aware of the problem. Goes in Friday AM, we'll see what happens. The LS1GTO forum is all over this. Their thread is even longer. Here is the link

http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92380

Further Update: Service department called just before 9 this (friday) morning. They are going to replace both struts with new factory oems with the correct hydraulic fluid. Says will be 3-5 days for the parts. I'm taking the car home to keep it in my garage instead of their lot. They'll call when the parts arrive and install them. Sounds good so far, but keeping my fingers crossed. I honestly don't believe they knew about the problem before me. I informed the sales guy I dealt with, who was going to inform the dealership owner as well since he has the same GTO that I have. I know the dealer personally so that probably helped as well. They have been straight up with me.

Further Update: The estimate for 3-5 days was probably pulled out of thin air for the normal amount of time it takes to get parts shipped in. When I went to pick up the car, the parts manager went back and checked for availablility, and none are available. They will be filing some sort of report or special order or something for me, didn't understand the jargon. I am the first customer who has come with this problem, and they were appreciative of the information I had provided from this board and from the LS2GTO board. I have no idea how long it will take now. Will continue my saga in the future.


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

*Replacement strut installed*

Just got back from the dealer, had the driver's side front strut replaced. Everything seems ok, can't tell much difference in handling or ride from before or after the strut replacement. I feel better, though, knowing it's fixed. When I got home, though, I noticed what looked like where oil had leaked on the garage floor. I didn't notice it before I left this morning, but then I wasn't looking for it. Turns out it's the undercoating that kind of melted and dripped off the part that sticks into the rear of the front wheel well. It's been a week since I've driven the car, and the last time I drove it, I drove it pretty hard on the interstate to see a friend in Birmingham that had to have emergency open-heart surgery (5 bypasses... he was a massive coronary waiting to happen). Seems like the leak got worse on that trip, and the strut oil melted some of the undercoating off. I just didn't notice it. Now my question... should I take the car back yet again to the dealer, spend roughly half a day for them to redo the undercoating in this one spot, or just pick up a can of undercoating and do it myself? What would be a good brand of undercoating that would match the color and texture? Thanks.


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## Loubo (Nov 3, 2005)

Gpr1200r said:


> I thought I would start new thread in this forum for anyone with updates on this snafu. Please take the time to submit a formal complaint if this affects you. Thanks.
> 
> 
> File report here http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/


Had both replaced last Saturday - Dealer was great.


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## Loubo (Nov 3, 2005)

kegbelly said:


> I don't know anything about the Pedders other than what I have read here on the forum. They are aftermarket replacement struts, but are supposed to be better that the factory OEM struts, so I guess it would be an upgrade. Do a search for "pedders" here on the forum and decide for yourself if that's what you want to do. Some people have got their dealers to install the Pedders in place of the factory struts. Can anyone that have had the Pedders installed chip in here?
> 
> edit... check out their website at http://www.peddersusa.com/GTO Directory.htm


Pedders installed in mine - both sides - with only one side bad at the time. Just got it back last Saturday. I think most of this issue is going to left to the Dealer. If you have a good one (I do) they will take care of you / if not - well, you know what happens if not . . . .


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## Loubo (Nov 3, 2005)

Intense said:


> I was as happy as the day my son was born driving home in my Brand new GTO. I write Service Bulletins and Maintenance Manuals for a living. I took delivery of my GTO on Saturday 07/15/06. Drove it home from the dealership and to work for two days and went to a local dealership to have it checked out after the first day noticing oil on the garage floor and subsequently a loud noise. I did not buy my GTO from the local dealership. They called and told me within an hour that it was both front struts and it would be a week.
> 
> They put me in a brand new 2007 Caddy for one day and then called and said it was safe to drive. I think not. I had them put it on the rack and I personally went and looked at it. Now I am a small female and I was dressed in my professional attire heels and all and I am not quite sure what all of those nice young techs thought when I crawled under the car and started analyzing the problem. I talked directly to the technicians you see they know what is going on and do not have to be politically correct. Hydraulic fluid is a BAD thing and you have all of those nice parts that support your front and rear end for a reason. I know from doing stress and damage fatique test on array of articles that if one componet is not in place you cause undue stress and wear and tear on the supporting parts.
> 
> ...


