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Gm terrain intellilink freeze

55K views 30 replies 9 participants last post by  ChrisGinNC 
#1 ·
Just purchased a new 2015 Terrain Denali and the Intellilink system keeps freezing and rebooting.
When it freezes, I cannot control the radio, temperature, Nav system etc. When it reboots I lose any bluetooth connection I had (drops phone call).
GM dealer said there was no software update available for my Terrain, and showed me internal memo PI1356 that says GM is aware of the problem and working on a solution.
It's been 3 weeks already, and not sure I want to wait months to be able to use my car properly.
Wondering if I should just insist they take it back or swap out the whole radio / infotainment system.
What a mess.
Any suggestions, similar problems detected?

Thanks
 
#3 ·
Thanks @linton23.
GM customer service is doing a good job keeping in touch with me, but there does not seem to be a fix anywhere in the near future.
The truck is brand new (30 days this week).
Is it normal to expect me to wait months to have the truck working the way it is supposed to.
I am thinking about pushing hard for compensation, but I am so frustrated right now that I am thinking about just returning the truck for something else.
What would you recomend? You waited 3 months on a new truck??? Seems like you suffered a lot, did you ever inquire about compensation?
 
#5 ·
I view the Intellilink system as the heart of my vehicle (after the motor). It controls the radio, nav, heating / air and bluetooth/phone.
Equating the faulty Intellilink system to a few oil changes simply does not make any sense to me.
What's worse is that GM customer Service calls me every few days to say " We have verified with out technical team, and they do not know when this will get fixed. Customers and dealers will not be advised when it happens, you will just get in your car one day and it will be fixed".
How is this an acceptable answer to a new vehicle owner? Dealer can't help me accelerate the software patch. At this point, I want a new radio (I can't believe all 2015 GMC's have this problem) or a new car. Am I really being that demanding? What if you bought a phone that made calls but the phone re-booted every 15 minutes? I bet you would be demanding a new phone, not waiting for a patch...
 
#6 ·
So far yours is the only complaint i have seen. A dealer does not have a software specialist to update and patch software. You may ask the dealer for a new radio and you may get a new radio if they ask the dealer rep for assistance but then if that radio is bad what then?
 
#7 ·
We definitely understand your frustration, Panache70. Glad your agent is working through this with your dealer, but we still understand this is upsetting when dealing with a brand new vehicle. If you want to send us your VIN we'd be happy to note this within your case and notify your current agent. We're available via private message if you'd like to further discuss this matter.

Amber N.
GM Customer Care
 
#8 ·
The latest update is that the dealer now has my 2015 Terrain Denali.

After waiting over a month for the famous "software patch" to rectify the problem, they agreed that they probably misdiagnosed the problem.

They have agreed to order a new intellilink system.

It may take a few days.

I am hoping this fixes the issue.

Once this is rectified, it will be over 5 weeks that I was not able to use my new truck the way I should.

I am hoping there is some sort of compensation GM can provide.

I have bought GMs since I started driving (over 25 years now).

What does this do the warranty? If my Intellilink system konks out on me in year 4 of my lease (warranty is 3 yrs), will I be covered?

It is not the original system, so how do I know for sure it was replaced with a brand new one and not a refurbished one?

Perhaps GM can kick in the extra yr warranty for all my troubles?
 
#9 ·
UPDATE: Terrain is ready for pick-up at the dealer.
They have changed the radio / intellilink unit.
I am hoping there is some sort of compensation GM can provide.

I have bought GMs since I started driving (over 25 years now).

What does this do the warranty? If my Intellilink system konks out on me in year 4 of my lease (warranty is 3 yrs), will I be covered?

It is not the original system, so how do I know for sure it was replaced with a brand new one and not a refurbished one?

Perhaps GM can kick in the extra yr warranty for all my troubles?
 
#10 ·
UPDATE: So far so good since I have picked up the Terrain with the new Intellilink system.
Seems like it was a faulty product from the start, and all this nonsense about waiting for a software patch to be sent by satellite was a waste of time. Service took 2 weeks to give me an appointment, followed by mis-diagnosis of faulty product.
34 days of not being able to use my brand new GMC Terrain Denali (problem occured the minute I drove off the lot).
I believe I should be due some compensation, as such a delay is really unacceptable on a brand new vehicle.
Have left multiple messages with GM Service hotline and with the GM Service contact here on this forum.
Waiting to hear back, hope they can resolve to my satisfaction (GM owner since 1988 - 7 vehicles).
 
