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Comments
We were sad but relieved to see the RDV go.We have been pretty loyal to GM since 1976 and hated to leave but we dont like GM's attitude these days.
Our 02 CXL was a vehicle that listed new for close to $35,000.It had been a GM factory executive car and we bought it as a program vehicle 11 months ago with only 13,000 miles on it.It only has 31,500 miles on it now and all most dealers were going to allow us in trade for it was $14,000-15,000.A nearby full line GM,Toyota dealer offered us $18,300 for it and we decided no one else would give us any more for it.Most all GM products have poor trade in values as they depreciate way too fast for a variety of reasons.
Its too bad Buick didnt put the trusty 3800 engine in the RDV plus a better electrical system.It would have been a big winner for them.My wife has talked to the Buick Customer Relations Center several times and got the idea that they really dont care all that much about our problems.
kchunt and moosie,we feel your frustration.We expected alot more out of our RDV than what it delivered.kchunt,good luck on your arbitration and keep us posted.
I'm sure that far more RDV owners are having major problems than just the ones of us posting on here.Buick better get its act together real quick or the RDV will soon be riding off in to the sun set and thats a shame as the RDV had so much potential.The 04 RDV's are selling poorly in this area.Theres lots of things we liked about our RDV but it just came down to the fact that we could no longer trust it to get the job done.I dont want to be having electrical problems 1000 miles away from home.
Good luck to all RDV owners and we will still be looking at your RDV's when we meet you on our nations hiways.The wife and I always tried to see how many RDV's we could spot while traveling.It was always fun to spot a twin to our black 02 CXL AWD.Our MO liscense plate said DEB-CXL.
I understand the need to go to these sites for help. Reading the info has given me a bad feeling about my buick; however, I have to remind myself there is a bias based on the reason most seek these sites which is to find help with problems.
Everyone I know who has a Rendv is very pleased with the car and expressed that they got more then they expected.
I paid 20k for my Buick Rendv brand new. I have no idea why anyone would pay over 30k when you could get one for 20k. We have over 31k miles with no problems. We liked the car in the beginning but we like it a lot more now. The space is awesome. The drive is good. Unlike others, I do not want more power. I prefer the very good gas milage for a car this heavy.
We also are not as picky as others. We do not need all the bells and whistles that drive a 20k car to over 30k.
Thanks,
KarenS - I was also glad to hear that many of the mfg. reps do visit the Town Hall and are "lurking." If any GM Rep is "lurking," you might pass on to GM / Buick there there are many unsatisfied customers, there are problems with their RDV's, and GM / Buick's customer service is greatly lacking. I was deeply disappointed with their response.
As far as pricing goes, I'm guessing it depends on the area of the country you live in, and, of course, the options. I wish I had only paid $20K for mine. Especially now.
One further note, I'm quite sure there are many happy RDV owners out there. One can only hope that they aren't ALL bad. I was happy, too, when I first purchased mine. However, one can not possibly know how this feels, until you've experienced these problems and had such poor customer service on top of it all.
Thanks again, everyone. I'm glad to be a part of this and appreciate all the input. (Can you tell I'm new at this?)
My 3800 LeSabre had the manifold damage from EGR passage gases and leaking around the gasket. Your company refused to acknowledge my complaints the first summer. The second year you finally acknowledge that you should have done something and offered an $800 discount on a new car good for a year--but my service manager whom you had contacted thought that was crazy since we had just bought another new LeSabre a few months before. But your rep was so anxious to get rid of the data that she insisted that it was good for one week to accept or refuse. I'm sure the data is gone just like it disappeared from the summer before.
Although I trusted that some improvement had been made, my wife wanted the new car. Your rep won the data war, for the time being. But many people have not bought because of information from dissatisfied customers. A good product overall deserves good support, including the glitches. But hey, the trans has a problem with TCC lockup valve now.
As I read the RDV problems and how they're being handled, I apply them to how mine was handled. Bad taste left. Guess how I will shop for my next new car to replace the 98 LeSabre...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The regular Rendezvous forum is where there should be praise for the Rendezvous and I'm surprised at how quiet it is over there.I'm sure there are many satisfied RDV owners but they just arent talking.If our RDV had performed well I would have been bragging it up.I have posted many times on the Regal forum telling how good our Regals were doing.
