Well, it seems my LTZ is a re-tread magnet. This is the second time a full tread from a semi truck has struck my car. No damage though! The first time, a large portion that struck my windshield hit an already cracked windshield, thus I didn't care, as it was in route to be fixed.
This time, a full section flew off and hit the front square-on and went under the truck. I heard the crash of what I thought was the headlights, fogs, etc....but nothing.
Pulled into the driveway and while my license plate cover was completely gone except for the screws, the WAAG Front Runner and StonGard prevented any damage to the truck! Amazing. I feel even the bumper itself being a bit loose helped. The Gaurd took the brunt of the hit, but the rubber scrapes and residue came right off. The area of the grill with the Bow-Tie Emblem and even the bumper that have been covered with the StonGard came clean with just plain car wax.
Thankfully no one else seemed to get hit and I'm even glad it was me vs. a small car that would surely have been damaged or the driver badly scared. I didn't get afraid or react abruptly, as it happened so fast, but the sound was loud as heck.
Gotta run back to other things...but hope to be reading here more often. I'll update some things on my site shortly too.
I understand what you are saying. It's just that I rarely have anyone in the back seats. It has been my habit to "tune" the sound system for optimal listening for the front seat.
You will no doubt improve the overall sound by upgrading the rears. I have done that on other vehicles. But for me, I concluded that it wasn't really worth the money as I bias the fronts and leave the back ones for "rear fill" and inputs for my 10" sub/amp.
I still think there is alot of room for improvement on the fronts, for $200 you can get a nice set....if you liked the improvement in the rears you'll love upgraded speakers in the front! Good luck.
Brake lines, parking brake cable? Hell, most people don't even know where those parts reside and if they did, they couldn't tell them from the driveshaft!
"Brake lines, parking brake cable? Hell, most people don't even know where those parts reside and if they did, they couldn't tell them from the driveshaft!"
I bet they'd find them quick if they were hanging off when out on some trail!
I have been squeak free for some time thanks to the help of others on this board. 1) Under the filter there was a plastic fastener that holds the wheel well liner on that was setting on top of one of the trans cooling lines. You could see how it had been rubbing on the line. Just clip the end of the faster to fix this one.
2) With the hood closed, there was alot of up and down play. I gradually adjusted the stops on the right and left side up a half turn at a time until the play was almost completely gone. And, used some white lithium grease on the latch.
I have actually noticed this on mine as well. Almost as if you get a double image at the top and bottom third of the mirror. One image appears to be purple and the other green.
I have a list of other minor issues to have resolved at the next oil change and if I find out anything, I will be ure to post here.
I have an 02 Envoy SLT with the polished aluminum wheel. Last week when getting oil, lub, and tires rotated, the dealer put 3 of 4 center caps on wrong. 2 fell off and were lost. Today I went in to get the replacements and have the recall taken care of. Guess what, they put the two new ones on wrong also. This time I checked before leaving the dealership. Told and showed the service manager what happened and suggested he give some training to his mechanics. He apologized and said he would take care of it. This isn't a rant against GM or the dealer - just sharing some of the fun experiences in life.
There are six ways you can attempt to put the center cap on (wheels are six spoke) and only one way that is correct. Cap has raised tabs that must fit into groove in wheel. Don't know this but would bet the other wheels are designed the same way. So, OWNER BEWARE!
While at the dealership today, I checked out all their stock of Envoys (about 12). It included 02's 03's and EXT's. ALL had the crossbars on backwards of what has been posted as correct on this board. Tie down hole is facing the rear. Mine came that way also (build date 02/02) and I changed them based on posts here. I couldn't tell any difference in wind noise either way but it does seem like my back window stays cleaner longer with the tie down hole facing forward.
Guess we'll never know for sure what is the right way unless GMDrone comes back and tells us how the engineer designed it. I may change mine back just to see if my cleaner window theory is correct. Otherwise, who cares???
I also have an Acura '01 tl. It has 15k on it and was starting to sound like a real rattle trap. I bought a product called SIL-GLYDE and rubbed it on all my rubber seals (door, trunk, hood and hood stops). I couldn't believe the difference! Now sounds like a brand new car (silent). So far its been on for about 2 months and is still working perfectly. Silicone sprays last for a couple of days at best.
The SIL-GLYDE leaves a clear waterproof film on the rubber. For those of you who are having hood stop problems, this product will solve your problem.
