Buick Rendezvous Maintenance and Repair

tracyeg

Well, that wind noise is quite aggrivating. What I'm trying now before going into the dealer is putting in some additional weather stripping around the door. I hope this works because the chances of the wind catching my door and stretching a replaced hinge are pretty high.

tracyeg

Have there been any recalls on any part of the 2002 RDV?

Beside the door hinges and the not always reliable back door springs popping up everything thus far has been fine.

tracyeg

Well, the weather striping seems to be working just fine. That wind noise is very reduced.

Initially, I sparingly put it in spots where I heard the noise and then after that failed I put it pretty much around the entire window section (on the door side and not the shell of the car).

dorene1

tracyeg: Depending on when your RDV was built, there was a recall for early production RDVs that had rod problems. I had one, but in 24 hours it was exchanged for a different RDV. Several owners had service that changed the faulty parts that caused the problems. You can contact Buick customer service for the VIN #s of the recalled vehicles. There was a post many months ago about a web site that had the VINs, but I don't remember what it was. Our RDV has had 17,000 problem free miles, and we hope for many more! Good luck....

nesser

I just bought my RDV CX, and love it. But I'd like to change some of the programmable defaults. However, I can't get into the "Program Mode." The Manual says shift in Park, key in On, Odometer in non-trip, then push the odometer reset for 2 seconds. It doesn't happen! Anybody know the secret? My salesman can't get it to work either.

nextmoon

Do you have the DIC in your Rendevzous or not? If you do, then that's not the procedure, but if you do I can't really help because I have the DIC.

jk27

Are you sure it's the odometer reset button and not the DIC reset button (which is located just left of the steering wheel)? I don't recall pressing the odometer reset button to enter programming mode.

nextmoon

jk27 - you're right that you press the DIC set button for a few seconds to enter the programming mode. However, if you don't have a DIC, then there are other different key combinations to program the Rendezvous.

nextmoon

jk27 - you're right that you press the DIC set button for a few seconds to enter the programming mode. However, if you don't have a DIC, then there are other different key combinations to program the Rendezvous.

toonzee

I checked the manual, I cannot find it. The lighter is not working, nor is the other power outlet. I am guessing it is the fuse. Thanks for any help

wws2

Should be in the fuse block at the base of the center console. (Accessible via the little removable panel in the front passengers footwell.)

nesser

jk27 & nextmoon - I don't have the DIC. You are correct; there are separate procedures in the Manual depending on whether the DIC is installed or not. However, the procedure given for non-DIC-equipped RDVs does not work.

Has anyone out there gotten this to work?

dadbsee

I brought a 2002 Rendezvous CXL demo with 8700 miles on it 30 days ago. The paint on the buttons is beginning to peel. Does any one know what the solution to this problem is? The paint on the down-volume button on the steering wheel is the worst.

kenym

dadbsee I have the same problem. The volume button is the only one that is starting to peel.
I am not sure what they can do with it. Yours should still be under warranty. I am real interested in what your Dealer has to say about it. Please keep us informed.

~ken

lswaidz

Hey guys, it's been a while since I've posted... anyway... I tried to eliminate the DRL function on my RDV. I enjoy driving with just the fog lights on during the day, I think it makes the RDV look nice with just the orange parking lamps and fogs lights on... DRL however makes this impossible during daylight conditions. I attempted to physically pull the "DRL" fuse, but that just led to the bright not working. I then tried to pull the high-beam fuse, but that resulted in further problems with the low-beams not working. Ultimately, I pulled the DRL fuse again. This time it worked. DRL was disabled. Unfortunetly, about 5 minutes into my first drive the "Service Vehicle Soon" light came on and I nearly had to change my underwear, I was a little worried. I pulled over, replaced the fuse, and the warning went away. Needless to say some sort of bypass will have to be invented, otherwise it looks like we're stuck with DRL for now.

~Lance

nextmoon

Now with the bitter cold hitting my area (NYC), my driver side headlight seems to be fogging up inside on the side glass covering. It fogs up when the headlights have been on for more than 5 minutes - probably from the heat of the lights warming up the moisture getting inside the lamps. It's a small problem but I'm bringing it in to the dealer tomorrow morning to correct. I wonder how much effort there is to remove a headlight on the RDV?

Other problem(?) is my combo leather and cloth front seats seem to not lay flat on the seats without anyone seating on them. It's only half of each of the front buckets (right side burge on driver seat and left side burge on passenger seat).

