Buick Rendezvous Maintenance and Repair

kenym · July 2003

We purchased our RDV in July 2001 and are approaching the dreaded 36,000. Knock on wood the only problem we have had so far is the clock losing about a minute every couple of weeks. I did the oil changes and tire rotations but other than Firestone replacing two tires after 5,000 miles it has been a great car. I think John gave some sound advice about the warranty extension though. If anything is going to go wrong it probably will happen shortly after the 36,000 miles when the original warranty expires.
~Ken

john325 · July 2003

I remember when you and I went through the tire thing. Unfortunately, Buick only did a re-allignment on our tires rather than replacing them. You had a great service guy as I recall. Anyway, I just replaced my Affinities w/ the Michelin Ltx's. Btw, how are your Affinities doing? Take care.

John B.

kenym · July 2003

The Affinities are doing fine. I am going to try to squeeze a few more miles out of them. John what did the Michelin Ltx's set you back and can you notice any difference in the ride or handling? I understand you and Brian have had a few problems lately with your RDV's. Knock on wood but my RDV has been just great from the start. I hope it continues but I did purchase the extended warranty just in case.
I bought the GM warranty ( a continuance or extension of three more years of the original warranty ).

John I hope every thing is going good for you and your family this summer. I can't believe it's the end of July already. It has been a lousy ( wet ) winter,spring and summer so far on the northeast coast. I have only been able to play golf three or four times a week all summer.

~Ken

john325 · July 2003

doesn't sound bad at all. Our summer out here near SF has been pretty good...a fair amount of hot temps lately.

The Michelins ran about $460 or so out the door... I caught a sale. We've had them for about 2 weeks or so now, and they seem to be just fine.

W/ the new tires we're all set for our annual trek to Yosemite. This year a couple of the guys and one or two teenagers will hike Half Dome. It should be real nice.

I'm glad to hear you've had good luck w/ your RDV. Hopefully the remainder of the summer will improve so you can get in some more golf. Take care.

John B.

jzfl · July 2003

Help, Don't know what I did. messing around with the DIC mode select, and now everything is in French. I can't get it back to English. Anyone know where the DIC reset is?

The manual says that the mode or select is suppost to toggle between them, but I can't get that to work. It's not in the driver 1/2 programming, that just changes the units.

Thanks in advance.

john325 · July 2003

I guess since Lance Armstrong just won the Tour de France, the RDV's DIC's are acknowledging his feat. (punsters stay away...)

Ok, now to return to English, try this. Push the mode key until you get to the selection "Appuyer set pour >U.S.". As you arrive at that screen, keep the "mode button" depressed for about 2 seconds. That should do it. Bon chance.

John B.

fedlawman · July 2003

Ne changez pas le DIC en votre Rendezvous, s'il vous plais. Francais est plus bon en ce voiture!

coatingmike · July 2003

I have just gotten my Rendevous, but I drive about 550 miles/week so obviously I won't be under warranty a real long time. With my knowledge of my Buick Regal from previous to this car and from reading this section it appears that it is quite common for Buick (GM?) to have sort of small, but when you add it all up irritating and expensive problems over a period of time. I think that I want to get an extended warranty. I have never dealt with these and wondered what anyone has or has had in the past. What do I need to watch out for? My list for the dealer, so far is quite short, the drivers seatbelt is turned 1/2 turn as it exits the retractor and goes to the guide, so no big deal, but What happens in 2 years when I'm at 50K? I don't want to hate the car because it is nickel and diming me before I have had it a long time. Your thoughts would be helpful!