So far, my Envoy (almost 7k) is still quiet so I haven't used the stuff on it.
It comes in a small 1.5oz tube and is similar to vaseline in consistency - a little thicker I think.
Can someone tell me if I read the Chevy Trailblazer website incorrectly. According to the specs you can only get the rear AC vents and controls if you get the EXT model? My 2002 LS has them..makes me glad I bought my 2002. What is Chevy thinking?
Today I traded in my 2002 Bravada for a Subaru Outback LL Bean: $23,800 for the trade in. Some people only get ~$21K. I paid $36,000 for the high end Bravada. What a depreciation, but I feel good to be out of it. No more wandering mirrors, mirror/rack wind noise, clunking doors and cold feet in winter for me! After reading some of the posts about the SmartTrac and air suspension systems on this vehicle I am concerned about my safety in driving it. I have owned two Subarus in the past and I know I can rely on them. This Outback is nice...two moonroofs...and I feel safer, and I am not concerned about the long term reliability of this vehicle. Almost all the goodies of the Bravada....even OnStar. The 3.0L engine is zippy. Okay, so I can't pull 5000lbs anymore. GM, I will go back to the foreign cars for now....your company is slipping again. No excuse for all these problems in the triplets.
Glad you like your new vehicle. After hearing that a lot of folks are only getting ~$21K for their Bravadas, I don't feel so bad about my TrailBlazer LTZ trade-in allowance now. The Lexus dealership gave me $24,300.00 for it, but I only paid $29,500.00 for it brand new. It had everything except the DVD player and sunroof on it. Bright, Victory Red with the factory running boards installed. I owned it for 16 months and the vehicle had 15,600 miles on it the day I traded it in.
Like yourself, I had some serious concerns about long term reliability. After my transmission failed at 9,000 miles of operation, and the engine began to knock pretty badly, I started to become more and more concerned about things. Also, the transmission was beginning to show signs of slipping again during the morning commute to work--a couple of months after it had been rebuilt. After I had the 'fan noise' problem addressed, the vehicle had a tendency to sputter and die out at certain times when you first started it up. It idled too low. Didn't do it all of the time though. Never took it back for this particular problem.
All in all, I still prefer GM's SUVs over both Ford and Chrysler's. Well, at least when it comes to styling. I believe that the triplets are the best-looking SUVs on the market today. Saw a blue and silver TrailBlazer on the way to a movie with my girlfriend last night and it looked very sharp! They do ride really, really nice too. I really and truly can't compare the quality of GM's SUVs to that of Ford and Chrysler's, because I've never owned one of their products.
Once again, congratulations on your new Subaru purchase!
gbv, you should be ok. All you will need is a powerful amplifier that will take speaker level inputs from your head unit. I would put some component speakers up front that utize a 6.5" woofer/mid in the doors and 1" dome tweeters in the dash. (I prefer the silk dome tweeters due to their smoothness) You will probably have to settle for 5.25" coaxals in the rear doors. Keep in mind that good after market speaker generaly require more power to run, which is why you will need a good amp. They also tend to have larger magnets and thus are deeper. This may be a problem since there is not a lot of depth available in the doors. The front woofers on the bose system actually use inverted magnets, which means they are on the front side of the speaker to save mounting depth. Be sure to raise and lower the windows before putting the door panels back on to ensure no bolts on the window frames don't hit the speakers.
Forget using silicone spray to lubricate hood contact places where rubber and metal touch. Use a white lithium grease like Lubriplate, also on the hood hinges and latch mechanism. That will last. Use silicone spray on the weatherseals around the doors. I spray it on a piece of cloth til wet first, then use that to apply it to the rubber door seals. I will have to get some of that Sil-Glyde stuff mentioned above. Sounds heavier-duty than the Sears silicone spray I have been using.
At least you are fair about disclosing that you haven't owned Ford or Chrysler SUVs when you state your preferences. I've had experience with all 3, and have found the Jeeps and Ford SUVs to be preferable in most ways. Though I like the styling of the GMs more than the Fords. I have experienced the GMs to be inexcusably trouble prone and lacking in technology. I, on the other hand, have never had a Suby, so there you go! Good luck with yours.