Both problems I've only noticed in the recent bitter cold (about 0 degrees with wind chill factor).

kenym

nextmoon is this the first winter you had your RDV? I didn't have that problem last winter and I don't recall anyone mentioning this before.
~Ken

nextmoon

kenym: My RDV was built Jan, 2002 and I bought it end of Feb, 2002. So it went through the end of last winter. I don't recall it fogging last winter (or may have been too excited with the new SUV to take notice), though it was a milder winter I recall.

When it rains heavily, I also notice droplets sipping under the outer edges of the orange turn signal but not sure if the droplets actually got inside. This is all on the driver side lights, the other appears find.

nextmoon

Took my RDV in and according to the service manager, the fogging for this light is deemed "normal". She claims there is a bulletin from GM on this condition and she will give me a copy when I pick her up later. Supposedly it's normal for the lights to fog up after us and should clear up in 2-4 hours. If not, then it's considered a problem!

nextmoon

I got a hardcopy of the TSB my service manager was referring to. It reads that all GM 2001-2002 cars and 2000-2002 trucks with the complex headlights (multi lighting elements design as in the RDV) are prone to the internal fogging effect in high humidity conditions. Basically, once the Dew point is reached, the fogging happens. It's most common near the vents in the headlights (which would explain my condition). They will only correct this fogging if it persists for more than 6 hours straight.

I'm not happy with this resolution.

lswaidz

I had this problem with the sealed beam headlights on my Trans Am... I guess they didn't plan on people driving those cars in teh bitter Chicago winters and I had a numbers of lights short out, most likely due to condensation on the filiment itself. If I were you I would just try to seal the headlight somehow before you have some sort of problem.

~Lance

cfocfo

Did you say whether or not you would buy another
RDV ? You seem to have quite a bit of car "experience" and expertise.

bevmac

just spent last couple hours reading all the posts. Our problem is that the car has stalled on 3 separate occasions in traffic -- varying speeds. will restart within short amount of time. There has been some "lurching" noticed at times as well. Any connection any ideas and have any of you who have had the stalling problems had any luck with repairs. Mine was checked out overnight with no repeat of stalling of course but now I just got it back and it stalled again 2 days later.

lswaidz

Buying another... well, I don't know. I like my car, but I miss my Trans Am more than I like my Rendezvous. Honestly, my RDV has a lot more personality than any car I've ever owned. The problem is, this car came about 10 years before I really need it. I'm only 20, and this car was built for guys with families - not guys in college. However, it has served a great purpose when it comes to moving in and out of dorm rooms... being able to pull all the seats out is great... the car turns into an enclosed pickup truck. I think the RDV would benefit from a little more power but I think GM is going to address that issue after the Rainier comes out and GM discontinues the 3.4 V6. Chances are you'll see the I-5 based on the I6 from the Envoy or perhaps that new 3.2L or 2.6L V6's GM is developing for the new Grand Am platform which is rumored to have all wheel drive so it would seem to fit the purpose of the RDV perfectly.

Anyway, would I buy another RDV? Not right now... in 10 years? I might lean towards the Nissan Murano, but probably.

~Lance

cfocfo

Well, I am that family guy twice your age, lol. The RDV engine is fine with me, (my previous car was NOT a Trans Am). In fact, I am actually looking for more MPG.
My need is now long term reliability.

BTW , didn't you say you sell Buicks ? Is it fair to expect to pay $500 under invoice for an RDV ?

lswaidz

I worked at Woody Buick in Bensenville, IL this summer for a while. I'd imagine with the large supply of 02 and 03 RDV's on dealer lots you could swing some sort of deal. Especially on an 02 since they want to clear them out.

By the way, I don't have a problem with the RDV engine. Actually, I have almost 19,000 miles on mine and the engine seems to be waking up a bit more... I've noticed that the torque band is a lot more unizersal now, where as before most of the power was at low RPM's and doing a lane change or pass at 65 MPH required the car to downshift, it tends to stay in gear now...

~Lance

montreid

We purchased a 2003 CXL at invoice without the added costs like document fees/advertisement fees etc. Simple Invoice plus destination. This was in addition to the 0% x 5years deal.

The dealer had only 2 CXLs on the lot, so you should be able to get a deal especially if you find your one vehicle with a lot of inventory behind it.

One suggestion, look at GM's powerbuyer site. You can search for your specific vehicle specs and see that dealer's inventory too.

