DTC problem: GM Serv. Dept Rip-off! Need Expert Advice, cough technicians...

bare with me on this note, it's long and a really frustrating situation, but i'll like to resolve it quickly as possible.

well as you remember i posted a note about dtc and "SES can't resolve" problem on my own after replacing fuel filter, pvc valve, air filter, spark plugs, and egr valve, so i broke down took it to the dealership and they were absolutely no help at all.

first of all the f*n idiots that you tell what's wrong with the car and print it out for the techs to look at know nothing at all and can't understand a damn problem anybody is describing. i own the exact manuals used in the service dept. and pin-pointed the problem myself but needed the tech2 to help resolve it so i pay 75 have it hooked up.

3 hours later they say to replace the egr valve/gasket. of course they say the tech put a different egr on it and it worked fine so i tell them put the "correctly working" egr back on and run it, the DTC will pop up again in a couple of minutes, they refused it. after arguing about the situation i tell the guy forget it, let me talk to the technician that worked on it, he'll understand what i am saying, they refuse it again.
by now i've wasted 4 hours around there, no problem solved, and out 75 and still clueless for what to do.

let's rewind to the when i first arrived at the dealership...
after telling the "desk f* head" what was wrong, they take it back to check it out, in the mean time i ask him what a case learn for the pcm would cost, he's like wtf is that then i say crankshaft variation position for reprogrammed pcms.... blank as paper on his face, then he's starts saying reprogramming your pcm will cost 500, i tell him no you don't understand, i'll talk with the tech when they are done with my car, he's like okay.

check out time...
so i get back they tell me replace egr valve/gasket, reprogram pcm....$500 on their report/bill list. and so the patience goes out the window, by now i could break this guy's head off and request to talk to a tech, manager, or someone who knows wtf a brain is. he says, "well it's 5:30, the techs have left for the evening," bullshi* i saw them all still working in the garage.

my proof they f'd me over at the dealership....
i get home, call a friend, put his working perfectly fine egr valve on my 01 gtp, and he uses mine in his car... what do you know, they both work fine and no problems but i still have that damn DTC popping up.

my solution...
i'll put my other pcm on when i read up and learn what trouble codes could arise from replacing stock pcm with a reprogrammed pcm and see if that other DTC shows up again. and before you say it, all vacuum lines/harnesses connected, good voltage across all circuits, all fluids replaced regularly, no bad gas, decarbonized block and necessary parts, and perfectly good transmission.

btw...
if you'll like a copy of the report they gave me i'll gladly email you it in jpg form.

this is the tech's write up:
"43980 I HOOKED THE TECH TWO TO TEH VEHICLE AND FOUND EGR CODES. P0405 - P01404- I USED THE TECH TWO AND FOUND THE EGR SENSOR STAYING AT 10 PERCENT ALL THE TIME AND WHEN I OPERATED THE EGR VALVE AT 20 PERCENT IT WENT TO 100 PERCENT AND STALLED THE VEHICLE. CMC 1.0 CHECK OUT ONLY AT THIS TIME. CUST DECLINED THE GR AND GASKET AND REPROGRAM. CUST DECLINED THE FUEL INJECTOR SERVICE AND THROTTLE BORE SERVICE AND FUEL FILTER AT THIS TIME"

also i'll email the pages from the service manual for troubleshooting the problem. maybe ya'll can help me out on this because the dealership has no clue at all except the information i gave them. my main problem is poor gas milage and surging at cruising speed. i've noticed that if i punch gas and let the supercharger do its work in a few consecutive trials i can kick that SES light off temporarily but it comes back on again in the next two hours. i'm guessing the surging and poor gas mileage is a result of the pcm turning the egr off because of the codes.

anyways, thanks for reading my long post and i hope someone out there can help me with this problem.

victory at last! after discovering the incompetence of service departments, i found the soul problem causing the SES light for the last month or so. when deciding to change the O2 sensors, i found a cut across the back side of the no.4 cylinder spark plug wire and small burn mark on a wire feeding the O2 sensor before the cat, since they were so close together i guess the plug wire had been jumping voltage to the O2 sensor wiring and pitted it a little. after fixing that, i took the car back to the dealership complained to the managed for an hour and also got a full refund and they apoligized for not performing a thorough diagnosis. it's good to be right, get your money back, and put another problem behind ya. oh yeah, if anybody needs an egr valve w/ gasket you can find it at ebay sometime in the middle of the week.

I'm glad to hear you solved your problem...I don't know what kind of dealership those people are running, but they have some highly uneducated techs working for them. I know my dad used to work at a dealership, and most of the techs there knew what was going on. Then again, most dealerships change their crew about as often as most people change their socks, and this place has had practically the same crew for 8-10 years.

And if you really want to raise hell about something, raise hell about GM's idiotic engineers that do stupid things like putting the power steering reservoir under the alternator next to the firewall and then putting the coolant bottle in the way.

GTPGirl, have you ever picked under the hood of a Jag or Bimmer? They are not simpler than our GP's. BTW 98's have the bottle front and a lousy intake. Your 99 has a far better intake, that is why the bottle is on the way, a small price to pay for better performance.

Yeah, I think engineer stupidity is universal. I think they TRY to find a complicated place to put things so that your average joe can't get to it and has to take his car to a dealership to have it fixed.

Hey,
Have you put your egr on ebay yet? If not how much do you want for it?

Thanks

that is completely true, gtpgirl, they do complicate things, they do that on purpose, ever looked under the hood on some really high end cars, even my uncles late 90s corvette has just the same thing as my dad's friend's brand new jag...it has just these little bubbles that have color things, like green is ok, yellow means its gettin about that time, and red means fix me now...the funny part is they are all labeled on plastic that is near-by, its so the owner wont pop the hood and start doing all the maintenence, then they reccommend that you take it to the dealer you bought it from if one of the bubbles stops being green and they will fix it, its all a scam for more money, dont ya think the car costed enough the way it was!? jeez, the world today....tisk tisk tisk

here's the listing for anybody interested in an EGR valve for almost any GM model vehicle.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2481456577