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Comments
Yes, the filter is offset from the access hole somewhat, but you can easily reach it from the right side by reaching up around the undercover.
On a scale of 1 (difficult) to 10 (easy) I would have to rate the TB a 9. Just for comparison, I would rate the 88 Taurus I once had as a 1 or 2, since the filter was hard to get to and I had to shove a piece of cardboard under it to get it off without spilling oil all over the frame.
Either way you look at it though you're going to get your hands dirty. It's just a fact of life.
Anyone have any strong opinions on what's best with regard to, as REI says, "Car Travel Solutions"? Looking at the Sherpak Roof Bag, with the main reason for choosing the bag over a hard shell carrier being the convenience of storage. My SLT has the roof rack, and I am concerned about abrasions (there is a pad that is sold with the carrier).
Appreciate any thoughts/experiences when using boxes/bags/baskets.
Thanks!
Steve, Host
Replaced the Goodrich's with a store brand (Big O Tires - i.e., Goodyears) with exactly the same specs (speed, load, temp, traction). Gas mileage has dropped 15%+ on the first four tanks on the new treads. However, it has been very hot (full time a/c) and tourist traffic has been worse, so I can't blame it on the tires (yet).
I posted an engine performance issue recently. The engine (I6) is behaving like a cyndler is missing intermittenly. I took it to Love Chevy here in Columbia, SC. They kept it three days, finally took it for a spin with the scan tool attached, declared "no codes" and gave it back to me. At least they didn't charge me for their "trouble." Since then I have run two bottles of Techron through. It's better but the problem is still there. I have been quite busy lately, so I have lived with it but this is my plan:
Change the fuel filter (again)
Rotate and balance the tires (just to eliminate that excuse)
Run at least one more bottle of Techron through
If those don't cure it, I plan to buy a coil and start rotating it through the cylinders. If that doesn't do it, I plan to return to the dealer for some serious yelling.
One symptom that maybe others can check and post back on for me. With the car in park, engine fully warm, AC on or off, if I add enough throttle to get the engine up to 1500 rpms, there is a noticable engine vibration. Above and below it is rock steady. Can some others check their car and tell me if you get the same syptom?
I have about 41k on my TB LS. The BFG OpenTrails are about half worn out. I haven't measured the depth, but I expect to get about 50k to 60k out of them. I plan to buy three more, put the full-size spare on the ground, and go another 50k to 60k.
Funny thing, I had three sets of the OE Firestone tires on my 92 Explorer. I never had any problem with them. But I gratefully accepted a new set of Bridgestones to replace the Firestones that had almost 40k on them. It's an SUV with all-terrain tires on it. You can't expect to leave them on for a gozillian miles, inflate them at 26 psi, drive 80 mph, and not have a problem.
As for my TB, I am getting about 17 mpg in town (17-mile commute, no freeways), about 20 mpg on the freeway (pretty much what the sticker says). If the speedlimit is 70 mph, I am usually driving 75 mph to maybe 78 mph if the traffic is light.
I had asked the readers here some time ago to list any one system or part in the tripletts which has not been mentioned here as having failed. I have not read even one post in response.
I understand G M gives a very good discount to employees and now relatives of employees and posibly anyone who knows an employee in order to get someone to buy these things. No wonder so many people are apparently reluctant to respond.
Frank
Yes. I have a Yakima "Rocket Box" and I love it. Noise and adverse aerodynamic effects are very minimal, the design is good, installation isn't hard. It mounts right onto the stock crossbars without having to buy additional adapters. The downside is find a space for it when it's not being used. If you buy the bag, I would think you'd have all the aerodynamics of a brick.
Well, if you think that's the case, don't ever buy a Mercedes! They cost and king's fortune AND an arm and a leg to maintain! :-)
Take care,
Elevatorguy
Fiscuss: Many of us have complained about our Triplets, me included. The design is good, execution is poor (I've never had a brake pedal whimper like a sick puppy every time I apply the brakes). The price increases and decontenting are a real slap in the face. If GM dropped incentives and forced us to pay full list price, these things would sell worse than a Yugo.There are a lot of good choices for the $40K many of these things are now selling for.
Iexplore: The look of the Nissan/Infiniti twins just doesn't do it for me. I much prefer the look of the Envoy. I also have heard nothing good about the ride of the Nissan twins. Very stiff even with the standard suspension.
GAM
The tires that came off of the back have 6/32 of an inch of tread (a little less than 5/32 if measured at the treadwear bar). The tires that came off of the front have are a bit more worn, probably due to me leaving them up there so long. The spare measures 9/32 of an inch. Not bad for 41k. I usually replace tires before the wearbars start to show, but I think I will still get 60k out of them.