Karen_S · July 2003

Have you checked thru the FWI board? There are several current discussions concerning various warranty companies and extended warranties in general.

ezmorph · August 2003

Just picked up my 02 CXL from service due to restart problems. They found a bad battery cell which was causing electrical problems and starting problems. About 8 months ago the entire electrical system failed and vehicle was in shop for one week. This time before I left service area I noticed that the AWD DISABLE Light was on so I went right back into service dept. They hooked up some electrical hand held unit to under dashboard and said nothing was wrong and I should drive it for a few days until the light goes off. Well drove it today and it rides as if the Emergency Brake is on or as if I am towing a mobile home. I am told to "swing by" today after work so they can look at it again!! Something is really wrong here and I am worried since mileage is at 34K. I have had the following problems too:
1. Paint worn off of steering wheel radio buttons
2. Inoperable Right side power mirror,
3. total electrical failure
4. Cigar lighter inoperable
5. Replacement of battery due to "bad cell"
6. AWD Disable light on
Like the vehicle but these problems can cost big bucks out of warranty. Lease vehicle with 20K/18mos. to go. Yikes

divot2 · August 2003

Has any one experienced your Rendevous at highway speed suddenly feeling like the brake is being applied and the steering wheel violently shaking. This has happened approximately 7 times since purchase date in April. Of course dealer can not replicate problem. This is my wifes vehicle and she is starting to be afraid to drive it. thanks

erichner · August 2003

For the first time since I bought my CXL I sat in the 2nd row of seats. I almost got nauseated by the side to side slide the captain chairs did on a curvy road. There seems to be a 1/4 - 1/2 inch sideways play on the captain chairs.

Has anyone experience this issue? Has any dealer provided a solution?

Dizzy in Atlanta

olrdv · August 2003

I am getting a louder noise from the leveling compressor. Also it seems that the compressor kicks on more often. My RDV has only 8k miles. Am I alone with this problem?

coatingmike · August 2003

I have had mine CXL for about 3 weeks and I have a very small list for the dealer to address. One thing I have noticed, but I wanted to ask a few people to see if they notice the same thing or not. When I have the air flow system, I have the manual, dual zone system, set for face, or face and feet, there is a slight flow from the windshield vent. I have not had this in a car before and I wanted to see if anyone else has this occurence. I noticed it first in the mornings when the window will start to condense some from the A/C causing that area to be cool when it isn't needed. I'm sure the first answer will be, they are all like that. I'll ask them to let me drive 5 of them and we'll see, but I'd like to find out from some here what I might expect to find when I'm driving. Thanks all, this board is always interesting reading.

coatingmike · August 2003

I'm not talking from any experience and I may not know at all what I'm talking about, but just from thinking about how the systme might work, if the compressor is turning on more often, assuming load is the same each time, it could mean a leak in the system. The air bleeds down some cauing a need for the compressor to turn on more. Just a theory.

brent48 · August 2003

Hello all,
I'm new to this forum, but thought I'd submit my list of things that have gone wrong so those about to cross the 36 month mark are informed. We have 51,000 miles in 23 months on our awd 2002 model.

1. left front wheel bearing went out... $400
2. a/c quit... electronic module
3. vibration underneath... heat shield vibrating
4. horn sometimes works/sometimes not
5. electronics went crazy, doors locked and unlocked repeatedly,
car alarm sounded, hatch wouldn't open, car wouldn't start... another
module bad @$650
6. drivers knob pops off

Things I like about the car is good handling, good headroom, feels very solid.

Things I think could be better are ride (pitching) and rear visibility

Brent

jdks · August 2003

Things that went wrong – approaching 58,000 km (20 months)
1. BCM (3 times)
2. Instrument cluster ( 1 time)
3. Alternator (1 time)
4. Ball bearings ( 2 time)
5. Parking brake (1 time)
6. Gear stick boot (1 time)
7. Air Condition condenser (1 time)
8. Fan not working on level 1 (to be fixed)

Overall, when it is not in the garage it is a very functional car. But I have not gone over 5 weeks without a problem.

imidazol97 · August 2003

How much of this was covered under the warranty?

lswaidz · August 2003

I've noticed that a lot of you are having issues with the BCM on the Rendezvous. I've had mine replaced 4 times now and it always seems to go bad again within a few weeks of replacement... has anyone heard of a recall or a permanent fix for the problem? It's very annoying especially when it takes the shop 5 days just a plug a module in and program it.

