A friend of mine has what seems to be a possessed '11 GMC Acadia with 98k, and its become a bit of a nightmare for her. I don't think its ever been right, even off the lot, and has finally died at the GM dealership. Its always been a bit of an oil burner, and according to her, she has to change the oil every 3k miles (otherwise level gets too low). She's never been able go by the oil change light, even when practically new.
About 6 months ago, the vehicle started pouring white smoke, and was diagnosed as a stuck injector (which was replaced). The rest of the fuel system was cleaned, and had no more issues until about 2 months ago. This time, there was a power loss while driving, and was described as "not being able to get out of 1st gear". It would idle OK, but had no power on driving. It was taken back to the shop, who got inconsistent fuel pressure readings and replaced the low pressure fuel pump. Once again, vehicle would crank and idle, but died going down the road. Went through it, and found that 2 of the 3 catalytic converters were practically melted to the frame and destroyed. Replaced the two converters with aftermarket versions, and vehicle cranked and idled fine.....but once again died going down the road.
This time, they gave up on the independent shop and had it towed to the dealer. Dealer claimed that the aftermarket converters were the problem, and that factory GM converters would fix the issue. Dealership agreed that if the new GM converters didn't fix the issue, they wouldn't be charged (and would be given back the old converters to return). Well, they swapped in the new converters, and called and said everything was fixed. Owner insisted they drive it first, and of course, it died going down the road. Got it back to the shop, and now they are claiming it will require an engine replacement. Supposedly, they ran a camera in through the intake, and can see debris from the damaged converters...and has wrecked the engine. They also claim that the aftermarket converters have already been trashed.
At this point, she has no idea how to proceed. It still sounds like a stuck/leaky injector may be an underlying issue, but I am absolutely unfamiliar with these vehicles. As far as she knows, the only code its ever thrown was "back pressure in the converters".
Any suggestions?
About 6 months ago, the vehicle started pouring white smoke, and was diagnosed as a stuck injector (which was replaced). The rest of the fuel system was cleaned, and had no more issues until about 2 months ago. This time, there was a power loss while driving, and was described as "not being able to get out of 1st gear". It would idle OK, but had no power on driving. It was taken back to the shop, who got inconsistent fuel pressure readings and replaced the low pressure fuel pump. Once again, vehicle would crank and idle, but died going down the road. Went through it, and found that 2 of the 3 catalytic converters were practically melted to the frame and destroyed. Replaced the two converters with aftermarket versions, and vehicle cranked and idled fine.....but once again died going down the road.
This time, they gave up on the independent shop and had it towed to the dealer. Dealer claimed that the aftermarket converters were the problem, and that factory GM converters would fix the issue. Dealership agreed that if the new GM converters didn't fix the issue, they wouldn't be charged (and would be given back the old converters to return). Well, they swapped in the new converters, and called and said everything was fixed. Owner insisted they drive it first, and of course, it died going down the road. Got it back to the shop, and now they are claiming it will require an engine replacement. Supposedly, they ran a camera in through the intake, and can see debris from the damaged converters...and has wrecked the engine. They also claim that the aftermarket converters have already been trashed.
At this point, she has no idea how to proceed. It still sounds like a stuck/leaky injector may be an underlying issue, but I am absolutely unfamiliar with these vehicles. As far as she knows, the only code its ever thrown was "back pressure in the converters".
Any suggestions?