GM quality problems

[jlmartin99]

Just a quick comment regarding GM quality, from my experience GM quality has been excellent. However, I would say the same regarding my experience Lexus and BMW.

I purchased my first Cadillac luxury car, Cadillac's STS Northstar V8 in 2005 followed by Cadillac's XLR (Northstar V8). Both of these luxury models proved to be superlative luxury performance cars. So much so, when it came time to replace them in 2008 and 2009 I selected a new Cadillac’s Escalade AWD and Cadillac’s XLR Platinum.

I have had my Cadillac Escalade AWD one year now and again ownership has been excellent. I am now on my fourth Cadillac, huge in part due to my previous Cadillac ownership experience. From my experience I have only one view of GM quality, best in class, excellent.

JLM

[MalibuMaxxSS]

Originally Posted by calgaryhhr

Another such problem that I am aware of and have had problems with is brake rotor related. A lot of HHR owners (and from what I understand/briefly read it is also a problem with the Cobalt) have had brake rotors warp very early in the vehicles life. Mine were turned/machined in the first few months and turned a second time as well. Many owners have had their rotors turned a number of times during the first few years of ownership. Many have decided to purchase aftermarket rotors.

No manufacurer should warranty brakes this is completely due to customer driving habits, GM has a 25,000km 1 year policy here they will replace brake pads and or rotors for defects, but to many times I see people bitch and whine about brakes....stop driving with your foor on the brake pedal...

Got 67,000 HARD kilometers 40,000ish miles I think, on my SS malibu, a car KNOWN for supposed brakes issues, not one lick of problems with mine, original pads and all, JUST starting to squeel Im guessing cause they are down to the wear bars....brakes are driver dependent and if your going thru brakes every 20,000 miles, .................


relearn to drive.

carry on...goodthread so far, loving all the toyota bashing, and lest add these to the list


- the crank issues on their new Tundras upon release
- tailgate failures on the Tundra
- suffering the same frame rot as the Tacoma, and lets not forget hte ECHO, they had to replace the floorboards on ALL to fix rust issues.
- The camry falling off the 'recommend' list and below the Malibu, Accord, and EVEN the frickin Hyundai now. WOW
I will think of more here in a minute......

- OH OH OH the overpirced soon to be extinct Prius.....................GO VOLT

[MalibuMaxxSS]

Originally Posted by jlmartin99

Just a quick comment regarding GM quality, from my experience GM quality has been excellent. However, I would say the same regarding my experience Lexus and BMW.

I purchased my first Cadillac luxury car, Cadillac's STS Northstar V8 in 2005 followed by Cadillac's XLR (Northstar V8). Both of these luxury models proved to be superlative luxury performance cars. So much so, when it came time to replace them in 2008 and 2009 I selected a new Cadillac’s Escalade AWD and Cadillac’s XLR Platinum.

I have had my Cadillac Escalade AWD one year now and again ownership has been excellent. I am now on my fourth Cadillac, huge in part due to my previous Cadillac ownership experience. From my experience I have only one view of GM quality, best in class, excellent.

JLM

****IN EH!.....


hope you continue to enjoy.

[GMCSonoma]

Originally Posted by sonjaab

Wake up GM haters.........This is 2009 !!!!!!! Yes 2009 !

Toyoyo uses the SAME Delphi steering column/shaft in the camry and I
don't see too many complaints on the toyo forums.
And a 1982 celebrity?????? 28 years ago?

Quad 4s have been DEAD since 01? Ht 4100 been dead since 1988?????

Northstars haven't been having headgasket issues you may mean PULLING headbolts
outta the block problems but that has been corrected since 02?
I had/have 4 of them all run hard and put away wet with no issues.

Actually GM uses Denso columns, which also fail...


I NEVER heard of an I-Shaft issue with any generation FWD A body....now steering rack & pinions in the early ones, yes...a reseal and cold climate PS fluid helped those!

[sonjaab]

I got this info from toyoyo website and also this part source info. from elsewhere.

blundra Suppliers:
An American truck would have a lot of American components. An Automotive News report noted a number of suppliers for the Tundra other than the usual Denso (these are from all around the world):

Mahle (pistons)
CWC Textron (cam castings) Remember them "snappin' cams" in the truck that WAS gonna change it all? This is the un-identified supplier!
Siegel-Robert (grilles)
A. Raymond (connectors)
TRW (crash sensors, remote)
ZF (chassis components)
ABC Group (ducting)
Amtex (upper cowl insulator)
Pilkington (windshield)
Autoliv (passenger airbag)
Gentex (center console light)
AGC Automotive (rear door glass)
Harman/Becker (speakers)
Magna Donnelly (exterior mirrors)
CML (LED turn signal)
ITW (inside door handle)
Tenneco (exhaust components)
Metaldyne (hubs)
Leggett & Platt (manual lumbar)
Teleflex (seat control cable)

Delphi (steering column) Delphi steering components
NOW known as Nexteer a division
of the new General motors.

