By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
I must have missed that issue. Can you please explain how it improves the ride and handling? I'm considering an XL and I'm not sure which suspension I want.
Also, I noticed on GM Buypower that the 3.73 and 4.10 axle is an additional cost ($50 I think). When did they start doing this?
The reason why imports always seem to get higher ratings while the domestic (namely GM) cars get crapped on is quite simple. I guarantee you, that if one was to strip any and all badging & logos off all vehicles and give a group to test, only the best would be picked as the best. As that stands, many imports would still turn out on top for reasons that can be left unsaid. Not that I'm 100% import only, but I get sick and tired of hearing the ever stupid "excuses" people come up with when they read that something they own or like got a bad review. Just because you think of it highly, doesn't mean an established and highly experienced group of reviewers must.
You buy what you like, and what you can afford, point blank. For example, right now we own a 2002 Avalanche Z66, and it is by far the nicest vehicle we've ever owned and nicer than just about any other thing I've been in. But, reviewers always trash it because of the cladding. I can see why some might not like it, while we love it for the look, protection, and ease of maintenance. They don't just sat it's bad and so is the rest of the vehicle, they just give honest opinions.
Sure, the Envoy was a little outnumbered by the "higher-up" competitors chosen, but the review was 100% honest. Compared to what it was compared to, the interior is excessively cheap. And the suspension could use another few months of tuning so it doesn't float, bob, and roll like an old wet sponge down & around the road. But, it was the bargain of the group, and can't be expected to have everything be the best, because it's simply not the most expensive. Most owners are very happy with their own purchase, and we'll just leave it at that.
Just don't go spewing a load that "all magazines are import-biased" and that "they hate American cars, especially trucks". At least they're truthful....one way or the other!
I was also able to get my brother the same deal and he got a GMC truck.
See this site for pricing. https://www.gmfamilyfirst.com/
You will need to register and logon for GMS pricing, but this site will allow you to search for your vehicle. You can also order a vehicle (GMO) from the factory and save a few bucks more.
My employer (Motorola) didn't add anything to my W2.
Mine was $400 below invoice, not including the $2002 rebate and $1500 Olds sympathy discount. Your discount, without rebates, was $600 better.
Were they elected?
Can any Joe Schmo go in a review a vehicle?
When reviewers start to get out of touch with the general public, then they in turn become biased by their sheer lack of connection with the public.
I have yet to hear of a review that my friends or aquaintences agree with on the whole.
It is a sad thing that the magazine reviewers lose touch with the intended audience. The only way to affect change would be to stop buying the mags.
However, the biggest reason people but the mags would be for information, not reviews. Information gleaned from articles and reviews as well. You don't have to agree with a review in order to glean info from it.
Just my opinion.
I was also able to get my brother the same deal and he got a GMC truck.
See this site for pricing. https://www.gmfamilyfirst.com/
You will need to register and logon for GMS pricing, but this site will allow you to search for your vehicle. You can also order a vehicle (GMO) from the factory and save a few bucks more.
"Effective for vehicles ordered on or after September 1, 2002, the GM New Vehicle Purchase Program price will be the same whether you are buying or leasing a new GM vehicle out of dealer stock or ordering it."
Could someone give me the reference to the Service information mentioned in this post or tell me which Envoys are potentially affected.
Thanks much!
1. The Change Oil light never flashes per manual. After I changed the oil I set the key to run position and then I followed the instruction manual by steping the gas pedal all the way down three times within five seconds. Nothing happened. I have no idea that the Change Oil Light has been re-set or not.
2. The passenger side strap is very sensitive and gets locked intermittently. I have to unbuckle and let the strap retracts all the way and re-pull the strap slowly to buckle.
Anyone can help?
Has anyone here lifted their Trailblazer? If so, what kit did you use?
OR,
Does anyone know what lift kits are available? What tire sizes they'd fit?
Thanks.
Tim
I remember Car and Driver praising the Geo storm. They are biased towards what is fun to drive, not practical. It was supposedly a rocket and fun to drive. I don't think too many people remember that vehicle in a positive light.
Another example, the BMW 3 series has made C & D's top ten list for years. It gets lousy mileage (when you factor in the requirement for premium fuel), very little interior room, everything is an option, comes standard with vinyl seats, high insurance rates, and is rear wheel drive (sucks in the snow). I'm sure it's fun to drive, but a Ford Taurus can be had that is front wheel drive, more room, more horsepower, less expensive insurance and maintenance, etc.