A bit late INTENSE but great post. - you are the man (oops) woman. - Lou arty:


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## txcharlie (Feb 26, 2006)

*It worked out well.*

I just bought my 06 SRM, M6 with 18s. It was driven in from a dealer about 120 miles away. I wasn't crazy about my new GTO having 130 miles on it before I took delivery, but it was a blessing in disguise. The drive caused the struts to begin leaking before I even got behind the wheel. My dealer wasn't aware of the strut problem until I pointed it out to them(puddle of oil on floor of delivery room). I signed the papaers on Friday 8/18 and was about to take the car home when I found the leaking strut. It took until the following Thursday before it was ready to go. Other than not knowing about the TSB on the struts, my dealer did a very good job of getting the car ready as fast as they could. They did everything from sending out a emergency request for the parts, trying to locate aftermarket parts, exchanging parts from another GTO on the lot(one use bolts prevented that from happening), and finally found a dealer that would ship the parts. They kept me informed everyday and gave me a new Yukon SLT to drive until my GTO was ready.
We tend to gripe anytime a dealer does something wrong, but forget to give kudos when they make a bad situation better. So here is two thumbs up for Hall Pontiac, Buick, GMC in Tyler, Texas for a job well done.arty: 


I just washed and waxed her for the first time and I now know where every imperfection is located. I will let you know how the dealer handled these minor problems.

Charlie:cool


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## bchguy111 (Aug 15, 2006)

I took my car to the dealership this weekend. They will be replacing the driver's side strut, but not the passenger side since it is not leaking yet. They first told me it would be a four week wait, however, when I returned to pick up my GTO, they said it would be two weeks. Until then, I got to hear an annoying knocking/clicking noise.


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

Dude what a crock of you know what....if one strut fails then the other is likely to fail as well. I'm so tired of GM's lame ass repsonse to fix this. Come on GM......just do it right the first time and give us Pedders!!!!. Who knows how long our warranty replacements will last?? I'm guessing that GM knows exactly how long they will last..........and the accountants at GM are covering their big fat glutes as I write this.


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## Mike-Omologato-G. (May 13, 2006)

*.*

My dealer will pay me for the pedders GSR struts I had installed today.
They are far superior and the ride is phenomenal.

This was after two sets failing of OEM's, and a fight with the dealer, rep, and cust. service...but I got it done.


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## AndyKleinPontiacSuck (Aug 27, 2006)

*GTO Strut Leak*

I purchased my GTO when GM was running the 0% for 72 months from Andy Klein Pontiac in Overland Park, KS. It is amazing how low my payment is when financing for 6 years with no interest! My GTO is the Spice Red with a 6 speed and 18" wheels. I loved the car for the first few weeks. Then I noticed when I was pulling onto my street, the front end of the car kind of felt like it rolled in under itself. I thought it was weird (I think this is when the struts totally failed). Then when I was driving the car later on in the day, I noticed it bounced excessively when I went over any bump in the road. I made an appointment at the dealer (took 2 weeks to get the car in to the dealership). They told me that the struts were blown out and that they didn’t have an estimate on when the replacement parts would be in. When I drove the car home I noticed it making tons of noise coming out of the front end. I immediately turned around and took it back to Andy Klein Pontiac. I told my service writer something was seriously wrong with the front of the car and that I felt it was not safe to drive. After a few days he called me back and told me that the oil leaking from the struts had eaten away the bushings in the front suspension. He said I will have to drive the car until the parts come in, because the dealership will not provide a rental while waiting on parts, WTF??? He even told me that I will probably cause further damage to the car by driving it, but his POS service manager won't pay for a rental car. I get pissed off every time I drive this car with all the noises it makes and how it bounces all over the road. I’m worried that I am causing other parts in the front end to wear out prematurely, only to fail after the warranty has ran out, leaving me to foot the bill on repairs. It has to be wearing out at least the 18” tires prematurely too. I spent $30K on this car only to hate to drive it for fear of damaging it. I love the car and how it runs, but General Motors is really not taking care of me on this. I spoke with a high level customer service rep who stated there is nothing she could do (because the service manager didn’t feel it necessary to provide a rental car). I asked her how she would feel if this were her car, and she didn’t know what to say. If I had purchased this car through Honda or Toyota, they would be taking care of me much better. I just want a rental car to drive while the car waits on parts.


