This Malibu's Wipers

[lmd]

I was test driving a 2008 Malibu LTZ, in the rain. The intensity of the rain died down, and so I turned the wipers to intermittent. At one point, the wipers stopped while they were straight up and down, and they did not finish their sweep for quite a few seconds. They stopped just as I was turning on the left turn signal, and so I figured this was some form of electrical malfunction/interaction with the turn signal. I made several more left turns to duplicate it, but could not. However, they did that ‘pause thing’ twice more. The salesman was not with me, but afterwards he said he thinks tht it has moisture sensitive wipers and that is the way they work. It does not seem right that even moisture sensitive wipers would stop without completing a sweep.

Is he right, or is this a defect?

Thanks,
LMD

[likearock00]

I would tend to agree with you vs. the salesman. If it stopped in the middle of the sweep there is probably something wrong. If you make the deal with them, make sure it is corrected before you take possession of it!

[coaster.n3rd]

Originally Posted by lmd

The salesman was not with me, but afterwards he said he thinks tht it has moisture sensitive wipers and that is the way they work. It does not seem right that even moisture sensitive wipers would stop without completing a sweep.

Is he right, or is this a defect?

Thanks,
LMD

Moisture sensitive wipers are not an option on the Malibu. The salesman should learn his product.

They are however speed sensitive. But this must have been a defect as speed sensitivity should not cause them to just stop for a few seconds. If you decide to keep dealing with that salesman (I wouldn't, product knowledge is very important to me) you should tell him to get that vehicle to their service department. I'll keep an eye out for it on my Aura.

[caddycruiser]

Yes, this had to be some kind of a 1 car malfunction. Ours do not do that, and neither did the wipers on my '07 rental, and as said, there is no Rainsense feature on this car...just a salesperson who needs to learn the product.

I always found oddness with having both the click up for speed and the rotation to then modify speed on top of that (someone should know what I mean here?), but got used them after a few days. This is how most are now, though. Mom hasn't said a thing about her '08, and all is fine and dandy.

Just throwing this out there...but after about a year, the wipers on our '04 Suburban started doing funny things like that, intermittently, and they traced it back to a bad wiper control module (basically, wiper "brains"). That kind of thing could be the issue here.

[lmd]

Thanks, guys. That's what I thought. They were going to have the service department check it out and I'm going back tomorrow. But the guy I talked to an hour and a half before they closed today didn't know about the problem. So, maybe I'm unduly skeptical, but I fully expect them to tell me that there is nothing wrong with it, or they could not duplicate the malfunction and therefore could not fix it, or something like that. I'll just walk away from it if that's the case.

Thanks, again. Best to all.

LMD

[caddycruiser]

Yeah, that's likely what will happen. With our Suburban that I mentioned, we had it in twice for the bizarre wiper action that we saw...but never happened when the service guys would sit there trying it. That was until the 2nd time I actually took it, they couldn't duplicate, and 2 miles up the road when it was sprinkling...off nutty they went again. I called, turned right around, and they saw and ordered the part.

It's a hard to diagnose thing, because it's intermittent.

At least you're not letting it complete mar your view of the car, as some morons would. Is this particular car the "one" you're looking to buy?

[fastdriver]

Originally Posted by caddycruiser

Yeah, that's likely what will happen. With our Suburban that I mentioned, we had it in twice for the bizarre wiper action that we saw...but never happened when the service guys would sit there trying it. That was until the 2nd time I actually took it, they couldn't duplicate, and 2 miles up the road when it was sprinkling...off nutty they went again. I called, turned right around, and they saw and ordered the part.

It's a hard to diagnose thing, because it's intermittent.

At least you're not letting it complete mar your view of the car, as some morons would. Is this particular car the "one" you're looking to buy?

Now that you mention this, just before I turned in my 05 Buick LaCrosse CXS, the same thing happened to me one day. This was when I was still driving it and before I cleaned it up to return it. The wipers would stop anywhere if I was changing the speed or position i.e. intermittent to low. When this happened, the ONLY position that would work was full speed. Then, after a while it would go back to normal operation. Since the car was right at the end of the lease, I didn't bother to bring it back to the dealer. You know how I feel about that! I think my 300M experiences have jaded me forever with dealer repair shops. I almost shudder when I just go in to have the oil changed!

