Our 2006 H3 had the first major problem in approximately 1 year of ownership last Sunday. It has roughly 15,600 miles on the odometer. My wife drove it up to the store. When she came back out and started it up, it made a horrible sound and a burning smell. She called me and I told her not to drive it.

We contacted ONSTAR, and they promptly sent over a flatbed truck to haul it to our local dealer. I was actually quite impressed - this was Sunday of a holiday weekend, about 11:00 AM and they had a truck there in less than an hour.

It turns out that the bearing seized in the water pump. The burning smell was the belt burning on the pully, and you can imagine the noise that it made. It was repaired in one day (without an appointment) under warranty was ready to go this evening, including an oil change! Kudos to Kelley Saab Cadillac Hummer in Fort Wayne, IN. The dealer said this was the first water pump failure they have seen on an H3, so I am hoping it was an isolated incident. Any others out there?

Dennis

 

It's good to know that it was repaired without any delays.

 

Yes, I was quite pleased. It's nice to have a good experience at the dealer.

I picked the H3 up this morning, and all is good.

Hopefully we'll have more problem-free driving ahead.

 

You were on top of it and did the right thing. You can seriously overheat if you try and drive with a cooked water pump, like to the point of damage very quickly. Good job!!! Enjoy the forum.