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## NWeber (Jul 27, 2006)

AndyKleinPontiacSuck said:


> I purchased my GTO when GM was running the 0% for 72 months from Andy Klein Pontiac in Overland Park, KS. It is amazing how low my payment is when financing for 6 years with no interest! My GTO is the Spice Red with a 6 speed and 18" wheels. I loved the car for the first few weeks. Then I noticed when I was pulling onto my street, the front end of the car kind of felt like it rolled in under itself. I thought it was weird (I think this is when the struts totally failed). Then when I was driving the car later on in the day, I noticed it bounced excessively when I went over any bump in the road. I made an appointment at the dealer (took 2 weeks to get the car in to the dealership). They told me that the struts were blown out and that they didn’t have an estimate on when the replacement parts would be in. When I drove the car home I noticed it making tons of noise coming out of the front end. I immediately turned around and took it back to Andy Klein Pontiac. I told my service writer something was seriously wrong with the front of the car and that I felt it was not safe to drive. After a few days he called me back and told me that the oil leaking from the struts had eaten away the bushings in the front suspension. He said I will have to drive the car until the parts come in, because the dealership will not provide a rental while waiting on parts, WTF??? He even told me that I will probably cause further damage to the car by driving it, but his POS service manager won't pay for a rental car. I get pissed off every time I drive this car with all the noises it makes and how it bounces all over the road. I’m worried that I am causing other parts in the front end to wear out prematurely, only to fail after the warranty has ran out, leaving me to foot the bill on repairs. It has to be wearing out at least the 18” tires prematurely too. I spent $30K on this car only to hate to drive it for fear of damaging it. I love the car and how it runs, but General Motors is really not taking care of me on this. I spoke with a high level customer service rep who stated there is nothing she could do (because the service manager didn’t feel it necessary to provide a rental car). I asked her how she would feel if this were her car, and she didn’t know what to say. If I had purchased this car through Honda or Toyota, they would be taking care of me much better. I just want a rental car to drive while the car waits on parts.





Damn buddy....that sucks. If I were you dont drive it anymore cause it will cause more damage. Your struts must be completely shot. Its funny cause my struts are being replaced right now as I type this, and I had to wait about 4 weeks for mine to come in from that slow ass boat from Aussie Land. But finally they arrive. Hopefully they wont suck as much as the originals did. I still drove my car when the struts started leaking, but I had previously had the bushings replaced caused it started making a terrible noise when driving, especially when hitting bumps...After the bushings were replaced, or what my dealer called them as "front stabilizer linlks" the car was drivable again, thank god. But my struts only leaked a little bit, but you could tell they were getting worn down, because the car would kind of "hop" a little going over bumps.
GM has done a piss poor job of making this a recall for all 2006 models produced between Feb. and June. Mine just happens to be a March 06, bad luck.


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## bg2m8o (Jul 25, 2006)

There is an EXTENSIVE and informative thread about this on LS1GTO.com. The problem is just now beginning to demonstrate it's magnitude and I think the dealers are being a bit blindsided. If I were to wager, there will be a recall on this sooner than later. Some owners have been able to have aftermarket struts installed vs. the OEM strut from Monroe. You should look into this if you are affected as it might preclude a long wait for parts. Read the threads on the other board and you will get the idea.