I think most of us that posted on here about our RDV problems were trying to get GM's attention that there are some bad problems out here that need looking in to.GM likes to act like your vehicle is the only one out there thats ever had that certain problem.Ask all the GM 3.1 and 3.4 V-6 owners with leaking intake gaskets and ruined engines how happy they are with GM these days.Most say they have bought their last GM product.Its a huge-huge problem and GM denies that one exists.
Thanks to Edmunds and other sites we quickly found out we werent alone in our problems.Our RDV was recently out of service for 12 days with electrical problems and that just shouldnt happen to a vehicle as new as ours.The BCM was back ordered and that must mean theres alot of them going bad.
Since 1976 we have owned 11 new and 2 low mile program vehicles and only one of them was ever in the shop over night and that was for a power window motor.This is on over 700,000 miles of driving.We have also had numerous other used vehicles including a 77 Toyota Celica GT that was going strong at 200,000 miles when the body finally rotted off it.We have a 91 Buick Regal Limited thats running great at 155,000 miles with no major problems so far.
On March 21,2003 we paid $22,900 for our 2002 RDV CXL AWD from Bob Moore at Oklahoma City,OK.It listed new for nearly $35,000 and was a GM factory exec vehicle that had never been titled and Onstar had never been activated.It had 13,000 miles on it and could have easily passed for new.We got the AWD drive as we live way out in the country and when it snows they dont plow our roads for days.We loved its heated leather seats and many other nice features.
It pained us to get rid of our RDV as we liked alot of things about it.
Whether one pays $20,000 or $40,000 for a new vehicle they should expect quality from it.We recently spent numerous time on the Edmunds Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot sites.Their owners seem to be far more vocal in praising their vehicles than RDV owners.Most of their problems semed minor compared to our RDV problems.We hated to leave GM but we lost confidence in their product.They may never get us back.
http://www.bba-reman.com/bcm.htm
When our first 02 RDV BCM failed we drove 40 miles home in the dark with only our head lights working and we could barely see.We had no tail lights and all the rest of the electrical system was gone.Thats not very safe.After arriving home the head lights wouldnt even shut off and I had to pull the battery cable to turn them off.
We lost the use of it for 12 days on the 1st BCM.We drove it 5 days and had more problems so it was back in the shop for 2 more days.The BCM was on back order so it wasnt replaced then.
The second time I dont think it was the BCM but GM had no answers to whats causing our all of our electrical problems so lets just slap in another BCM.GM needs to get busy and figure out whats going on.Once electrical problems start they seem to never go away.We had a 1986 Toyota Camry that was an electrical nightmare and no one could ever fix it.We carried a box of fuses with us at all times and the Toyota dealer once had it for 6 weeks.
The 02 RDV CXL is my wifes vehicle and she loved it until the 2nd time we had problems.She soured on it quickly.I was never a big of fan of it as she was but I'm stubborn and I was in favor of keeping it,getting a GM extended warranty,and make GM fix it no matter how many times it took.She drives it 90% of the time and me 10%.She said she wanted rid of it so I told her if we could get over $18,000 out of it we'd trade it.I never thought wed get that for it but we were offered $18,300 for it so its gone.
I wont say that our new Toyota Highlander will be trouble free but in over 10,000 posts on the Edmunds discussion only and problems and solutions board there is only one mention of the BCM or body control module and that wasnt a failure.The Highlanders have been out longer than the RDV's.
I wish all Buick RDV owners the best and hope you have good luck with them.If you have problems hound GM to fix them.There are 7-8 RDV's in our town and I believe ours is the only one with BCM problems.
We still have (4) Buick Regals (00,91,86,85)with no major problems on them with well over 400,000 miles on them.My go to work car is a 1985 T-Type Regal thats running strong.
I'm new to the Town Hall and I've got to tell you that I'm mortified by some of the problems I'm hearing about. Incidently, last week my alternator light came on and stayed on for about a day. Last Friday my anti-lock light came on along with the DIC display citing that my AWD was disabled. Dealer found the right front wheel bearing sensor was defective. Had to replace the entire wheel hub assembly since it's all integrated. Cost of part was $402. Present mileage: 46,880. Real glad I bought the extended GM warranty. On that note, those of you who are considering internet warranties - buyer beware. I got burned last year on a Warranty Gold automotive warranty. Made payments all year and then they filed for bankruptcy.