Dana (propshaft)
Dura (accelerator pedal)
Continental (stability control)
BorgWarner (friction plates)
http://www.toyoland.com/trucks/tundra-2007.html

Note that this was from 2007.

[Citation84]

Originally Posted by CadiEldo67

My power steering was very whiny as well. I checked the power steering fluid level (not an easy task) and found that it was nearly empty. This could just be a common problem on the most recent W-Body vehicles. My old Grand Prix never had those kinds of issues.

I also have an issue with leaky head and tail lights. On my old Grand Prix the head light fogged up, I got a replacement and that fogged up. I then got a 3rd free of charge and that seems to have done the trick. The tail light also leaks, it fills nearly 2/3 of the way with water so I drilled a hole in the bottom for drainage.

Another complain with at least three vehicles in the fleet would be Dex-Cool related. An '03 Montana, '03 Sierra and '02 Grand Prix all leak coolant (Montana may burn it) and it's sort of unacceptable.

These quality issues are fairly common and easy for GM to fix. Switch suppliers for head/tail lights and ditch coolant for regular green coolant.

Had the ISS problem on my 99 Cavalier bought new. Brakes needed to be redone every 24,000 miles. 05 ION has the POS ignition, bum sway bar bushings, leaking headlights, but still on it's 1st set of brakes at 40,000 miles [so no, it's not always the driver].

That GM knew about these bushing,and ignition switch problems within the first year of the ION being out in Fall of 2002, and for the Cobalt to have the same problems,the ION to continue to have the same problems during essentially the entire run says that, no, GM was not interested in correcting these problems but continued to use the same bloody defective parts for years after they were proven to be substandard in customers hands to cut corners.

The ISS problems still being an issue 10 years after my Cavalier had the problem is amazing.

All cars have problems, yes, but to continue build them into your cars long after the company knows they're installing junk is astonishing

[dr.gizmo]

The ISS problems have been around a lot longer than most people realize. The first I ever saw of this concern was in 1980 on the Skylark. There were bulletins written even then. No one is more frustrated than us technicians. We fix a vehicle and want it to stay fixed. Some of the bulletins on these are on their tenth plus rewrite. There must be much more technical problems involved in this than meets the eye.

By definition however there is no way to eliminate a common problems. Every car has them, I don't care what make or model, it is a result of mass production. All you can hope for the common problems are all minor and easily fixed. I am often frustrated to see a very reliable system that has been used for years replaced by something less robust and failure prone. Yet they stick with the new system stubbornly and loosing customers all the while. It seems the engineering motto today is to make it new no matter what and forget about what we have learned from the past. I have seen a problem that caused a recall and yet a new model comes out with the very same thing in it and causing the very same trouble. Is GM so big as to not know what is going on in the room next door? Overall I believe GM makes the best vehicles in the world for the money, I would not have spent my whole life fixing them if I felt different. I just wish they would leave things alone that are not causing problems, we mechanics have a saying, " don't fix what isn't broke". For me picking out a new car is strange because all I see are the problems. Do I want the car that blows intakes or the one that needs an ISS all the time, maybe the new one that blows timing chains? Then you spend the entire time you own the car waiting for that whatever to fail.

[ryannel2003]

The '00+ Cadillac Seville's also suffer from ISS problems as well. It's more forgiving in a $13k car, but for something that cost nearly $60k, it's absolutely not acceptable. The fact that GM is still having issues with this amazes me to no end.

[Citation84]

Personally I didn't post to bash on GM or the ION. And I don't care what Toyota does or doesn't do. But Bloody hell, GM., come on , same problems that are perpetuated over years ? How much market share do you have to lose to realize you have to do better than just have "something in the segment" to sell. Those POS ignition switches went into thousands of Colorados and Canyons as well.

That "perception gap" is built in at the factory because of stuff like this. Management can stop blaming it on customers being ill informed or sheep and brainwashed.

I hope they have learned something, but after watching the story unfold for 30 years or so, I don't think so. We'll see.

Perhaps I am so angry with GM right now I cannot be objective, but for the moment, my ION will be the last GM car I buy. They got so much of it right: Ecotec, Hydramatic, ride, quiet. This thing will still have thousands of miles left in it long after everything else has fallen apart.

It's a shabby way for any company to do business.

[2002 Caddy]

Originally Posted by Citation84

Those POS ignition switches went into thousands of Colorados and Canyons as well.

My Seville is on its second ignition switch too... common known problem... Switches are made in England... (Lucas?)

Replacing these dash mounted switches is NOT a fun project... So much casting flash on the dash support pieces... My hands looked like I had been juggling kittens.