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## NWeber (Jul 27, 2006)

bg2m8o said:


> There is an EXTENSIVE and informative thread about this on LS1GTO.com. The problem is just now beginning to demonstrate it's magnitude and I think the dealers are being a bit blindsided. If I were to wager, there will be a recall on this sooner than later. Some owners have been able to have aftermarket struts installed vs. the OEM strut from Monroe. You should look into this if you are affected as it might preclude a long wait for parts. Read the threads on the other board and you will get the idea.



Hell, by the time they do decide to make a reccall on these struts for Feb06-June06 models, half of them will have been replaced by then. Im just thankfull that my dealer has been great working with me. As for GM, four words, pull your head out!!


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## bg2m8o (Jul 25, 2006)

You may be right on this. Jumping on the problem should be something they've started by now - I'll give you that. My two cents worth is that I dont think GM yet knows what a problem they have on their hands, they will soon!


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## NWeber (Jul 27, 2006)

bg2m8o said:


> You may be right on this. Jumping on the problem should be something they've started by now - I'll give you that. My two cents worth is that I dont think GM yet knows what a problem they have on their hands, they will soon!



Oh I think GM knows, but the question is, are there enough GTO's produced with this strut problem for them to even give a sh*t? Probably not!
If this problem was on their beloved Corvette, it would have been recalled so damn fast, you never would have heard about it.:cool :cheers


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## LaPuzza (Jul 13, 2005)

ok, so I finally had my struts replaced today. 2 months and 2000 miles after purchase. I've been driving it the whole time.

They cleaned it off after the struts burst, so I'm not so worried about the undercoating. Anything else I should be looking for in perminant problems caused by driving it? Allignment for example?

Thanks for any thoughts you may have.


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

AndyKleinPontiacSuck said:


> I purchased my GTO when GM was running the 0% for 72 months from Andy Klein Pontiac in Overland Park, KS. It is amazing how low my payment is when financing for 6 years with no interest! My GTO is the Spice Red with a 6 speed and 18" wheels. I loved the car for the first few weeks. Then I noticed when I was pulling onto my street, the front end of the car kind of felt like it rolled in under itself. I thought it was weird (I think this is when the struts totally failed). Then when I was driving the car later on in the day, I noticed it bounced excessively when I went over any bump in the road. I made an appointment at the dealer (took 2 weeks to get the car in to the dealership). They told me that the struts were blown out and that they didn’t have an estimate on when the replacement parts would be in. When I drove the car home I noticed it making tons of noise coming out of the front end. I immediately turned around and took it back to Andy Klein Pontiac. I told my service writer something was seriously wrong with the front of the car and that I felt it was not safe to drive. After a few days he called me back and told me that the oil leaking from the struts had eaten away the bushings in the front suspension. He said I will have to drive the car until the parts come in, because the dealership will not provide a rental while waiting on parts, WTF??? He even told me that I will probably cause further damage to the car by driving it, but his POS service manager won't pay for a rental car. I get pissed off every time I drive this car with all the noises it makes and how it bounces all over the road. I’m worried that I am causing other parts in the front end to wear out prematurely, only to fail after the warranty has ran out, leaving me to foot the bill on repairs. It has to be wearing out at least the 18” tires prematurely too. I spent $30K on this car only to hate to drive it for fear of damaging it. I love the car and how it runs, but General Motors is really not taking care of me on this. I spoke with a high level customer service rep who stated there is nothing she could do (because the service manager didn’t feel it necessary to provide a rental car). I asked her how she would feel if this were her car, and she didn’t know what to say. If I had purchased this car through Honda or Toyota, they would be taking care of me much better. I just want a rental car to drive while the car waits on parts.



