Hello to everyone. Just joined the site and find it very informative. I'm hoping none of you new age goat owners have to go thru what I've been thru the last two weeks. It started with a "clunk" in the front end while going over small bumps and while turning. I returned it to the dealership on June 26, 2006. I was told by the dealership that the noise was from a "gear" in the rack and pinion assembly and that the part would need to be ordered. They would not return the vehicle to me for "safety" reasons. On June 30, 2006, the dealership called and said my vehicle was ready for pickup. While waiting in the service bay for my 1700 mile old car to be pulled around, the service manager informed me that the car was not repaired completely because he heard another "clunk" from the front end. I left angrily from the incompetent dealership. On July 5, 2006, I returned the vehicle and was told later that same day that the "front sway bar control link" was broken on the drivers side and that the parts would need to be ordered. I received a call today from the dealership and was told that only 2 of the 4 parts necessary to make the repair had arrived. All this being said, please choose your servicing dealerships wisely. I would definately avoid Shelton Pontiac in Rochester Hills, MI. Also, we should all contact GM Service Parts Operations and request that a better stock of replacement parts be kept in the U.S. for these awesome automobiles.:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Sorry to hear (read) of your recent annoyances. Your story does not seem to be that uncommon. It appears that there are a lot of dealerships whose associated service departments are not well versed in the proper care and handling of the new goats. That compounded with the need for parts that are not readily available leads to a high suckage factor.

-K

A '06 I presume?

Yes the car is an 06. Today it is 33 days old and the servicing dealership has had it for 13 of it's 33 days of life. After reading of "browndogg"'s strut problems, I'm beginning to wonder if these cars have a poorly designed front suspension. I think my next mod's will definately be front end bolstering components. My ride was manuf. in 2/06 so I'm hoping that I do not develop the same strut problems when I get my car back (if??).

Perhaps, with several February built cars having struts issues, you should consider the possibility that the link and gear being broken are a result of failed struts that are imparting above average forces on those parts and your mechanics are just finding the symptoms and not the source of the problem.

Unless they have already replaced the link and the clunk is now gone, I would have them check the struts out and do it now before it breaks something else you have to wait on.

Yes the car is an 06. Today it is 33 days old and the servicing dealership has had it for 13 of it's 33 days of life. After reading of "browndogg"'s strut problems, I'm beginning to wonder if these cars have a poorly designed front suspension. I think my next mod's will definately be front end bolstering components. My ride was manuf. in 2/06 so I'm hoping that I do not develop the same strut problems when I get my car back (if??).

its not a design problem its a faulty part problem otherwise it would have manifested itself a long time ago considering they have been building this car for many years. I also suggest a thorough going over of the front suspension by the dealership to check for hidden damage.

Got my car back today with 2 new struts, 2 new control links and a new steering assembly. Dealer had to rob the parts off of another goat on their lot. It's a sad situation not to have enough replacement parts on hand to repair the problem. Apparently GM knows about the faulty struts installed on 2/06 production models. I have not heard of any recall notices as of yet. Hopefully noone else will have to experience this situation.

My 06 GTO was only 1 1/2 days old when my "clunk" happened! Right front strut went out on me! I was Fxxxin mad. Since they didn't have the parts, they wanted me to wait on it. Long story short, they canabalized another new GTO on the lot to fix mine. Something tells me that this isn't the end.

Man do I ever feel your pain. I bought my 06 Goat in April. The dealership has had it back 7 times for a total of 42 days! She goes to a new dealership next Monday for another week.

My rt strut has been out 2 weeks. Expecting part Aug 7 (we'll see). BTW, the dealer said GM had a service bulletin on the strut problem Said they had gone to a lighter weight oil which caused the strut to leak easily. Supposedly the replacement parts will have the previously used heavier weight oil. The serv bulletin came out in May of this year.

I think I've been in denial, but I do believe that I'm beginning to experience a clunk from my left front side. Does anyone think this falls into Lemon Law category? I'll take her into the shop on Monday. I now have 2000 miles on her, what a shame.

Does anyone think this falls into Lemon Law category?

Not yet. You'll get it fixed soon (as soon as they get some new struts, not cannibalized ones) and after driving you'll forget all about it (well maybe not but the memory will fade).

Hang in there, sorry for your misfortune.

I just heard that Aug 7 is no good, I will not get my new struts in by then! Pontiac Customer service is predicting Sept 15! Bought my new GTO July 5, drove it 2 weeks now it just sits, both struts on order. Dealer says I can drive it (Rt front clunks alomost continuous) I refuse. Very disappointed in Pontiac for lack of parts.