Another tactic is to go to a nearby dealer with a huge inventory, tell them the specs of the car that they DON'T have, and say "hey, I saw it at xxx Dealership, maybe I'll go there" They might offer you a better deal and swap cars with that dealer, especially if the original dealer didn't negotiate.

cfocfo

what's up with the ad fee ??!! I thought only Nissan was trying that crap ?

So you told them no way on the add fee huh ?

That 0% for 5 years is great. You decided to take this over the $3,000 rebate ? Or did you get both ?

montreid

Tell me about it! $600 for local/region advertisement fees. I told them that I didn't see their ads, and I found them, not vice versa. They finally waived it after I walked out (they called me back in via cell phone!)

The deal didn't include both incentives. It was either or. The 0% x 5 years was too tempting. You really can't beat that, even at 4% home equity line x 5 years plus $3000 you simply break even there.

jphall

I have an '02 CX w/ 17k miles and drove it in snow (DC/VA) for the first time on Dec. 5. The traction control worked great, but the very next day I started hearing road noise not previously there. Drove for a few days thinking the problem was uneven balance or wear on the tires, but today a dealer service manager test drove it and immediately felt it's a wheel bearing problem. They won't get into the wheels until tomorrow, so I'm a bit premature here, but was wondering if anyone is having bearing problems so far?

cfocfo

That's odd it happened right after you used the traction control ?!

It will be interesting to hear what the dealer service dept says happened.

It IS good to hear that the traction control worked well in the snow. Isn't there a dash button to turn that on or off, or ... is it on all the time ?

jphall

Just spoke to the service manager...it was the front right hub bearing. He said this was the first time he'd seen this problem. Hopefully it's the last for me too! The bearing is a sealed unit, so he feels I'll have no more problems.

Yes, there's a traction button on the dash which allows you to turn off the traction control. Turning it off didn't have any effect on the noise from the hub bearing. There's supposedly no connection between the use of traction control and the bad bearing, just a coincidence. Hope he's right!

cfocfo

I know I've seen comments before about the Stereo's rear speakers on the RDV.

It seems to me that the rear speakers are next to off, and thus the sound seems to be RIGHT on top of me. With such a roomie interior, it's odd to have the accoustics focused in the front 3 feet ?!

cfocfo

Glad to hear about the fix on the bearing !

Do you turn the traction on just when the road is wet , icy, or snowy ?

nosuvyet

see #308 - same symptoms

jphall

No, I leave it on all the time, it engages automatically when needed. Went to the DC car show last week and asked the Buick guys about it, they had not heard of any RDV having a hub bearing problem and didn't think it had anything to do with traction control. You can disengage the traction control but I'm not sure if it's necessary to do that.

netnerd

Hi,

Has anyone else had the problem of the key fob (the "clicker") breaking off of their keyring? My wife's broke off (the plastic piece--just above the hole through which the key ring is threaded--broke) a few months back and mine just did this past weekend. Really sucks!

Any ideas for a solution other than duct tape? Would something like that be covered by the warranty? I certainly didn't treat mine in any harsh way to cause it to break.

montreid

If all fails, there are some on eBay for sale right now.

lswaidz

I had one of mine break as well. Since I'm the only one who drives the RDV regularly, I just switch fobs and re-programed it to Driver 1. I don't know if it is covered under warranty, but I find it funny that it broke after 6 months and the fobs for our Park Avenue have lasted 4 years. I think there might be a bit of a flaw in the new design, check with your local dealer, usually they will be nice and do it for free.

~Lance

jk27

Don't know if Buick will consider this a warranty item but ... owned a 96 Isuzu Oasis (rebadged Honda Odyssey) and both keyfobs broke after a couple of years. Received new keyfobs under Isuzu warranty for not a penny! Pretty impressed -- especially when you see what the dealer charges for replacement key fobs!

john325

Hello folks...it's been a while...

Anyway, one of our Fobs broke exactly the same way. It was mine that broke, and since my wife usually drives the car, it's not that big of a deal. Although, you don't expect that to happen w/ a new, quality product. I have a '99 Bonneville w/ an identical looking FOB and have never had any problems w/ it.

Btw, a pet peave of mine is that the Bonnyville Fob will Unlock/lock the car from about a block away. As you know, you're lucky if the RDV works from 8 cars away. Don't know if they've improved this on the '03 models or not.