I think everyone here has filed a report with the NHTSA so here is another site that may bring better results for us. I will be posting here today. If you do use this site make sure your complaint heading starts with Pontiac GTO. 

http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/


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## shelbytwpgoat (Sep 13, 2006)

I'm a new member and I love the site. I thought I would share my experience with the strut issue. I took delivery of my goat on June 4 and noticed oil on my garage floor inside the left front tire. I didn't think much of it at first but then I noticed awful noises coming from the front end the next day. I felt the struts and both were leaking. I took the car back to the dealership with a whopping 47 miles on it. The dealership had the car for one full week and called me say it was ready. I picked it up and drove it out of the service dept. and the noises were worse than ever. Needless to say I left the car there and they kept it for two full weeks this time until I had had enough. After using a little pull from a close relative who is high up in GM, the dealership robbed struts and control arm linkages off of a new GTO on their lot. I was told that to wait for replacement struts to arrive would be at least 2 months and that the car was undriveable. I think this is unacceptable on GM's part. There are 40,000 of these cars on the road and not even enough replacement parts for one vehicle. Sorry it's so longwinded but I had to vent. I hope no one else has to go through this.


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## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

shelbytwpgoat said:


> Sorry it's so longwinded but I had to vent. I hope no one else has to go through this.


Sorry to hear about your problems bro. You know your not alone if that 
helps at all. BTW, what is your build date? I've got a Jan/06 with 800, so 
far - so good, miles...But I'm on pins and needles to say the least.


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## shelbytwpgoat (Sep 13, 2006)

My birthdate was 2/06. I've heard that all cars on the ship from OZ at that time have this problem. A combination of cheap, lightweight oil and being strapped down to tightly for the cross pacific journey.


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## bott06goat (Sep 17, 2006)

*New front struts tomorrow*

I will be getting new front struts tomorrow. Since I don't want to deal with the same problem again I am putting on a set of aftermarkets at my own expense. Had the car for two weeks and already spending $600 on it that could go to something cool like exhaust. Oh well.


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## brazenorangegto (Sep 11, 2006)

2000 miles, build date of 2-06 and still drives as smooth as it did the day I got it.. I'm still thinking of putting Pedders on it though just because they are much better than factory.


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## bchguy111 (Aug 15, 2006)

This is in response to my posting on 08/26. My dealership got the driver's side strut within two weeks. I took the car in to get the strut replaced on 09/09/06. I left my car there for most of the day. I picked up the car thinking everything was good again with my GTO. Guess what, I was wrong. I still heard the knocking noise. Ughhh!!! So, I called the service advisor on 09/11/06 and told him I still heard the knocking noise. I told him I didn't have time during the week and that I was busy the following weekend. I told him that due to his mistake that I needed a rental car. He proceeded to tell me that he was sorry, but he forgot to mention to the tech about the knocking noise and that he only had the strut replaced. I was livid. So, I dropped off my car on 09/13/06 in the evening. I took him for a drive around the block so he could hear the noise firsthand. He told me that something on the front suspension needed to be torqued(????). So, I went to the rental place and they gave me a new Tahoe. It was quite nice. Smooth ride. I checked the GTO forum that night and saw that the knocking noise was probably from bad bushing due to the strut leakage. I called my service advisor the next morning and told him it was possibly the bushing. He told me that they knew what they were doing and would take car of the problem. I told him that when they replaced the strut they should have checked all suspension parts associated with the strut and when they test drove my GTO after they replaced the strut then they would have easily heard the knocking sound. He called me later that day and told me that they had ordered some parts(4) and it would take 3-5 days. When he broke it down, it was the bushing and some small parts associated with them. He showed me a bulletin from GM. Wow, what a surprise!!!! So, I picked up my car later that day with my nice knocking sound. So, on Sunday 09/17/06 I now here a rattling noise along with the knocking noise. WHAT IS GOING ON?!!! I called my service advisor right away and told him about the new rattling noise. Luckily, my parts were in and I dropped off my this morning. I had the tech that worked on my car the last time go with me on a drive around the block. He heard both noises easily. He then asked him, "Don't you go thoroughly test drive the car once parts have been replaced?" He said, "yes" and said, "Obviously you didn't do a good job, since you didn't hear the noise." He then said that the noise wasn't brought up the last time. He went to my service advisor to check and I quickly pulled out my last 3 service records which clearly identified the knocking noise issue. He had nothing to say. I was told the car would be worked on immediately and was soon shuttled to work. I called around 2:00p and was told that the rattling was caused from the bushing detoriating so bad it was metal to metal and they needed one part that wouldn't be in until tomorrow. He read my mind. He offered me a rental car. Oh, earlier in the day I called the customer service for GMC and spoke to a specialist who could only give me a reference # and to compensate me for all my hassle, a free oil change. WOW!!!!!!! I'm so frustrated right now. The service department at Rydell in San Fernando, CA is lacking. They made it sound like the rattling and knocking were not a big deal. That I was being too picky. I then told them that maybe it was their quality that was lacking. I told them I have owned 16 cars before then and had never had those problem and that it is a big deal to me when it's a brand new car that sounds like something on the suspension was going to fall off. He had nothing to say. I'm almost off of work now. Need to get my rental car soon. Thanks everyone for letting me vent. I'll give everyone an update tomorrow.