I also measured the brake linings as best I could without pulling the calipers. I have about 9 mm of lining remaining (a little more at the rear). I think OE is about 12 mm. The brakes work very well and I haven't noticed any decline in braking. No complaints on brakes from me. PS: I do pull a trailer on occassion, but mostly around town.
Purchased it through LL Bean based on the promise of no leaking and the fact that Bean normally carries top quality items. We have been pleased with this product. No leaks and no annoying noise from rattling plastics.
One other consideration for us was we were planning on taking the car ferry from Bar Harbour Maine to Nova Scotia. There was a height restriction for the ferry, forcing us to not have a carrier on the roof. The soft pak carrier folded neatly in my van.
Try that with a hard top
Yes, the grille is installed directly over the existing grille. I haven't found one that replaces the factory grille altogether. The factory grille is plumbed for the headlight washers so replacing it entirely would make the whole proposition more costly. If you know what to look for you can see the horizontal black bars of the factory grille. The instructions say to scuff and spray paint the original black bars flat black. I haven't taken that step because I am skeptical of the results and now that its installed I personally find the look appealing.
I'll work on the pic's and let you decide.
A satisfied Envoy XL SLT owner, sorry Ficuss.
Chris
I saw my first one at night last night, and there was no mistaking the lights on top of the cab. It appeared to me that GM just replaced the black end caps on the roof rack rails with orange lenses. (similar to the difference between the turn signal on the eternal mirrors and non-signal mirrors.)
Very distinct look, and I'd be really interested in changing mine over, providing it's not a $500 change.
Anyone?
Those lights were one part of the North Face Edition that I did not like at first but after a couple of weeks they have really grown on me.
1) Rotors (extreme pulsating when applying brakes, dealer said they probably need to be replaced, at 25,000 miles???)
2) Passenger seat belt locking up
3) Filter for Air Cleaner (there is a must smell when turning on the air conditioner and sometimes while it is running)
By the way, I did check the fuse for the windshield wiper. It was O.K.
Anybody have any of these problems?
And I know what you mean about "growing on you". There's no mistaking when you see a NF edition coming at you at night.
discount when buying this vehicle and I'd rather pay sticker and get a vehicle that I can depend on. I've always been an advocate of "Buy American" and I hate to say it but I certainly am questioning that these days.
As far as the comment about Mercedes, I'm sure that's true, high priced. Of course you can take it on vacation and not spend half your trip at a car dealer as well. Like I stated earlier, these vehicles are costing $3x000 and getting this kind of quality for that kind of money is unacceptable!
http://www.bgprod.com/bgprofessional/bgproducts/aircon.html There is a TSB for the seat belt lockup to replace the retractor. Dealer will have to order the part. See nuyorkah Dec 13, 2002 7:25pm
tim
Frank
"I didn't think I was buying an average GM vehicle for $35,000." You bought a $25,000 vehicle with $10,000 in optional "stuff". And you didn't get to take advantage of any of the incentives. I'd be not-as happy too. You really need to get an Infiniti FX45 and be done with it. My 2¢.
Frank
Check out the MB SUV board: kenyee "Mercedes-Benz M-class (ML320, ML350, ML500 and ML55)" Dec 4, 2000 3:48am!make=Mercedes-Benz&model=M-Class&ed_makeindex=.ee95173
You'll find the grass isn't so green on that side of the fence, but your wallet has a lot less green in it!
The FWD minivans are getting old and the Astro is positively ancient. Even the pickups are 4 years old. If, as expected, these vehicles have had all the bugs worked out of them by now, their problem rate should be low. That means ours are quite problematic to get the rate as high as it is. My Bravada had more problems in 9 months than my previous 6 vehicle combined.
Nissan and Infinity, on the other hand, have released many substantially new vehicles lately. The Altima is only a few years old. The Z car is brand new as is the Murano. The Maxima is also substantially new. Infinity has their own version of all of these cars. I would expect a little higher problem rate as most of their lineup is new. GM's is higher with hardly any new product.
I think we have a right to complain, considering the price. GM will continue to need rebates to sell their vehicles. The price increases have pretty much covered their incentive costs so far (a current 2003 is $3000+ more than a similar 2002). MY 2 cents.
GAM
Frank
I've had my TB for 18 months and 34K miles. Problems: a) flimsy rear hatch strap broke b) a/c low pressure switch needed replacing and c) a headlight burned out. That's all. I did have the recalls done, but had not experienced the problems they were to have "fixed."