~Lance

jdks · August 2003

Foturnately for me everything is still under warranty. But I dread the day when it will be out of warrantly. I've been asking them the price of the fix every time they performed one. I've not kept track of each one individually but I did on the total. Based on my calculation the total is well over $3000 Canadian if I had to pay for them.

jdks · August 2003

I've not had the BCM problem for about 8 months now - if you are using the cigarette outlet for anything - i.e. charging phone - stop using it. For me it seems that could have been the cause - I've read somewhere that could be the cause.

coatingmike · August 2003

If using the power outlet is causing a problem like this it sounds like a serious design flaw! Of course all these BCM problems ound like a design flaw.

jk27 · August 2003

I have a hard time believing that using a power outlet would have anything to do with a BCM failure. I have not had any BCM problems and I have used both front power outlets continuously (radar detector and cell phone) for the entire 15 months I've owned my 2002 RDV.

olrdv · August 2003

It is time for GM to issue proper technical bulletins to fix some of these 2002 year issues.
So far, I cannot complain about our 2003 CXL AWD, except the leveling compressor that became noisier.
BTW, twice the winshield was hit, resulting in 2 small cracks, one of which has been fixed. Just bad luck or...a weak windshield material??

lswaidz · August 2003

I think it's funny how when my friends see my car ther first thing they ask me is "So have you had a lot of problems with this one?" It's nice that everyone knows the RDV is a POS. But oh well.

I haven't noticed anything about the cigarette lighter adapter... I've used a radar detector in there before (not that hte RDV can really 'speed') but all my major BCM problems have appeared since I've stopped using the detector.

It's gotten so bad before that my horn would just start honking very quickly after I would turn the vehicle off. Nothing would fix it except pulling the fuse on the horn but you could still hear the relay clicking. Not until the battery died did it stop. It's almost like the car was comitting suicide... Now I can tell it's going to die when my air bag light stays on and my theft light no longer flashes... that's usually time to take it into the shop and get the BCM replaced... since the horn incident it's been about 4-7 weeks between failures...

As far as the windshield thing I've had a few hard hits from rocks and what not and no major cracks yet... I always think I see small hairline cracks but it turns out to be nothing... I think the front glass is pretty good actually... my Trans Am took a hit from a rock when I was doing about 85 on the highway one time and there was no damage at all... I can safely say GM Makes some of the best glass around... at least for the price ;-)

~Lance

olrdv · August 2003

The windshield is made by PPG. It is a special design to accomodate the HUD and the antenna. I am not sure about its strength.

islandpete · August 2003

Sure seems to me that the Body Control Module(BCM) is something to worry about. Reported two months ago at 9000 Mi on my wife's 2002 CXL the AC became inoperable due to the shorting out of the circuit that controls the AC compressor. It was fixed after having to leave it at the dealership for the day. Yes they have to reprogram it and they needed both keyfobs(wife's and mine) to do it. Only problem I had was recalibrating the compass. They apparently did not do this. It was simple. Just driving 360 deg with the mode selected to "compass". Since then I have put on 3000 mi on a trip to Florida and back. Used the power outlets for the cell phone and another for a mini refrigerator. Everything worked fine. RDV took the trip great. It's just reading all the posts about this BCM problem. It's like waiting for it to happen again. Has anyone sent a letter to GM asking about this problem. I personally think we all should. I will :-)

gale9 · August 2003

My 2002 Rendezvous has 62,000 plus miles and we are on our third set of tires, dispite rotating, proper inflation, ect..Has anyone else experienced this problem..The tire gets thread bear on the inside everytime..There is no shaking or vibration when we drive. Has anyone else had this problem?

nidge · August 2003

Hi everyone,
After reading all your comments about various things, I have a question that you can help me with. I have a 2003 RDV with about 4,000 Happy Miles on it. No problems yet and don't look forward to any like I read about. However, after a long search through the vehicle, I find that I have an appliance outlet in the cell phone bay, one in back under the cover and that's all. The car came with an ash tray for use during smoking of course, but where is the cigarette lighter at? I can't find it. Thanks.

coatingmike · August 2003

I have the one in the cell phone area, one in the backseat under the a/c vents and one back in the cargo area at the air compressor switch. Mine had, in the ashtray laying loose, a cigarrette lighter that you could then use in any of these locations. I'd say if you didn't have one in there it got snaked by a salesman for another vehical somewhere on the lot.

nidge · August 2003

Right on Coatingmike. In my back seat, I have a trash bag velcroed in place. I moved the bag to look and low and behold, the missing outlet. Thanks again.

brent48 · August 2003

To answer Gales question, at 51K miles we have had no tire troubles at all, and I've been happy with them.

