[64speed]

When I traded for my Escalade this week the only caveat they gave me was that the power lift motor for the tailgate was weak but that it would still release and you could just help it go up and it pulled down fine. They demonstrated it once to my wife and she couldn’t get it to open so I tried and was able to get it to go up with help and come down VERY slowly. They said for the price I was paying they would not fix it cause Cadillac told them it was 1450 to fix it. I said ok I can deal with it half ass working. Well yesterday it just totally stopped and when you manually open it the motor fights you and it grinds when you raise it. That to me is not a weak motor but a total failure. I called and said I had a warranty claim and they said it was a preexisting condition. I did some research and I can get all the parts to fix it from GM for 359 dollars and it’s a 45 minute job. I called the used car manager and he said it was up to the service manager, the service manager passed the buck to the office manager because she has authority to disperse funds. After being shuffled around I just asked for the General Manager. I left him a very pleasant voicemail and said basically that it was sold to me with a weak motor but two days later I have to fight to open it and I would like 359 to buy the parts and I will fix it myself. Well apparently he flew all over the used car division and cussed everyone out including my friend who I told him was not involved in the whole weak motor bull**** it was the sales and service manager. They are supposed to call me tomorrow and tell me if they will buy the parts. To me a weak motor and a nonfunctional that you have to fight to open are two different things. Seeing as how it happened on the 2nd day am I an ass for asking for 359?

[67GTONUT]

No.... You are not an ass.....

You are asking for what you think is right, and doing it in a very fair way.....

Now..... will they go for it? ...... thats a different story. The deal they gave quite possibly be what we in the business call a "skinny" ...... and there is nothing left on the bone. But they have the ability to help you out and charge the cost, not to the truck.... but maybe to their advertising budget...... and most dealership do have a " Goodwill" account they can dip into to also satisfy a customer....

[242177P]

As you might recall, your old ride was on borrowed time. And then "it finally happened". If they told you it was weak (and they did) that meant it was living on borrowed time too. Sucks that it failed that soon, but they couldn't have known when it'd die. Put yourself in their shoes, and imagine how it looks to them.

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by 67GTONUT

No.... You are not an ass.....

You are asking for what you think is right, and doing it in a very fair way.....

Now..... will they go for it? ...... thats a different story. The deal they gave quite possibly be what we in the business call a "skinny" ...... and there is nothing left on the bone. But they have the ability to help you out and charge the cost, not to the truck.... but maybe to their advertising budget...... and most dealership do have a " Goodwill" account they can dip into to also satisfy a customer....

In the early 90's I worked for a Toyota dealership that (I was told) budgeted 10K per year in the "Goodwill" account. That amount would not go far today.

[64speed]

Well I’m not lazy. The Yukon’s tailgate obviously didn’t go up and down with the push of a button but it also didn’t have a motor that fought you trying to open it. I understand why they wouldn’t want to pay Cadillac but come on...$359 and I disappear forever until I need another car and I come back as a repeat customer????

[chevymad]

There's a kill switch somewhere.. On a tahoe it's on the overhead console. When this button is pushed the gate motor will cycle then pull itself closed again. To open the gate you have to overpower the motor. Once I found the switch in the owners manual gate worked normal again.

[69hardtop]

Did they sell it to you “As is” ?

Hard to know the contract conditions you bought it under, but if the dealership does anything it would only be to retain you as a future customer.

Someone’s department in the dealership would have to take the $ hit

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by 64speed

I understand why they wouldn’t want to pay Cadillac but come on...$359 and I disappear forever until I need another car and I come back as a repeat customer????

For $369.00, you "disappear" until the next issue...

You knew the motor was weak at the time you bought it. It was disclosed up front to you. It was demonstrated to you.

Any reasonable person understands that when something is a not working properly and needs to be "forced" to operate that total failure is imminent.

