When a GM vehicle is involved in an incident that involves vehicle damage or possible property damage, dealerships (U.S.) may need to work with their respective Customer Assistance Center to make a Product Assistance Claim (PAC).
TIP: When a vehicle is part of a PAC case, repairs should not be made to the vehicle until PAC directs the dealership to do so or until PAC has completed the case review. The GM Technical Assistance Center (TAC) will not be able to provide diagnostic assistance or repair direction. A PAC case requires a complete review of all available information on the vehicle.
Some of the possible reasons for working with the PAC team include:
- Vehicle damage, including fire/smoke/melt
- Damage to personal property
- Unwanted airbag deployment
- Airbag deployments that occur when the vehicle is being serviced or repaired by a GM dealership
Dealership Requirements
A PAC specialist will contact the servicing dealer to review the PAC process. During the case, PAC may request historical repair orders, a preliminary inspection be performed (including DTCs and photos related to the vehicle’s condition), repair estimates (for body and mechanical repairs), a complete inspection/diagnosis and other services to support the claim process. (Fig. 5)
Fig. 5
When submitting inspection forms, dealerships should verify all sections have been fully documented and photographed as appropriate. Once PAC receives all inspection documents, Engineering will review and provide a final resolution.
Dealer Payment for Assistance
A Pre-Repair Authorization (PRA) will be created based on the repair estimate provided by the dealership for inspection time and repairs. Once the PAC case is complete, a final repair order must be provided to PAC before the transaction can be submitted in Global Warranty Management.
Dealerships must send the final repair order using the dealer’s warranty rate. The final repair order should include any applicable repairs, inspection hours and rental days that were previously approved by PAC based on the repair estimate.
The PAC Specialist will provide the Pre-Authorization Number to the dealership for each labor code identified on the final repair order. It is important to enter the information in GWM as it appears in the email sent by PAC. A transaction cannot be submitted in GWM without a Pre-Repair Authorization Number.
For additional information, refer to Bulletin #18-NA-099.
– Thanks to Ernie Haller, Kim Horvath and Anna Chenet
