General Motors review: Lack of Customer Care Regarding Recall Comliance

My intention for writing this letter is to raise public awareness of General Motors Corporation business practices. I currently have a very unfortunate circumstance regarding the response to safety issues regarding my 2014 GMC Terrain. A circumstance which could have cost me my life.

On April 7, 2022 as I was driving on a local highway in what I categorize as a torrential downpour (which occurred suddenly), my windshield wipers ceased to function. I could hear cars around me on all sides, but the rain was so heavy, I could not see anything or anyone. I’m a senior citizen, so needless to say – I panicked. I pulled off the road carefully, not being sure if I was pulling into a safe, appropriate area, but I had to take the chance to avoid being struck by another vehicle driving behind me. Route 23 in the Pompton Plains, NJ area is heavily traveled.

While I sat in my car unsure of what to do, I realized that I could see through a small outer margin of my windshield. I was about eight miles from my mechanic and my home. I took the chance by driving in the slow lane until I reached my destination. I cannot stress how frightening an experience that truly was for me, but perhaps it was better than waiting on the side of the road for a tow truck while anything was possible that could further endanger me.

After arriving at my auto repair shop and having my truck evaluated, the cause of the windshield wiper failure was determined. I was informed it would take a day to obtain the parts. I left my vehicle at the repair shop and it was returned to me the following day – fully repaired.

A few days subsequent to that life-threatening experience, I received a recall notice by mail for the very issue that my vehicle succumbed to. It was indicated that the ball joints in the windshield wiper modules experience high corrosion and wear that could result in the separation of one or more ball joints from the sockets during wiper operation. The correspondence further indicated that the problem could not be remedied because the parts were unavailable. I felt grateful that my mechanic was able to secure the parts and fix my vehicle or I would have been home-bound.

I contacted GMC immediately and informed them of what occurred. Having survived Stage III Cancer 6 years ago, it would have been quite a pity for me to have died because of a serious highway accident where the roads were slippery and visibility was so compromised because of non-functioning windshield wipers. I was informed that I would be assigned an “Advisor” who would look into the matter. After receiving a few calls from the "Advisor", I was told that my reimbursement had been approved and that I would receive a check within a 6-week time frame – but probably sooner rather than later.

The "Advisor" proceeded to call me almost daily to “check in”. When the 6-week time frame was approaching and I had not received a check, the "Advisor" said it was just going to be a matter of days. Still, the check did not arrive.

Today - June 14, 2022, I contacted the corporate office and was informed that reimbursement checks had not been approved for anyone and would not be approved until the case was closed – meaning that the parts were available and would be replaced for owners of the 2014 Terrain. After learning this, I contacted the "Advisor" twice in the same day and he did not return my calls.

Initially, upon contacting them, I had informed GMC that I would publicize this matter if they did not hold to their commitment to keep people safe and to reimburse those that spent money out of their pockets to fix the dangerous problem – which if not repaired – would render the vehicle inoperable. They have done neither. I thought it was interesting that my mechanic was able to secure parts to fix my GMC vehicle but GMC doesn’t have access to these parts. And it’s further interesting that their representatives would blatantly lie to customers seeking reimbursement for a problem that should have never occurred.

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