The magazines seem to compare value of vehicles to list price, not street price. An Acura MDX might look like it compares OK to my Bravada. It has almost as much power, the fuel economy is almost as good (requires premium fuel), it can tow at least something, etc. But when you factor that I recieved a healthy discount and an extended warranty the Bravada is a much better deal.
Now you can say that the residual value of some imports is better than my Bravada. But if you compare what people actually paid versus resale, you will find the values much closer.
--
Doug
TSB 02-09-40-003
All 02 Triplets
Subject: Passenger seat shoulder belt too tight or cinches up.
(Replace passenger seat belt retractor assembly}
88956142 - Md.Dark Oak
88956143 - Md.Dark Pewter
This replacement belt is 9.84 inches longer and should stop the ALR
(Automatic Locking Retractor) from engaging.
My company says I can pay 4% over what GM employee would pay for the car.
I just don't what that means. Hopefully GM employees pay under invoice to begin with and the 4% surcharge is still under invoice.
"Our Envoy boasted an exceptionally smooth ride and high degree of road isolation. Much of the credit goes to its optional air-spring rear suspension. Coils are standard but the SLT has electronically controlled air bladders. Ride-height sensors, a compressor, and a body-control computer ensure proper headlight aim and body height--even when fully loaded or towing, and body motions are nicely damped by premium Bilstein shocks. This suspension system's ability to tame evil washboard roads is truly outstanding."
Redline65, we also own a '98 Pontiac Transport with ECAS. This is not a new feature for GM and is proven.
I have the XL because I wanted more room all around, it is significantly larger all-over than the standard model. It is within an inch of the wheel base length of a Suburban but without the 18" extra inches hanging behind the axle.
Chris
I will be able to get GMS employee pricing (thanks Dad), GM Card discount, $500 GM Card Bonus Offer and 0% + $250.
What is the GM Loyalty Certificate and how do you get one? My last 3 vehicles have been GM due to the employee discount.
Well, I've gotten four emails just this week with a very similar description to the issue many of us faced back then.
I've read through all the messages and fired back my thoughts to have the VIN's pulled and compared to the data on file about the new seal being needed.
Anyway, just wanted to alert everyone that it seems this problem or another very similar one in which the vehicle develops a tea-kettle-like whistle at a specific speed located around the front is begining to pop up.
Seems pretty likely that cold/snow/salt may have something to do with it. Not sure, but two of the emails were from here in Ohio and this is about the time for the cold and sqeals to start...or so it appears.
tim
http://www.timlauro.com
I remember reading either a TSB or in the GM Techlink newsletter that in actuality, the light doesn't flash for 5 seconds like the manual states to indicate a reset. That's a misprint in the manual. If it was indicating time to change the oil when reset the light simply goes off.
Yes LOWER. I drive mine on streets and would like LESS tendency to roll over in a high-speed maneuver.
And a urethane bushing kit for the stock front and rear stabilizer bars would be nice too. To tighten up the lean into the corners a bit.
The other reference 9131 was for the Envoys that have the rear levelling system. Don't have that on my TB.
The one the dealer found for me had 150 miles on it (drove it from 20 miles away?), both of the 2nd row leather seats were damaged (noticeably scratched and punctured), couldn't fold the 2nd row passenger seat forward, and Onstar was already set up in someone else's name.
Dealer was making all kind of excuses, I knew I was going to walk away from the deal, but wanted to play with them a little. They next wisked me into the finance manager's office and handed me a blank GM employee purchase form and asked me to initial three places and sign. When I read the first line it asked to verify the GMS price written on the form (humm, no price written on the form). I asked them to fill out the price and then I would initial and sign. Well he ran out and a different finance guy came in. This guy wrote down the a price that includes the GMS price and the memo. Well I told him I won't sign the form since the price he wrote down did not match the GMS price. He gave some lame excuse like the form was an older version (of course they couldn't find the new one) and that it was Illinois state tax law that tax is based on the GMS + memo price. He mentioned that it really was a shame that GM did not communicate better with their employees so they would understand how taxes are calculated. He said it really makes the dealers look bad. At that point, I told him I didn't want the car and walked out on the deal.
Oh yea, the dealer was JK Pontiac/GMC in Downers Grove, IL.
I was really hoping to find one with all the stuff I wanted (hard to find one with the collections of options that I want).
