The GM Field Service Engineer (FSE) Technician Recognition Awards (U.S.) celebrate the skill and dedication of dealership technicians who have recently worked with FSEs on challenging repairs.
Technicians at GM dealerships are selected for recognition based on a variety of factors, including their focus on safety, customer satisfaction, personal accountability, training achievements, diagnostic abilities and the level of repair documentation.
Each recognized technician receives a personalized Service Excellence magnetic plaque and an Excellence in Service Award certificate. (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3
1st Quarter 2025 Technician Recognition Award Winners
Technician: Dave Bretones
Dealership: F.H. Dailey Chevrolet, San Leandro, California
FSE: Jim Trost
Service Excellence:
Dave has worked on many different hard-to-resolve cases over the last several years and his drive to repair each vehicle correctly the first time is second to none. As a shop foreman and GM World Class Technician, he will generally end up working on any vehicle from bumper to bumper as needed. He has a never-give-up attitude to resolve the issue for the customer, the dealership and General Motors.
Recently, Dave worked on a 2021 Suburban that had a long history of the instrument cluster display going black, and the radio operation being erratic. The instrument cluster had been replaced numerous times since the display would go completely black, but it could be recovered by cycling power to it. Dave determined that the wireless charging module was causing erroneous communication and causing the cluster to black out and create the radio issues. I would like to thank Dave for his hard work and dedication to Chevrolet, General Motors and our customers.
Technician: Bobby Lucero
Dealership: Mazzei Chevrolet, Vacaville, California
FSE: Tim Moran
Service Excellence:
The dealership was working on 2020 Silverado with a 5.3L L84 engine. The customer had driven through a deep puddle and the engine shut off. The vehicle was found with the engine full of water, which caused it to hydro lock and break a connecting rod. After engine replacement, the truck would start but the radio and instrument panel display would go dark. The truck also didn’t have any power steering assist, the alternator wouldn’t charge, and the engine would stop running after 10 seconds. And, of course, there were not any DTCs to give direction on what to check.
Bobby carefully checked all the items that could possibly cause these symptoms. Even though the crankshaft sensor that came with the new engine had been replaced, it was still suspect because it was an aftermarket part. Bobby put in another crank sensor and finally corrected the conditions.
This is one example of Bobby’s “It’s On Me” attitude to get to the root of the concern. What sets Bobby apart is the never-give-up attitude he displays and his willingness to learn and continually grow as an automobile diagnostician. He’s even working on his own version of a circuit diagnostic tool.
Bobby’s dedication to his craft is always apparent. His positive attitude towards his job is inspiring to all technicians he works with.
Technician: Miguel Escobar
Dealership: Antelope Valley Chevrolet, Lancaster, California
FSE: Wade Hanna
Service Excellence:
Miguel has worked on multiple difficult cases lately and is such a pleasure to work with because of his positive attitude. Miguel is trusted to perform whatever tests or tasks are presented to him and he always follows up to report back findings or learnings from the tests.
When working on a very intermittent concern with a loss of communication on a 2024 Colorado, Miguel worked to gain access to every module and connector needed for inspection and terminal fit testing. He never once complained or argued and even continued working on the vehicle after all our testing did not reveal a loose connection. Without any loose connections, the condition was suspected to be a chaffed harness. Miguel discovered he could duplicate the concern during a sharp turning maneuver. From there, he was able to locate where the harness was grounding out and made the correct repairs.
His diligence and willingness to do what is necessary to correctly diagnose and repair customers’ vehicles provides an insight into his character and the kind of technician we all strive to be. Thank you, Miguel.
Technician: Justin Breeggemann
Dealership: Valley Buick GMC, Apple Valley, Minnesota
FSE: Joe Moyer
Service Excellence:
Justin recently worked on two cases with VCU-equipped vehicles that displayed EV gauges, didn’t have any audio, and had an inoperative Rear View Camera (RVC) after a dead battery and jump start. These were both vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines (ICE), so the fact they displayed EV gauges was a very odd situation. After trying to root cause the issue for quite a while, we were able to obtain logs on the Yukon being diagnosed and submit them to engineering. We then were able to recover the VCU.
A few days later, the dealership had an Envision with this same condition! The engineering team wanted the VCU out of the Envision as quickly as possible for testing. As the FSE, I was not going to be able to make it out to the dealership for three days, but I was able to send Justin a shipping label. He removed the VCU, boxed it up and got it to the shipper later that same day. Engineering received the VCU in Michigan the next morning!
Justin’s efforts were way above and beyond and greatly appreciated by the engineering team. Thank you, Justin, for your diligence and acting with urgency when we needed your help!
Technician: Armando Cuevas
Dealership: Covert Cadillac, Austin, Texas
FSE: Jason Volek
Service Excellence:
Armando is always on top of his training and is a GM World Class Technician. He is a great all-around technician. It doesn’t matter if it is a vehicle he Is repairing or not, he is always willing to help. The harder the problem, the more Armando wants to get involved. He doesn’t do this to take the credit, he is just a person that loves what he does and that is fix vehicles.
Armando is the dealership’s Cadillac Celestiq technician. When he came back from the one-week training in Michigan, we talked for almost two hours. It was like listening to a little kid who had just visited Disney World.
Recently, Armando was working on a vehicle that had several parts replaced. He helped determine that there were two different door harnesses, and the wrong one had been installed. He then located the original harness and found a minor issue that could have been repaired easily.
Armando is a special technician, and there are not many out there like him. Putting it plain and simple, we are very lucky to have Armando as a technician at his dealership. He is very hard working and if there were more people like him around, this world would be a greater place.
Technician: Walter Kipps
Dealership: Bomnin Chevrolet, Manassas, Virginia
FSE: Russell Ringling
Service Excellence:
Walt has repeatedly demonstrated the “It’s On Me” behavior with his positive attitude and thoroughness while working on difficult and challenging technical issues. His persistence and dedication to problem solving are a value to his dealership and General Motors.
Recently, Walt worked through a difficult vehicle issue that involved a 2024 Corvette E-Ray transaxle noise concern. Through repeated PicoScope testing sessions and trial-and-error noise source elimination methods, the failure was identified as a stub axle-to-housing bearing noise. This failure mode generated a Field Product Report that identified an issue with stub axles and bearing manufacturing. The resulting report enabled Brand Quality to engage with TREMEC on improvements for this concern.
– Thanks to Hank Poelman
