Head and Valve Issue

Hi All, I've owned my H3 for roughly three months. So far it has been at the dealer 4 times total. Three for what the say was just a sensor. My engine light would come on and the dealer told me the had to reprogram the computer. With that being said, Last week the dreaded light came on again. Of course i Thought sensor again. I was wrong. The dealer told me I had a misfire and had a bad cylinder. They would have to replace the head and cylinders. The thing has 6,000 miles on it . To top it off , the dealer says they will need a month to fix it because of a parts issue. If anyone else has had any issues with this motor please let me know.

Thanks

No not yet but give it time GM

Are they going to give you a loaner car? I swore I would never buy another GM product (other than my Z06) because of their quality control problems. I hate hearing of H3 problems before I even get it (it should be here this week).By the way, the quality on my Z06 is absolutely great so maybe there is hope.

They did give me a loaner. Since I've been researching this problem I have found several with the same issue. Not to mention my dealer telling me that 3 others had the same problem. I know cars can break, but this isn't a crack in the plastic. This is an engine that has been out for quite some time. Very hard to understand what is going on with it.

I don't want to sour anyone on the h3. I truly love the thing. It's just a hard pill to swallow and hearing about others that have the same condition does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about it's reliability.

DO YOU KNOW IF THEY HAD THIS PROBLEM IN THE Colorado LIKE YOU SAID THIS MOTOR HAS BEEN AROUND BUT THE H3 IS HEAVER

I did some calling around..Called my local dealer (over a 100 in inventory), called to neighboring State's dealers, called the dealer I bought mine from with over 150 in constant inventory...Not one has had a H3 come in with any engine problems since the H3 has hit the streets last spring...So My interpolation of this engine anomaly is that it is rare at best, it should not be one to worry the masses with, or a problem to plaque these H3's with any sort of regularity...

Just my reasoning...Course the guy here with the problem is saying bull ****!

Dennis call my dealer (603) 669-2450
Dobles Hummer Carl is the service guy. He's the one who has told me about the other vehicles.
The rest i found on chat rooms. Why would the dealer exagerate this? I'm not saying that it is a mass issue. Also i just got of the phone with GM. They have extended my warranty to 6 year 100,000 and also gave me a 2year 24,000 mile service plan for oil shanges and tire rotations. With that being said I am satisfied with what GM has done. Puts my woorries aside for the next 100,000 miles.

Wow i'm surprise Gm has done that which is good one way to keep a customer

I'm surprised myself. I really did not have to fight for it either. The only thing I told them was that to make me satisfied they would have to extend the warranty.

Also Dennis, Under the thread of h3 problems H3dude is having a similar problem along with some other nightmarish stuff. As long as Gm stands by there product I am satisfied. I feel as if they have enough faith to extend the warranty,I should have that same faith in it.

quote:

ORIGINAL: btstyx

Also Dennis, Under the thread of h3 problems H3dude is having a similar problem along with some other nightmarish stuff. As long as Gm stands by there product I am satisfied. I feel as if they have enough faith to extend the warranty,I should have that same faith in it.

I'm Glad GM stepped up and came to your aid..I didn’t doubt you one bit, or was trying contradict you either. I'm just saying it is a rare problem with less than 10 for the record for the US...Lets hope it was a few Monday or Friday cars that were only affected...When is the build date on your H3? Just for stat purposes, it would be interesting to see if these H3s with this specific engine problem rolled off the Assyline around the same time.

Again, Like mark said...WOW! GM did you right and I'm sure glad to hear that...I hope the rest of your time with ownership is smooth sailing...

Raffi..now he has issues with his H3 big time...Raffi, any luck yet with getting your new H3??

Thanks Dennis, It should be, Knowing I will be covered for as long as I own it. I will look up the build date ant post it later today.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dennis

quote:

ORIGINAL: btstyx

Also Dennis, Under the thread of h3 problems H3dude is having a similar problem along with some other nightmarish stuff. As long as Gm stands by there product I am satisfied. I feel as if they have enough faith to extend the warranty,I should have that same faith in it.

I'm Glad GM stepped up and came to your aid..I didn’t doubt you one bit, or was trying contradict you either. I'm just saying it is a rare problem with less than 10 for the record for the US...Lets hope it was a few Monday or Friday cars that were only affected...When is the build date on your H3? Just for stat purposes, it would be interesting to see if these H3s with this specific engine problem rolled off the Assyline around the same time.

Again, Like mark said...WOW! GM did you right and I'm sure glad to hear that...I hope the rest of your time with ownership is smooth sailing...

Raffi..now he has issues with his H3 big time...Raffi, any luck yet with getting your new H3??

Dennis
Where did Gm hide the build sheets on the H3? Normally the GM vehicles have them under the front seats. Can't seem to find one on mine.

quote:

ORIGINAL: G Man

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dennis

quote:

ORIGINAL: btstyx

Also Dennis, Under the thread of h3 problems H3dude is having a similar problem along with some other nightmarish stuff. As long as Gm stands by there product I am satisfied. I feel as if they have enough faith to extend the warranty,I should have that same faith in it.

