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Faded bubbles water warranty problems replacement of cargo panels bed covers etc

teking

Charter Member
Full Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2002
Messages
180
Location
Orlando Florida
My dealer is giving me static about replacing my faded panels under warranty. ?BTW - which I can't understand .. if it was paint they wouldn't hesitate. ?They fixed the paint on my Vette.

Can someone point me to the topic ... I'm sure it has been discussed before.





Made title more descriptive
 
Let me know who you make out, I am curious about how they handles this. Also, I know this has been posted before, but what product do people use as a preventative?

Thanks
 
I have a 2002 and have had the same problem. While it requires some work on your end, there are some products you can apply to restore them to their natual color. You may need to apply them regularly to keep the color.

I don't know that I've heard anyone complain about the 2003's having this problem.

Keep after the dealer though. They should do whatever it takes to keep you happy (within some limits of course).

David
 
I have the same problem. I haven't talked tomy dealer yet but it is going in for a service this week and the topic will be brought up. I will post the answer I get...........
Tractman
 
This is my first post! I've been a member for about ten months. I really didn't have anything to add in the past.
But I would like to say that all my covers have faded and have white spots on them. I went to my local dealer and since there was a change of hands, as far as owners, the new owner had a lot of panels from past swaps to get warranty credit from Gm. At that time GM wasn't honoring these covers, apparently GM was able to wiggle out of the warranty coverage.
I guess what I'm getting to, is that they (GM) will warranty my covers and along with the rest the dealer had. I never treated my covers with any type of protectant. I guess, since there were new owners at this location they tried a little harder to get the warranty coverage, not for me, but they had all those other covers they were in debt to.
But if they will cover my waranty, they should start covering all defects - as far as fading and spotting. I hope this helps someone. :-X ;D
 
I swear this is why the cladding went to a darker color.....they changed the chemical make up so it would resist fading better.......

We will see in a year how the 03's look.....
 
We talked about this a little this weekend. Mine are starting to look like an alligator, lines fading from dark to light. I am going to the dealer today cause George has a set of 02 mud flaps for me and I'm going to see what they say.
 
Ya'll might want to check and see if the back panel, next to the tailgate, is 'bowing', or warped, down in the middle. Mine was and GM replaced it.

When it came in, it was a different color than the rest and 'leaked' between the old and new one. Thus.......... the dealer replaced all THREE panels. There is a Service Bulletin on the panels warping.

>:DIf you get my drift!!!!!!!!
Good Luck
iceman
 
I took delivery of my Av with a warped panel #3. It looks like somebody must have sat on it during its stay on the dealer lot. It doesn't leak during carwashes and downpours, so I suppose I have no reason to get it replaced.
 
How low was the warping on the rear panels? I have some warpage and I wonder what is normal verses excessive as mine was somewhat warped when I bough the AV 1 year ago. I do not have a problem with fading yet but have worried about it.........
 
When I bought my truck, the next day I noticed panel number 3 sagged in the middle. I took it back to the dealer and we swapped it out for another one of another AV. I noticed the sag when I looked through the rear view mirror. Well... the new panel was even, but after a day or so, it was sagging again. Their is no leaking problems or anything... I believe the drag/wind pressure pushes dawn onteh 3rd panel pretty hard creating a sag in it. But since it is not leaking it doesn't really matter, I can just see it when I look to back up.
 
Trent said:
I noticed the sag when I looked through the rear view mirror.
Keep in mind that the top "spoiler" cladding of the tailgate is slightly crowned: it arches up a little in the center. When used as a visual reference, it can make a straight panel seem like it's sagging, and a slightly sagging panel seem like it's really sagging. This effect is most pronounced when looking back at it from the back window (or in the rear view mirror.)

You cannot use the top of the tailgate as a reference. To really judge a sag, you need to either use a known straightedge, or more simply get your eye down at the same height as the panels, and sight across the truck looking along the edge from one side storage box to the other. Any sag (or the crown in the tailgate) should be readilly apparent.

