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This statement reminded me of our other GM vehicle. When vehicle sat still for 4 days, its battery would be dead. We'd charge the battery and it was good for the next few "consecutive" driving days. After driving, we'd check the battery's charge level and it was 100% ok. Even checked the GM vehicle's charging system and it was 100% ok as well. Yet. If battery sat idle for a 4 days, it was dead again. Very weird!!!!
To make a long story short (and 2 trips to my local GM dealer), they discoverd it was the battery. Seems the < 6 month old battery would "self drain" itself (after sitting idle for 3+ days) - even all "reading" tests showed it was 100% ok. GM dealer replaced battery under warranty and its been running great afterwards...
Perhaps your vehicle's battery is the same??? re: It's self draining itself as well....
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just over 100k miles. been great no problems. no accidents
a few
months ago it developed a creaky left front suspension.
it will happen with all small suspension movements
culminating with one last creak when i get out of the
car. attempts to push down on car hood to move
suspension yield no squeaks or creaks. does not
squeak first 5 minutes of driving car.
here are the parts i have replaced. lower control arm
with bushings and ball joint. all new. mevotech from
rockauto. new sway arm bushings. moog from advance
auto. new shocks (needed), monroe. new strut mount
(while in there since struts are a pain in this car)
. remanufactured
left front axle (i punctured boot when changing strut -
found grease all over the place a week later). axle was
still fine.
about the only thing i have not changed is the steering
arm ball joint. that may next. any ideas??
Dave
Dave
Thanks.
I think you mean lower intake gaskets, not head gaskets?? The head gaskets were generally pretty good.
With that said - if you have a cooperative dealer you can get some help. Unfortunately its up to the dealer to go to GM on your behalf and ask for help and it's hit or miss on whether they will do that. If you have been a customer of there's over the years for maintenance items they are more likely. Or the louder you raise a stink in front of other customers.
Its unfortunate.
If you do pay out of pocket, I suggest you go to a trusted independent shop to pay for the job. They will use Fel Pro gaskets (ask for them) which have metal reinforcement in them and will not have problems ever again. Used them and love 'em.
Good luck. I love my 07 Rendezvous, hope you get yours fixed as painlessly as possible.
Weird buzzes, clicks, abnormal dash lighting, all tends to happen when a battery is deeply discharged.
If the key isn't the culprit, I would replace the battery next.
Dave
There are quite a few things on todays vehicles that remain hot after it is turned off. Alarm, radio security. something that will respond to key fob when needed and others. I saw something a few years ago meant for dealers that stated they should start even new vehicles on their lot every 2 weeks to ensure the batteries don't drain down. As a battery ages, they should be charged back up even sooner.
The gas tank leaked when it was filled over 1/2 full. A mechanic and a dealer said "$500 for a tank, $250 labor. I called Buick customer relations and complained. Buick paid for a new tank because of an extended service bulletin. Good!
Had an oil change 2 days ago. The mechanic said the oil pan gasket and crank seal are leaking - $1000 - $1200 to repair. I called customer relations. They sent me to a dealer who cleaned up the bottom of the engine and poured some chemical in the crank case that's receptive to black light (a CSI thing?) I have to drive about 50 miles, then bring the car back to the dealer for inspection. Buick customer relations implied they would pick up all or a large part of the repair bill. We'll see in a couple days when I go back to the dealer. BTW: the dealer charges $69.95 for the inspection, less 10% if you're old. I am.
So far aside from a brake job at 64000 miles I haven't spent much in repairs. I like the car. It isn't a workhorse by any stretch but considering what it is, a small engine, small SUV, its an o.k. car. Not as good as a Mercury Villager I had but much better than a Plymouth Voyager junker I got rid of. If I were to dump it I'm pretty sure I'd buy a small pickup.
Has anyone else had these problems with your RDV?
I realize the car has about 67K miles on it, but these are significant problems with the engine that will cost significant dollars to repair.
Forget Buick/GM I guess. Dump the car and get a Ford.
I don't know if they'll help but its worth a shot.