Been driving my new 02 TB EXT for 5 days now and have noticed an inconsistent growl or rattle sound I think coming from the left side. It begins at about 2600 and lasts to 2900ish RPM Does not happen all the time but often enough to be of interest. Anyone else notice this?? A Concern or simply a harmonic of the engine? BTW: The ability to accelerate this monster is impressive.
I have also joined Ron-M as a former triplet owner. I just traded for a new 02 Pathfinder. I had paid $30,100 for an LT and received a "true" $21,000 on a trade since I bought the Pathfinder for about $1500 under invoice if the rebate is included. With the tax savings I got close to $22,500 in value which for 19 months and 20,800 miles was not too bad considering. Although overall reliability was not bad, I could not see keeping this beyond warranty. My fan noise and transmission delay was becoming more frequent despite the two reprogrammings. The dealer told me last week that GM has come out and stated that this rather famous issue at this point was normal for the vehicle. I guess for GM, driving down the street for 3 minutes with a leaf blower like sound and very limited acceleration from the transmission is normal. Overall, not a bad experience though and a very comfortable truck to drive. Maybe one day they will get the quality up to par so it won't be a roulette game on whether you get one of the good ones upon purchase. The rebates, 0% financing and known reliability issues did kill resale though.
I've never owned a Subaru, but I'm sure their very nice since GM owns 20% of them. According to GM's website they have a 20% stake in Fuji Industries which is the parent of Subaru.
Also just to be fair regarding resale value, it sounds like you over paid for your Bravada. It is extremely rare to make out well trading in a one year old vehicle.
For example, I paid $28,900 (including Olds loyalty discount) for my Bravada (list $35,212).
If I received $23K for mine,(11K on the odometer) that would be about a $5,900 hit. When you take the mileage adjustment into consideration 36.5 cent per mile (about $4K), I would only lose $2k on trade in. Not bad....Of course why would I worry about anything when it is still under warranty? That was another of the great advantages of the Olds (standard 5 year/60K). By then anything major would be resolved, percieved or otherwise.
I noticed that the Isuzu Ascender's third row seat is removable. Is this true of the '03 Envoy XLs & TB EXTs? Sure is a nice feature to have and wonder why GM didn't put it in the '02s.
BTW, hit 7K miles on a 04/02 Envoy XL SLT and so far I'm quite pleased with it.
Hi all. I've seen several posts about the splash guards with running boards. I have an EXT with factory running boards. Ordered the front and rear from gmpartsdirect and sure enough, the fronts don't fit. The problem isn't necessarily the running boards, but the strip of plastic trim just below the doors seems to not be letting it fit up flush. Has anyone found a correct part number yet, or an alternative to the GM guards?
Thanks for any info and I think this board is excellent!
If I remember someone else had this same problem but I couldn't find the message. What happened was I was driving down the expressway and my vehicle just shut off... no warning, NOTHING! I coasted over to the shoulder and tried to restart it and it wouldn't restart. I called ONSTAR and they couldn't find any error codes. After about 45 min the vehicle restarted with no problems.
The service department could not find any problems with my Envoy either.
I'd like to know of other's who have had this problem and if the problem was ever resolved.
Any help that you all can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Well, I figured it out. Went to local Chevy dealership and took one of the front splash guards with me. It fit fine on a "short" Trailblazer, even with the factory running boards. Evidently, it's the EXT's that have a wider plastic trim piece under the doors at the front wheel well. If anyone has an EXT with the GM front splash guards, please post the part numbers.
I don't have the time to take my (former)Bravada to the dealer repeatedly for these problems 5yr/60K warranty or not...it has been three times now. I anticipate more visits. This causes me interruption in my work/personal schedules.
GM should get the bugs out on their own time...not me the consumer.
I will now kick over the bucket...
Disgusted triplet owners UNITE! This seems like a great class action suit to me. Are there any lawyers out there?
I feel nice and warm and secure in my new Subaru Outback .
Thanks for posting the picture. It's a little unclear, but I believe the crosstie slots (holes) should be "facing front", correct? My Envoy has the holes "facing rear" and an imprint "FRONT" (with an arrow ->) facing the rear of the car. So, seems mine are installed incorrectly. True? Amazing!