#11 ·
At least a few free oil changes
 
#12 ·
Yours is NOT the only one out there BELEIVE ME!
My Buick LaCrosse has the same reboot issue. It happens mostly when the temp drops.
The Intellilink becomes frozen after I attempt to use the voice activation. The reboot happens every couple of minutes unless I turn off the radio and wait until the car warms up. RIDICULOUS!
 
#18 ·
I think you will find GM is considering this a dealer issue the dealer misdiagnosed it. Its not like you could not drive the car. You have said oil changes would not be worth it to you what do you want cash? Go in to the dealer and say look I am not happy I was with my radio not working can I get "whatever" from the accessories book on the Terrain. We had to put an engine in a customers car and they were without it for a month we the dealership made her payment and provided her a loaner car for that month.
 
#19 ·
The dealer misdiagnosed based on the internal memo from GM. However, it was only after the dealer investigated further (after I kept pressing them) that they figured out GM's memo was only for radios without Nav systems. Mine has one. Even with that, GM was very relunctant to swap the radio, and the dealer had to keep pressing. In the end, GM delivered a truck with a defective intellilink system. I think they should assume part of the compensation. I have just about had it with the GM customer service blowing me off and I am going to spend the next hour on the phone trying to get resolution to this issue.
 
#21 ·
When a new vehicle is delivered to the lot they all go through a PDI (pre delivery inspection) process which is testing it out for any signs of anything wrong including gassing it up. If the radio was bad from the start it was the dealers fault for not catching it then. But thats my opinion.
 
#20 ·
Spoke to a different "ambassador" at Customer Service and they have approved me for 6 months free On Star. Are they for real??
I rejected the offer and asked them to come back to me with something I will actually use like a service credit, gas cards, or better still cash / check. I think 6 months free On Star is like $120 so they are not even close...
 
#22 ·
Not sure the dealer would have known, as the radio only re-booted every 10 minutes or so.
When you go through a PDI, do you drive the car or let it run for over 10 minutes?
I suppose if the gas station is over 10 minutes away, maybe... hard to say for sure the dealer is to blame.
The offer for 6 months free On Star really gets my blood boiling.
 
#25 ·
UPDATE: The dealership called and was only willing to offer 1 full tune up (I believe the price is $164). At the same time, I had asked that my case be escalated at GM Customer Service. They contacted me yesterday and said they would work with the dealership on getting me a gas card for an amount that would best represent the 34 days I could not use my car properly. Not sure what that means in $$$, nor if that means the free tune up for $164 is now off the table. They should be contacting me back today to finalize. Will keep you posted. Also @1999 White C5 Coupe: I did give them poor scores from a service perspective on the survey. Not sure how much difference one survey makes in the grand scheme of things, but I did answer it honnestly.
 
#27 ·
Thanks, GM Customer Service manager advised today that she is waiting to get in touch with the district manager before confirming any compensation. Sure is a lot of work and waiting for something that is pretty cut and dry. I did not have proper use of my brand new GMC Terrain Denali for 34 days because of a defective Intellilink system. Problem was misdiagnosed followed by GM pushing back on swapping the radio, which caused the huge delay to make things right. Pretty simple story, really. Anyway... will advise when I have more news.
 
#28 ·
$200 gas card. I'm tired of fighting. This whole experience has left me cold towards GM. They did not seem to value the fact that I have been a GM customer all my life, and made me feel like I was being difficult for requesting compensation.
Next car is 2018... sad to say, it may be a Ford. Thanks to all that responded.
 
#29 ·
My 2013 Terrain Denali radio system has frozen up too several times in the past two months. I have been in twice and no solution since they find no problem. I don't think they have looked very hard though. I will give them this blog info to show them it is not just my problem. Once the volume and station change are inoperative, I have to stop the car, turn off the ignition and restart the car to make the radio work. Today I noticed it may happen while I am on Sirius XM radio, not just FM radio stations. I also think the system is linked to the fan speed for the AC since, once I disconnected from a phone conversation today, the fan, which was not high enough to cool the car to 70 degrees as I had requested, went on high to cool the car down.
 
#31 ·
Correct.

GM vehicles have done this for a while.
 
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