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

Helo my friend,
The problem with dealerships ( I am a former service manager for Honda) is that they only pay techs by billed service hours. As an example if a sevice tech is paid 25 dollars an hour and has to drive test your vehicle to determine a problem that has not been previously identified buy the manufacturer in a service update, the tech will not be compensated for the test drive diagnostics but only for actual work that pertains to the repair. So with this said, if a tech spends 20 minutes on the test drive to determine the problem he loses that 20 minutes in pay and cannot recoup this. Fortunately the best techs can always beat the clock by performing the required service below standard factory book time per the manufacturers allowed pay scales for any given repair. My best advice is to find a shop that has certified tech's and a service manager that promotes customer relations afer the repair with the tech that repaired the vehicle.


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## bchguy111 (Aug 15, 2006)

Thanks for the info. Gpr1200r. I got my car back last Thursday. Everything looks good. They replaced the bushing, bearings, linkage(???) and the passenger's side strut as well. My car is perfect again. Woo hoo!!!


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## Gpr1200r (Jul 1, 2006)

Back to the top......everyone that is thinking of buying needs to be informed........Yee Haw.....I love my Goat. 



Peace Out Bro's......


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

*New front end noises*

I had the driver's side front strut replaced about 700 miles ago. Drove the car last week for the first time in a couple weeks, after about 15 minutes of driving I started hearing clunking/popping/grinding metal-on-metal noises from both sides of the front end. The noises were pretty scary, on minor bumps it sounded like the whole front end was going to come out from under it. Haven't had a chance to get it to the dealer yet, shooting for midweek. My guess is the strut fluid has deteriorated some bushings, causing the noises. If that's the case, what other parts might need to be replaced because of the additional stress or wear on them due to deteriorated bushings? Should I drive the car to the dealer or have it towed on a flatbed?


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## xfer42 (Oct 8, 2006)

*Strut Leak then sway bar problems*

Just bought my goat about 3 weeks ago. Noticed a drop of oil every other day on my garage floor. I was waiting for my vacation to take it in when I started to get a loud banging noise from the front passenger side. Its so loud, it scares people when they are driving next to me... not really the attention I had in mind when I bought it.

Thats when i noticed the oil was strut oil, and it turned the rubber bushings for the sway bar into a gummy bear like substance causing them to slip around the washers.

Service center is closed on Sunday, hopefully I can take it in tomorrow.

Cheers


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## kegbelly (Mar 23, 2006)

Got my Goat into the shop Wednesday morning. It was the sway bar bushing causing all the noise. The strut leak caused the bushing to basically decompose, and the tech said it was almost completely gone. I hope this is the last of my troubles with the front end, but I'm expecting the other strut to start leaking any time.


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## DKR_GTO (Oct 10, 2006)

had my car 5 days and my RF sway bar link started bottoming out on my strut (Bushing was missing), and then shortly after my strut on the RF started to leak...fixed under warranty of course.