Brent

brent48 · August 2003

To add to my list of things gone wrong, the condenser is being replaced at 51,000 miles. cost is about $840.

Also, that air bag light has been lit for a few weeks, and they tell me it is an electroncic module or power supply for the airbags, and costs $430 to fix. The air bags will not work as it is, which is not an option. This is not covered by my extended warranty, which was a surprise to me. I am close
to getting my money's worth out of the 100k warranty in less than 2 years.

Brent

kenym · August 2003

Brent who do you have your extended warranty with?
I purchased my extended warranty from GM and was told it was an extension of my original warranty ( Bumper to Bumper )which would cover the air bags.
~Ken

mdageenakis · August 2003

I have had this vehicle for 2 years and have around 40000 miles. I have always said I love this vehicle b/c of its roomy interior and smooth ride. Monday, I took the RDV in b/c the air conditioner was not working and all the fuses were fine. I have been told that the air condenser has a hole in it and the intake gasket is leaking oil and coolant. Does anyone know why I wouldn't have seen any oil or coolant on the ground under my car? (I have a white driveway). Also, my warranty was gone at 36000 miles, but "b/c I am such a good customer", GM will do a 70/30 split on the cost (I pay 30%). This sent up a red flag to my husband. He thinks that they must know of a problem if they are willing to do that. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks

fedlawman · August 2003

Sorry about your problems.

If you look back through this forum, you'll find several other people have had their A/C compressor replaced due to a design flaw with the welds causing them to fail.

Also, intake manifold leaks are a known issue with the 3.4L V-6 engine in the RDV. Although I don't remember any RDV owners encountering the problem, I believe it is a common issue over at the GM minivan area. You wouldn't see any leaks on your driveway because the coolant is leaking into your engine.

Both are a known problem with this platform (RDV, Aztek, minivans) and should be covered by GM 100%.

Good luck!

r_olsen · August 2003

You've mentioned that the intake manifold leaks are a known issue, any idea as to the root cause of this problem? I have a 2003 RDV, that tends to run very hot, temp. gauge hovers at the 3/4 mark when driving residential areas, at highway speeds the temp. gauge is between the 1/4 and 1/2. Which to me is the normal range, anything below the 1/2 seems normal. Anyway an engine that runs consistently higher temps, would that have anything to do with the breakdown of the gaskets, or at least decrease their life span. Just wondering....

apblank · September 2003

I have a 18 month old 2002 RDV/CXL with 32,000 miles. The parking brake pedal bottoms before engaging. This has been corrected twice and is need of correction again. 1. Is this and isolated condition? 2. what could cause this? I have been driving and owned cars of all types for 45 years including a number of Buicks and have not encountered this previously. Has anyone had similar experiences?
Thanks,
Aaron

jdks · September 2003

Hi Apblank:

I've had the same conditions. I reported the problem when it was new and they made some adjustment. It started to fade very rapidly again, live with it up until two months ago. I got it fixed again before the warranty ran out. It was good for four weeks and is now starting to fade again to the point that everytime I park it on my driveway (which is slightly inclined)it rolls down a little. Since it is now out of warranty, I've to learn how to live with it.

fedlawman · September 2003

Same here.

jdks, you get 12 months/12,000 miles of warranty with any repair so your parking brake is still covered.

jdks · September 2003

Thanks Fedlawman!

I'll bring it up next time I go for service.

netnerd · September 2003

Hi, all. Haven't posted for quite a while. Been busy with a new baby.

I took my 2002 CXL in for state inspection/emissions yesterday. It passed with one exception: the parking brake needed adjustment. It sounds just like the problem a couple other folks here have recently mentioned.