You wrote that your Envoy stalled; well, I am looking at an Envoy to replace a 99 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP with a Super Charger that has the SAME problem. I have had it cut off on me at least once a day for the past 2 and 1/2 months. It's under warranty, but they can't find anything wrong with it. They have replaced all of the coils, the spark plug wires, the fuel pump module, and yes even the CD player(it showed an error message the second time in the shop.) We thought it was fixed and then on a long trip it cut off again. When we got it to the closest Pontiac place, it wouldn't stall for them, and didn't stall again until a week later. Now it's back to at least once a day. They still can't find anything wrong with it! One of the mechanics mentioned that some of the Buick's, Cadillac's, and GMC's have the same problem. Does the problem that you have seem to happen when you take your foot off of the gas; for instance, when you slow down to make a turn or at a stoplight? Does your gas mileage drop? Does you RPM's slowly decrease right before it stalls? I would like to know how similar this is to what I am experiencing. We are tired of all the hassle. I think we are going to trade it in for a Nissan Pathfinder instead of an Envoy.
Hey guys, I still don't think we know for sure what GM's intention is for putting these on the right way. Mine do not have the arrows nor have I seen the LH RH stamped on my rails.
It does appear ALL current production is backwords of the picture nuyorkah posted. Could be the picture is an older one where they were still molding arrows and LH, RH on the rails.
I think GM decided the current method is best and that is why it is the only way they are coming. True, I may be thinking to highly of GM.
Anyway, as one who has had them on both ways, I don't think it makes much difference. Just consider myself lucky it is the only thing I can try to complain about on my Envoy since I'm not having any of the other problems being posted here.
Though it has not happened to me, I know of individuals (and I believe it was posted on this forum) who have vehicles just "stall" without any error codes, and it turned out that the vehicle had a faulty ignition switch. It explained why the vehicles just "stopped" as if it was turned off, because that is what the switch was doing. It would also explain why it happens across product lines (Cadillac, GMC, Pontiac, etc.) as I image that GM has one vendor manufacturing ignition switches for them all.
gcglittergirl... I was driving along at about 45 mph when it happened. I'm not sure if I had just taken my foot off the gas or not and I was driving.
This is the second time it happened. The first time it had stopped raining about 15 min before it happened. This time it happened about 10 min after I left the carwash so on the surface it appears that water or condensation may be causing the problem.
The odd thing is that all the warning lights came on and in the Information Display it read "Service Brake System" both times. The braking system has always appeared to work just fine.
Well, I finally got my Bravada back today. They replaced the battery and "post". Who knows. I just pray real hard each time I go to start it now. I was talking with both my salesman and service writer and they seem to think that GM will pull me out of my lease as long as I'm going into another GM (more expensive) vehicle. They helped me by pulling my [very extensive] service record and even said they would go to bat for me if needed. I'm looking at an '03 Yukon.
My problem is I can't find out how to find my "Zone Rep." I've looked all over but can find nothing. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
--Soon to be [hopefully] former Bravada owner-Michael
Funny how both employ similar technology! If you have the 4EAT trans, You're using the electrically engaged multi-plate wet clutch system with a limited slip rear diff, which is almost identical to Smarttrak except that the Outback is front biased vs. rear and uses an LSD vs a locker! I know you were unhappy with your Bravada because of it's problems, but come on... no need to belittle the Bravada's capabilities just to make you feel better about getting something else! The Outback is probably just as capable as the Bravada in the AWD department, but I definitely wouldn't say it's better.
Had it happen only one time to my Envoy. I was stopped at a traffic light, and felt a lurch when it stalled. Error message on DIC said "Low oil pressure, turn engine off." Turned off the ignition, restarted OK, and went on my way. OnStar didn't read any error codes. Dealer found an error and replaced the PCM (although the part # references the ECM). No problems since.
Haven't seen any references to stalling on the highway lately on this board. If I recall correctly, some were solved by finding a loose ground wire on some module somewhere on the vehicle's serial data network. Those posts should be somewhere in the past 8000 messages.
Build date 6/01, 12K miles, no other major problems. Guess it was a good week at the factory. Still enjoying my truck.
The thing is almost no one ever has a problem with the AWD system in the subarus. I follow all major subaru on-line resources with over 30,000 users and have heard of maybe 3-4failures over the years. Not sure that the Bravada has the same reliability as that. Also the FWD bias probably helps a lot especially in snowy conditions. 80/20 bias on the OB, not sure what it is on the bravada, but my guess is that it's somewhere like 0/100.