Maybe this is something GM needs to look into? Short of calling Detroit corporate, since "customer service" will have NO clue what to do with the information, I wonder what would be the best way to bring this to their attention? I would THINK that in this day and age, there is a division at GM that tracks the problems that customers have when a car is in for warranty work? Maybe GM is already aware of the problem. Then again, there are most likely people HERE who could call it to GM's attention because of their connections if they wanted to do so.

Maybe just reporting it to http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov would be a good start?

NO word yet on my LTZ! MAYBE today? It left Fairfax, I think and not Orion, on January 9th! How long does it take to get from there to the dealer in RI? They gave an estimated date of arrival as this Wednesday the 23rd! I can't wait!

[unkillsam]

Originally Posted by fastdriver

Now that you mention this, just before I turned in my 05 Buick LaCrosse CXS, the same thing happened to me one day. This was when I was still driving it and before I cleaned it up to return it. The wipers would stop anywhere if I was changing the speed or position i.e. intermittent to low. When this happened, the ONLY position that would work was full speed. Then, after a while it would go back to normal operation. Since the car was right at the end of the lease, I didn't bother to bring it back to the dealer. You know how I feel about that! I think my 300M experiences have jaded me forever with dealer repair shops. I almost shudder when I just go in to have the oil changed!

Maybe this is something GM needs to look into? Short of calling Detroit corporate, since "customer service" will have NO clue what to do with the information, I wonder what would be the best way to bring this to their attention? I would THINK that in this day and age, there is a division at GM that tracks the problems that customers have when a car is in for warranty work? Maybe GM is already aware of the problem. Then again, there are most likely people HERE who could call it to GM's attention because of their connections if they wanted to do so.

Maybe just reporting it to http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov would be a good start?

NO word yet on my LTZ! MAYBE today? It left Fairfax, I think and not Orion, on January 9th! How long does it take to get from there to the dealer in RI? They gave an estimated date of arrival as this Wednesday the 23rd! I can't wait!

Lot's of vehicle components are similar, if not the same between car manufacturers that use the same suppliers.

I would be surprised if this problem is unique to GM.

[fastdriver]

Originally Posted by unkillsam

Lot's of vehicle components are similar, if not the same between car manufacturers that use the same suppliers.

I would be surprised if this problem is unique to GM.

While that's true, I still think it is something that GM needs to check out. It's piddly problems like that that annoy the hell out of people who have to bring their car to the dealer, explain the problem, leave the car, get a ride home/work and then pick up the car and have them say "could not duplicate the problem"! That may well be true, but the fact is, the customer would not have brought the car in in the first place if there wasn't a problem! This could be a potentially serious situation if the wipers stopped working altogether. WHY not just replace the part in question and return the part to the manufacturer so they can test it at THEIR facility and see what the problem is? Then again, in this throw away society, no one can be bothered to see if there is a defect. Just throw the part out and replace it and hope the replacement one works better!

[unkillsam]

Originally Posted by fastdriver

While that's true, I still think it is something that GM needs to check out. It's piddly problems like that that annoy the hell out of people who have to bring their car to the dealer, explain the problem, leave the car, get a ride home/work and then pick up the car and have them say "could not duplicate the problem"! That may well be true, but the fact is, the customer would not have brought the car in in the first place if there wasn't a problem! This could be a potentially serious situation if the wipers stopped working altogether. WHY not just replace the part in question and return the part to the manufacturer so they can test it at THEIR facility and see what the problem is? Then again, in this throw away society, no one can be bothered to see if there is a defect. Just throw the part out and replace it and hope the replacement one works better!

But there are people out there that bring their car in becase they like to complain. They make up a small percentage of customers, but they do exist.

If the dealer really tries, I mean makes a really good effort to replicate the problem and they can't do it, then what are they supposed to do?

Just a replacement wiper arm costs GM like $15.00 Multiply that by 100,000 and thats 1.5 million dollars. It adds up quickly.

The problem lies with the dealers that don't make a good effort to try and locate the problem. That problem lies with GM because they don't pay the dealers enought for warranty work.

It is a complex issue but the answer does not lie within replacing every part a customer complains about if they cannot replicate the problem.

GM needs to come up with some kind of customer sercive program where they will cover 1 hour guaranteed of diagnostic time with a qualified technichian (not the oil change guy).

Also, the customer should be warned that they must pay a fee if the problem cannot be reproduced after working on the car for a certain period of time. Make the fee small so that it doens't hurt people, but make it big enought so that the consistant complainers will not show up like they do now.

