For the first time in years, Jim Riopel has a clear view of the odometer in his 2015 GMC Terrain.
"I could not read the mileage on the odometer due to the spider and the spider web," Riopel said.
According to Riopel, a spider found its way inside the console about six months after he bought the SUV. He took it to the dealership and said he was told the repair wouldn’t be covered under warranty.
Riopel then contacted General Motors (GM) directly. The automaker opened an investigation and after about two months came back to Riopel with the same answer.
"They stated it wouldn’t be covered due to it being caused by nature," he said.
Riopel argued the spider should never have been able to get inside the dash.
"It was supposed to be a sealed unit and the spider was able to get into a sealed unit. So I was telling them it seems to be a defect with their design," Riopel said.
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Eventually, Riopel let the issue drop.
"I have two children and they thought it was pretty funny. They were a little grossed out by it, but they kind of got used to it over time," he said.
But the longer he owned the vehicle, the more concerned Riopel got about its potential trade-in value. He emailed NBC Connecticut Responds to see if we could get things restarted with GM and at NBC Connecticut's request, they reopened the case.
Riopel said there was a lot of back and forth with the automaker and the dealership, but in the end, he got the all clear. His Terrain now has a brand new instrument cluster and eight fewer legs.
"(The spider and I) parted ways on mutual terms," Riopel said.
A spokesperson for GM told NBC Connecticut the company does not believe there was anything wrong with the seal. GM replaced the instrument panel as a goodwill gesture.