I just had to have my Bravada towed to the dealer because of no battery power. As I was checking the battery the positive terminal came off in my hand! The terminal was completely corroded in half. It seems that there was a bad batch of Delco batteries made a few years ago. They had a problem of leaking at the terminals and spilling battery acid all over the place. The tow truck driver said there was a recall on those batteries, but I never heard of one? If you have an early version of the truck (I have a 3/01 build date) I would take a few minutes and pull the positive terminal off and check for leaking acid. My truck ran fine right up to the point the cable fell off. Good thing it happened in my driveway, this could be the cause of some of the more intermittent electrical problems that people are having?
I'd think the Bravada would be better in the snow in than an Outback due it being heavier. I had an Impreza RS and it was fine in the snow except for lane changes - it was too light to confidently bust through slush ridges.
An unrelated note - One thing Subaru better have fixed or needs to fix is their weak air conditioners!
perhaps they should check the ABS module... Its mounted on the frame directly under the driver.... perhaps there is a lack of insulation, etc. that is only affected when water gets kicked up & vibration... dunno...
Subies system is definately better. No 1/2 second delay before the system engages (with a bang!). No premature failures either. As far as snow, much of it depends on tire size. The Bravada has big tires that offset some of it's weight advantage. It's not much better than my Outback was. Of course if there is a lot of snow, the Bravada will win due to its' overall higher ground clearance.
d2000one1, Sometimes the TCS will not work until my car has sat for a while. It will crank up after 5-10 mins of sitting on the side of the road(if I'm lucky.) But, a lot of the time, the TCS turns off and will not turn back on until it sits for 30 mins or so. I mentioned the ignition switch, just as a previous person posted, but they quickly ruled it out. They said that if that was the case then the car wouldn't turn back on until it had sat for 45 mins to an hour. The mechanic felt like it was a short, (at the last dealership I coasted into.) Unfortunately they couldn't get it to happen when they were driving it. I drove a mechanic around for over an hour talking to him and trying to get it to stall. No such luck!
mine has a build date of 06/02 and the rails are sloped with the lowest angle toward the front and hole in the back I think this is correct? you can see pictures on my website http://www.trailblazer.homestead.com/ just click on the EGR window vent link and you can see how mine came from the factory
It's about time! Two Bravadas later, you're still having constant problems. That might tell you something.
And as far as the 03' Yukon, great choice. There's a reason why this past spring we chose to buy an Avalanche over an Envoy or Trailblazer. Size and build quality. Those were two issues with our 300M, and we weren't about to trade for another trouble-prone rattle-trap. The Av has been terrific in 6 months without a single problem and still as tight as day one.
I'm not saying all triplets are bad, it's just that they have a very high problem rate. Not everyone enjoys having weekly visits for "computer upgrades", to have pieces re-attaches, rattles & squeaks taken care of, etc., etc.. If you like yours, fine. If you don't, do whatever you can to get out of it like mfullmer hopes to do.
There's no reason to be putting up with so much crap on a $35k+ SUV! Look more into the Yukon, it's a much nicer choice in my view!
Do you think GM makes these crossbars or do they come from a supplier? Suppliers do make mistakes, and probably some mistakes were made. I would go with the direction that made the lease amount of wind noise, not by the arrows.
Hello thanks to those who suggested I simply had a dead battery when my Bravada wouldn't start a couple weeks ago. That was the problem - hard to believe for a year and a half old car. Must have been a battery from the above-mentioned defective batch. I looked at my crossbars - my truck is 4/01 build date - on mine, back of crossbars is lower than front, tie-down holes are in front, and this is correct per the arrow under the latch on each side. I haven't noticed a wind noise problem from the rack, anyway. I do get a lot from the drivers front door area. Today I put on some of the dielectric grease that is recommended in the manual, and it didn't seem to make a difference. Did anyone ever find out for sure if that piece of insulation that you can see when the front doors are open is supposed to be glued in airtight? Mine are just kind of sitting there, and I can see around them to the front of the truck. I'm thinking of stopping by the body shop to have those looked at, as well as the driver's side door, which seems to rattle around in the catch area when going over very rough bumps - I see the catch already has several spacers on it, maybe it needs more or fewer of them. Thanks to all those who have posted the tsb numbers, it makes it so easy at the dealer (already used them for sagging headliner, license frame gasket, pcm reprogramming for delayed shifting, LF heater duct, wandering mirrors,bumper brackets, etc.)
