I am going to be finally finishing grad school in about a month and am planning on getting a mid sized 4x4 shortly thereafter for all the times a lowered sports car isn't the most practical vehicle for Colorado driving. Mostly I have been looking at imports like the Toyota 4Runner and Landcruiser, since I have grown up around those trucks. However, lately the H3 has been catching my eye. If I get one it probably would be one with the 5 cylinder, manual transmission, and the off road package (locking diffs FTW).

If you guys don't mind, I would like to ask people that already own them a few questions. How is the H3's reliability? Any specific problems or quirks to keep an eye out for? Overall how do you like the ownership experience? Are they as tough and capable off road as their image and hardware projects?

thanks,
Matt

 

I've got an 08 Alpha so I have the V8 auto with the offroad package. No service issues at all in 10K miles. I've had it in deep sand, mud, rock, etc and no performance issues at all. I have not been in snow yet but lots of forum members have and they have performed very well. Some of the 06/07 models had a sterring shaft issue but there is a TSB/fix out for it. In my experience the H3 is a great 4x4 vehicle and drives/rides very nice on pavement also.

 

I liked the ride, level of power, and handling of the H3 when I took a test drive of a I5 powered one the other day, so the Hummer's design looks really good. I also liked its low crawl ratio and general off road setup. However, I really don't want to get one that will be a struggle to keep running well over the years.

After doing some reading one thing that really concerned me was the apparent faulty cylinder heads in some of the I5s. Have any of the H3s with VINs after 68287591 had the head fail? Though I know that it is being covered by warranty for the effected trucks, it raises concerns about the long term reliability after the warranty wears off. I want to make sure that whatever SUV I buy will last me a lot more then just 5 years and 100k miles.

 

The head issue was only on the 05s and early 06s. The 07s had a steering shaft issue that was corrected. Other than there have been no major problems. I have the later model 07 with the I5 engine and it has plenty of power. I've been to numerous off road events and have never needed more power.
Buy it, you may have to order a manual transmission there are rare. The Adv. Pkg. gives the locker and that low gear ratio, any other questions please ask.

 

Ah, that's good to hear. I will double check the VIN on any H3 I look at to make sure it isn't one with potential head issues. Comparing prices for new and low mileage used (like under 20k miles) H3s I probably would be looking at an 06 or so with the Adventure Package since those few miles of use cut about $10k off the purchase price. Yeah, I know that finding a great condition low miles used one with the manual and the options I would want will take a bit of looking but I'm not in a big hurry or anything so that's fine with me.

 

Be patient and you will find the right deal.

 

FWIW: When I was buying (new) there wasn't a Manual Trans / Adventure package on a lot in the country. If you hold out to find a used one, you may be waiting a while.

 

We've had plenty of snow this season, especially late heavy wet snow all month on and off. The H3 is a bit disconcerning in the slick stuff...it doesn't even move around!!! It's almost spooky how stable it is. No slipping, skidding, fishtailing, quirks, tweeks, NOTHING. Sometimes I wonder when it's just going to go out from under me but no way. I tried to get it outta shape and it's very hard to do. Better to just sit there and drive. We have an 06 with Adv, Lux, Chrome pkgs. Love it.

 

Well, actually I just checked autotrader.com and on that site alone there were 11 used H3s with the manual and the Adventure Package when you search nationwide. So maybe finding a good one with the right options combination after I get out of grad school won't be as hard as I initially thought if I am willing to take a little road trip to get it.

edit: went through that list and a few of them were miss-listed auto H3s but most were actually manual H3 Adventures.

 

https://www.hummerforums.com/m_153833/tm.htm

Might have one for sale, and i'll even deliver it! I personally haven't had any issues. I really like the truck, but with a baby on the way, I'm cutting costs wherever possible. 20k and it's yours.

Sorry for the shameless plug!