I just heard that Aug 7 is no good, I will not get my new struts in by then! Pontiac Customer service is predicting Sept 15! Bought my new GTO July 5, drove it 2 weeks now it just sits, both struts on order. Dealer says I can drive it (Rt front clunks alomost continuous) I refuse. Very disappointed in Pontiac for lack of parts.
Here's a thought...can't the dealer order upgraded aftermarket struts for your car? It may cost them a bit more, but it certainly has to be better than upsetting a customer by telling him that the parts will not be available until September. Of course I am assuming that the aftermarket struts are available. This is something I have not researched.

-K

After having taken a quick look, I found that Pedders has aftermarket struts for the new GTO. The following is what I found available:

GTO Comfort Gas Sealed Strut with VRD Technology, Includes Single Use Clevis Bolts - 8985L - $153.64

GTO Comfort Gas Sealed Strut with VRD Technology, Includes Single Use Clevis Bolts - 8985R - $153.64

GTO GSR Front Strut Left, Includes Single Use Clevis Bolts - 9985L - $200.91

GTO GSR Front Strut Right, Includes Single Use Clevis Bolts - 9985R - $200.91

For those of you that are unaware, this problem is being well documented in another forum. I'm new here , so I won't cross post links there unless someone says it's ok.

The problem stems from a change in the manufacturing of the Monroe front struts sometime around the middle of January, 2006. Struts manufactured between that time and May 5th, 2006 were made with a thinner oil that apparently is degrading the strut seals and causing them to fail, typically leaking/spraying the fluid all over the wheel well and the various suspension components. This oil is rather corrosive to rubber parts including swaybar bushings, stabilizer link bushings and even undercoating. Strut failure has typically been seen within the first few hundred miles of ownership. Struts manufactured after 5/5/2006 are not affected by this problem. GM has purged their parts inventory of all affected bad struts, and this has left a huge waiting list for obtaining these parts. Some estimates have been given from as much as 4-12 weeks before OEM replacements are available. Dealers have been robbing other cars on their lots to obtain struts, but if those donor cars have a build date of 02/06 or later, it is likely they also have bad struts, so this is not always a good option.

My personal experience has been that I purchased my BOM-M6 GTO on July 5th. within days I was seeing a marked deterioration of the undercoating in the wheel wells. The stuff could literally be wiped right off with my finger. While the struts (which have a date of 30 January 2006 right on the label) have not been leaking with pools of oil on my floor like may others have reported, there is obvious oil stains on the labels of the strut and oily film. I took the car to the dealer after a week or so. They knew nothing of the strut issue at that time, and said my struts were not leaking. They agreed to powerwash the undercarriage and reapply undercoat to the car which they did. Since then, the undercoating in the wheel wells has again become tacky and almost paste-like, removable with a good finger swipe. I have made arrangements to have Pedders struts installed by the dealer, but the undercoating issue concerns me as there is no telling what will happen with the car further down the line since it has been so deteriorated. I may hold off on the strut installation until I consult an attorney regarding lemon-lawing the car. I would definitely replace the car with another GTO as I love the car, but it must be one without the strut problem.

GM has been authorizing dealers to install aftermarket struts such as those from Pedders. Typically the car owner has been picking up the difference between the cost of OEM and the Pedders strut, which runs $60-$100 more depending on the grade of the strut chosen. There are a number of Pedders dealers in the US. You can check them out by going to www.peddersusa.com. If you go to your dealer and they have no idea what you are talking about in regards to this problem, the following procedure has seemed to work well for most people.

1. Refer the dealer to PIC4141 SI doc ID# 1848873 (This is GM's preliminary investigation document)
2. Let the dealer find out the parts are not available (they may start what is called a SPAC case before they find this out).
3. Ask about getting the aftermarket parts installed because of the wait.
3a. You offering to pay the difference in parts price will help.
3b. Tell the dealer you undertand the new strut will not be warrantied by GM, but through Pedders.
4. If the dealer is still unwilling, ask them to call TAC (technical assistance), as putting aftermarkets on is known about by them.
4a. The dealer will be told by TAC that this has to be OK'ed by the AVM (area service manager)
5. If the dealer says the AVM has said "No", see 3a and 3b above, then ask to speak with the AVM or ask the AVM to call the TAC liaison for this issue. The AVM can find the TAC liason by looking at the PI in the TAC database, not the one in SI. The liaison will be able to get the AVM up to speed on what is going on.

Hope this helps all of you with the problem.

First thanks for the post. :)

but the undercoating issue concerns me as there is no telling what will happen with the car further down the line since it has been so deteriorated.

I wouldn't worry about it too much at this point. As long as you haven't been driving it on slushy salt covered winter roads or in the rain every day I doubt you'll have any problems. It will have to be reapplied again it sounds like but they need to get your struts first. Good luck and let us know what happens.