About 5 mins into my commute, the SES light came on (car appeared to be running fine). Called OnStar and they picked up Code P0442 and said the Power Train Control should be serviced within 7 days. Anyone else have this? Details? Thanks!
From my research, this is a EVAP test failure. The Evaporative Emmissions control system (part of the PCM) does a diagnotic test on startup. After certain conditions are met it actually draws vaccum on the fuel tank and then checks to see if the vaccum remains. If the vaccum does not remain, it sets the code you have mentioned.
Check the fuel cap... It could be as simple as that.
If it is not the fuel cap, it is a problem with the EVAP system and you should take it to a dealer soon.
Walter, thanks for the quick response. I plan to take it to the dealer for the recall so will have it checked then. Do you know if there is a "quick" way to review the various TSB's that have been posted here? I'll try (try as I might!) to get everything knocked out with one trip to the dealer. Thanks again-
Comments
This time, a full section flew off and hit the front square-on and went under the truck. I heard the crash of what I thought was the headlights, fogs, etc....but nothing.
Pulled into the driveway and while my license plate cover was completely gone except for the screws, the WAAG Front Runner and StonGard prevented any damage to the truck! Amazing. I feel even the bumper itself being a bit loose helped. The Gaurd took the brunt of the hit, but the rubber scrapes and residue came right off. The area of the grill with the Bow-Tie Emblem and even the bumper that have been covered with the StonGard came clean with just plain car wax.
Thankfully no one else seemed to get hit and I'm even glad it was me vs. a small car that would surely have been damaged or the driver badly scared. I didn't get afraid or react abruptly, as it happened so fast, but the sound was loud as heck.
Gotta run back to other things...but hope to be reading here more often. I'll update some things on my site shortly too.
tim lauro
You will no doubt improve the overall sound by upgrading the rears. I have done that on other vehicles. But for me, I concluded that it wasn't really worth the money as I bias the fronts and leave the back ones for "rear fill" and inputs for my 10" sub/amp.
I still think there is alot of room for improvement on the fronts, for $200 you can get a nice set....if you liked the improvement in the rears you'll love upgraded speakers in the front! Good luck.
GAM
I bet they'd find them quick if they were hanging off when out on some trail!
1) Under the filter there was a plastic fastener that holds the wheel well liner on that was setting on top of one of the trans cooling lines. You could see how it had been rubbing on the line. Just clip the end of the faster to fix this one.
2) With the hood closed, there was alot of up and down play. I gradually adjusted the stops on the right and left side up a half turn at a time until the play was almost completely gone. And, used some white lithium grease on the latch.
No more squeaks! Hope this helps.
I have actually noticed this on mine as well. Almost as if you get a double image at the top and bottom third of the mirror. One image appears to be purple and the other green.
I have a list of other minor issues to have resolved at the next oil change and if I find out anything, I will be ure to post here.
JAW
There are six ways you can attempt to put the center cap on (wheels are six spoke) and only one way that is correct. Cap has raised tabs that must fit into groove in wheel. Don't know this but would bet the other wheels are designed the same way. So, OWNER BEWARE!
Guess we'll never know for sure what is the right way unless GMDrone comes back and tells us how the engineer designed it. I may change mine back just to see if my cleaner window theory is correct. Otherwise, who cares???
The SIL-GLYDE leaves a clear waterproof film on the rubber. For those of you who are having hood stop problems, this product will solve your problem.
So far, my Envoy (almost 7k) is still quiet so I haven't used the stuff on it.
It comes in a small 1.5oz tube and is similar to vaseline in consistency - a little thicker I think.
billg7 "Honda Odyssey" Feb 8, 2001 7:27pm
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Can someone tell me if I read the Chevy Trailblazer website incorrectly. According to the specs you can only get the rear AC vents and controls if you get the EXT model? My 2002 LS has them..makes me glad I bought my 2002. What is Chevy thinking?
Glad you like your new vehicle. After hearing that a lot of folks are only getting ~$21K for their Bravadas, I don't feel so bad about my TrailBlazer LTZ trade-in allowance now. The Lexus dealership gave me $24,300.00 for it, but I only paid $29,500.00 for it brand new. It had everything except the DVD player and sunroof on it. Bright, Victory Red with the factory running boards installed. I owned it for 16 months and the vehicle had 15,600 miles on it the day I traded it in.