[mgarblik]

I would imagine the dealer will end up working with you some. As to who is at fault, and to what extent, I will leave that up to the other posts. I can say this with confidence. You have just purchased a Cadillac truck. It is 10 years old with 108,000 miles on it. Basically, it is a Chevy truck with tons of electronics, gadgets gee gaws. and do dads added to jack the price up 25% from it's Chevy brother. I agree the basic truck is an EXCELLENT vehicle. The engine and drivetrain, suspension, brakes will all last a long time just like a Chevy Truck. It's all the "Cadillac" stuff that's going to wear out and fail like the electric tailgate motor and lock module. While IMO it was foolish to sell you that truck with a known defect, it was ready to die completely, the moment you left with it. The tailgate was saying, "I am dying, help me". To help keep your blood pressure from going sky high, I would recommend planning on $100-150 a month budget for electronic content repair moving forward. It's just the normal cost of all these toys failing as they get older. I am a fleet manager for several fleets of light duty trucks. We budget for repairs like this on the GMC, Ford, and Chevy trucks at about $1200.00 a year for electronics, motor, servo failures starting at 4 years, 100K miles. Normal cost of ownership. Cadillac would be a little more. Doesn't mean I don't like the trucks. Hope they fix it this time for you.

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

It's just the normal cost of all these toys failing as they get older. I am a fleet manager for several fleets of light duty trucks. We budget for repairs like this on the GMC, Ford, and Chevy trucks at about $1200.00 a year for electronics, motor, servo failures starting at 4 years, 100K miles. Normal cost of ownership. Cadillac would be a little more.

Absolutely this. Lot of little toys and doodads on these cars and trucks nowadays that can go bad and cost a few pennies to repair. It's just the cost of ownership, sadly.

I think you're likely to get the runaround and the dealer may or may not eventually fix it, but then there's the question of whether they're going to do it right and if the fix even lasts. Just accept it as part of ownership of a high end car that has depreciated and is out of warranty. Either you fix it (i.e. you're paying someone to) or you live with it.

[John V.]

I don't think you're out of line to ask for help. Nor would I think the dealer would be out of line to decline to help with the repair cost UNLESS IT IS SOMETHING THE WARRANTY WAS SUPPOSED TO COVER..

You mentioned you got a 3 yr warranty in the other post. But I'm curious, was that a bumper to bumper warranty? And did the dealer provide the warranty thru one of those extended warranty companies, or is it some sort of Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned warranty, or just a warranty that the dealership offers that requires you to take it to them only?

Hard to believe that they gave you a bumper to bumper warranty on a 10 yo vehicle with that many miles but if they did, I can't see how they can avoid fixing it. Normally I expect you only got a powertrain warranty.

The failed power liftgate would not be covered under a powertrain warranty if that is your only warranty coverage, only reason they could consider helping with cost in that case is under goodwill. There may also be a buyer's remorse law that would allow you to give it back to them and get your money back within 72 hours, assuming no change in condition. They could argue the liftgate worked when they sold it to you but then I think they'd open themselves to a complaint.

Assuming you want to keep the vehicle, you want to be sure to diagnose the thing to be sure you are repairing the right part before you start buying parts.

Couple years ago, my f-i-l had a problem with the power liftgate on his Town & Country minivan. My wife was visiting him at the time. She texted me, I was able to diagnose remotely. Problem was the struts. She bought the struts and installed them (she is decidedly NOT an auto tech but we had a good laugh over her repair success). That's all it needed, still works 2-3 years later.

Pretty sure there is a manual over-ride switch on the Escalade. Should be near the rear view mirror. Turn that switch to off and you won't be forcing it against the motor. Forcing it against the motor without turning that switch off may very well break the mechanism.

If not the struts, could be the actuator, the lift motor, the latch, or something else.

Some guys have reported loose lift motor screws caused their Escalade liftgate problem, others a latch problem. You don't want to be the guy who replaced his lift motor and the liftgate still wouldn't work.

