13th Mar 2009, 20:31

Add me to the list. My 2002 Rendezvous has a blown head gasket that's in the shop as I speak. Would not have bought that junk if I known about all the problems the Rendezvous gives everybody. Class action law suit, I am with that. Will never buy an American car again.

12th Apr 2009, 14:45

I got one, a 2003 Rendezvous in Sept of 2006.

Lately my driver window broke, thermostat broke, car starts when it want to, although everything checks out like battery cables and etc.

I hate this piece of junk, it costs too much money.

The problems started last November, and have been happening ever since, besides needing brakes every 9 months. I have already did 2 wheel bearing replacements in Nov 2007, and now they said I need both again. Husband can't work on it since the engine is mounted sideways so have no choice but to go the darn shop. They oughta be ashamed of themselves for making a car like this.

26th Apr 2009, 23:08

I've had my 2003 Rendezvous CXL for 3 years now. Bought it at 35k and put 40k on it. I love this car.

It's only problem was that recall on the front hub and we were at 65k. The dealership was a little hesitant to repair it because the deadline was 60k, but GM gave them full approval and it was done that night.

Other than that, I believe that the front traction control sensors are bad because both ABS and traction control lights came on about a week ago. I have never worked on this car myself, but imagine that I could fix this small problem with little cost.

My brother-in-law just bought a 2005; the owner before him thought that it was a lemon car because of the flickering lights and power would go on and off as it pleased. We took a good 2 hours and found that there was a bad ground. Replace the contention and POW works like it was new. The only gripe I really have is that we both paid about 2k more than it's worth now.

I live in Montana and bought this Buick in Virgina. If your having bad problems with your Buick, try getting it fixed by a "real" mechanic. Look into who works on your car. Problems like what are in this Blog are really only the owners fault. You can't blame the roads for your bad driving, or because you can't work on your own car, you pay so much to have it fixed. This isn't the best car, but for my family of 6 it's great!

14th May 2009, 23:53

Bought an '02 Rendezvous 2 years ago. Loved it that first year. Drove like a dream, good mileage, and plenty of room for us. Been to Michigan and Missouri with no problems.

Year 2 started out with heater problems, then the intake manifold gasket started leaking (although several mechanics told me that this is a problem for this particular engine). Tip here, when replacing the intake manifold gasket, replace the head gaskets. Both are common problems and is cheaper in the long run.

Replaced front brakes (normal) and put on a new set of tires (again normal). Started hearing noises from the rear about two months ago. Replaced the rear brakes myself then bought the aforementioned set of tires in hope of stopping the noise but to no avail. Thought it could be caused by the tires due to misalignment. Scheduled a four wheel alignment, and to my surprise when I found out that I needed both front brake calipers, a rear wheel bearing, and both rear knuckle bushings. All this for a measly $1500. Needless to say, if I had $1500 I could think of better things to do with it than that, so I bought the most important parts and did it myself.

Everything more or less went without a hitch until it came to bleeding the brakes. Did it the way I was told and when I backed up, I had problems stopping (not working). Thank God for mechanical parking brakes. Carefully drove the car home and tried to bleed them again. Still no luck so called some people for advice. They feel that the master cylinder is out or going. So here we go again. Should've known better than to buy the first year of a new model. Take my wife's advice, if you have full coverage, find a cliff and drive it over it. As for myself, I'll go back to my Chevys but without the 3.4L.

1st Jun 2009, 10:56

We bought a 2006 Rendezvous in Dec 2007. Thought it was a fine car, for the first 6 months. On a trip to Florida and the "AWD disabled", and "battery" lights comes on. Get back to Tennessee and take it to the dealer. They can't find anything wrong. Even took a picture while traveling down the interstate of the dash lights being on. The problem continues, so another trip to the dealer. Hope this extended warranty will cover it.

4th Jun 2009, 10:34

Same story. Got the vehicle from a "friend" who had put about 114000 miles on it with no problem. Only alternator replaced.

Month after I got it, new fuel pump (expensive). Dash lights, head lights, radio, etc started going in and out about 2 weeks after I got it. Goes into Security Mode and shuts down all things electrical, horn blowing, lights blinking, just a mess. Did the unhook battery thing for a while, does not work anymore. If I attempted to drive the car on days where the temp was 70 degrees plus, or if traffic was slow or at a redlight, car overheated, and this dance would be repeated. Come to find out engine cooling fans not working.

Took it to the dealer, just curious, and one very honest Buick mechanic told me to my face "Take this car to (national used car chain) and run with whatever they give you." He pointed out gasket leak which inevitably will mean new engine and several other things that are happening. I did not take it then because it was a hot day and the car was doing its possessed thing. Sounds like a relay is constantly opening and closing. I could kick myself because about 3 days later got stuck in morning rush hour traffic. Car will not start. No lights, no radio, no power, won't even click when I turn the ignition. Totally black.

By the way the service engine soon light has been on since the vehicle was brought off of the Buick dealer lot 6 years ago. Not one mechanic could diagnose one. The reality is...the RDV is a piece of junk. I truly hope that every complaint on this site has been followed up with a formal complaint. If not what's the point? We're not fixing each other's issues by venting. Honestly though, with the recent state of things with our American auto industry, do we really expect anything?