Iv'e asked on this and other forums a number of times as to how the dash comes apart on the 08/09. Zero. I have had the 06 and earlier dashes apart at least a dozen times and its childs play and very easy to do without causing problems. Since there are so few 08/09's around and the new design of the it got rid of alot of the problem the earlier models. I guess no one has had the need to take one apart short of a salvage yard. I haven't found a good GM exploded view to help either. We all know how fragile plastic gets with age and prying is not a good thing to do if you don't know exactly where to do so.

Now if I had a problem or a rattle I probably would definitely be all up in there.

As far as option programming all of my gear head buddies have sold off their Tech2's and bought the VCX Nano's with SPS for option work and HP Tuners for ECM work. They say it much easier to use and does more without the danger of the Chineese Tech2 crapping out mid stream or having a VCI fart. Here's an interesting youtube on it:

 

Parts cannoned the rcdlr and antenna last night… and of course it had to be programmed with sps before the keys could be learned. No biggie though. The VCX nano worked without a hiccup today. I may have found the root cause of the issue. You’ll see in the pictures where I took the a-pillar antenna apart, there’s a little stray stand of wire from the cable on the right that’s shorting to the cable on the left. Oddly enough I had no remote range issues. The only issue was at first the TPMs light would come on only over large bumps, but later returned continuously.


I replaced this antenna along with the rcdlr. The antenna is located in the driver a-pillar, accessed by prying out the rubber on the front of the grab handle and removing the 2x8mm bolts. There are no clips that hold the handle or a-pillar in place.
Next, to access the rcdlr, the passenger side a-pillar has to be removed, that way you can pry up the brittle defrost vents. The clip locations for the vents are as shown in this diagram… they are all on the inside side of the piece(closest to the driver and passenger)


the “1” indicates the ambient light sensor. This is to be removed after removing the vents. It is not a clip. I started left to right on the clips with a nylon pry tool and a microfiber underneath to avoid denting the squishy pleather. This was absolutely the worst thing I’ve ever had to do. The clips are tight and the plastic cracked in two places, though it was minor. I also broke two clips clean off the plastic. There is no avoiding this I was as careful as possible. However if I did it again, I would have started from the outside clips and worked my way in one at a time.




Once the plastic is removed the rcdlr, located in front of the steering wheel can be removed. It is just clipped in and you can remove it by pulling up and toward you so it tilts and pulls out. Next, I routed the antenna cable underneath. It can be snuck under the front between the windshield and the plastic.

Before reinstalling the defrost vents I placed some foam weather stripping from Home Depot along the edges of the whole thing. I even cut small pieces with holes in the middle to go around the clips and the ambient light sensor before reinstalling. Essentially I’m trying to minimize plastic on plastic contact and compensate for the loose clips and worn out clip holes that occur whenever you disassemble anything plastic. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this process and I’ll be damned if I take it apart again.

Also I’d like to mention I put a bead of silicone around the cracks of the new rcdlr as if the sunroof or marker lights ever leak again and leave a swimming pool on my dash AGAIN it won’t short out the module.




After all this I put everything back together and programmed the module using a vcx nano and sps and 100% legit software I definitely paid over $1000 for because using the hacked software included with the nano is illegal and morally wrong… fosho

I did have problems pairing my driver front TPMs sensor by letting air out, but I have the TPMs tool coming tomorrow so I’ll try that out. I never had any problems with this sensor as it was working fine before I started. Just the right rear wasn’t reading and that sensor is known good. If the front sensor is bad, I bought a TPMs emulator from here…
https://spooftpms.com/gm-family-tpms-simulator/

They have both a 7-10 year battery version and a 12v cigarette lighter version. I’ll eventually use this anyway as I don’t desire TPMs to be working when I’m off-road with 20psi in the tires. Fingers crossed this does it. At least I fixed my rattle. It was the light sensor. But then a clip flew out and went down the defrost abyss.😐

 

Great job Buddy and a great find, its amazing what havoc a stray wire can cause. Kudos on a fantastic write up. You get the award for being the first Hummerite to dive deeply into the depths of a 08/09 dash. You must have the hands of a surgeon getting that dash apart without cracking the thing to death. Keep us updated, this is definitely news we all can use! How about a write up on the nano procedure when your done. I think we are all going to be moving in that direction, I know my Tech2 is getting long in the wind and I dont trust the VCI in it to do any programming.

