2002 Buick Rendezvous CX 3.4 FWD V6
Summary:
LEMON
Faults:
First we lost all air conditioning due to an AC condenser with a hole in it. That was fun. Then the heat doesn't come on in the dead of winter at -40F and no way to defrost the windows... scraper to the rescue. But by the time I got to work with it (4 miles from home), the windows had iced up and couldn't see. So then the car starts over heating (according to the gauges), but still not heat. Finally the car just wouldn't start. One day it would start and the next it wouldn't. Off to the shop.
Replaced the thermostat, and the water pump. That should fix the heat, wrong. So now we replace the Idle Air Control Valve... not sure why. And replaced the throttle position sensor; according to the mechanic, that's why it would start every now and then. Didn't work. So back to the garage.
Mechanic did a dye test on the coolant, says there's combustible fuel in the coolant, so he says the heads are cracked, block is cracked or head gasket is bad. OK. Do some research on something called "Steel Seal", sounded great. Spent $90 on that and guess what... didn't work.
So now we're looking at $525 for 2 new heads and head gasket kit, plus another $900 for labor to put it all on. I WISH WE NEVER BOUGHT THIS CAR!!! Never owned a Buick, but it was only $3900 for it and was in great shape. Not impressed.
Never had a problem outta the Pontiac or our Fords. Luckily we have a Chevy pickup and a Ford Focus as back up. GM will never get my money after this. Not even for a free car!
Then we find out out about the class action law suit that was between consumers, Buick and Dex-Cool where the antifreeze was rotting the parts of the engine. Expired in April of 2009, we bought the car in June 2009 and no information provided to us.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 27th April, 2010
29th Apr 2010, 12:14
Seems like a double standard here. I just read a Toyota review claiming “legendary reliability” at 98,000 miles while a failure on a GM vehicle at 180,000 miles is a “lemon.” It’s certainly frustrating to buy an older high mileage car and then spend half the value of the car in repairs. But I think this just goes with the territory regardless of make.
29th Apr 2010, 16:19
My first car was a used '97 Chevy with 119,000 miles. I traded it with over 130,000 miles after 4 years and I only had to change an alternator. My next car was a '99 Buick with 114,000 miles, which I traded at about 145,000 miles after 3 years with minimal problems.
Currently I have a 2005 Buick that I purchased with 16,000 miles that has required about $500 in non-scheduled maintenance in the last 2 years.
Overall my experience with used GM vehicles has been very good. My next car will probably either be a new or used Buick.
16th Apr 2021, 16:39
Please exclude trucks from your blanket statement, as well as select vehicles. Our 4 cyclinder 91 Buick was at 260k when we passed it on to another family member, and it's probably over 300k by now with nothing but minor repairs like power steering and water pumps, and I think an alternator.
28th Apr 2010, 15:55
Wow, I can't believe anyone would buy a GM vehicle with 180K on it. I wouldn't touch a GM vehicle with 18K on it! I knew when I was 16 that virtually any GM product is trash, so it still surprises me when experienced drivers act all surprised when major stuff goes wrong.