prespalie
New member
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- Jul 21, 2023
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- Buick Ownership
- 2013 Buick Enclave
Hello. I recently purchased a used 2013 Buick Enclave. My lender requires me to have a device installed that can disable my starter & also serves as a GPS/lowjack device. The day after it was installed I went to pick up my son's prescriptions & first, the check engine light and oil light came on and beeped at me as I was stopped at a light after some railroad tracks on a hill. But when the light turned green and I went the lights went back off on the way to the pharmacy. When I went to start the car again after finding out I missed the pharmacy, everything came on, but the engine wouldn't turn over. I tried several times but ultimately had to be towed home. (it was too late for anyone to be open) A few days later someone from the service tech department for the GPS device finally got back to me. He tried disabling and then re enabling my starter through their system and that sort of worked. The engine didn't turn over till the 3rd try. I made an appointment to get a 120 point inspection at Pep Boys (I hit traffic & was 8 min late so the rescheduled me, but I canceled because I didn't want to deal with them & planned on trying somewhere else possibly if the dealership couldn't figure it out) and on the way there the oil light came on again & beeped. I figured out how to check the oil (as I hadn't had time to go through all that yet) and as expected, given the dealership had done an oil change, it was full & very clean. The GPS company had also sent a tech out to check the device installation & to get info to replace the dash plexiglass they cracked (though it was the same tech so he claimed no fault & didn't bother with the plexiglass portion & claimed no problem with installation) It ended up being that I needed an oil pressure switch, so I ordered one and brought it to the dealership the day their mechanic was there & he put it in. A couple days later a new problem started, my check engine light kept coming on & I was getting a Traction Control Off notification along with Service Stabiltrak notification. After being ignored by the dealership for awhile, I mentioned the lemon law, prompting the right person to respond & offer to figure out the problem. I had to drop the car off at the dealership, they gave me a loaner, & they had it for a week. They claim to have changed some sensor related to the stabiltrack. However, the check engine light was still on & didn't go off within a few days like it should have so I took it to Autozone & the code said most likely fix is replacing the battery even though according to vehicle history it was just replaced in 2021. The dealership had me drop the car off again, this time without a loaner, had it another week & eventually decided that the GPS company didn't clip a wire they were supposed to clip. They had them come clip it & called it good, rudely told me they were done with this car & had no more money to put in it & spent all profit fixing it (which is BS, 1 sensor & some labor from their own mechanic that would be working those hours on something anyway doesn't add up to the profit they'd have gotten on the car 🙄) & that it should be a good one for me now. By this time I had had the car almost 2 months, but was only able to drive it about half of that. After that my check engine light was periodically coming on but not staying on & there didn't seem to be anything related in the circumstances. I decided to just replace the battery when I could because I didn't feel I would get anywhere with the dealership. However, before I could replace it, I was running errands and once again, my engine wouldn't turn over even though everything else came on when I went to leave the 2nd store. My friend gave me a jump & it started right away. I borrowed money & bought a new battery, had to take it somewhere to get it installed since it is in the floorboards behind the passenger seat. But, my check engine light kept coming on still! So I go back to Autozone & it says to replace the ignition switch, but that I have to take it to Buick because it has to be coded. So, I make that appointment. In the meantime, I went to make my car payment & once again it didn't turn over 🤦♀️ I had to have my lender give me a jump. It turned right over. The GPS company does a complete uninstal of the device & installs a new one from scratch after I'd been told the GPS device may be causing a parasitic draw & that until fixed it'llkeep frying different parts of my electrical system. I take the car to Buick for the ignition switch & they say it's a false code & really the fuel pump control module (of course unlike the ignition switch this is not covered by my Power Train Plus AND is much more expensive) $740 later ($30 being gas for a ride to and from car at dealership) It should be fixed. A week goes by and no check engine light so I'm relieved. Then, I'm down at my mom's and on my way back to her house from taking my Daughter to Summerfest and we stopped at Safeway because she wanted Goldfish. We get out to the car & guess what? 🤦♀️ The engine doesn't turn over again, but everything else comes on. We find a nice stranger in the parkinglot willing to jump us. This time it didn't turn over right away; it took SEVEN tries! Now I have to take it back to Buick on Tuesday. I've been told most likely it is starter, alternator, or the ignition switch like the code originally said (thankfully all covered), however, I'm worried this is only the most recent Casualty of a parasitic draw. Anyone know if that could be the case? Is there a way to find out if it is for sure the GPS device and prove it? As far as I know that is the only aftermarket device on the vehicle. It does have onstar, but because of the year, it cannot be used so IDK if it could have anything to do with it.