 

Thanks for the write up and update to your thread,
I was coming to update when I seen your post,
I logged into TDS and SPS to see if I could de-select the TMPS option while reprogramming for my 08 and as I said it does not offer the TPMS as a option to de-select.
hopefully you resolved your TMPS issues with the antenna find

Neal

 

Thanks!
So I went out and bought a TPMs learn tool to wake up the sensors instead of inflating/deflating. And apparently I did such a good job with my repair the front left learns by itself immediately when I start the learn procedure without using the tool or anything! Fantastic!(that was sarcastic). However letting air out/using the tool does not work on ANY of the other tires. Even the ones with the BRAND NEW sensors.
Edit: I also notice that when doing the relearn, the turn signal does not illuminate in order of which tire needs to be learned like it did the last time I did this process a year ago. They all just stay constantly lit.

Side note:
FOR SALE: 2008 Hummer H2
-fully maintaned
-solar flare metallic
-supercharged
-magnaflow exhaust
-fuel wheels and 37 inch tires
-new kenwood CarPlay head unit
-focal/jl audio speakers
-12 inch subwoofer
-slightly cracked dash
-new RCDLR Module
-winch and full 3rd row included
-TPMs not included
-has ghosts that live in the electrical system.
$50k no lowballs I know what I have.

 

Gavin, So sorry to see your going sell off your baby. I know these thing can be frustrating and super difficult to fix sometimes. There getting harder and harder to find parts and when you do they cost nuts money. Add there is little or no support from dealerships.

So if you can't get answers here or know really good Hummer mechanic your in trouble. Add to that they are thirsty only drink Premium and with ever rising fuel costs you have another nail in the coffin. Plus the wives never understand the investment or the time you have to spend keeping them healthy and road ready.

I can totally understand your decision, I have been down this road 2 times before and once its gone it will be a bittersweet moment for you to say the least. Whats worse in my case I always live to regret it then buy another one.
With that said as great as these vehicles are I can honestly say I doubt I would do it again. I am getting to old to continue fighting the never ending battle. I guess when I get to old and feeble to fix mine anymore I think will just give or will it to a deserving relative.

Considering you've got the 08/09 and a supercharger to boot it should be a hot seller. Someone's gonna grab one hot H2,

At the end of the day at least you can talk solace in knowing you have owned one of the most unique and best vehicle ever to come out of GM, never to be duplicated or seen again. Like nothing else, more then just a trademark.
Best of luck with the sale my friend.

 

Haha I was just joking lol. I would never and could never sell it. This truck means too much to me, I've had so much fun with it, and there is a lot more fun to be had with plenty of big future plans.
When I was 4 in 09, my parents sold their pretty slate blue 2008 h2 because of gas prices, the recession, and the difficulty of putting in a baby seat with my little brother on the way. I was literally in tears. They traded it for a bmw x5 that was, for lack of a better term, a huge pile of ****. Whenever I have a frustrating issue with this thing, I always think about how sad I was when my parents sold theirs, and how most other cars have wayyy worse issues. Even the new ones. Especially the new ones. This thing has never left me stranded, at least with something that wasn't directly my fault. I always figure problems out. Even the ones that left my local shops and the dealer stumped. And never have I been defeated.

And on that note, after sitting overnight, I tried the relearn again, and it actually worked. I was able to get all of the sensors to pair except the front left. It must have just died within the past 3 days or the battery was too weak to emit the learn code. Hoping the tpms emulator arrives within the next week or so and I'll post on how that goes. Then I'll never have to buy another sensor again. Victory.

 

Haha, Gavin you got me! But im glad your staying the course! Stay strong!