Anyone with over 50k + miles @ no valve problems - Page 2

You've seen people mention it being a valve guide problem...I've heard and believe it to be maybe SOFT VALVE SEATS..For one thing if it was a VALVE GUIDE, it would only puff smoke on start-up after an overnight set, or after all day long in the parking lot..But that would be the size of the problem with Valve Guides (BTW--GM engines are notorious for this problem)...On the other hand, if it were the Valve SEATS, it would cause; loss of compression, and maybe even some backfiring and loss of power, along with a very rough idle....As has been the case of everyone that has seen this problem.

I'm like Mike..If it happens it happens..They will now fix it for sure, as the future of the H3 name rides on it.

I think it is the valve seats, I just always type vavle guides out of habit, my tahoe had to have that job done twice in 4 years

OK, OK, I surrender

May I suggest, with all due respect to ImportKiller, to throw away the bloody engine and replace it with a good 8 cyl. 5.7 HEMI jeep engine ........ built by MERCEDES

Is it just me, or is this the same problem cars had back in the '70's when they took the lead out of gas? Seems to me you had to pull the heads and have hard valve seats put in along with new valves because the old ones used the lead deposites as a cushion for the valves to seat on. If this is the case, I wonder if you could con your dealership into sending the head in to get ported and polished and cc'd since they have it out. Obviously you would have to pay for the extra work, but it would be a lot cheaper at that point then any other time. Then all you have to do is wait for a lower end problem to have the lower end balanced and blueprinted. All that would be left is to get a cam ground for more torque that will still pass emission and throw in a chip and exhaust. Then it would run like a raped ape.

linus, good idea...costly but would be an awesome ride
I think the problem is similiar to the 70's when the switch was made from leaded to unleaded, I wasn't into cars other than my tonka trucks back then but a few older mechanic friends that I bowl with said they all dealt with this problem back then.

JM, don't know what to make of your post exactly but a new hemi in the h3 would be fine by me.

GM does try to hide problems.There have been many posts on the Corvetteforum about faulty valve springs in some Z06's. It seems there was a bad batch in some 2002 to 2004 cars. GM is saying there is no problem at all yet many people have lost a whole engine when a spring broke. GM even went to a new spring and new part number yet say there was never a problem. If they admitted to a problem they would have to recall all 2002-2004 cars and fix it even if they were off warranty like most Z06's are.They are trying to ride it out and hope there are not enough bad springs and complaints to force them to recall the cars. It is a gamble for them and they have nothing to lose by playing dumb. They may be doing the same thing with the H3.
Again, people who have Z06's have had a spring break even when idling and it in most cases ruined the engine. Since their cars were off warranty it cost them dearly.I would not want to have a head problem with my H3 when it was off warranty. Worrying about my Z06 is enough and do not need to worry about my H3- thanks GM.
Other than these MAJOR POTENTIAL PROBLEMS gm has made just about the best off road vehicle and one of the very best super cars. Now if they would only be honest and not listen to their liars, I mean lawyers.

Nothing guy! I was just joking about you being JEEP (Rubicon) fan

I could go into detail about what the problem is, but I won't. I will say GM did discover the problem and it was easy to correct, and that is what they did with the release of the new hardened cylinder heads on engines manufactured after March 31, 2006. Engine manufactured before that date COULD have the cylinder head problem. However, NOT ALL WILL have the problem.
GM is not hiding this problem, it is issued as a bulletin that is available to anyone who wants it. It does affect C/C vehicles, and in fact affects some Envoy/Trailblazers with the in-line 6 and the C/C with the four cylinder.
It spiked warranty, and that is how GM discovered the problem. How many have been replaced is not as large as some would speculate, but larger than others would speculate. The exact numbers I cannot post here. I cannot say no one will ever experience a problem with over 50K miles on the engine, but most likely they won't with that many miles. I can't say all will fail within warranty, but I will say at least 95 percent will fail within warranty.
 
I have around 25K and no problems. I know of one truck that has put over 10K miles with a bad cylinder head, and it still runs. Rougher than hell, but it runs and will get you from point A to point B. Ninety percent of the head failures start with an extremely rough idle, then some misfires you may or may not detect, but are detected by the PCM via the knock sensor. This sets a code, the engine light comes on, the dealer runs a cylinder leak down test, and if needed, replaced the head. (Test may show it is another problem, not always a bad head.) Personally, I do believe in some cases dealers are replacing heads to replace heads; it pays well.)
 
(One thing to note, GM changes part numbers constantly to match parts with other vehicles, when pasts' suppliers change, when a part is kitted differently than previously kitted, etc. Therefore, when a part number changes, it does not denote the part was bad, it denotes that for some reason GM has changed the number. I do know in case of many of those so-called engine failures on ZO6 engines, the owner had the car super-tuned, and the redline was changed. The tolerance for those valve springs was tight, and any increase in redline for that engine COULD cause the springs to break. However, if the redline was boosted, causing the springs to break, that is not GM's fault. As a Vette owner, the reprogramming of all Vettes is a very common occurrence, using items like LS Edit, predator, etc. I also know that when (this is an example) five people on a small forum state their engine blew due to manufacturing defects, the rest of the forum believes them. Forums are a great place for information, but some of the information obtained is BS, some is great and some is great BS.)

well,im at 50000,i just hope nothing goes wrong now,although i do have 3 yrs left of extended warranty

Im taking mine in tonight its missing and showing engine light.
Please dont laugh my H3 has been stumbling on me at quick starts and ideling rough since I owned it.
I am a business owner and just dont have the time to deal.
Plus its a lease. I have 37,761 miles and the CE light just came on and went off now its ideling rougher than ever.
I am taking it to the Hummer Dealer McElveen HUMMER, Summerville, SC tonight.
I have a feeling mine will be the heads too. It pops when I step on the gas hard from a dead start always has.
My Vin is 68177586 My date of build is 10/06
 
Ill let you guys know EXACTLY how the dealer handles it.
I just hope I dont get so mad that I burn the thing in their parking lot :)
I leased this vehicle for 2 years and 52000 miles.
I have 8 months to go
 
 

I'm at 46k miles, and have the same Manufacturer's date, but have had absolute no engine problems.  I'm still crossing my fingers.   The fact that it's done that since you bought it means you may have some other issues.  I believe the head/vavle problem leaves you pretty much inoperable eventually, so that may not be it.