Meanwhile, w/ about 26,000 miles on our RDV, we're having a new transmission put in. Expect to get it back tomorrow or Monday. Symptoms were: car sort of lunging at certain RPM's, eg., driving at about 1500 RPM's, then it would race up to 3500 rpms and then settle down. Also, when driving on the Freeway at about 50 mph, the speedometer said we were going about 20 mph. The car never had any stalling problems, as was experienced by an earlier poster.

We're also having the drooping, driver's sun visor changed, as well as the rear hatch struts. I'm not sure there's a solid fix yet for the untimely radio/clock; we've already had the whole radio changed once. May just wait a while to get that fixed.

We're glad that the tranny went out now, rather than when we're past the 36K warranty period. I'd sure hate to have to pay $3-4k for a new transmission.

Anyway, other than that, the RDV is doing great! My wife and kids are really enjoying it.

Happy New years,

Go 9ers!
John B.

lswaidz

Sorry to hear about your problems, sounds like the time the Pontiac Dealer forgot to plug my coolant sensor into my Trans Am and the engine seized up, of course as I was driving through the worst neighborhood out here. The whole thing ended up having to be replaced and it took them about 20 days to do it. Not fun. I hope everything works out for you.

The symptoms you described I seem to be experiencing, but not quite as extreme. My engine will jump 500 RPM now and then, and it doesn't seem to be due to a noticable shift, I'll count gears and it'll go through 4 or 3, depending on the start and then the RPMs will just seem to float for a while and I'm not even on the gas, it doesn't make sense.

Also, with your hatch, were you noticing that when you opened it, the hatch would go back down, like the struts didn't have enough power to hold it up? I've hit my head COUNTLESS times on the hatch, who knows how many times I've sworn at that thing.

Well, I'm sorry again... and good luck!

~Lance

PS- Sell your Rendezvous and go buy the new GTO ;-)

john325

Yeah, the hatch struts just don't hold the door up all the way. And yes, at 6'1", I've encountered the edge of the hatch door on occassion. My wife is clearly in no danger of hitting it now, but would be in big danger later, if & when it collapsed fully. We had struts that went out in a Dodge Van before, but w/ way more miles on it. It seems awfully early for these to be weakening, but once again, I'm glad it's during the warranty period.

It's funny you mention your Pontiac dealer forgetting the coolant sensor. I mean "not funny" as an event, but about 45 days ago Buick had to lower our Tranny in order to change some part on the rear-AWD unit. There was a persistent small leak there which I reported on this forum a long time ago. So after that was fixed, the shifting linkage seemed a bit off. My wife said you had to play w/ the shifter sometimes to get it into the right gear. Our intention was to have them correct it, but w/ the holidays and all, time marched on, until the tranny started acting up. And now at 26K, we get the new transmission.

Was the previous servicing of the AWD unit connected to the tranny going out? I'm not sure, but it makes me wonder...like your Pontiac experience. Anyway, the service dept. said we should have the RDV back by Monday. Buick has given us a Mitsubishi Galant to drive, but my wife needs the generous RDV cargo space in order to lug aound some children's school art projects. Btw, I don't think the GTO would be quite large enough, on the other hand I'm sure it would be greaattt to drive! Take care.

John B.

lswaidz

I'm making an appointment to bring my RDV in for service tomorrow. My battery has died about 4 times in the past 6 days, and everytime it gets jumped the car just seems to struggle to maintain speeds on the highway as I'm trying to recharge the battery. I think it may be an alternator issue, but the green light is out in the battery so I'm not sure with which component the problem lies.

Also, my AWD Disable light seems to come on about 60% of the time the car is started. Were you having this happen to you before you tranny went out? I'm little worried that my car is going down the same path as yours and I'm headed for either a transmission or transaxle replacement. I know that either the battery or the alternator is going to be replaced, I just hope they don't give me any problems since I have an aftermarket stereo. However, the car has been fine for 2 yeras with the exact same setup so there really is no reason why it would suddenly start dying.

I'm going to get my hatch struts replaced as well and I'm about to head over to nhtsa.gov to see if I can find any TSB's about the problems I've encountered.

Take care and thanks for all your help...

~Lance

montreid

We ran over a nail this weekend and resulted in a flat tire at the mall. When we started the car, noted the flat tire, but the tire sensor stated "normal"! The premiere service was excellent. We actually called via cell phone and forgot about Onstar. They called out AAA and changed the flat without problems.

