20th Oct 2009, 22:47
"I was stating that my GM vehicle (that Lumina) DID need brake pads before 70,000 miles."
Sometimes smaller cars DO require brake pads more often due to the use of much smaller pads. Our Honda required brake pads every 30,000 miles in very mild driving conditions. Of course it was a very poorly built car designed to require far more maintenance than any domestic. Our Ford, GM and Chrysler vehicles have never required any repairs of any kind before 70,000-100,000 miles. In 240,000 miles our Dodge only required 2 brake jobs. Our current GM vehicle has over 80,000 miles and has never had ANY repairs of any kind.
21st Oct 2009, 16:08
"Of course it was a very poorly built car designed to require far more maintenance than any domestic."
Right, so that's why my Honda went 400,000 miles with zero repairs while my Dodge required 2 transmissions within 70,000 miles?
3rd Feb 2010, 14:22
I have an 03 Envoy. It's been great, best vehicle I've ever owned. 156,000 miles on it, I bought it new with 4 miles. Only changed serpentine belt once, brakes twice. I pulled a trailer with it; again, great truck.
I recently encountered a problem with vibration through out the vehicle. Changed the harmonic balancer, mounts, and trans mount, thinking it was this. What else does anyone who has experienced this problem think it could be. Oh and I had the plugs changed at 110,000 miles.
14th Sep 2010, 17:08
2003 GMC Envoy XL, original owner, 74,000. I was a mechanic through High School and College Engineer by trade, and restore old English sports cars as a hobby... tolerance is in my nature.
This Envoy is great when it runs, but GM and the subsequent extended warranty company have spent over five (5) thousand dollars on this POS.
List, not all inclusive, but to the best of my memory:
3 dash pods separated by a few years.
2 radios.
Rebuilt the driver seat.
Front sway bar links.
Rear sway bar links.
The infamous dead ignition switch.
Front half shaft and differential seal.
Front tie rod end.
Loose heat shield.
Replace the spare tire hoist.
Brakes and rotors (twice).
Front wheel bearing.
AC condenser.
Rattles from rear AC ducts.
Fan noise is ignored by dealer.
Engine sounds like a diesel in the morning; dealer says it's OK.
OnStar stopped the first week, dealer re-flashed and it worked for a year.
Often each was a individual service call, which required a overnight or a return trip to put the parts in.
3rd Oct 2010, 22:02
My 03 SLE purchased from Carmax has been a constant source of irritation for me.
It has had a problem with the heater and air conditioning controls. The passenger side blows hot air even with the A/C on. GM wants $700 to replace the control dampers. I switched to upper vents only and closed the passenger side vents. The front wheel bearing went out. Lower ball joint and one tie rod end are bad.
I have been a life long GM man, but I just bought a boat and am looking at Explorers as a tow vehicle.
4th Oct 2010, 20:43
Here we go again with the backyard mechanic that claims everyone is ripping you off, because your truck is a piece of crap and you don't want to waste time fixing it at home all the time. Oh, and every time a GM is junk, it is "horribly abused"! Give me a break! Our TWO Trailblazers were both bought brand new, used 80-85% on easy highway miles with no offroading or any kind of abuse, and they were the worst vehicles I have ever owned PERIOD!
The last one was up to over $1,400 in repairs for stupid little annoying things that should last longer on any vehicle, and I traded it for an import SUV at 90K miles, because it still was in need of almost $2K in further repairs. I could list everything out, but it would take way too long.
I can assure you though, as far as getting ripped off....I checked into each and every failure as to what parts were needed and the cost BEFORE I took the truck in, and they were right on the money every time. The only extra I paid over what you would have is labor, as like I said, I don't want to waste time working on vehicles at home... nor do I have the space for that.
My solution is to own imports that never need to get fixed, and that has actually worked out for me over the past 26 years, so save your negative comments! I have only seen one service department in 26 years of owning imports. Nissan... and I'll never buy another one. I was on a first name basis with the Chevy service manager, as I was there every other week for something stupid!
Sorry, but GM is mostly junk, and yeah you could get lucky and have one that isn't too bad. It happened to me with one GM, a 1990 Z24, but I traded it in at 61K miles, so who knows how much longer it would have held up! I will never own another new GM vehicle, ever...
4th Oct 2010, 20:45
Seriously, dump this thing and buy anything else. These trucks are total money pits. We pulled our boat with ours, and I even drove it slower out of overdrive to save the tranny extra wear, and the front differential failed, which in turn caused the tranny to overheat. I dumped it immediately, as I was done putting money into it, and I've never been happier!
6th Jan 2011, 13:26
I bought the Envoy SLT '02 model with 2wd. My wife drives it, and the current mileage is 88K, so not many miles each year. She is very gentle on a vehicle, and still likes her Envoy.
I on the other hand have had it with GM products. I have had the brakes pads replaced twice, the rear power window regulator went out, fan clutch went out, front passenger power seat is not working now, have the noise with the A/C, sounds like a man inside with a hammer and it won't change into A/C mode. The front end makes noises at low speed, and the leather on the seats are cracking. All these problems are not due to abuse, rather poor engineering and inferior materials. I own a 2004 Pontiac Bonneville that has multiple problems that drives me nuts.
I used to own a 1997 Acura RL, and drove it with no problems till it was wrecked in an accident. I can't say I will never own a GM again, but they have failed miserably with the Envoy.
Overall, I spent too much time repairing this vehicle, and it gets 13 mpg in the city and 17 on the highway. Hi tech 6 cylinder engine was a mistake.
11th Oct 2009, 16:38
Is that what this was all about? This has been a big misunderstanding. I'm am the writer of the comments stating I had an engine rod failure at 60,000 miles. However, this was NOT a Trailblazer (or similar) that I owned. It was a 1995 Chevrolet Lumina. Biggest hunk of junk I ever owned.
I posted that on here because it put me off of ALL Chevy vehicles for good. It was also a response to the fact that somebody stated the GM vehicles never needed new brake pads before 70,000 miles. I was stating that my GM vehicle (that Lumina) DID need brake pads before 70,000 miles.
And it DID throw a rod at 60,000 miles. Happened as I was driving down the interstate. Not rushing, actually going fairly smoothly and was probably only going about 60 MPH, when the rod shot through the top of my hood and was launched sky high. I actually laughed at the time.
And maybe the dealer was just ripping me off, but the fact that they would do that STILL gives me a bad feeling about Chevy.