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anyone thought of a Class action suit for faded cladding

Z

zedhead12

SM 2004
Full Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2003
Messages
596
Location
Baltimore Md
For GM Lying and saying that Cladding wouldn`t fade,or look like crap? Mine is 2 TOTALLY different shades of gray colors. any thoughts? anyone know a good lawyer? :8: :7: :8: :7: :8: :8: :7: :D:
I`m really sick about this I like to keep a nice clean looking truck and every difference in shade is standing out now :E: :E: :E: :E: any help?
 
You know, I really hate it that you are having so many problems with your Avalanche, BUT this is not a good way to make friends on a club that is for the Avalanche! You have made 3 posts and they are all griping about your problems! You might try a asking questions instead of bashing and see what that gets you.

Just an idea :0: Butch
 
My cladding is fine also - although I live in the soggy Pacific Northwest my Avalanche has never been garaged kept, we had the longest period of no rain and warmth this summer in history, and conversely I'm a skiing nut so I'm in the salt and crude up in the passes every winter typically at least once a week. Again no problems here with my cladding or cargo panels.
 
I hope we're not your avenue of last resort.

First suggestion. Meet your dealership owner.

Second suggestion. Complain about your service satisfaction history and your inability to communicate elsewhere.

 
My bed covers are fading out, but the side compartment covers haven't which is weird. ???
I cover my Av just about everyday at work and it STILL faded! The so called "fadeless" plastic was GM's claim to fame on the '03s, but I'm not to the point of a CAL.
I'll just get the covers under warranty.
 
I live in VERY SUNNY Florida, and my Av is mostly out of the garage out of necessity (no basements down here :() My cladding hasn't faded much except for the bed panels; they are horribly oxidized?? The top of the cladding above the third brake light is also getting that way as well.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't take the best care of my exterior (it is a truck after all), but I've 303'd it and used a few other products that have been mentioned on the boards without success. My main concern is that my parent's Ford Escape (which has a lot of lower cladding on it and is two years older) has NO fading at all and it subject to the same conditions (and gets even less care than mine).

So why didn't GM do some proper testing and analysis before putting out an inferior product, and then changing it on the next model year without so much as a "our bad" to the charter owners. I feel like zedhead12 that some compensations should be made to us 02 owners who are having problems. I'm not stupid, I knew there would be fading in Florida, but I would at least like it to be uniform instead of in spots !!

I'd be willing to pay the actual production costs to upgrade to the 03 cladding formula, but no one's making that offer :( If this were a mechanical failure instead of a cosmetic failure, I'd like to think that GM would make it right, but then I look at all the problems that the 03 4x4 owners are having with their drivetrains and just sigh --- another quality product :-[

Thanks for letting me vent,

DavidC166
 
I frequent a board for Honda GL1800 motorcycles, and due to QC issues thay have a variety of problems. These include overheating, frame cracking, latch failures, and many others. I posted my true feelings of disgust and was flamed regularly for disagreeing with the masses who somehow considered repeated failures a cost of ownership on an 18,000 motorcycle. I was flamed so much, I left the board. It is important that we not flame somebody for stating their disapproval of a TRUE problem with the AV. The fading issue is real!

Thanks
 
I`m Sorry but when i bought my Av I was told and promised by the salesman that the plastic cladding was treated and specically formulized so that it would NOT leach the plastizers (chalking)which is leading to the color differences and spotting,I have used the 303 product and several others to try to allievate this problem to no avail so I discover this wonderful website dedicated to Avalanche owners and their expriences with this great truck.
However I spent alot of money of this truck and want to keep it looking nice.
I dont want to slave over it every weekend cleaning it
it SHOULD be virtually maintence free
this remindes me of the silver paint GM and F**d had back a couple of years ago where it would wash off basically leaving the red primer
remember those?looking like crap?
this is the same snafu IMHO.
Am I wrong to come on here and read about all the other great dealers helping other avalanche owners and not expect the same from my local GM dealer??
Am i wrong to come on here to share my experince with my dealer and expect a sense of community?
 
I do understand and if I were in your shoes I would be ranting and raving also! I just ment for the first few posts questions are usually better than all of the head banging, fuious and barfing faces and talk of lawsuits. Good luck and most times if you do not get the service you need from the dealer there are always steps to go above his head, just take them one at a time and I believe your problem will be solved. Try other dealers if that does not work start up the chain. If there is a known problem with some panels somewhere along the line you will be taken care of.

Good Luck, Butch
 
Zed, you?re not wrong, but talking about a CAL right off the bat did seem a little much. Have you gone to your dealer yet? If so what did they say? Wiki just found a cleaner kit for the cladding. Here is a link GM Cladding Cleaner Kit. This may help some of your problem. Maybe you could get your dealer to give you a kit or maybe even do it for you. Just a suggestion.

Going back and looking at your prior posts, you have went to your dealer. I think that I would find another service department to deal with.
 
Horacio said:
My bed covers are fading out, but the side compartment covers haven't which is weird. ???
I cover my Av just about everyday at work and it STILL faded! The so called "fadeless" plastic was GM's claim to fame on the '03s, but I'm not to the point of a CAL.
I'll just get the covers under warranty.
Click to expand...


i was kinda wonderng the samething. why are the covers fading, but not the side compartment doors? are they not made of the same material?
 
02-Z66 said:
i was kinda wonderng the samething. why are the covers fading, but not the side compartment doors? are they not made of the same material?
Click to expand...

