[94mustang]

“Service Side Detection System”

First off, I have a 2013 Cruze LTZ RS. I was driving last night and I noticed that the blind spot detection light kept going on and off on the passenger side (even though there was nothing there). Then I got the dreadful “Service Side Detection System” message. I wish it was the “Side Detection System Unavailable”, since that is probably dirt or snow. I arrived at my destination, where the car sat for about two hours. I turn it back on and the same message came up right away upon startup. Only this time the they were not lighting up at all. So, I turned the car off and turned it back on and this time the passenger side would lit-up almost the entire time.

Back in December of 2014, I had this same message come up and they put it a 22971842 module. It fixed the problem for one month! Then when it happened again they did the same repair again, and it has not been an issue for two years. Back then I had a warranty so I did not care.

I notice that the part costs $332.00 US, (I live in Canada so that is $432.00). Plus, there is always a dealer markup, so I imagine the part will be at least $500 CAD. I know they have to take the rear bumper off so I imagine a few hours of labor at $100 an hour. Then sales tax, so this could easily be a $1000-dollar fix. That seems very expensive for a part that lasts maximum two years, or possibly even a month!

Anyone else having issues with the 22971842 modules? If the dealer says that is the issue (which I imagine it will be), is there something I can suggest to them? Also, to add to this, last time they did this they had my car for an entire week in the middle of winter! So, I will defiantly be requesting a ‘loaner’ or rental.

Thanks for your help!

 

[ChevyGuy]

You might try a visual inspection to see if it's a connector issue. Perhaps a little cleaning and dielectric grease will do the trick.

If that doesn't work, GM Parts Direct sells the module for $205. I'm not sure what it takes, but I wouldn't think it would be that difficult for a DIY replacement. If it needs programming, then hopefully you can find a dealer that will do that. That should cut down on the bill.

Otherwise, you might call around to see if any independent shops have the tools to programming.

 

[94mustang]

So just an update on this issue.


Dropped the car off Monday morning at 7:00am. They called about two hours later saying that the 22971842 module would have to be replaced again (as I suspected). They had to order the part and it would be in by the next day. The repair cost is $621 CAD. I was able to talk them down to $300 (before tax), after I explained this ridiculous situation.


Picked up the car on Tuesday around 4:00pm. Got into it, turned it on and drove about five yards and now the drivers side was going off. So I brought it back to them, they would look into it the next day since it was now 4:00.


Got a call today (Wednesday), and they now have to order that part for the other side. The adviser, will look into it to see if he can get me a deal again. So the car sits another night.


Mean while I called GM, and basically they said that I am out of luck since the car is beyond its three year warranty and the part was replaced two years ago.


I guess the good part is, at least I have a one year warranty on those new parts. If this happens again after the year, I think that I am just going to but tape over top of the sensor indicator lights.

For people that have found this in the future, here is someone else who had the exactly same issue, only with a 2014 model;

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/9-general-discussion/151353-blind-spot-monitoring-indicator.html

Long story short, it seems this is happening because water is getting into the module and is freezing, which is destroying it. The module is under the rear bumper fascia, and it is exposed to all the elements. So if you live in a warmer climate than you are probably safe.

 

[MP81]

Ours is giving the error again, for the second or third time (I can't remember). But the first time we had it fixed, it was covered under the bumper to bumper. So the subsequent time be brought it in, they fixed it for free and gave us a loaner since it was a repair to a warranty repair. Going to see if I can swing that again. Otherwise, I just will deal with the stupid message and no blind spot sensors.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Long story short, it seems this is happening because water is getting into the module and is freezing, which is destroying it. The module is under the rear bumper fascia, and it is exposed to all the elements. So if you live in a warmer climate than you are probably safe.

Either that or it's water along with road salt. We typically don't see salt outside of the snow belt. Either way, the module isn't as water tight as it needs to be.

See if you can get the defective module back for a autopsy.

 

[94mustang]

Ours is giving the error again, for the second or third time (I can't remember). But the first time we had it fixed, it was covered under the bumper to bumper. So the subsequent time be brought it in, they fixed it for free and gave us a loaner since it was a repair to a warranty repair. Going to see if I can swing that again. Otherwise, I just will deal with the stupid message and no blind spot sensors.

You are lucky they gave you a loaner, at my dealership if you dare to ask for a loaner they make a stink about it. Including tomorrow (which I imagine they will have the car all day), I have been without a car for four days in the middle of winter. Where I live it is below 0 Fahrenheit! That is also assuming they will fix it tomorrow and not need additional parts.

Does anyone know how that works. Even though the car is out of warranty are they supposed to give a loaner car, or is it at the dealerships discretion? Like I have a '94 Mustang that I still bring to the dealer I doubt they would give me a loaner since the car is so old.


Also, as 'ChevyGuy' said, I did read that somewhere that if the salt + water gets into those connectors, that is can cause major problems to the sensors.

 

[MP81]

Well, ours was covered under warranty, so we got the free loaner because of that - and likewise afterwards since it was a free repair to a warranty repair (essentially warrantying the warranty). Recalls they also give us a loaner. They're real good about it, and are the ones who offer them to us.