The Dealer checked the AC operation and found the condenser leaking and replaced it and recharged the system. They also pressure tested the coolant system for leaks and found that they had to replace the lower intake gasket & all related gaskets and seals. ( I didn't even know I had a problem with this )
When the technician test drove my RDV he noticed a squeal coming from the front brakes. When he checked it out he found that my front rotors were defective and ruined the pads, so they replaced the front rotors and pads. ( I am a little hard of hearing and never really noticed or paid any attention to the squeal ) however I am
very grateful that he caught it and took care of it for me.
I have owned the RDV for about three years and have a little over 46k on it and this is the first time I have had any work done on the vehicle other than having the oil changed every 3500 miles.
My extended warranty covered the entire cost. So I hope I am set for another 50k. I can't say enough about the service I have received from my Dealer. I believe the cost to Buick was about $1500.00
~Ken
Did the dealership ultimately solve the mystery?
I have also been very frustrated with the inconsistency of the malfunction.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
To find the step-by-step instructions on how to access BCM programming mode and to program the key fob, click on the first result from a Google search for
programming bcm rendezvous
When, when the GM learn to put the $$ into R&D and into brutal long term quality improvs not into rebates?!
And why the 3.6L is rated 232 Lb/ft torque not 252 Lbs/ft as in the Caddy's SRX? Is Anybody knows? will waiting for more 3.6L RDV experiences..
thank you all, but GM
First post in a LONG time.
I took my '02 CXL in today to have the A/C checked. The air it's blowing isn't cold. Hopefully it'll be the Freon (or whatever coolant they use now). There was another person at the service place (Armen Buick in Ardmore, PA) with her '02 CX and she was having her A/C looked at, as well. The guy behind the counter said he thought there might be a known problem with the Rendezvous A/C condenser. Actually, I sort of hope it is the condenser so that it'll be covered by warranty and I won't have to pay. ;-)
I also asked them to look into the fact that when the car is in drive (or reverse), if I'm on an incline and take my foot off of the brake, the car will seemingly roll forever--until I hit the brake. I tried it as I was waiting to pull into the service shop just this morning. The car rolled backwards down an incline while in Drive--but with my foot off the brake--for a good 8 feet. I finally hit the brake to stop myself.
The service guy said that this is normal. I find that hard to believe. Does anyone know whether GM/Buick has said it's normal for there to be that much roll?
Thanks.....Doug in Philly
Just heard back from the Buick Service guys.
The A/C condenser had to be replaced. He either said it had "cracked" or "crapped" (as in "crapped out").
He also said that for the vehicle to roll backwards on an incline--even when in gear--is normal with cars now-a-days.
We own a 2002 Rendezvous CXL. We love the ride, the room and its looks. In April of this year I heard a funny noise coming from the front. We took it to the local dealer. They said it was the front wheel bearing. We were 1500 miles out of warranty. They suggested I call GM "CUSTOMER CARE" I did. The man on the other end of the phone asked me about the problem. I explained. I hear clickty-click on his keyboard. His next response was "We aren't showing any problems so this will be an expense to you" I said, "This is your response to my problem?" and then asked to speak to his boss and the guy then tells
me "the buck stops here" No kidding! I since went back to the dealer and they have repaired the bearing under warranty. I have also had the other bearing replaced since and a lower intake leak repaired now my AC condenser has a hole in it!!! I am totally fed up and would like to know what I can do about it? Please help.
I wonder what is available out there: wider tires, arms, shocks etc?...
Has anyone succeeded in getting Buick to pay for part or all of the cost of out of warranty repair work? If so I'd love to know what steps to try and take.
Buick acknowledges that my $800 worth of new wheel bearings (front R & L @ 42000), and $820 Air Conditioning Condenser, and estimated $400 Fuel Pump (failed today) are all "known defects" (they never told ME... just what does known defect mean? They 'know' you're screwed, but you don't?... )
Sign me, Disappointed in NH.
angle.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My RDV seems to have similar issues. The AC condenser had a leak (around 50,000 miles). The dealer said, it was part of regular wear and tear. I had to shell out $1000 to get that fixed. I had to replace my brakes at 30K. That was around $600.