Further to this, I'm wondering why some people's '03s are fading and others' are not. My '03 has been through one FL summer (mostly outside) without noticeable fading. Cladding treatment about every 2 or 3 weeks.

Wonder if the plastic has come from different sources or if there was a problem up until a point?

'Course, I probably just jinxed myself for posting this :-X
 
My cladding is also pretty bad. Try picking up the phone and calling Chevrolet directly. I just did this and have an appointment with the manager at my local chevy dealership.

1-800-222-1020
 
Im sorry to hear about all the cladding issues. It makes me sad that others are having issues. Im sorta in a different boat here, I have an 03 WBH so I dont have the side cladding to worry about. I have had my truck for about 4 months and havent noticed any fading yet. I been using trim shine and plan on using the GM product before winter.
I guess if some fading will happen I will notice next summer.

BMAC
 
Update!!!! I called service department today and asked to talk to service manager,We got talking about my issues and they agreed to take another look at it and try some different treatments that Chevy has!!!And If they don`t work then we`ll try to replace panels!!!hopefully meaning sail and lower cladding which is fading also.
they did at first assume that I had a 03 though which worries me for you 03 owners..........Generally in my exprience, the black doesnt fade.
Backstory..I come from a commerial roofing background and have dealt with several different roofing types that are PVC based,in direct sunlight applications the grey faded,sun bronzed,mottled,
oxidized,and suffered material loss up to 7-10 mils, Which is due to plastizer loss due to UV rays and improper sealing of the material.

The black PVC material on the other hand fared much better with only loss of flexability due to loss of plastizers(over 5 years glazing and cracks start to appear)

Now I know that our cladding isnt strictly PVC based and that plastizers loss SHOULD be at a minimin due to not as much in material (because it doesnt have to as flexible) but whatever its composed of is leaching out and our cladding black and grey isnt up to lasting in the sun.

But to answer some questions I have I believe that this has been a problem for awhile and that my panels are most likely not the ones that shipped with the truck I believe that someone else came in and complained and they(dealership) switched mine with their older ones.I wonder if there is an stock # I could check this against to see when they were made and if like in vettes all my #`s match.
any help in info?

Because I dont want to be one voice in the wildness.
what we have here (this website ) is power.....Power of the ......$$$$$$BUCK$$$$$$$$
 
:cool:
I have an '03 with cladding. I bought it Dec. 15, 2002. I live in south Riverside County California. The winter was wet and cold, and the summer was 100 degrees plus for the entire summer, until yesterday. ("yeah, but it's a dry heat!"). That is why I am surrounded by wildfires. I hose the ashes off my cars every morning. My AV parks in the driveway in direct sunlight. The caldding, panels, and sail still look like new. I wash the car after each time I go off roading or racing up a dirt road. I don't treat it with anything. I use mild soap when I wash it. My kids and I walk around on the cargo panels, even put lawn chairs up there. They do have some small scratches, but I expect that, as often as we abuse them by walking on them and taking them off.
So why are mine doing so well, and others are having problems? Other than a flat tire because I ran over a four inch lag bolt on a construction site, I haven't had any problems with my AV. I'm at 26,000+ miles.
:cool: ???
 
I just got my truck back from the local Chevrolet dealership. They have ordered me a new front bumper cladding and three new deck panels all covered under warranty. I spoke with one of the service managers who indicated that they have had a lot of problems with this cladding. So, if you are experiencing fading, sun damage etc it is probably worth asking the dealership- to take a look at yours.

Just my 2 cents.
 
:8:
My '02 is exhibiting the "Zebra" pattern/fading as well. Southern Calif.

I have not used anything other than water and an occasional pass-over with the wash-mitt, loaded with soapy "zainoed" car wash.

The more I read everyone else's post.....the more "worked-up" I get! :E:
Last week I stopped at my local dealer who reported to me that GM had issued a fix....but recalled this and asked that dealers take no action until further notice. I didn't want to be "in-your-face" confrontational....so I merely asked that they document my visit and complaint.
Today I called the GM Customer service 1-800 # (posted in this same thread). I was told that GM has not documented anything concerning this problem and that I should take this up with my local dealer. Full circle :6:

I guess I will be paying another visit to my dealer tomorrow with a more stearn approach. I don't find any instruction in my owners manual about "specialized" maintenance for the cladding. I have a feeling this is going to get more ugly than my cladding is looking! :p

I'm documenting.....next i'll take some photos and post more tomorrow!

Thanks for letting me rant!

 
I just took my new '03 that I purchased in sept. in to the dealer to complain that the white spotting on the tonneau covers didn't srub off as he said it would. I figured he was bs'n me but I went with it figuring the dealer ship would take care of it if I brought it back. Well I did and they did some sort of treatment on it that looked like a really amazing amour all job...WOW! BFD. I can tell that I'll be back to complain again. at least its documented. Armour All does make the cladding look sweet though. I heard that after '04 the AV will not be offered with cladding...is this true? Is it because of the fade issue and GM want's to save their own butts? Regardless I'm gonna keep putting protectant on the cladding to keep it ship shape.

-FreshPowder
 
2004 have cladding...

And welcome to the club Freshpowder...
 
Just out of curiousity, does anyone know if the 02 Esclade EXT or any other model year is having this same problem or not? I mean I know the side panels are painted but I wasn't sure about the bed covers.

Big Dog
 
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