Patrick Bier
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- Jul 31, 2013
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I would appreciate any advice in regards to what this problem might be and to whom I should report this issue.
Last night as I was driving, I attempted to change the Sirius radio channel. Nothing happened. None of the favorites buttons worked. I'd let the volume get a bit loud, since I'd previously been listening to a song I like, so now I was being blasted by unwelcome noise. I figured that I could stop the radio by shutting the car off, but I was wrong.
As I stood stupidly in the parking lot of a Home Depot, I weighed my options. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY!! It was 8:20pm, so the dealership was closed. Since On-Star can control certain functions, I tried calling them (of course, since my radio was blaring, a phone conversation would've been impossible, so I couldn't simply press the On-Star button. Fortunately (?) I had my cell phone.) After navigating On-Star's endless phone options, I finally reached someone who told me there was nothing she could do. AAA was equally useless, and claimed my situation didn't qualify as an emergency.
Enraged and vexed, I drove straight home, put the car in the garage, and tried to figure out my next move. I didn't know if the battery would last long enough to drive it to the dealership (or to my JOB!) in the morning, so I opted to kill the power. After consulting my owner's manual, I got a pair of needle-nosed pliers and crawled around the floor of my 3 year old, $44,000+ SUV! I located the correct panel and removed the radio's fuse, finally silencing the damn thing.
Later on, I tried putting the fuse back in. Everything functioned fine. This should make me happy, but it doesn't, because when I called Community Chevrolet this morning to report the problem and schedule an appointment, the service manager said that since I'd pulled the fuse and got the system working again, they wouldn't be able to locate the problem. And because of this, my extended warranty is MEANINGLESS because Chevrolet is unwilling to spend money replacing things that might not fix the problem. (Laughably, he also insisted that he'd never heard of this problem happening before. Do a search with "Chevrolet" and "radio won't turn off" to discover why I find his claim somewhat difficult to believe.)
So.... For the sum of 44k, I've bought an SUV that might, at any moment, malfunction and cause the radio to stay on until the battery goes dead. It might happen at a time and place wherein I can quickly and easily deal with the problem, or it might not. As the owner of a 2010 Chevy Equinox, I am apparently expected to carry a pair of needle-nosed pliers and a utility light in the vehicle at all times, just in case I am called upon, without any advance warning, to play mechanic.
I would appreciate any advice (trolls will be ignored) in regards to the following three questions:
1. How would you handle this situation? Who would you call and what would you say?
2. Have you had the same radio problem? How did you handle it? Did you pull and re-install the fuse? If so, did the problem ever come back?
3. I have a service appointment next week (the earliest time I could fit it into my schedule). How should I handle their "well, we really can't do anything..." attitude?
Thanks for any advice.
Last night as I was driving, I attempted to change the Sirius radio channel. Nothing happened. None of the favorites buttons worked. I'd let the volume get a bit loud, since I'd previously been listening to a song I like, so now I was being blasted by unwelcome noise. I figured that I could stop the radio by shutting the car off, but I was wrong.
As I stood stupidly in the parking lot of a Home Depot, I weighed my options. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY!! It was 8:20pm, so the dealership was closed. Since On-Star can control certain functions, I tried calling them (of course, since my radio was blaring, a phone conversation would've been impossible, so I couldn't simply press the On-Star button. Fortunately (?) I had my cell phone.) After navigating On-Star's endless phone options, I finally reached someone who told me there was nothing she could do. AAA was equally useless, and claimed my situation didn't qualify as an emergency.
Enraged and vexed, I drove straight home, put the car in the garage, and tried to figure out my next move. I didn't know if the battery would last long enough to drive it to the dealership (or to my JOB!) in the morning, so I opted to kill the power. After consulting my owner's manual, I got a pair of needle-nosed pliers and crawled around the floor of my 3 year old, $44,000+ SUV! I located the correct panel and removed the radio's fuse, finally silencing the damn thing.
Later on, I tried putting the fuse back in. Everything functioned fine. This should make me happy, but it doesn't, because when I called Community Chevrolet this morning to report the problem and schedule an appointment, the service manager said that since I'd pulled the fuse and got the system working again, they wouldn't be able to locate the problem. And because of this, my extended warranty is MEANINGLESS because Chevrolet is unwilling to spend money replacing things that might not fix the problem. (Laughably, he also insisted that he'd never heard of this problem happening before. Do a search with "Chevrolet" and "radio won't turn off" to discover why I find his claim somewhat difficult to believe.)
So.... For the sum of 44k, I've bought an SUV that might, at any moment, malfunction and cause the radio to stay on until the battery goes dead. It might happen at a time and place wherein I can quickly and easily deal with the problem, or it might not. As the owner of a 2010 Chevy Equinox, I am apparently expected to carry a pair of needle-nosed pliers and a utility light in the vehicle at all times, just in case I am called upon, without any advance warning, to play mechanic.
I would appreciate any advice (trolls will be ignored) in regards to the following three questions:
1. How would you handle this situation? Who would you call and what would you say?
2. Have you had the same radio problem? How did you handle it? Did you pull and re-install the fuse? If so, did the problem ever come back?
3. I have a service appointment next week (the earliest time I could fit it into my schedule). How should I handle their "well, we really can't do anything..." attitude?
Thanks for any advice.