So, out to the dealer and they changed it without problems. So, why the "normal" reading still? Apparantly a bulletin was already put out about this. It takes time for the monitor to calibrate, but they didn't mention how long. I stated that we had 1900 miles on it already, but he said that it might take longer.....

Anyone else with encounter similar issues with the tire monitor?

john325

No, we never had any AWD light come on. I'd hardly know where to look for that light, although I recall someone saying it's right next to the fuel warning indicator.

Anyway, our initial symptom was merely a very slight leak of fluid on the AWD unit. We had brought it in about twice to have it fixed, and they tried tightening the bolts, I believe. On the 3rd time, they said they had to actually replace some part of the AWD unit ( a valve maybe???). As I mentioned earlier, they had to lower the tranny in order to get to the AWD unit. I don't know if that process led to the problem w/ our tranny or not.

Since I believe I've only heard of 1 other person having a tranny changed here on the forum, it seems like a freak situation. I hope your situation gets remedied soon and to your satisfaction. Good luck.

John B.
Go 9ers - Oh Yeah!!!

lswaidz

I'm not sure what kind of sensor you're using but usually only the aftermarket versions use an actual pressure gauge to tell whether or not the tire is low. The GM versions all use a "Rolling Average" system that gauages rolling differences in speed per tire to determine if the tire is going flat. So if your car wasn't moving that would explain why the sensor would have read "normal."

Anyway, John, I'm taking my car in tomorrow morning like I said so hopefully everything will be ok. I have a list of like 8 problems I want them to take care of right now so I'll let you guys know what happens.

That 9'ers game was amazing... I couldn't believe Williams got disqualified... I've NEVER heard of that before. I'm REALLY glad the 9'ers won though, I love Terrell Owens, he's one of my favorite players. It was an aweosme game though, go 9'ers next week... but I'm pullin for either Atlanta or the Steelers since I lived in Pittsburgh for 7 years...

~Lance

john325

Lance: How'd your trip to service go on Monday? Hope it worked-out for you.

Meanwhile, I just got an update on our RDV. I thought we'd have it back by yesterday at the latest, but now another problem has come-up. They determined the trans-axle (sp?) is bad as well, so they've ordered a new one.

We should have it back by Thursday. They said that the transaxle is the part that they had changed some seals in about 45 days ago. (I had been previously referring to that part as "the awd unit".) The service guy speculated that the faulty transaxle mave have caused the transmission problems. Does that make sense?

John B.
Go 9ers!

lswaidz

Well, I actually got the service done today. The local Buick dealership didn't know how to deal with customers (i'm trying to be nice...) so Woody Buick ended up driving almost 70 miles to pick our car up and drop off a loaner... now THAT really is service. Anyway, The replaced my battery and were thinking about re-doing the alternator last I heard... we'll see what they say tomorrow. They replaced both of my hatch struts and said that a lot of times when temperatures get below 50 degrees the gas they are charged with just kind of becomes use less and the seals shrink and it just all evacuates the tube. So it's pretty useless if you ask me.

Your problem sounds like a gear problem. The guy at the dealership out here spent 15 minutes telling me how the RDV didn't have a transaxle... what an idiot... every front-drive car has one... the RDV also has a differential in the rear and he told me it didn't have one of those either... some guys, I swear.

John, I would think about filing for lemon law on that car of yours... seems like it's not worth the effort anymore... I've been thinking about trading my RDV in for a 2004 Nissan Murano - have you seen them? Pretty impressive SUV for a a little less than the fully loaded RDV... i guess it might be a little to edgy for some people, but I like it... heh.

Good luck w/ all your repairs, hopefully this is the last time you have to be w/out your car!

~Lance

john325

Hey Lance:

Wow, a dealer drove 70 miles to drop off a loaner & service your car...sounds like they equal or exceed fedlawman's donut & coffee bar dealer. And that strut thing sounds crazy. Folks have cars w/struts all over the place w/ temps way below 50. I'm sure those struts should be able to handle sub-50 temps. Keep us posted on your alternator/charging system issues.

Well, I don't think our car meets any lemon law criteria. As far as I can remember, 2 times we went in to have the small leak from the awd unit fixed. On the 3rd time, they replaced a seal or seals within the unit. And now, as you know, they are ordering a whole new unit (transaxle). I think as a repercussion of the failed transaxel, the tranny went bad. Correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking about the applicability of the lemon law. Thanks.

John B.