I'm having issues with AC again. It only blowed hot air for 2 hours, no matter what I tried (restarting/ turning the AC on and off etc). Then magically it started to function blowing super cold air. It fine now. But seems to have a mind of its own especially during a cold start on a hot day.
I've also noticed that the doors lock and unlock automatically while in Drive. That was spooky the first time around (we were on a freeway at 70mph and suddenly heard the door unlock). Its done it a few times after that as well.
I've also started to hear a loud grinding (loud moaning) noise when I turn my steering hard at low speeds.
Unfortunately the Lemon Law in my state is only valid for 1 year after purchase.
I feel like most of the other members here. I paid 29K for it in 2001 and its worth only 12K now and shouldn't be having any of these problems.
Its a well designed car, just wish it had better overall quality or atleast a Japanese brand resale value.
Although I'm active in other forums now, I still come by here once in a while to see what's happening.
AC condensor leaks, BCM failures, moaning steering racks, wheel bearing failures, faulty parking brakes, and leaking manifold gaskets are all RDV problems the GM knows about.
I still believe that the RDV is basically a good vehicle (we really enjoyed ours when it wasn't in the shop), and contend that it's GM that should be blamed here....blamed for not acknowledging these problems, and fixing them FOR FREE, regardless of your warranty status.
It makes me so angry to hear that some of you have shelled out 100's or even 1000's of dollars to repair these problems. GM management should be ashamed of themselves.
It is all up to the dealer how much GM pays. GM carried ALL the cost, inclusive loaners, except $500 deductible for the last repair. Push your dealer hard!
A bad awakening was the trade in value, GM dealer wanted to give $8000 for a new Envoy XUV (loaded). I walked and went to VW and got $9500 on a similar priced Touareg (this is a little better than Edmunds value). Both dealers had the same playing filed since I buy for supplier rates.
No more GM cars for me! I had a similar experience with a Corvette that is now replaced with an Audit Quattro TT.
At VW and Audit dealerships one gets treated like a purchaser of a $35000 plus customer and not like one who buys a Cavalier/Sunfire type of car!
Our '04 Rdv. with the 3.6 engine has been acting-up in stop-and-go traffic as of late. Only have about 2,000 miles on it, but we were in a long traffic jam in 85-95 degree weather last week and the drive train started this nasty intermittent vibration. Even when at a dead stop, i could feel it. The temp gauge was at about 5/8, but no where near the red zone. This has since re-occurred a couple times in short stop and go situations. Any thoughts? I may take it to the dealer, but I don't want to get into a "could not duplicate" situation with the service department.
You might try running air conditioning sitting in your garage after returning with a warmed up engine. Let it idle and see if the vibration happens as the fans go to a higher speed as the head pressure on the air conditioning goes up with the heat. Some cars have one fan. Some cars have two fans. One fan will be on with air conditioning until both fans are requested. One fan speeds up and the other turns on.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My sympathies for all your Rendezvous woes. However, my experience with my 2002 Rendezvous CXL AWD is the complete opposite of yours. I have had very, very few problems with my Rendezvous. I brought mine in for the tailgate latch recall (no charge) and the dealer found that one of my cylinder head gaskets was leaking. They replaced the gasket no charge. Other than that, one seat belt came from the factory twisted (fixed no charge) and my driver lumbar knob cracked. I may need a motor in the passenger side view mirror replaced, but that's the extent of repairs/problems. Fuel and oil changes seem to keep my Rendezvous happy I would recommend a Rendezvous for purchase without hesitation.
I checked the RDV manual - it doesn't say anything about what temperature difference to expect. Just for the bi-level non-auto type it says cold on top and hot on the bottom. I would expect that if the heater is set to max, it could give 100°F, and AC ir temperature would be around 50°F, so the difference of 50°F or 28°C could be close to what you report at 30°C.
Whether this is good or bad, depends on if you live in a colder climate. I wouldn't mind warm air to my feet in cold winter.
Can you adjust heat to a reasonable level by lowering the temperature setting?
Regards,
Taras
WITH air conditioning I have temp. differences of 20 to 30 degrees C. between floor and vents. Without a/c I still have temp. differences of 15 -20 C unless the knob is turned almost all the way to the left (no heat).