A week ago on a relatively hot day (mid 80's probably) my rearview mirror (the one in the middle of the front windshield) fell off while my car was parked and I was in my office. It was just dangling by a bundle of wires (for the auto dimmer and lights) when I came out. That was repaired under warranty. They said the heat probably just affected the adhesive.

There's also always been a grease-like streak about a 1/4 inch wide on my drivers side window. If I clean it off, the next time I put my window down and up again, the streak reappears. I had also started noticing a squeal when the same window went down/up. During their looking into this problem, they cracked the interior of the door (the plastic trim stuff) and will replace it for free, of course.

I've also noticed a lot of squeaking type noises that is probably just from loose parts as I go over bumps. More of an annoyance than anything else. They haven't pinpointed the source yet.

I also had a funny thing happen a few times over the past couple of weeks: While listening to the radio, I press the down volume button on the steering wheel, but instead of the volume being adjusted, the CD player (stock in-dash changer)comes on. I didn't have them look at it, but will when it goes back for the door repair.

I also got the afore-mentioned recall notice from GM yesterday about the rear hatch. I'll have them fix that, too.

Add my name to the list of those who've had their BCM replaced. It happened for me over a year ago.

Overall, I'm still really happy with my RDV. I've got a year to go before the warranty is up, and I will probably get an extension just to play it safe. I've only had to get service done a few times in three years and the BCM is probably the biggest deal of all.

r_olsen · September 2003

I've noticed quite a few have had this replaced already, since I've only had my RDV 6 months and have already had my share of problems, I was wondering what symptoms did the vehicle have that before the BCM went south??? My latest problem is that after running the A/C for about 5 min. then when I turn if off there's this load buzzing noise sort of like a electric motor winding down. Has anyone else had this problem with the A/C????

netnerd · September 2003

r olsen,

I've not had the A/C problem that you're describing. I almost always leave my climate control set to Auto, which seems to me to be the way Buick/GM wants it set. I just remember people here discussing problems with high engine temp readings when they switched the A/C off.

As for my BCM problem (it's been a while so my recollection is a bit fuzzy): I was leaving the supermarket and accidentally pressed the Horn/Alarm button on my key fob. The horn sounded and I turned it off. When I got home, I couldn't shut the windows, shut the sunroof, or open the rear hatch. I called Buick on the OnStar (I was within my free trial period) and they had me run through a litany of things (mostly having to do with turning the key to the On position and leaving it for 15 seconds and then removing it. Wait a certain amount of time, and then try to start the car and see if it had solved the problem. It never did. Of course, that night it was supposed to rain (and it was a Sunday so Buick service was closed) so I had to store my car at my wife's office garage.

I drove the car to Buick service and they had to replace the BCM and reprogram the fobs.

No problems since then.

melsny · September 2003

I saw the messages about the parking brake. I got the problem resolved. There are two adjustable elements in that system. The first (and easiest to do) is to take up the slack on the cable that goes from the pedal to the separate parking brake. Since the car has 4 wheel disk brakes the parking brake is a separate unit with drum and shoes on the drive shaft. I had the cable adjusted a couple of times and it didn't last very long. After I called Buick customer service (and incidentally advised them that I was also an automobile lemon law arbitrator) they checked with engineering and called my dealership's service manager. He asked me to bring the vehicle in so that they could make adjustment to the drum and shoe brake. That's held now for a long time.

jdks · September 2003

The last adjustment they did on mine was to drum and the shoe brake - apparently there was a pin missing. The parking brake worked perfectly for about 4 weeks and then it started to fade again. Melsny, can u tell me since when yours was fixed.