Like yourself, I had some serious concerns about long term reliability. After my transmission failed at 9,000 miles of operation, and the engine began to knock pretty badly, I started to become more and more concerned about things. Also, the transmission was beginning to show signs of slipping again during the morning commute to work--a couple of months after it had been rebuilt. After I had the 'fan noise' problem
addressed, the vehicle had a tendency to sputter
and die out at certain times when you first
started it up. It idled too low. Didn't do it
all of the time though. Never took it back for
this particular problem.
All in all, I still prefer GM's SUVs over both
Ford and Chrysler's. Well, at least when it comes to styling. I believe that the triplets are the best-looking SUVs on the market today. Saw a blue and silver TrailBlazer on the way to a movie with my girlfriend last night and it looked very sharp!
They do ride really, really nice too. I really and
truly can't compare the quality of GM's SUVs to
that of Ford and Chrysler's, because I've never
owned one of their products.
Once again, congratulations on your new Subaru
purchase!
Take care.
Ron M.
It begins at about 2600 and lasts to 2900ish RPM
Does not happen all the time but often enough to be of interest.
Anyone else notice this??
A Concern or simply a harmonic of the engine?
BTW: The ability to accelerate this monster is impressive.
I've never owned a Subaru, but I'm sure their very nice since GM owns 20% of them. According to GM's website they have a 20% stake in Fuji Industries which is the parent of Subaru.
Also just to be fair regarding resale value, it sounds like you over paid for your Bravada. It is extremely rare to make out well trading in a one year old vehicle.
For example, I paid $28,900 (including Olds loyalty discount) for my Bravada (list $35,212).
If I received $23K for mine,(11K on the odometer) that would be about a $5,900 hit. When you take the mileage adjustment into consideration 36.5 cent per mile (about $4K), I would only lose $2k on trade in. Not bad....Of course why would I worry about anything when it is still under warranty? That was another of the great advantages of the Olds (standard 5 year/60K). By then anything major would be resolved, percieved or otherwise.
Doug
BTW, hit 7K miles on a 04/02 Envoy XL SLT and so far I'm quite pleased with it.
from gmpartsdirect and sure enough, the fronts don't fit. The problem isn't necessarily the running boards, but the strip of plastic trim just below the doors seems to not be letting it fit up flush. Has anyone found a correct part number yet, or an alternative to the GM guards?
Thanks for any info and I think this board is excellent!
The service department could not find any problems with my Envoy either.
I'd like to know of other's who have had this problem and if the problem was ever resolved.
Any help that you all can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance...
Dee
Also LH(Driver Side) and RH(Pass.Side) is stamped on the bottom of the rails themselves. GM just dicked it at the factory.
http://www.sendpix.com/albums/021007/1552190000003447fc5cfe7c961ea0/
dealership and took one of the front splash guards with me. It fit fine on a "short" Trailblazer, even with the factory running boards. Evidently, it's the EXT's that have a wider plastic trim piece under the doors at the front wheel well. If anyone has an EXT with the GM front splash guards, please post the part numbers.
GM should get the bugs out on their own time...not me the consumer.
I will now kick over the bucket...
Disgusted triplet owners UNITE! This seems like a
great class action suit to me. Are there any lawyers out there?
I feel nice and warm and secure in my new Subaru Outback .
Subaru is the king of AWD...SmartTrac sucks.
One of the mechanics mentioned that some of the Buick's, Cadillac's, and GMC's have the same problem. Does the problem that you have seem to happen when you take your foot off of the gas; for instance, when you slow down to make a turn or at a stoplight? Does your gas mileage drop? Does you RPM's slowly decrease right before it stalls? I would like to know how similar this is to what I am experiencing. We are tired of all the hassle. I think we are going to trade it in for a Nissan Pathfinder instead of an Envoy.
It does appear ALL current production is backwords of the picture nuyorkah posted. Could be the picture is an older one where they were still molding arrows and LH, RH on the rails.
I think GM decided the current method is best and that is why it is the only way they are coming. True, I may be thinking to highly of GM.
Anyway, as one who has had them on both ways, I don't think it makes much difference. Just consider myself lucky it is the only thing I can try to complain about on my Envoy since I'm not having any of the other problems being posted here.
This is the second time it happened. The first time it had stopped raining about 15 min before it happened. This time it happened about 10 min after I left the carwash so on the surface it appears that water or condensation may be causing the problem.
