I bought my 2007 Hummer H3 in January with 77,011 miles on it. Since then, the dealership has put more miles on it than I have. I wasn't able to pick it up for over 2 weeks, and now it's been in and out of their shop ever since. It now has 79K on it, yet I've barely had it in my possession to drive. After I purchased the vehicle, the dealership put in a new power steering rack. Since then, I have returned the truck to them twice for a whining noise when you turn the wheel and a second issue I will describe later. This is a loud obnoxious steering sound. It is consistent, yet they claimed not to hear it. The second time they claimed I'd never previously mentioned it. (They were trying to get out of having to pay for it because it is under warranty). Finally, they sent my truck to a transmission specialist for the other issue. I got a ride over there and went for a drive with the service manager who heard and felt every single thing I'd been asking them to fix. He called the dealership right in front of me and told them. He also put his findings in writing, which I then provided a copy of to the dealership. The dealership apologized and agreed to fix the issues.

My truck was ready 2 days early, and as soon as I got down the road both issues clearly still had not been fixed. I called to complain and they claimed they bled air out of lines for the power steering rack, which there is no paperwork for, and that they didn't hear the sound. Now when I am parking the vehicle, it pulls sharply in the direction you have the wheel turned in. The problem has gone from a minor noise to a major safety issue. Any ideas what it could be?

The second issue was diagnosed by the other service place as an "ignition coil breakdown" but the dealer refuses to fix it because the check engine light is not on. They have had my truck twice previously for the same problem. The first time they flushed the transmission fluid, the second time they changed some spark plugs. But neither solved the problem. It is also increasingly getting worse, especially in damp weather. For the most part there is a slight vibration, but sometimes the entire vehicle makes a heavy thump and you accelerate, other times it just jerks forward as you coast or sit in traffic. You can drive the truck up and down the highway all day, no problem, but in stop & go traffic or on longer drives throughout town this is not something anyone could possible not notice. It does get worse the longer you drive the vehicle. Any thoughts?

I know this is crazy long, so I really appreciate any responses!! I am at my breaking point here. The service manager at the second place has already suggested I invoke the lemon law, but I LOVE my truck and it seems to me these should have been simple fixes that are now worse only because the scumbag dealership is trying to get out of paying to fix them.

 

Try to get your truck back from that dealership and bring it to your trustworthy mechanic who can fix all those problems for you without so much pain and headaches! I know that it will cost you money, but It's better than fight for months with your dealership! I understand that you have warranty, but with all those "repairs" you can loose much more money! Don't give your truck to the hands of dilettantes or people who playing dealership games!

 

Thank you. That's how exactly how I feel, I guess I just needed to hear it to justify spending money I do;t have on something that should be covered. But I even don't want then touching it again, instead of fixing it they just make it worse every time! grrr.

 

Your truck has under 100k, so am I right in assuming its still the factory warranty, or did you purchase a warranty from that specific dealer?

If its factory warranty, then you should be able to take it to any GM/Cadillac dealership to get repaired; take it to a more reputable shop. If its some other kind of warranty thats only good at that one dealer, then maybe the best solution is invoke lemon law, get your money back, and start shopping for a different H3...

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. The H3 is an awesome truck, I hope you get everything figured out.

 

I'm going to recommend you run...lol. been here done this and learned oh so many lessons. Stop. Don't do anything else. Evoke lemon law if applicable. Get a lawyer. Walk away. I spent a 3 + year period of my life with a cr@p situation on a new vehicle and it damn near destroyed me. It drains all the joy, fun and life out of you. Just go get a different h3.

Jmho.

Chris

 

Cars are meant to make life easier and more enjoyable. Period.

 

The difficulty with responding to your question is, you describe a certain noise or clunk.... none of us can hear it so we have virtually no idea what it could be, and any/all of it could be completely normal.

Like where you say: "Now when I am parking the vehicle, it pulls sharply in the direction you have the wheel turned in."

The H3 has a very tight turning radius (more than cars and street SUVs) to enable it to navigate around off road obstacles. So yes, when you turn the wheel way over like your last car it can turn much sharper than whatever you were driving before. There is a break-over point which you can feel. Solution, you do not need to turn the wheel that far.

Without attempting to get into the knee deep details you provided.... I got to ask: Is this the first FT 4WD vehicle you have owned?

Look up driveline slop. The 3 has a Transmission, Transfer Case (two range lockable differential) and a Front and Rear Differential with U Jointed shafts and front CV half shafts. So yeah, when you get on & off the gas while driving you can get some clunks which would be completely normal for every GM 4X4 vehicle I have owned.

I hope you get it figured out.