For repairs that are out of pocket (out of warranty), they'd be doing you a giant favor to give you a loaner for free, there's no requirement to do so. I'm sure they'd be happy to let you pay for one, but I'd never expect a free one.

 

[94mustang]

All these computers and electronics are very, very expensive to maintain. In Canada there is no lemon law, so I will probably have to pay to fix this once every couple years. So far here are the things that have gone wrong with my Cruze;
1) Water Pump had to be replaced (warranty)
2) Trunk Latch had to be replaced (warranty)
3) Passenger door handle had to be replaced (warranty)
4) Passenger side window was having issues (warranty)
5) Got a 'over heating turn off AC' message (warranty)
6) Rear Brake caliper completely seized up (out of pocket)
7) Brakes had to be replaced at 30,000 miles since they rusted up (out of pocket)
8) And the blind spot sensor issues (out of pocket)

Mean while my 1994 Mustang Convertible (3.8 V6), has brakes that were installed six years ago, they have very little rust. The water pump is elven years old. The trunk latch and passenger side window has never been serviced in 23 years. To go a step further it still even has its original alternator and fuel pump from 1994.

 

[pontiacgt]

If they get it fixed this time it might be wise to maybe spray some flexseal or something to coat the connector so it stays dry and clean.

 

[NeilThewheel]

Hi all, I'm new here and signed up just to talk about this issue. My wife's 2013 Cruze eco started doing the same thing with the side detection system. It was just out of warranty so we decided to let it go for a while.
WELL, then things started getting weird. The radio/nav/backup camera stopped working (most of the time). Then the dash gauges stopped working, no spedo/rpm/temp/fuel. Then she was driving at night and the headlights turned off while she was going about 50mph, she didn't really know because of the gauges, so this happened a few times and I brought it down to the dealership.

So I asked if this was covered under a recall or something and they told me no and that I should expect things to go wrong with a 4 year old car. So after telling him I'd rather drive the car into the river then let him work on it I brought it to another dealership about 25 miles away. They told me it was the object sensor modules (both of them) and it would cost roughly $1060 to fix it. They were able to reprogram it to get the gauges working for now.

So any Idea's of what I should do? I really don't feel like I should pay for this, the guy at the service desk even said it was nothing that we did that could have caused this. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ChevyGuy]

So any Idea's of what I should do? I really don't feel like I should pay for this, the guy at the service desk even said it was nothing that we did that could have caused this. Any help is appreciated.

You might inquire what it would take to just disconnect them. As for any out-of-warranty coverage, it's not up to the dealer, it's up to GM. If GM isn't wanting to help, I don't think there's any options that won't cost you more money in the long run.

 

[MP81]

Just have them disconnect them. With diagnosis and disconnecting the sensors and tying up the harness was a whole $160. They'll just short again if they're replaced, so it's not worth the cost (ours was the same $1600 to replace them), which is why I just had them tied up.

Our right side sensor shorted internally and took down the data line - making the cluster stop working, and the left side sensor shorted at the connector, blowing the radio screen fuse constantly.

 

[NeilThewheel]

I'd love to just disconnect them, the service guy said it was a "through module" and I couldn't bypass it. So your saying this can be done and you won't get diagnostic codes poping up? Our state inspections here in VT are wicked strict and won't pass with dash warnings/codes.

 

[MP81]

You'll always get a "Service Side Detection" notification on your DIC in the cluster, but that is it. No CELs.

 

[NeilThewheel]

Thanks for the help!
I'll ask if they can disconnect and tie up the harness. That sounds like the best way out of this mess. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[MP81]

Thanks for the help!
I'll ask if they can disconnect and tie up the harness. That sounds like the best way out of this mess. I'll keep you guys posted.

That's what we did. Even the dealer tech thought the prospect of them charging us $1600 to replace the two modules was crazy. Maybe I'll replace them later myself (though the harness needs to be replaced, too), but if that's the case, they are being sealed to the fullest extent.

Car literally went from nearly non-functional inside (the car itself ran and drove perfectly fine) instantly back to normal.

 

[NeilThewheel]

I just got off the phone with the dealership service tech and he said he could disconnect and tie up the harness and it shouldn't effect the gauges, however he said it would not pass inspection with the dash warning. So I'm not sure this is the way to go about it.
I'm very frustrated with chevy customer care, they aren't going to stand by their crappy products.

 

[MP81]

This isn't Chevy's fault - it's the supplier of the sensor, though I do think this should be under special coverage.

A vehicle inspection should not be thrown by an additional sensor which is not standard on all trim levels not working. It's no different than someone having a Cruze without blind spot monitoring inspected - what, are they going to fail them for not having blind spot monitoring at all?

 

[NeilThewheel]

Chevy should be at fault for installing such a sensitive piece of electronics to the bumper cover without any weather proofing. It's bound to fail in any climate that gets moderate rain or snow. They might not have made the lousey modules but they chose where and how it was mounted.
Anyway, the state inspection will fail because of the service side sensor message on the dash. Not because they don't work but because of the message.

 

[MP81]

You need a new state then, because that's bullshit.