Skewed? Maybe, maybe not. I can only speak to my own experience, and extensive knowledge of machines as a mechanical engineer. I can state with absolute authority, that no machine is exempt from material fatigue, so ultimately, there IS a finite lifetime for a single chassis/powertrain. There is no escaping that. That said, there are environmental variables that will affect that lifetime... if for example, you happened to live in a very dry climate, free of airborne or other corrosives, e.g., salt, that period is going to be of longer duration. Consideration also has to be given to the fact that there are increasing levels of automation on modern vehicles, which are electronically controlled, fairly sophisticated and typically have a practical MTBF.

Ultimately, there are a lot of variables, but at least with regard to living in the northeast, specifically on the coast, I am pretty happy if I get 150K out of a vehicle.

 

It sounds like your shop is making lots of money off of you. I have 136k miles on mine, and I torture it, but have never had these problems. unless you are working the brakes really hard you should not have to replace them so often. I got 75K out of the original brake pads on mine. Maybe you should start doing your own maintenance

 

I was told yesterday that my H3 was used an example.

First off do a google search "H3ray" and all you find is drama filled posts ranting about the same thing for over a year. Nothing moves forward, nothing gets done with him. Its kinda like our gov't.

Either way, He's "loaded_38" on Pirate4x4 and I got a PM from him saying "**** OFF NUMBNUTZ" that was the extent of our very intelligent conversation.

Now onto the real question. As 3hummers mentioned my vehicle is in the extreme abuse category. With any vehicle that is being used to the fullest extent will have problems. I dont care if its a Hummer, Jeep, or even the best, most reliable truck ever the toyota tundra! (Hey Ray, buy a tundra and let me use it for a month, I bet I can beat the snot out of it and then let you deal with the repair bills )

Either way my 2006 H3 is the most problematic year and its been awesome. With the abuse of my transmission every transmission guy/mechanical person I ask my trans should have died years ago. My buddy jokes around because he feels that if he gets under his jeep and looks at his transmission the wrong way it will break the next time he drives it and can not grasp how mine is still functioning after all the abuse(overheating.) same with the t case and rear end. Now the front diff was a problem for me but I was able to make them last much longer then they should have. The thread you posted about the motor was a freak accident. No one understands how I randomly lose oil then add it all back and it never leaked again. We are all at a loss for that. Either way that can happen to anyone, its just a freak thing that no one will ever understand.

At the end of the day H3ray will continue on with his rants and will probably never sell the H3 because H3ray seems afraid to make decisions and move forward. Have fun in Brazil, I cant wait to hear from you in 6 months, try your best to not **** off the wrong person out there and get your *** kicked.

 

Could you give me some information on upgrading the battery terminals. I just bought an 06 with 7K miles and am going through a complete maintenance/upgrade task.

1. Flushing changing fluids
2. New sparkplugs
3. New battery (it's weak)
4. New wipers (they're rotted)
5. Lubrication - lots of unused things with little squeaks like the doors, rear hatch, etc. Some will go away when it gets warmer,

I had the moonroof seal replaced already.
I've got a TPM sensor error when the truck is cold, but need to wait for it to be a little warmer to go through the TPM setup sequence.

Also, the Onstar doesn't appear to be working (according to OnStar). I can call out on it to them, but they're telling me that they're not getting any data from the car. Is there a diagnostic I can run on this?

What else can you think of that I might do to keep the truck running dependably?

 

Battery Terminal upgrade is super simple. Buy a quality aftermarket set (you choose the brand) like Stingers. When you have your replacements ready, hack of the POS OEM terminals and install your set. You are welcome to do a SEARCH here for more info, details, other brands members have used, ...



Do not bother with the TPMS reset, but do inflate to 38PSI "cold'.
If that does not stop the false TPMS issue, your sensors are OLD, and batteries ware out, getting close to new ones for all of us. They were designed to last 10 years, but many don't get that far.

Last, OnStar sucks, complete BS. Many of us have killed it on purpose, you may have had that from the prior owner. Auto parts stores can scan for any code.

 

I have had my 2006 H3 since November 2005 and currently 78K miles on it and I am still very happy with it. Even though I had constant minor issues with mine in the beginning (mostly caused by the incompetence of the dealership damaging components), and leaking moon roof at one point everything was always fixed by GM and always had a free rental while under warranty. Since then I had to clean the MAF once, replace a sensor, and just a few days ago a thermostat, oxygen sensor and an ignition coil. For 10 years did nothing other then usual oil changes. Just replaced my original tires 2 months ago even though I probably still had 20K miles on the originals. Replaced brakes twice, second time just couple of months ago as well. Might need to replace shocks soon.

 

Well said 06 H3. Couldn't have said it better

 

I understand but keep in mind a lot of us purchased used Hummers with warranty voided. I have no warranty so if something breaks I am at the mercy of local rip off mechanics or the Stealership, and the Stealership where I live is a complete joke of Morons, Imbeciles and She-Men. They all know the H3 was discontinued so the general vibe is "F- you buddy". I tolerate this behavior because I like my H3 and enjoy driving it. The key is to locate a viable honest one off mechanic who is fair and reasonable.

Just my $0.02 worth opinion

 

Maybe it just means that real men with hair on their chest and dirt under their fingernails should be enjoying Hummer ownership. I don't mind working on mine and had a little celebration when the warranty ended.

 

find someone you trust, or start wrenching on it yourself. On the other forum you mentioned how you felt the dealership was trying to rip you off for a battery installation. If you dont have the time stop leave one night open to wrenching instead of hanging with all those girls you claim to get or suck up the cost and pay for it, which seems like money is no issue since you mentioned the possibility of a lambo purchase If neither of those options are wanted I often find creating a relationship (FRIENDS!!! Not the kind of relationship your probably thinking of ray) will often make them treat you nicer, giving you a much more fair price and a better overall experience but carrying on like an asshat usually will tick off mechanics and seeing they can easily adjust prices depending on who it is will definitely play a role on how you act.