Went to Grossinger Automall in Lincolnwood (about over and hour away) since they had a large inventory of Envoys. I spent an hour there (dealer stalling tactic) only to hear they didn't have one that matched my specs. They started to try to talk me into other options and I told them no thanks.
Went to Jerry Haggerty and they took care of looking through their inventory for one that matched my specs, didn't find one, wrote down what I wanted, and I was out of there in 15 minutes.
So my Saturday was basically wasted. Oh well, maybe Jerry Haggerty will find what I am looking for.
Then I drove an Isuzu Ascender at a different dealership. The ride quality seemed less "floaty", and the handling was tighter. The problem is there was no sticker on the Isuzu, and the sales person didn't know anything about the vehicle. It had cloth seats, but I'm not sure if it had ECAS either. Can anyone tell me if the differences in ride quality had anything to do with ECAS, and if so, which one had it and which one didn't? I think I'm going to go to a different GMC dealer tomorrow to do some test driving.
I ordered my Envoy XL SLT to get the color and options I wanted. Took 4 weeks, it was worth it. Although dealers will offer to do a dealer trade like it works perfectly, I found that no dealer wanted to part with an Envoy by sending to another dealer simply because they are selling well and why let another dealer get the sale?
May I make a suggestion to help you find your vehicle? Use the GM web-site to search dealer inventory. You can actually look at vehicle stickers on-line. It is somewhat tedious to bounce from dealer to dealer using the system but it sure beats driving all creation and wasting drive time.
I used GMS pricing saved a lot. With my savings using GMS I bought the extended warranty, protection package, and remote start. Negotiated protection package and got extended warranty using GMS again.
I bought mine at Haggerty. I haven't had to go back since (10 Months). Great sales people, and their service department is open until 2:00AM! I obviously have no idea how good their service department is, but I like the fact that they are always there.
Mike
When I bought mine in May '02 you could only get aftermarket remote starters. Don't know if it has changed but check the GM website where you can build your own vehicle with the options you want. If you buy the remote starter at your GM dealer make sure that your warranty is still in effect. I highly doubt a remote starter purchased at K-Mart or your local accessorizer will keep your warranty in effect. Also, the price you pay will vary depending on the particuluars of your "deal." For example if your getting GMS pricing like I did the profit is low at the dealer so they will want to charge you full price. Everything is negotiable.
"I would like to see a rear LOWERING kit to level out the rear to the front. Sounds like someone could capitalize on these potential aftermarket products.
Yes LOWER. I drive mine on streets and would like LESS tendency to roll over in a high-speed maneuver."
If you want better handling ON ROAD, why not just get a car? A Volvo wagon might be nice for you.
If you're still not convinced that you should look elsewhere for something to take off-road, you need help!!!
A Volvo wagon??? They're ugly (IMHO) and they can't tow anything heavy.
Regarding the remote start. I had an aftermarket remote start put in on my TB. I know that there is not much information out there on the TB's or Envoys yet because when they went to install the remote start, they contacted GM to ask about the specs on the computers and they had no idea. My remote start is a viper with a whole built in security system. I will tell you I love it. But I have had a problem. The computer burned out the remote starter's brain. Went to start it one morning and it wouldn't work. I mean the key wouldn't even start it. The remote start automatically put on the ignition shut off. But all was fixed and the system was replaced.
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/search_results.pl?make=Chevrolet&model=Trailblazer
I did all of my "shopping" for my TB online. After test driving and deciding on the options I wanted, I went through GMBuypower and contacted a dealer via e-mail for a price quote on a TB *similar* to what I was looking for.
The dealer I contacted quoted me Invoice, plus $2002 cash back. I then told him that the one on their lot wasn't *exactly* what I was looking for and asked if they would find what I was looking for and still honor the invoice price.
Well, they found my white LTZ with pewter, etc, etc, later that day and had it on their lot in about 48 hours, and I went in the next day to pick it up. No haggling, No problems. A very pleasant experience.
Might be worth trying to save you from driving all over hell's half acre and still coming home empty handed (empty garaged?).
And if anybody cares, the dealer was McCarthy Chevy/Olds in Olathe, KS (Kansas City). Great Service dept, too.
Too bad I can't just download the OS updates, burn it to a CD-R, stick that in the CD player, and run the updates myself. That'd be nice!
Perhaps if the Trailblazer SS makes it to market we won't have to look for aftermarket lowering kits.
I am going to revert back to the old way, change it every 5000 mi.
Dealer is unclear too of the same issue.