Fake noise maker

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Above about 5 MPH, we're too busy paying attention to traffic to notice the sound. Only when stopped does the noise bother the heck out of me since my senses are freed from driving. I wouldn't have as much problem with the noise if it stopped when the car is stopped.

As for breaking stupid rules, seriously, you're going to compare dumping poison into the air that has killed / injured millions of people to disabling fake noise maker that makes no difference for almost everyone? Disabling fake noise maker is even more benign than minor speeding like 30 MPH in 25 MPH zone.
 
Oct 20, 2017, the 12V battery died in my 2014 Spark EV, taking the negative battery cable with it. It was towed to my trusted Chevy dealer and I was told the parts had to be found first then ordered. Would take a few days. They gave me a Suburban rental to drive. I was told it's covered under warranty.

Couple days ago the technician, who is terrific, by the way, emails me and says "The battery/cable have been replaced. I have a communication issue with the high speed lan circuits. I am still checking hopefully I can update you more tomorrow."

Today, they called and said the Pedestrian Alert Module, located under the front center console, had been unplugged and it caused a short and is not covered under warranty because there is aftermarket wiring under there so the bill is $1900...and they'll eat the $500 rental car bill.

:shock:

The aftermarket wiring is the cable for the bluetooth OBDII module paired to a 7" tablet that runs Torque Pro and the wiring for the rear view camera. I know about the Pedestrian Alert Module because of the discussion in this thread. I was never bothered by the sound so I gave it zero thought. And I never touched it.

The service writer at Chevy took pictures of the unplugged module and sent them to me.

I am led to understand that the unplugged module will throw errors on the dash. I never saw any until I jump-started the car the morning after the battery had died. By that time, we were scheduling a tow via OnStar, because the number of error messages on the dash made it highly unlikely that the car could be driven any distance.

I don't have all the details, yet, such as parts prices and labor charges, but something doesn't smell right. The rear-view camera install was done many months ago; if the module had been unplugged then, should I not have seen error messages?

The last time the car was at this Chevy dealer was for the latest recall a month or so ago. No issues were reported.

Obviously, I'm going to have to go over the repair details with a fine-toothed comb. I don't want to fight with the dealer. I've always had terrific service, there. And I have a rudimentary grasp of Magnusson-Moss; I'm going over that document, now. There's no way in hell a replacement 12V battery + cable could cost $1900.

Something just doesn't pass the sniff test...

Headed to the dealer this morning.

-Bob K.

Update 1147AM 11/04/17: Had a nice chat with both the service writer and the technician. I am satisfied with their explanation and how helpful they have been so far. The Pedestrian Alert Module had somehow come unplugged. It doesn't unplug on its own, and since I hadn't touched it, the only other hands that *may* have touched it would be the shop that installed the rearview camera. What we surmise is that they unplugged it to do something and didn't fully replug; hence, it was only partially making contact and it was a coincidence that the 12V battery and negative cable died at the same time that the module became fully unplugged. The dealership has volunteered to cover the rental car cost ($500!); the service writer spoke with supervisor and said there's no wiggle room on the $1900 bill; however, I can call Chevy Customer Assistance and there may be some haggling that can be done there.

I have to say that Ellis Chevrolet has treated me fairly and with honesty; I cannot ask for more, and they've allowed me one-on-one access to a terrific service technician who takes time out of his busy day to answer all my questions. Erik (technician) and Thomas (service writer) are consummate professionals of extraordinary skill.
 
electrohawk said:
I am not sure that this has ever been fully resolved from reading the comments.

Info wise, this is the location of the unit, if you wanted to repair/replace it.
If for off road use only, you could probably put a load resistor in the place of this and have the fuse in and not have any warning lights. This would maybe take a pound or 2 off your overall weight.

3217831.png

Here's a video of what the noise generator looks like IRL, and where you can find it

https://youtu.be/1HeEK5cLNpw?t=676
 
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