2003 GMC Envoy SLT XL 6 cylinder from North America

Summary:

It's been great, but it's time to consider selling

Faults:

The stabilizer and sway bars went around 75,000.

My fan/blower switch began to sporadically turn on and off around 85,000 miles. I had the switch replaced and it has worked fine since.

The most interesting issue I have had with the vehicle, is after driving over 2 hours, the radio and CD components are HOT.. Hot to the touch, and the CDs, if removed, are hot to touch. At first I thought it was because I was running the DVD player while listening to a CD, but it gets this hot even if just the radio is on. I have discussed this with my mechanic, but to date, he has not found any reported issues. I am surprised the car hasn't caught on fire.

At 162,000 miles, my solenoid went up. The car wouldn't shift out of park. I tried all the tricks mentioned online, but the shift wouldn't budge. I had the car towed and the solenoid was replaced. Problem solved? Not yet. Drove 20 miles from home less than 10 days after having the solenoid replaced, and the car once again, had to be towed because I could not shift out of park. This time it was 2 terminal wires to the solenoid. Whew.. no more problems, right?

4 days after having terminal wires replaced, I got a new message: Battery not charging and my battery light came on. I turned everything off except the engine, and prayed I'd get the car home, 22 miles. At about 11 miles, the light went off and the lights brightened, and I made it home safely. What's next?

General Comments:

I love my Envoy XL. It has been a great reliable car until now. At 162,000 I am putting too much money in the vehicle to justify continuing ownership.

When purchased, it was the smallest of the 7 seat passenger SUVs that was still somewhat gas consumption conscious.

The seats are the most comfortable of any vehicle owned, but the clunky rear seat fold down design inhibits efficient packing for big loads.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th January, 2010

2003 GMC Envoy XL/SLT L6 from North America

Summary:

The car has a very nice ride

Faults:

The passenger side heat works fine, but the heat on the driver side blows cool air. There is no heat or A/C in the rear of the vehicle.

General Comments:

No problems.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd December, 2009

19th Mar 2010, 22:40

I have a 2003 Envoy that had the same heating/cooling problems. Ended up being a costly fix. The dealer will tear out the dash and replace an actuator. 800 bucks.

2003 GMC Envoy XL from North America

Summary:

Comfortable, but not worth the price in repairs to maintain

Faults:

Transmission began slipping and not engaging into 1st gear after only 40,000 miles, unfortunately our extended warranty of 5 years or 75,000 had just passed by less than a month. GM refused to cover the costs to replace the sensors that were causing the problem, an independent mechanic ended up fixing the problem.

Currently at 50,000, differential seals began to leak oil onto the oil pan and then drip onto the floor. The problem was becoming more and more serious, so took it to an independent mechanic who fixed it, however labor was 7 hours, so total cost parts and labor was $800.00 to fix an oil leak that should have never occurred on a car that is garaged, driven carefully and consistently maintained.

General Comments:

The car is very comfortable and my family loves it, but with these 2 issues, I cannot possibly recommend buying another GMC car or GM car ever again. Next time, I'm buying a Honda, Toyota or an Acura. If I have another major issue with this car, I'm going to trade it in.

From reading the issues related to the 2003 Envoy on this website, sounds like I haven't even had nearly as many problems as many other owners. Maybe I should just trade it in now.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th November, 2009