[64speed]

They gave me a check for 400 dollars. I got an AC DELCO actuator for 222 and fixed it in about an hour. Cadillac wanted 1600 bucks that’s why they didn’t want to pay to get it fixed. A simple YouTube search showed the problem for all GM SUVs from 2007 to 2014. You can buy a reman one for 88 dollars. After I did 20 minutes of research I don’t feel bad for them because they could have done the same thing rather than say only Cadillac can do it

[firechicken]

Standard dealer bs.
I told my dealer I wanted to add a heated steering wheel to my truck. They told me just the parts were $1700 but it couldn't be done anyway. I bought the new wheel and clock spring for less than $500 and did it myself in less than an hour.

[66sprint6]

It's good that it kind of worked out. But imagine that happening to some poor sap that knows nothing about cars.

[Formulabruce]

My dealer went and bought the parts at their cost, and gave me the parts when I had a similar issue. They saved 150 bucks.. glad yours is up and working!

[Simple Man]

Originally Posted by 64speed

Well I’m not lazy. The Yukon’s tailgate obviously didn’t go up and down with the push of a button but it also didn’t have a motor that fought you trying to open it. I understand why they wouldn’t want to pay Cadillac but come on...$359 and I disappear forever until I need another car and I come back as a repeat customer????

Well, they don't know that you will disappear forever. They come up with $359.00, and next week, it won't be running right, or the sound system took a dump, etc. I can guarantee they've been down this road before.
We bought a used Mustang a while back. There was a crack in the instrument cluster plastic lens. Wife hated the car for that reason. We worked a deal, and got it in writing, that we would split the cost of the repair.

[242177P]

Originally Posted by 64speed

... the only caveat ... They demonstrated it ... They said for the price I was paying ... I said ok I can deal with it ... I called and said I had a warranty claim ... I can get all the parts to fix it from GM for 359 dollars ... I would like 359 to buy the parts ... am I an ass for asking for 359? ... but come on...$359 and I disappear forever ... They gave me a check for 400 dollars. I got an AC DELCO actuator for 222 ... You can buy a reman one for 88 dollars. ... I don’t feel bad for them because ...

^^^ And this is why dealers hesitate when people ask them for $$$$.

[1965gp]

So are you going to offer the difference back from the 400 they gave you?

Now- dealers are traditionally not the best people to deal with but they did step up fairly quickly. They probably won’t take it back as it would cost them that much to process the paperwork.

Not saying I would give it back- I’ve been taken a few times and karma goes back and forth. But- if I had a friend that worked there I would call the GM, thank him for taking care if it and offer the left over $$. If the GM raised hell and your friend is the one that brought you in you can bet he got part of the ass chewing.

[mgarblik]

I am glad you got this taken care of and have a little $ left over. My advice FWIW is to take the leftover $ and make that the start of your little repair war chest that you WILL need as time goes on. There is so much electronic gear in an Escalade and it's all low grade, built by the lowest bidder in the world, just good enough to get by hardware. Not picking on Cadillac or GM in any way. All the vehicles are made of a collection of this low grade stuff. The stuff that gets used the most, fails first and down the line it goes. Power locks are probably next, then window actuators, drivers first, then the other three. Master switch in the drivers door. HVAC controls, instrument cluster and display, sound systems. Usually rear speakers, then they take out one channel, then the control head. Used to be you could always count on GM having great wiring and Packard connectors and terminals. But now, GM uses 4 different suppliers on the same vehicle, some better than others. It's just normal middle age, used car blues. Fix the stuff as it fails and you can still get another 100K+ miles of enjoyment out of the truck.

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by 64speed

Well I’m not lazy. The Yukon’s tailgate obviously didn’t go up and down with the push of a button but it also didn’t have a motor that fought you trying to open it. I understand why they wouldn’t want to pay Cadillac but come on...$359 and I disappear forever until I need another car and I come back as a repeat customer????

You got a good deal on a used vehicle with a known pre-existing condition. Period. It failed completely shortly after purchase. Caveat Emptor. Buy the part and fix the window and move on. The dealer owes you zero. Next time, buy a new vehicle or one without a pre-existing/marginal/failing part.