[j_granlund]

To me it sounds like the wiper control module, because the wipers on my parents cobalt will only work in some positions, and the dealer said it was that.

[caddycruiser]

Originally Posted by j_granlund

To me it sounds like the wiper control module, because the wipers on my parents cobalt will only work in some positions, and the dealer said it was that.

Yep, just like our Suburban I mentioned above.

I wouldn't blow this TOO out of proportion...it isn't really that common of an issue to run into, just something you see popping up from time to time by way of a random module glitch.

If they can diagnose it properly, the dealer service department involved here should be able to resolve it quickly, and no one will ever question it again. That is, of course, if this is what the actual problem (if there really is one) with this car is. It's an annoyance, but a very, very small one, and not widespread in reality.

[fastdriver]

Originally Posted by unkillsam

But there are people out there that bring their car in becase they like to complain. They make up a small percentage of customers, but they do exist.

WHAT! I NEVER knew ANYONE who ever wanted to bring their car in to a dealer just because they like to complain. I cannot even imagine such a person. If such nut cases like that exist, then just ignore them because they'll NEVER be satisified.

Originally Posted by unkillsam

If the dealer really tries, I mean makes a really good effort to replicate the problem and they can't do it, then what are they supposed to do?

MAYBE get the factory rep involved OR use their GM computer to contact GM engineering and see if there is a pattern of problems like this popping up OR let GM contact the manufacturer of the interval wiper module to inquire about any problems OR let THEM know that there is a problem with their part. Telling a customer you cannot duplicate the problem is understandable if it's intermittent, but that does NOT solve the customer's problem. REAL customer service goes ONE step farther to try and resolve the problem and not just fluff it off. That's the difference between a good service department and a lousy one! There are enough lousy ones out there. We certainly do not need anymore!

Originally Posted by unkillsam

Just a replacement wiper arm costs GM like $15.00 Multiply that by 100,000 and thats 1.5 million dollars. It adds up quickly.

ALL the more reason to get to the bottom of the problem before it becomes this big!

Originally Posted by unkillsam

The problem lies with the dealers that don't make a good effort to try and locate the problem. That problem lies with GM because they don't pay the dealers enought for warranty work.

Then, maybe all the dealers need to get together and let GM know that there is a problem with their reimbursement rates for warranty work.

Originally Posted by unkillsam

It is a complex issue but the answer does not lie within replacing every part a customer complains about if they cannot replicate the problem.

I agree, but the dealer does have to make that extra effort to look into the matter for the customer.

[lmd]

Well, it happened the way I thought it would. They could not replicate the malfunction, could not find a problem, found no ‘bulletins’ from GM. So they did nothing to it. So, I didn’t buy it. It was the color combination we wanted, too: black with ebony/brick interior. I made some inquiries and spent some time online and found another one within a driving distance that we could live with, went and got it. The wipers work well on it, so far as I can tell. J So…all’s well that ends well.

I know that in many cases, in order to repair a problem, that problem needs to be observed so that it can be diagnosed. And in some cases, the ‘problem’ may be one of misperception on the part of the customer. When this dealer could not replicate it, he probably thought that I just did something wrong on a car that I wasn’t familiar with. Somewhere down the road, though, it will have to be dealt with. He did say that if there was a problem, they would ultimately get it taken care of, but I wasn’t going to shell out all of that money knowing that I will have to go through that ordeal. Parenthetically, it just does not seem like a hard problem to diagnose/repair. (...but I'm not a mechanic, and I don’t even play one on tv J)

I’m just glad it was raining when I test drove it.

The Malibu sure looks good in our driveway. What a car!

LMD

[caddycruiser]

Great!

Small issue or not, something like that already present on a test drive and then "not found" would always leave a sour taste...so I am SO glad you still got another of the same combo!

Our dealer had a Black Granite & Brick/Ebony LTZ too, when I was still shopping, and people had interest in it, but it didn't sell. Then come the day one of the 2LT's our dealer inquired on was back available, and the dealer who had it said "We'll give you the 2LT if we can have your black LTZ." Essentially, the sales manager at the other dealer wanted the LTZ for himself and was happy to give up the car we wanted on swap so both of us could be happy.

Congrats...on a GORGEOUS car! A week later, mom (and finally dad), loves ours too. Still is getting the most comments and compliments, daily, of any car she has ever owned.