I'm Glad GM stepped up and came to your aid..I didn’t doubt you one bit, or was trying contradict you either. I'm just saying it is a rare problem with less than 10 for the record for the US...Lets hope it was a few Monday or Friday cars that were only affected...When is the build date on your H3? Just for stat purposes, it would be interesting to see if these H3s with this specific engine problem rolled off the Assyline around the same time.

Again, Like mark said...WOW! GM did you right and I'm sure glad to hear that...I hope the rest of your time with ownership is smooth sailing...

Raffi..now he has issues with his H3 big time...Raffi, any luck yet with getting your new H3??

Dennis
Where did Gm hide the build sheets on the H3? Normally the GM vehicles have them under the front seats. Can't seem to find one on mine.

Hi Gary,
I couldn't find any either, but Look on the white sticker, upper right hand corner, located on the driver's side door sill...My H3's build date says 09/05...Somehow or ta other, the VIN can be de-coded to break it down to the DAY it was made.

I got engine problem as well, but it's "crankshaft actuator" problem. it made the engine choke and misfire, and took about 1 week to fix.
the problem is I still don't know what "crankshaft actuator" is, anyone have idea?

quote:

ORIGINAL: zechsiw

I got engine problem as well, but it's "crankshaft actuator" problem. it made the engine choke and misfire, and took about 1 week to fix.
the problem is I still don't know what "crankshaft actuator" is, anyone have idea?

I'm not sure either..But in other cars that have simular symptoms, I understand there is a device or sensor that is called the "Cranshaft angle sensor" or "Crankshaft position sensor"...But both basically do the same thing..It indicates to the ECU where the Crankshaft IS, so the ignition timing can stay in line to fire the spark plugs at the proper time...But that's an engine Ignition control device problem and not an engine problem itself per say...At least that is what it sounds like to me.

Just went into the shop , same issue !!! misfire, compression leak, 3rd cylinder leaking from valves, they are tearing it apart right now !

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dennis

quote:

ORIGINAL: zechsiw

I got engine problem as well, but it's "crankshaft actuator" problem. it made the engine choke and misfire, and took about 1 week to fix.
the problem is I still don't know what "crankshaft actuator" is, anyone have idea?

I'm not sure either..But in other cars that have simular symptoms, I understand there is a device or sensor that is called the "Cranshaft angle sensor" or "Crankshaft position sensor"...But both basically do the same thing..It indicates to the ECU where the Crankshaft IS, so the ignition timing can stay in line to fire the spark plugs at the proper time...But that's an engine Ignition control device problem and not an engine problem itself per say...At least that is what it sounds like to me.

I read the paper from dealer again, ya..it's called "Crankshaft position actuator"

I talked to my service manager today while dropping off my H3 for several unrelated issues. He said he has had 6 in for the same reason in the past few months, as well as several Colorado's(same engine). All of the H3's had the problem isolated to the #1 cylinder. He told me that corporate engineering was researching the problem, but no solution had yet been determined. The head is sent off to GM for analysis before the repairs begin. All of the replacement parts(head, valves, valve guides, etc), are the same engineered parts that are currently on the vehicle now. So, even though the dealer is "fixing" the problem, it is really not a proper solution. The thought is that it may be a heat related issue that a simple lower temp. thermostat might fix. If it is heat related, the summer months should really cause this issue to rear it's head. BTW, I got my build date while I was there. October 15, 2005 was a Thursday. So much for the theory that all the problem vehicles were built on Monday and Friday.

The head issue is a localized one. The ones in our shop were all built around the same time. The all have problems with the guides giving out and the valves not sealing. It wasn't a big problem on the colorado/canyon and for months not one on the H3. It is a bad shipment of heads to the factory. The reason it takes so long is that GM doesn't sell the heads assembled. The parts dept. has to order all of the parts seperately, which takes about one and a half to two weeks to get in. Then they have to assemble the head themselves. The job is listed with 22 hours of labor. It's not like swapping the head on a small block.

Hi All,

New member here. I got my H3 at the end of January (Dobles also) and today it went in for the dreaded head replacement. They say it will take two weeks.

I can't help worrying about the reliability after the engine has been apart. Who did you talk to about the warranty?

-Alan

Hi I talked to GM customer care. As i said previously I got the extended warranty and a 24,000 service plan. Good luck, Have mine back for a couple of weeks now with no issues. Only time will tell. But it least it'll be GM's problem.

Thanks. I will defintiely give GM a call, if only for the peace of mind.

Keep us updated on the repair too.

-Alan

FYI,

I did some calling around...And my local dealer to date has had not a single H3s with Engine issues of any kind come in..The dealer I bought mine from in Arkansas...Has had two come in with the Valve/head problem since they have been selling H3s...The service manager there, estimates they've sold over 1500 H3s since last year, and they have only the two come in with the head problem. They replaced the whole head with new valves and everything..And they have not had any return issues with them since....The problem with the valves on those two, showed up at around 8000 miles on one and 15,000 miles on the other and said you will know if it happens...It starts running rougher than a cob and misses, etc.