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## kevinakaq (Oct 3, 2006)

had same problem at 380 mile mark...had it towed in with a flat...got a rental "lacrosse" for the four days it took to solve problem...they only replaced one side which has me concerned. Also have a clip problem on the rear bumper driver side that i've heard lots about as well...great car with these simple problems that you think they would fix... really has me concerned. You would think with all these strut leaks they would replace with a different manufacturer strut or fix the darn problem with the current ones. Must be costing a fortune in rental cars / warranty work. Love the goat, but hate these problems i'm having. Oh got second coat of Zaino on car tonight...starting to look like "wet glass"...figure i will get a coat of black magic or two...maybe three on top of those during the weekend.


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## dablue06pontiacGTO (Oct 4, 2006)

hey to everybody whos had leaking struts call 1800 gmc truck and report to them they put prototype struts in mine and ive have not had any problems since

Jaymz


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## mrgtojudge (Oct 14, 2006)

Hi All,

Just joined up to the forum. I am contemplating purchasing an 06 GTO, and am looking at two CGM cars - one is an A4 w/17" wheels, the other is a 6M w/18" wheels.

I have read a lot about the strut issue here and on other forums. The build date on the 6M car is 4/29/06 as seen on an outside passenger side rear window shipping sticker (haven't got to look under the hood yet to see the tag on the radiator support of either cars yet).

I gave a quick visual inspection to the front under carriage and suspension, as well as the ground underneath the front struts of the 6M car, and all seemed dry and intact.

Question: any opinions on if a 4/29/06 build date car is out of the range of the defective front strut situation? Just looking for what people may think or have experienced. 

I will be checking the A4 car for a build date and giving it a look underneath this week when I give it a second once over. This car seems to have been sitting around for little longer than the 6M car (i.e., front and rear red Pontiac crests are a bit sun-faded)

Thanks,

Chris


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## Go Dog Go (Sep 4, 2006)

mrgtojudge said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Just joined up to the forum. I am contemplating purchasing an 06 GTO, and am looking at two CGM cars - one is an A4 w/17" wheels, the other is a 6M w/18" wheels.
> 
> ...


I hope you're not going to pick A4 or M6 just based on build dates and the strut issue! Really, a strut blown is not the end of the world. If you know in advance to expect that it is possible as well, then you should be fine. Just ask the dealer about it and make sure they're not one of the places going "uhh, what TSB? you lie." Seriously dude, go for the M6  if I can take a manual through a 45 minute commute in 3 inch heels everyday and say it's easy, I know you can!! Go for the M6!!!!!!!!


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## mrgtojudge (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks for the input. Although it may not sound like it in my post, I am really hyped up to get the GTO for what it is!  I am just one to thoroughly research a large purchase item before I make the leap. Granted, I do struggle balancing this with the "just get it!" urge. But I have found a car I like (CGM, A4, 17'', 11/05 build date, 22mi.) Plus, I have a good connection at the dealership through a family friend, and so far have a good vibe from the store. My last new car (1994 Nissan Sentra SE-R) was a manual trans, and I loved it, but the A4 just seems to suit my present situation best. I looking for a daily driver performance car, and I plan to drive it like I did my Nissan: everyday, everywhere, not garage-kept, until it is DONE!

Chris


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## brazenorangegto (Sep 11, 2006)

Get the M6 and you will not have to pay the $1300 gas guzzler tax.


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## urnuts (Jan 16, 2005)

*Struts on 2006*

So, am I correct to understand that if the build date is after May 5, 2006, the struts are ok?
BTW, service manager at the dealer told me today (when I was looking at buying the car) that he had absolutely NO idea what I was talking about, when I mentioned the strut issue.


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## dmace (Oct 25, 2006)

*2006 - Bad Struts*

My dealer says that it could possibly be up to 3 weeks for the struts to come from Australia!!


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## nagoat (Oct 21, 2006)

urnuts said:


> So, am I correct to understand that if the build date is after May 5, 2006, the struts are ok?
> BTW, service manager at the dealer told me today (when I was looking at buying the car) that he had absolutely NO idea what I was talking about, when I mentioned the strut issue.


MY build date is 5/06 hoping to avoid this issue.
1300+ lovely miles still dry. when i asked my dealer about it he said it did not apply to me.


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