Bi-levl is almost useless to me.
Is it normal to have temperatures up to 54 C (~135 F) at the feet with dashboard vent off, and the temp knob approx. in the middle? Waybon
My comment about geography stemmed from you using degrees Celsius, which made me guess that it may be colder Canada.
All I can say is that according to my manual some temperature difference (possibly 20-30C)with AC on may be expected in bi-level with the non-automatic climate control. I have the automatic one, so I can't test mine for you.
Can anyone with the normal AC in their rendezvous help check their lower vent temperature in bi-level mode with AC on and off, and with the temperature knob in the middle?
I can imagine that if you close the dashboard vent in a bi-level mode, the cold AC air does not enter the cabin as it should, and the hot air keeps entering the cabin through the lower vent. Then recirculation air keeps getting warmer and warmer until it gets hot.
With the AC off it the system, probably, gets the outside air in and sends it directly through dashboard vent, and sends the heated air through the floor vents. This may explain the lower difference in temperature (15-20C).
If you have this temperature difference in non-bilevel mode then you may wish to see another dealer in your area for repairs. Otherwise this sounds normal, as the temperature really is bi-level in the bi-level mode, albeit a tad warm at 54C with the dashboard vent closed. I live in Houston, so 45-50C heat index weather is not unseen here in mid-summer.
I would use bi-level in cold winter, just as jk27 suggests, but not in Houston.
Mike
The other day, smoke starts coming out of the air vents when the wife somehow had the A/C turned on. Turned off the A/C immediately, and now the blower only seems to work on 5 (high).
Had a radiator leak when the A/C started to not work. Had to get a new radiotor ($445 part plus labor to fix).
I cringe at the thought of what it will cost to fix the A/C!!!
Replaced the front wheel bearing about a year ago.
Are the new model RDV's as big of lemmons as the earlier models ?
My wife was talking about trading it in for a AWV model several weeks ago, and I laughed at her because hers was about paid for. She wanted AWD because she got stuck twice last year in real deep snow (driveways), and I told her the problem is the low ground clearance and AWD wouldn't help much.
Now I'm trying to figure out what car she will be happy with. She really loved the RDV, until all these problems started !!
Needed a new A/C condensor and H-valve.
The blower problem was caused by a blown resistor (translation: computer-crap, unrelated(?) to the A/C problem.
Total cost about $1180, and my mechanic then gave me a 10 percent discount.
A few weeks before, the radiator needed replaced--another $700+ bill ! The GM radiator looks like it was made by Tupperware with all the plastic on it (press-fitted to the aluminum core with a rubber gasket)--a real piece of crap it is!
The mechanic noted that the biggest problem with this car is that there are no aftermarket parts available, so your stuck buying the expensive GM parts, which to me are junk since the originals keep failing.
I have to rate this RDV as the biggest POS I have ever owned with all the repairs that have been needed in the brief 3 years that I have owned it.
Years ago, I bought a really used 1969 Chrysler Newport with 104,000 miles on it for $200 to use as a winter-wonder-car to save the wear-and-tear on my customized 1974 Dodge maxi-van, and it was 100 times the car this RDV is when it comes to repairs and expense!
I have an 04 RDV with 16,000 miles on odometer, I am having a problem with steering.I would appreciate any and all help.
The problem is this, when I make a sharp left turn and come back to straight the steering wheel does not return to center, and if you continue driving the vehicle constantly pulls left sometimes for several miles or until you turn right. The same condition exists after a right turn , except it pulls to the right, but the problem is not as severe on the right as the left.
The dealer replaced the tie rod ends,rotated the tires , checked for binding on front , and supposedly aligned the front end. After that the dealer claims they drove an 02,03, and 04 and all exibited the same characteristics. So the assumption is that the RDV is performing as per design.
Buick customer service was contacted they assigned me a number and assured me the area service tech would look at it the following week.
So far no show but the customer service calls every week and claims he will be there the following week. This has gone on for 6 weeks.
So I guess I am asking if anyone else has or had this problem if so please reply Thank you
I'd try taking it to a different dealer first. Then, start talking to Buick about a buy-back or lemon law. That might trigger some action on their part. Good luck!