Virginia Chevy dealership recommends costly repair. Then the owner checks the dash cam footage

A Virginia truck owner says a Richmond-area Chevrolet dealership recommended nearly $3,000 in repairs, but dash-cam footage told a different story.

As the customer detailed in a Reddit post, he dropped his 2017 Chevy Silverado 1500 LT 5.3L at the dealership for a series of electrical problems.

According to the customer, he reported flickering dashboard lights, intermittent power loss while driving, loss of power steering assist during hard reverse turns, and power steps that no longer had enough power to retract. The service advisor said the vehicle would be examined over the next few days.

However, the owner said communication quickly became inconsistent. He claims that on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, the service advisor noted, “The truck is throwing a bunch of codes, so we’re still looking at it.”

According to the post, two days later, on Friday, November 14, he received another update: “Your steering gear is bad, it needs to be replaced.” The estimated repair cost was about $2,900, a diagnosis that the owner said immediately “raised concerns” because it did not match the symptoms he had reported.

The dash cam footage

But the most troubling discovery, he said, came from the vehicle’s dash cam. The customer wrote that throughout the week, he checked on the truck and noticed it never moved from its drop-off location. On Friday, he found the battery completely dead.

After pulling the SD card, he said he saw “no evidence that anyone had entered, started, or moved my vehicle since drop-off.” The apparent lack of activity made the dealership’s diagnosis “extremely questionable,” he wrote.

According to the owner, he raised the issue in person with the service manager, who then brought the service advisor into the conversation. According to the post, the advisor insisted the dealership had run diagnostic codes “a few days ago” and produced a printed code list. The customer wrote that he had “no way to verify” whether the codes were legitimate. He left “feeling even more uncertain,” he said.

The owner’s DIY solution

By November 17, frustrated by what he describes as conflicting information and a lack of progress, the customer returned to the parking lot with tools. He says he replaced the alternator himself, completing the job in under an hour.

The truck “immediately ran perfectly with zero issues,” he wrote, concluding that the dealership’s steering-gear diagnosis “was incorrect and completely unrelated to the actual problem.” He says he retrieved his keys from the service department without pursuing the recommended repair.

The general manager’s response

After complaining via email, the Chevy owner said the general manager replied, saying he was out of town and would look into the matter later. But after giving him two days and calling for an update, the owner says the GM “forgot about the email” and never followed up. Frustrated, he turned to Reddit to ask what steps he should take next.

One commenter offered blunt advice, writing: “Accountability? Ain’t no one got time and interest for that.” Anything they tell you will be a veiled lie, and they will pretend it’s all a misunderstanding, the comment added. The commenter urged the customer to “vote with your feet,” adding: “Don’t service your vehicles there… don’t buy vehicles there. And share your experience with interested parties.”