-- SS
 
I never noticed that mine were faded until I parked my '02 next to an '03. Man, you could really see it then. :p

Sorry, just playin'

-Mark
 
As far as sagging, I put a level on it and it was definatly sagging. That is what I showed the dealer. It does look worse because of the arch in the tailgate, but if you look at the gasket, you can definatly see teh difference.
 
I just traded-in my '02 for an '03 and the panels on this '03 are spotted with almost white circles. Also, they appear to be much lighter in color than the rest of the cladding. I am wondering if the original panels on this truck were swapped with another AV? Anyway, I will be at the dealer next week to find out if GM will replace them. Truck has a build date of 08/02 but purchased 06/03 with only 22 miles. New truck should look like it is new, even the bed panels.
 
ygmn said:
I swear this is why the cladding went to a darker color.....they changed the chemical make up so it would resist fading better.......
We will see in a year how the 03's look.....
Mine will be a good test 'cause I don't mess with them. :(
 
txyank1 said:
ygmn said:
I swear this is why the cladding went to a darker color.....they changed the chemical make up so it would resist fading better.......
We will see in a year how the 03's look.....
Mine will be a good test 'cause I don't mess with them. :(

Please keep me informed.....I am interested......if so I might look into some 03 bed covers....
 
Mine were looking a little faded so my son applied 303 this weekend and they look like new. Thanks to this forum for reminding me about 303. (y)
 
303 makes mine look better too........for about a week. Unfortunately, the 303 doesn't help with the #3 panel sag.

I've started my quest today to irritate GM enough until I either get new panels or they refuse my calls.

Any suggestions??

 
Jeep_Dragger said:
303 makes mine look better too........for about a week. Unfortunately, the 303 doesn't help with the #3 panel sag.

I've started my quest today to irritate GM enough until I either get new panels or they refuse my calls.

Any suggestions??
Whoa, your #3 panel sags too? Keep me up to date on this (still gotta go to the Chevy dealership to look at other Avs). :E:
 
I'm out of warranty (sag it isn't so :cautious:)....
Haven't really had an issue with either AV...
but...
I saw a panel that has seperated and will bubble up when it's hot.... That's a definate concern
 
jmbfin said:
I just traded-in my '02 for an '03 and the panels on this '03 are spotted with almost white circles. Also, they appear to be much lighter in color than the rest of the cladding. I am wondering if the original panels on this truck were swapped with another AV? Anyway, I will be at the dealer next week to find out if GM will replace them. Truck has a build date of 08/02 but purchased 06/03 with only 22 miles. New truck should look like it is new, even the bed panels.

It is most likely soap or some cleaner that dried on it. The panels on my 2003 will start to look faded and graying after it gets dirty and sits for a while without treating the cladding. Once I clean the truck, I re-treat the cladding with a protectant and the panels go back to "new" again.

The panels will take on a faded appearance if you do not clean and protect them. The major thing I have found that makes them look faded, is just soap buildup. Especially if you use a car wash with a wax included in the soap.

It is impotant to protect them if you want to keep them looking good. If yours has not been treated in a while and looks faded, pick up a good protectant and try using it. Pretty sure you will see a big difference.
 
I agree that 303 makes them look better, but the rest of the plastic doesn't look like this.

If they can make the rest of the plastic tolerate the elements, I think the panels should age uniformly with the storage lids, etc.
 
My 2002 AV just went in this morning for service and to see what they were going to do about the faded panels. The wing panels and cargo covers are faded and zebra stripped but the toolbox doors and spoiler are fine.
I took it in a couple of months ago for the fading problem and they slathered a couple of gallons of Back to Black over the panels and said that should fix the problem. I knew it would'nt, but it was their turn to play. Anyway after the first rain the Back to Black ran down all over the rear fenders and the panels went back to their Zebra stipes.
This morning the service manager came out with a printout that said fading was the owners responsibility and was probably caused by poor maintenance. My response was that if was a mainenance issue all the panels would be faded. They had no response for that.
I'll see what the final outcome is when I pick it up this afternoon
 
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