brentbaker · September 2003

Well, another victim of a faulty BCM. I have a 2002 with 73K miles and have had problems for quite awhile that stem from a failing BCM. About a year and a half ago I turned the radio volume down on the steering wheel and after that....nothing and I mean nothing could be changed on the radio. No tuning, no vol. control, no seek or scan, not even able to power it down even after I removed the key from the ignition! Had to pull the radio fuse under the center console. Since then these problems have recently developed...my gauges all intermittently power off & on, the usual "chime" is repeated as though I just started the car, my a/c quits working, the wiper delay has not maintained timing(must be tied in with the clock in the radio!), the rear hatch opens when it wants to, my headlights flash off and on, the security system warning display in dash & on the radio comes on, my windows stop functioning, fuel mileage is terrible and of course my trusty clock keeps on reading the same ol' wrong time! What a way to spoil a buyers confidence! Now I don't want to spend the several hundreds of dollars for replacement. Has anyone received assistance outside of the warranty? Where is the BCM on the auto? Can I program it myself? Current retail is about $270. here in Houston. Is that a fair price? Now I wonder if the BCM contributed to my total transmission failure at 56K miles. Another huge expense at approximately $1200. after some assistance from Buick. Buick should come clean on the problems and recall these faulty parts!!!

melsny · September 2003

To: jdks

My parking brake was fixed almost a year ago with the drum and shoe adjustment. The pedal goes lower than just after it was fixed, but it still doesn't bottom and the brake does hold the car on our rather steep driveway.

snuzone · September 2003

Hello All -

It has been quite a while since I've had to post a message. I've searched through the discussions and only found one message that somewhat related to my problem. I have a 2002 CX with 43,000 miles, November will be our two year "anniversary".

At 43,000 I had to have all four tires replaced! I was surprised that the tires gave out so soon. While the car was up my mechanic asked me to come look at something. Gas is leaking where the hose connects to the tank. I asked him if he could fix and he told me no, I had to go to the dealer. He went on to inform me that he has NEVER seen a hose hook to a gas tank from the side - they always enter from the top therefore no gas is "sitting" in the hose. He went on to say that with the hose going into the side of the tank gas is always sitting in the hose - which to him does not sound safe. He said he would really like to ask the Engineers why they set up the tank this way. All that connected the hose to the tank is a clamp. My guy was able to tighten the clamp slightly and told me to look at the hose that night. If it's wet - then the tightening didn't work. Well that night the hose was wet.

My husband took the RDV to the dealer the next morning and was informed that the hose and tank needs to be replaced - at our expense because our warranty ran out and we didn't purchase an extension. My mechanic told me he could tell by looking underneath the RDV that we have never run over anything because there are no marks whatsoever. Therefore this must be a defect on GM's behalf. The manager was not at the dealership so my husband was told that on Monday he would have the manager call GM to see what could be done, but as far as they are concerned - we have to pay. I AM EXTREMELY ANGRY at this. This is a defect - the vehicle is not even two years old and the hose and tank need to be replaced???!!!! I called GM and the man I spoke with is going to look into it. He said the dealership had no business telling my husband that we had to pay - because they are just the dealer - they are not GM. Further into our conversation he did ask what I thought was fair for GM to do. I told him I believe it's a defect and they should replace the hose and tank at their cost. If there are differing opinions I did say we may be persuaded to pay a SMALL portion. We are talking a total of $1,000 for this (parts and labor).

Please tell me someone out there has had this problem. At least go look under and see if your hose is stained!!! We never knew and never smelled gas. It does "flow" out but it is leaking. If you look under the vehicle - driver's side righ before the rear tire you can see the hose. Again, my mechanic said this is not a normal gas tank set up either.

Sorry for going on and on. I guess I just make up for only posting once every six months!!

Susan

rewinding · September 2003

After reading this thread I am grateful my rendezvous has held up as well as it has.

Still, I thought I would document my problems.

My car is an awd 2002 cxl purchased in jan 2002.

Under warranty I have had my BCM replaced, the volume knob on the steering wheel replaced, the radio/cd replaced, the rear body cladding reattached.

My car is now out of warranty.
I have replaced my wiper blades after 18 months and my tires are showing a bizzare wear pattern on the rear only. The inside tread is bumpy. There is good tread but with high and low spots on both tires.

If you buy this car, definitely get an extended warranty, I wish I had as I am definitely concerned about this car.

I do like the gas mileage, comfort, size and number of electronic gadgets that came with this car. I also liked the price with rebate and used my gm card credits.

Buick Rendezvous Maintenance and Repair

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