My brother, on the other hand, has nothing but trouble with every car he's ever had (regardless of make, model or manufacturer). Maybe it's not the vehicle, but the nut behind the wheel . .
I'm just the opposite. My brother bought a Jeep Cherokee, not the most reliable vehicle in the world. 140,000 miles later, he's had the oil changed every 7500 mles and has gone thru 3 sets of tires. That it! The original brakes, hoses, you name it. He doesn't give a rip about vehicles. Doesn't know the difference between a master cylinder and spark plug. Me, I love cars and trucks yet..............
I read that most of the problems with the Hummer H2 were related to "poor gas mileage". Can you say DUH! The dumbing of America continues.
GAM
GM also sent that notice out to us, owners of a 02 Trailblazer LTZ. Ditto on all points made by Ficuss and the other disgruntled owners. Our vehicle has visited the service department 4 times for a total of 16 business days. Any owner defending these products is indeed fortunate, to those owners my hat is off to you, luck of the draw eh. Bruce
Tom
Certainly, some automakers as a whole are known for reliable vehicles (and vice versa). But in both cases, within that manufacturer's line of vehicles, reliability doesn't increase with price. Think about Civic vs Pilot, Echo vs Sequioa, 318i vs 740, Cavalier vs Aurora, Caravan vs Viper, C240 vs M500 etc, etc. There might even be a reverse correlation, with all the added complexity on the higher priced vehicles. Higher prices buy greater sport, power, luxury, features; not reliability (in general).
If I spend $11K on an Echo, this logic says that I have no (or at least a reduced) right to any expectations on reliability.
I looked at the cab lights and it does look like the black cap was replaced by the light. The wiring looks it goes directly down into the roof. I am not the most mechanical person but it did not look like it would be that easy to put the lights in.
Does anyone see that many North Face Trailblazers on the road? I have only seen one other.
If GM sells 500,000 triplets, and Honda sells 50,000 Pilots, and they have the same percentage of problems, you still will have 10X as many people whining, er, comlaining about reliability of the GMs. Plus seems like certain brand buyers, especially import brand buyers, are less likely to complain about things as though they are in denial. Also, look how long it took Toyota to finally fess up to oiling and sludge problems in some of their engines. Years. Just an observation.
BTW: I've only every seen NF editions on the road here in South KC. One during the day, and one during the evening, which prompted my question about the cab lights.
Thanks again.
To the rest of the board, if this 2003 Envoy was totaled, I would buy another again. The problems besides the vibrating pedal has been resolved to my satisfaction. It makes a great traveling salesman vehicle and not a week goes by that I dont get a compliment on the styling of it. That is no exaggeration!
2 Year!
Got a new radio, fixed a wire clip on the rear defroster, got the 3rd rubber gasket around the lic. plate holder! (these keep getting messed up) Got a new battery. (old one died when left for 10 days) They did the recalls for the interlock and dash. Also had them upgrade the PCM.
Paid for an oil change, fuel filter and tire rotation.
Now here is the funny thing. I was getting a pretty steady 17mpg average with my mixed commute of back roads, HWY and stop and go traffic. Now I am getting 20mpg! I reset the DIC after every fillup. I plan to do a verificaion of this when I fill up next, but I hope it is reading right! Not sure if the PCM upgrade did this or just the maintenence work made a difference.
Now the question: They want to change the front and rear axle fluid for $180, replace the transmission fluid and filter for $110 and replace the transfer case fluid for $70.
They say all the fluids are dirty. They are the factory original fluids.
So, is this really needed at 30k miles and if so, can I do some or all this myself? Has anyone else done this work on their own? How hard is it? Are the prices they quote reasonable or high?
thanks,
-John
Is there a drain plug in the torque converter or how did you drain the fluid from it?
How many quarts of D4 did you use? The stuff is kind of pricey and I'd like to be right on. Don't need to run short and sure don't want to run over either.
Paul P
tim
Tranny:
I have a pump from my boat, hooks to the battery, cheap $14 bucks! It comes with several tubes, I always suck out all the fluid first into a clear bottle, to look at it. Every 30k for fluid changes is always my rule of thumb. Diffy fluid? its a 75-90w synthetic from the factory, plus there is a magnet inside the case. In my opinion, old oil is ok, if you always change it, you might develop a leak at a seal because it is thinner, old oil has its advantages. Trust me your ring gear and pinion are bullet proof, Oil doesn't help, it just cools thru our aluminum carrier!!