Ok, I stopped by McElveen HUMMER, Summerville, SC yesterday and spoke with the "Hummer Service Department Manager"
Here is how the conversation went. This was pretty shocking and Im a little confused.
I explained to her that My check engine light came on about 500 miles ago for a day and went off.
She said "Well, we can’t do anything until the light stays on."
I said I thought the computer would hold the codes so the Techs could see what the problem is. (Not really sure if this is the case)
She said "Nope never heard of that", You will have to bring it in when the light stays on"
I said Ok, Well we will see.
Get this, 5 minutes later in traffic the light comes on.THANK GOD, I immediately made a U turn in traffic and went back to the dealer.
I left my car running in front of the service bay and ran around the dealership hunting this lady down (As Usual)
So after have I them page her she walks up a couple minutes later and says" What’s Up"
This time she happen to have a tech with her. I said the light is finally back on.
She immediately responds "I cant do anything today" Tomorrow Ill be here", "Friday I won’t" So you can come back Monday
I looked at the tech and he out of nowhere said "2006 H3?" He looks at her and said I bet it’s that Thing" and looked uncomfortable.
I said you mean the H3 head problem where they need to replace it? He said Yep. 99% of the time that’s what’s wrong with that little mileage.
Now remember I had been there earlier and asked the Service Manager had she ever heard of this and she said we have NEVER had that problem.
I turned to the tech relaxed and said that’s cool just out of curiosity how many have you done would you guess The service manager steps in and sais NONE.
He looked at her and said No We have done at least 7 since I have been here. He said I dont do them myself because it involves pulling the heads off and stuff. I looked at the service manager she looked like a Deer in headlights and responded I don’t remember anything like that since I’ve been here.
I said that’s cool I just want my truck fixed I know sh*t happens. I’ve owned Mercedes, Ford, Chevrolet, and Honda and have had problems with all of them. He said well the head was redesigned in April I think. I said Bingo he knows what I was referring to.
Kind of wierd the THING that they were just talking about happened to be something she had never heard of. She is obviously a LIAR ot just plain brain dead. What gets me is GM pays them to fix the thing Why try to hide it. I will get the invoice with what happens?
General managers, Take note of this, My lease is up in 8 months. THE LAST PLACE I will buy a hummer from is a dealer with a poor service department. This lady is your customer interface for everything after they make the sale. Would you want a salesperson that didn’t know that tax is added in? My god man who interviews these people.
Anyways Im guessing next Monday I will drop my hummer off for god knows how long or to what they will find or replace but Im guessing based on the absence of knowledge this lady has about what her service department does (And she is the ONLY) service manager at this dealer.
I think there is another dealer around 60 miles away when i trade mine in Im making the drive.
These are the questions she couldn’t answer:
I don’t know anything about H3's having problems with heads. (Really?)
Computers don’t store codes (Really?)
The bumper to bumper factory warranty doesn’t cover the pillars plastic cracking (External)
The bumper to bumper factory warranty may not cover what is causing the check engine light.
Never offerd to check on the plastic.
Hummer service Called on my behalf to setup an appointment. Obviously she wasn’t at her desk (Never is) she sa

First off, you are right.  The manager is either a complete idiot or lying.  Every Hummer service department in the country recieves Technical Service Bullitens, or TSB's about this issue.  If she doesn't know, she either doesn't pay attention to them (do your F'ing job moron), or doesn't want to deal with it.  Either way, they get paid to do the work, so you are right again, no loss. 
 
If they want to give you crap, take it to a different dealer.
 
Now, once the codes are generated, they stay in the computer/PCM indefinitely until they are manually erased.  They don't just magically dissappear, and you do NOT need to have the light on to pull the codes.  That is complete BS.  I hate people that are ignorant.  She should not be a manager there, because she obviously knows absolutely nothing about cars.  You can tell this pisses me off, 32$@#**$*#@*$
 
The bumper to bumper warranty DOES cover the cracked pillars.  Most people on here have had them replaced once or twice, including myself.  That is also Bullsh1t.
 
The bumper to bumper warranty at a NORMAL dealer service department, especially for Hummers, covers pretty much everything.  A good dealer service department will not give you crap about that.
 
You should call customer service for Hummer, or talk to the dealer owner, and let them know just how rediculously ignorant and clueless this woman is. 
 
I don't get pissed off much, but if I had to deal with her and her ignorance, I would do everything I coudl to get her ass fired, if not for me, for the others she has screwed over.  What a dumbass.

49400 miles and the head went. Not happy

I have an H3 with 42K miles (2006)- It is at the dealership as we speak- I had two failure codes: Power Control Module failure and Miss-Fire- The solution is they are going to replace the cylinder head- that should alleviate the issues...Seems to be an issue that Hummer nneds to address....
Chris