I can live with the mirror I guess. I believe the problem's with the cable not the mirror itself since wiggling the cable turns the dimmer on. Both map lights work o.k. too.
Sure, its 9 years old. I know that. But the thing of it is that at 67K miles the engine shouldn't be a "threat." Front and back crank seals leaking? Oil pan gasket leaking? And now I was told that's there's some corrosion in the head gasket. I did a web search about RDV problems and found that these are not unique to my car. Head gaskets, oil leaks, gas tank leaks and some electrical problems are common. I checked with NHTSA, the Federal Gov't site too.
I agree, a new or newer used car would be more expensive than what repairs would cost on this one. Can't argue that. But that isn't the point. 67K is relatively small mileage when one considers how well kept the car has been. I'm not looking for Buick to pick up the entire price but I'd sure like to get some "help" on them.
Here is what I have experienced:
First, I saw that at the water pump coolant was spitting out so I changed that then after test drive after changing the water pump still got high coolant temp reading now I saw that coolant leaked from the thermostat housing area so I changed that after putting everything back together doing another test drive return home and adding a little more antifreeze in the radiator all the coolant began to leak from the very bottom of the engine just as fast as I poured it into the radiator. What do I do now, What is the problem? Please help
This is probably not the same thing but early on with my '03 RDV I was seeing a lot of coolant loss. I'd fill the reservoir to the line and a month or so later it was down, near empty. I did that for about 4 - 5 months, refill, refill and refill again until, I guess, all the original OEM fluid was gone. I used aftermarket fluid, the kind that's recommended as a replacement. Since then, no problems.
This car is the oddest one I've ever owned. Crazy problems that never have happened in any other car I've owned. The car I had before this one was a Mercury Villager - 122,000 miles on it and except for a faulty EGR valve, zero problems. Now this . . .
As for taking out DexCool from 02 and replacing with Prestone Mixes with All Colors antifreeze: they are the same. Look at the label and look at the MDS info on the Prestone website. Other than a coloring, it appears to me they are the same.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
So, I complained to just about every agency I could find. Two days ago I got a message on my cell phone (I told Buick to never call the cell, call the home phone.) It was from the "expert." I'm passing on your complaint to higher-ups for further review." Great! Now what? I very much doubt that Buick will respond. All I got was that short worded message - no follow-up call, nothing. And nothing from the dealer, either. So tell me about how great GM's customer relations are. I understand the car's 67K miles and 9 years along but in the days of 100 - 150K expectations, the problems with my car and others sure shouldn't be as rampant as they are.
Now, this makes me wonder about a few things. Was the oil filter and oil drain plug tightly closed? Did the Buick mechanic actually see oil leaks? Did the independent mechanic actually see leaks, or did he just see leaks from the filter and plug? Does that gasket seal stuff really work? I'm really confused now. Who to trust? Buick? The independent guy? STP? Fate?
It is a puzzlement . . .
While using the stop leak, I would also make absolutely sure that you are getting 5W-30 motor oil when you get your change (and DOUBLY sure in winter months). The stop leak will raise the viscosity of the oil on startup. In fact if you find that you require a full bottle of stop leak with each oil change, then I would switch to 0W-30 motor oil to compensate. (But from the sound of it, your leaks aren't THAT bad, and I highly doubt it will take anywhere near a full bottle each change.)
As far as who was being honest with you.... we'll never know. Ideally you would have gotten underneath the car while it was leaking, liberally sprayed it down with simple green, hosed it off, and noted the leak points. If you are uncomfortable getting under the car or don't have the safety equipment to do so, then you'll have no choice but to find a mechanic you trust.
But, in closing, in my experience working on cars, my guess without being there to look at it: you did have a leak and the STP stopped it.
The entire bottom of the engine was power washed to squeaky clean about 3 - 4 weeks ago. So far its still clean. Fingers crossed. What really bugs me is that not one mechanic even suggested the possibility of a loose filter or plug. I understand there's no money in adding a solvent, but there's also no money in losing a customer.