2006 Hummer H3 3.5L

Summary:

Awesome buy

Faults:

None yet.

General Comments:

Awesome vehicle. Quiet at 70, great sound system, the sun roof is huge, plenty of room. I really bought this vehicle for the towing capacity and the off road ability.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th February, 2006

8th Feb 2006, 10:07

Please list the percentage of time you tow and go off road versus commuting.

I'm guessing it's 10% versus 90%

8th Feb 2006, 15:45

Please list the percentage of time you take your Toyota Prius camping and driving on potholed, muddy gravel logging roads.

8th Feb 2006, 19:22

Please point out where I stated I had a Prius.

The CLEAR majority of Hummers are used for commuting, grocery getting, and surmounting horrible speed bumps at shopping malls.

Therefore, my question is 100% valid, as the idea that Hummer owners are these outdoors people only using their vehicles to cross the Rubicon is FALSE.

2006 Hummer H3

Summary:

Door locks are a significant safety risk

Faults:

I owned my H3 for less than a week, and it was immediately broken into by thieves. At first I was mad at the criminals, but it turns out the most criminal bit is the design of the door lock!

I didn't notice that my H3 had been broken into until I went to get my briefcase, which was on the floor behind the driver's seat. The thieves did no visible damage to the outside of the vehicle; however they had managed to remove the lock core and gain access to my H3.

BEWARE!!! THE ONLY THING HOLDING THE LOCK CORE IN THE DRIVER'S DOOR IS A CHEAP PIECE OF PLASTIC!!!

That's right, plastic. The lock core is suspended off of molded plastic part, and it's only about 3mm thick. The thieves simply put a flat head screwdriver into the driver's door and pushed down, snapping the plastic. They clearly didn't have to push that hard, since the only other damage to the door is a tiny dent at the bottom of the hole, which was hidden under the grommet.

GM refuses to admit there is a problem, and they insist that the plastic bracket is designed correctly; they also refuse to fix it, claiming it is simply a case of vandalism. I beg to differ. I am an engineer with 7 US Patents, and 25 years experience in engineering and consulting. I've shown this cheap plastic part to my colleagues and clients, and they all laugh at it.

This design is nothing short of engineering incompetence, in my professional opinion.

Furthermore, the dealer and GM folks claim I was "lucky" that the theives didn't do more damage. I counter that you can't see a black fabric briefcase on the floor of the all-black interior through the tinted windows, and that the thieves merely broke in to see what was there, if anything. I also counter that the best security is to have the vehicle that is the most difficult to break into, which by nature pushes the criminals on to more accessable vehicles. Furthermore, when a crook can walk up to your driver's door and apply a screwdriver to gain access, they can appear pretty legitimate -- especially compared to breaking the window. In short, this is a major problem, and if your H3 was or is ever broken into, I suggest you immediately retain an attorney, as I have.

Keep your eyes open for a website organizing a class action lawsuit -- that is unless GM gets busy and pays me for my losses and commits to a recall soon.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 10th January, 2006

11th Jan 2006, 16:46

Perhaps if you had performed your engineering analysis prior to purchasing one, it would have saved you some outrage. Stated otherwise, research before you buy.

16th Jan 2006, 01:26

The power is fine. It goes 75 on the freeway with no effort.

If this is true, GM should get it together and recall the vehicle for upgrades.

I have one too. I already wrote GM about the issue because of this post.