30th Sep 2009, 21:18
This comment (14:41) sounds too outrageous to be true.
First off, as a mechanic I can assure you that you can replace every part in your entire brake system for about $200. I just replaced my front pads. It cost $17.
The other costs listed are also totally outrageous. Someone is ROYALLY ripping you off.
Also, I can't imagine ONE brake job on an Envoy at 38,000 miles, let alone TWO. My Envoy is approaching 85,000 miles and has NEVER had a brake job (or ANY repairs).
Obviously this vehicle was horribly abused and doubtless heavily damage prior to this commentor buying it. No NEW GM vehicle that is cared for needs brakes before 75,000 to 110,000 miles.
1st Oct 2009, 17:39
Mine did. Needed new pads and rotors at 50,000 miles. Never got a chance to replace them a 2nd time because the engine threw a rod at 60,000.
1st Oct 2009, 20:58
"Both wheel bearings had to be replaced. $1200.00."
Please call me when you need your wheel bearings replaced again. I did this on an Envoy in 1 hour and the parts cost less than $100. I could service your car and retire soon.
3rd Oct 2009, 21:54
If you continually ride your brakes you can even wear out the brakes on a new GM in less than 50,000 miles. Also, failure to change oil often causes premature engine failure. My GM's are meticulously maintained. Even the oldest (9 years old) has never had ANY problems. The front brake pads were replaced at 70,000 miles at a cost of $17. We also had to replace one light bulb, and that's it. No other repairs of ANY kind.
On a more humorous note, my wealthy brother-in-law traded his 2002 Trailblazer (exact same vehicle as the Envoy) in on a new Mercedes in March. The Trailblazer had performed flawlessly for just over 200,000 miles, but he wanted to "upgrade". He bought the $80,000 Mercedes in March. In August he had to have the engine replaced.
4th Oct 2009, 16:13
Too bad I never rode my brakes and I religiously changed my oil every 3,000 miles. GM sucks.
5th Oct 2009, 17:48
"Too bad I never rode my brakes and I religiously changed my oil every 3,000 miles. GM sucks."
The previous owners may have horribly abused the car. Either that or your mechanic is telling you that you need work you really don't need. I'm a mechanic and I see these vehicles all the time with way over 70,000 miles with never a single brake job or any other problems. They are incredibly rugged and well built vehicles. The Envoys and Yukons are some of the highest quality SUV's around. I hated to see GM drop the Envoy, which was a very safe and solid truck-based SUV, in favor of the front-drive Acadia.
6th Oct 2009, 17:44
I bought it brand new! And I brought it back to the Chevy dealer that I bought it from each time something went wrong! The final straw was when it threw a rod at 61,000 miles. Yeah, you're right, that doesn't require a repair. Not.
AND, if they really are so "rugged" then why was mine constantly breaking? And even if I had bought it used, if it was so rugged, wouldn't it have survived the previous owners neglect?
10th Oct 2009, 12:04
Comment 17:44 makes a good point. However a major clue may be found in the statement "I brought it back to the Chevy dealer every time something went wrong". Dealers make huge amounts of money even off warranty repairs. It is not AT ALL unusual for them to tell owners they need all sorts of things they don't need. On occasion, a dealer service department may even deliberately sabotage a customer's car to get them to bring it back for yet more expensive repairs. A local Ford dealership in my area is notorious for telling customers they need repairs they don't need and sabotaging their cars. It happened to my neighbor, who is a jet-engine mechanic and who meticulously services his own vehicles. A transmission line was loosened on purpose. Fortunately he discovered it before his transmission was ruined. I have bought cars from that dealership but drive 20 miles further to get my Fords serviced at a dealership that is honest.
As a mechanic myself, I find the Trailblazer, Envoy and Rainier (all are the same vehicle) to be some of the best built vehicles on the road. None of these vehicles should require brake pads before 50,000 except under the very most severe driving conditions (towing or constantly riding the brakes). A very common practice of many dealers and shops is to tell people they need brakes when there is a good 50,000 miles of wear left on the pads. I've never even heard of one of these vehicles having a rod bearing failure. I'm definitely NOT saying that the commenter is not being truthful, I'm merely suggesting that he may have been the victim not of a bad car, but a very dishonest dealership. Sadly, it happens all too often. I always shop more carefully for service than I do for the car itself.
29th Sep 2009, 14:41
I have to agree with original poster this vehicle is a total piece of crap... Here's why.. I owned a 2002 Envoy 4x4 SLT (basically top of the line available) bought it at one year old.. 38,000km. The vehicle has a nice ride, but that's where the good ends. Here's my maintenance for a two and a half year period.
Brakes were replaced twice, cost $1400.00.
Attenuator motor seized, wouldn't flip into X, $1200.00.
Sway bar links caused a constant clunking in the front end at slow speeds, $600.00
Upper and lower ball joint were replaced, $1200.00.
Rear wiper had a mind of its own, problem - salt caused the arm to seize, $400.00.
Gas tank regulator seal rotted out. Caused a strong stench of gasoline outside the vehicle, because when the vehicle took turns, it would slosh out... $700.00.
Door bands that connect the door to the body of vehicle cracked. 400.00.
Both wheel bearings had to be replaced. $1200.00.
Battery failed while sitting in a parking lot with the radio on for 20 minutes. $125.00.
This covers the money out of my pocket. There are numerous other problems..
Front bumper on these things are very loose.
Mirrors are totally useless in the memory position.
Back of heated seat didn't warm up even when you pressed the back on button... actually only the seat part ever warmed up.
Leveling system never leveled the vehicle; one side was persistently 1.5 inch's higher!! (sensor failure) (I never fixed it cause GM said they would have to change the leveling shocks! cost 1700.00).
The engine was also in a constant misfire mode, finally found out that one of the cylinder coils was gone, cost 300.00.
Does this sound like a vehicle that was rode hard? Sure sounds like it to me, but the truth is that this vehicle was babied from day one, it is just a dismal failure of engineering.
The out of pocket cost on this vehicle over a three year period was $6800.00; that is just repairs, not counting tires, oil changes.
I said that I would never buy another GM, but I have recently bought a GMC Sierra extended cab 6.6l diesel truck, Now, this is a well made vehicle. I am thrilled with its performance... So, I am not a person who is out to diss a particular brand, but I don't accept any brand selling crap and downloading inferior built, so called luxury vehicles to the public..
As for the mechanic that said he couldn't find any problems... my answer is to wait, they all seem to occur at the 75,000km point, and they never let up. There's always some problem lurking.. Bottom line, the Envoy is a piece of crap!!