UMMM FK GM! [:@]

 

Welll at 36,000 miles my light came on, dropped by the dealer today, they are ordering a complete head, probably be 2 weeks or so and will take them a week to change out. I thought I was past the cutoff for the head issue ........ The mechanic said he has been changing heads mostly between 28,000 and 40,000 miles lately. At least it went while under warranty.

 

Awwwwwww sorry Arkie []Thank goodness it happened while still under warranty! Good luck.

 

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

Add another one to the list.

 

Purchased the vehicle in August 2006 and until today replaced only the front brake pads and 2 tail light bulbs. I currently have over 85,000 miles, changed oil using Mobil Synthetic every 12,000 or when change indicator illuminated.

Took H3 into the shop today for engine warning light and was made aware of the head problem. Hummer and the dealer provided a loaner car and will cover 100% of the repair. Since I am 35,000 miles out of warranty I could not ask for better service than this. Note due to limited availability I did not purchase the H3 from this dealer but rather a competitor 60 miles away-another credit to my local dealer for great service and support.

 

Just a little reality check for the, uh, more passionate amongst you H3 owners.

Those that fall into the affected VIN range should plan on having your cylinder heads updated.The fact that you haven't had a valve seat problem inless than whatevermiles does not mean that you won't. Try to get the work done when it's convenient for you. Even 200,000 miles beforea valve job is no great accomplishment for a modernengine.

My understanding is that some H3s have "soft" valve seats. I believe thata softer valve seat makes for a better valve seal but too soft and the valves sink into the cylinder head. I don't know if the DOHC I-5 in the H3s have mechanical or hydraulic valve lifters or adjusters nor if hydraulic would avoid a problem but I do know that with mechanical lifters when the valve sinks into the valve seat, the "valve clearance" is reduced. If it is reduced to zero or less, then the valve will always be open. This is likely the point where a "check engine light" would come on.

What you need to also consider is that the valve clearance is also about the same thing as the cam to lifter (rocker arm, tappet) clearance. Zero clearance means essentially zero space for a layer of oil between those two parts and accelerated wear ofboth.

I strolled in here to read up on the H3's as I need a truck or SUV with four seats and had dismissed GM because of my perceptionof poor quality but the H3 caught my eye from a design and features standpoint to the degree that I think it or the upcoming H3T would fill my needs.

For someone like me that has always done his own repairs, dropping $30,000+ on a new vehicle that will depreciate $200-300 a month when my existing ones are working just fine,cost mebasically nothingand are barely worth selling is a hard decision, worsened by the seeming lack of assurance that new will gain me anything from a reliability standpoint.

It's not just the H3s, everything I've consideredhas had issues.

 

Our 2008 has been an awesome vehicle. No known issues at all.

 

I just had my second head replacement on my 06 @ 32,000 miles.

 

What did they say about the first one not staying fixed?..I heard in some cases the dealer installed another bad head..

 

BTW..the numbers on this poll didn't increase drastically at all since it's orginal posting..That's a good sign it wasn't a global issue.