The odd thing is that all the warning lights came on and in the Information Display it read "Service Brake System" both times. The braking system has always appeared to work just fine.
My problem is I can't find out how to find my "Zone Rep." I've looked all over but can find nothing. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
--Soon to be [hopefully] former Bravada owner-Michael
Funny how both employ similar technology! If you have the 4EAT trans, You're using the electrically engaged multi-plate wet clutch system with a limited slip rear diff, which is almost identical to Smarttrak except that the Outback is front biased vs. rear and uses an LSD vs a locker! I know you were unhappy with your Bravada because of it's problems, but come on... no need to belittle the Bravada's capabilities just to make you feel better about getting something else! The Outback is probably just as capable as the Bravada in the AWD department, but I definitely wouldn't say it's better.
Haven't seen any references to stalling on the highway lately on this board. If I recall correctly, some were solved by finding a loose ground wire on some module somewhere on the vehicle's serial data network. Those posts should be somewhere in the past 8000 messages.
Build date 6/01, 12K miles, no other major problems. Guess it was a good week at the factory. Still enjoying my truck.
-mike
penny14 Apr 2, 2002 1:06pm
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Allen
An unrelated note - One thing Subaru better have fixed or needs to fix is their weak air conditioners!
No premature failures either. As far as snow, much of it depends on tire size. The Bravada has big tires that offset some of it's weight advantage. It's not much better than my Outback was. Of course if there is a lot of snow, the Bravada will win due to its' overall higher ground clearance.
GAM
I think this is correct?
you can see pictures on my website
http://www.trailblazer.homestead.com/
just click on the EGR window vent link and you can see
how mine came from the factory
And as far as the 03' Yukon, great choice. There's a reason why this past spring we chose to buy an Avalanche over an Envoy or Trailblazer. Size and build quality. Those were two issues with our 300M, and we weren't about to trade for another trouble-prone rattle-trap. The Av has been terrific in 6 months without a single problem and still as tight as day one.
I'm not saying all triplets are bad, it's just that they have a very high problem rate. Not everyone enjoys having weekly visits for "computer upgrades", to have pieces re-attaches, rattles & squeaks taken care of, etc., etc.. If you like yours, fine. If you don't, do whatever you can to get out of it like mfullmer hopes to do.
There's no reason to be putting up with so much crap on a $35k+ SUV! Look more into the Yukon, it's a much nicer choice in my view!
I bet ross1962 is right - helps keep our trucks on the ground when we hit 300 mph.
and probably some mistakes were made. I would go with the direction that made the lease amount of wind noise, not by the arrows.
I'll keep that in mind! ;-)
tidester
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SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories
thanks to those who suggested I simply had a dead battery when my Bravada wouldn't start a couple weeks ago. That was the problem - hard to believe for a year and a half old car. Must have been a battery from the above-mentioned defective batch. I looked at my crossbars - my truck is 4/01 build date - on mine, back of crossbars is lower than front, tie-down holes are in front, and this is correct per the arrow under the latch on each side. I haven't noticed a wind noise problem from the rack, anyway. I do get a lot from the drivers front door area. Today I put on some of the dielectric grease that is recommended in the manual, and it didn't seem to make a difference. Did anyone ever find out for sure if that piece of insulation that you can see when the front doors are open is supposed to be glued in airtight? Mine are just kind of sitting there, and I can see around them to the front of the truck. I'm thinking of stopping by the body shop to have those looked at, as well as the driver's side door, which seems to rattle around in the catch area when going over very rough bumps - I see the catch already has several spacers on it, maybe it needs more or fewer of them. Thanks to all those who have posted the tsb numbers, it makes it so easy at the dealer (already used them for sagging headliner, license frame gasket, pcm reprogramming for delayed shifting, LF heater duct, wandering mirrors,bumper brackets, etc.)
From my research, this is a EVAP test failure.
The Evaporative Emmissions control system (part of the PCM) does a diagnotic test on startup. After certain conditions are met it actually draws vaccum on the fuel tank and then checks to see if the vaccum remains. If the vaccum does not remain, it sets the code you have mentioned.
Check the fuel cap... It could be as simple as that.
If it is not the fuel cap, it is a problem with the EVAP system and you should take it to a dealer soon.
I hope this helps.
Walter (gator)
Thanks again-