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Comments
~Ken
John B.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
Has anyone experience this issue? Has any dealer provided a solution?
Dizzy in Atlanta
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
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.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
~Lance
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??
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
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.
Brent
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
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
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!
Thanks,
Aaron
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.
jdks, you get 12 months/12,000 miles of warranty with any repair so your parking brake is still covered.
I'll bring it up next time I go for service.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.