2002 Buick Rendezvous CXL from North America - Comments

Add me to the list. My 2002 Rendezvous has a blown head gasket that's in the shop as I speak. Would not have bought that junk if I known about all the problems the Rendezvous gives everybody. Class action law suit, I am with that. Will never buy an American car again.

WOW!! I am having some of the same problems as the rest of these people. As with many of those before me my 2002 Rendezvous is sitting at the mechanic as we speak. Estimated total at this point: $2300!! What am I fixing?

AC compressor/condenser $1800 and have to order from far away including gaskets/valves, filters

transmission needs "serviced".

Fuel filter.

A belt needs replaced.

Small engine oil leak, but he says "don't need to worry about it right now".

Back tires are wearing more than the front, almost bald.

Driver's window mechanism broke (not fixing that yet).

Probably many more problems I don't even know about. But I can't trade or get a different car right now, credit score is not good enough! So I am stuck with it for awhile.

Wish I would've seen all this a long time ago. :(

I got one, a 2003 Rendezvous in Sept of 2006.

Lately my driver window broke, thermostat broke, car starts when it want to, although everything checks out like battery cables and etc.

I hate this piece of junk, it costs too much money.

The problems started last November, and have been happening ever since, besides needing brakes every 9 months. I have already did 2 wheel bearing replacements in Nov 2007, and now they said I need both again. Husband can't work on it since the engine is mounted sideways so have no choice but to go the darn shop. They oughta be ashamed of themselves for making a car like this.

I've had my 2003 Rendezvous CXL for 3 years now. Bought it at 35k and put 40k on it. I love this car.

It's only problem was that recall on the front hub and we were at 65k. The dealership was a little hesitant to repair it because the deadline was 60k, but GM gave them full approval and it was done that night.

Other than that, I believe that the front traction control sensors are bad because both ABS and traction control lights came on about a week ago. I have never worked on this car myself, but imagine that I could fix this small problem with little cost.

My brother-in-law just bought a 2005; the owner before him thought that it was a lemon car because of the flickering lights and power would go on and off as it pleased. We took a good 2 hours and found that there was a bad ground. Replace the contention and POW works like it was new. The only gripe I really have is that we both paid about 2k more than it's worth now.

I live in Montana and bought this Buick in Virgina. If your having bad problems with your Buick, try getting it fixed by a "real" mechanic. Look into who works on your car. Problems like what are in this Blog are really only the owners fault. You can't blame the roads for your bad driving, or because you can't work on your own car, you pay so much to have it fixed. This isn't the best car, but for my family of 6 it's great!

Bought an '02 Rendezvous 2 years ago. Loved it that first year. Drove like a dream, good mileage, and plenty of room for us. Been to Michigan and Missouri with no problems.

Year 2 started out with heater problems, then the intake manifold gasket started leaking (although several mechanics told me that this is a problem for this particular engine). Tip here, when replacing the intake manifold gasket, replace the head gaskets. Both are common problems and is cheaper in the long run.

Replaced front brakes (normal) and put on a new set of tires (again normal). Started hearing noises from the rear about two months ago. Replaced the rear brakes myself then bought the aforementioned set of tires in hope of stopping the noise but to no avail. Thought it could be caused by the tires due to misalignment. Scheduled a four wheel alignment, and to my surprise when I found out that I needed both front brake calipers, a rear wheel bearing, and both rear knuckle bushings. All this for a measly $1500. Needless to say, if I had $1500 I could think of better things to do with it than that, so I bought the most important parts and did it myself.

Everything more or less went without a hitch until it came to bleeding the brakes. Did it the way I was told and when I backed up, I had problems stopping (not working). Thank God for mechanical parking brakes. Carefully drove the car home and tried to bleed them again. Still no luck so called some people for advice. They feel that the master cylinder is out or going. So here we go again. Should've known better than to buy the first year of a new model. Take my wife's advice, if you have full coverage, find a cliff and drive it over it. As for myself, I'll go back to my Chevys but without the 3.4L.

We bought a 2006 Rendezvous in Dec 2007. Thought it was a fine car, for the first 6 months. On a trip to Florida and the "AWD disabled", and "battery" lights comes on. Get back to Tennessee and take it to the dealer. They can't find anything wrong. Even took a picture while traveling down the interstate of the dash lights being on. The problem continues, so another trip to the dealer. Hope this extended warranty will cover it.

Same story. Got the vehicle from a "friend" who had put about 114000 miles on it with no problem. Only alternator replaced.

Month after I got it, new fuel pump (expensive). Dash lights, head lights, radio, etc started going in and out about 2 weeks after I got it. Goes into Security Mode and shuts down all things electrical, horn blowing, lights blinking, just a mess. Did the unhook battery thing for a while, does not work anymore. If I attempted to drive the car on days where the temp was 70 degrees plus, or if traffic was slow or at a redlight, car overheated, and this dance would be repeated. Come to find out engine cooling fans not working.

Took it to the dealer, just curious, and one very honest Buick mechanic told me to my face "Take this car to (national used car chain) and run with whatever they give you." He pointed out gasket leak which inevitably will mean new engine and several other things that are happening. I did not take it then because it was a hot day and the car was doing its possessed thing. Sounds like a relay is constantly opening and closing. I could kick myself because about 3 days later got stuck in morning rush hour traffic. Car will not start. No lights, no radio, no power, won't even click when I turn the ignition. Totally black.

By the way the service engine soon light has been on since the vehicle was brought off of the Buick dealer lot 6 years ago. Not one mechanic could diagnose one. The reality is...the RDV is a piece of junk. I truly hope that every complaint on this site has been followed up with a formal complaint. If not what's the point? We're not fixing each other's issues by venting. Honestly though, with the recent state of things with our American auto industry, do we really expect anything?

Add me to the list, I have a 2002 CXL, the engine light has been on for a while. The drivers side window is broke, the transmission is starting to go. The ball joints or something is starting to go. 113,000 on it now. Did a coolant flush, and run full synthetic.

Also my fuel pump module is bad, so the gas gauge isn't working.

Have a 2002 Rendezvous.

Condenser replaced.

Head gasket done.

Wheel bearings (twice).

Throttle sensor replaced.

Drivers window track replaced.

Now it is stalling on low speed, has a miss,

my mechanic can't figure out (no codes), guess it goes to dealer so I will at least be able to run it through the auction or trade in for a Honda Ridgeline.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS VEHICLE TO ANYONE!!

We bought our 2002 Buick Rendezvous used when it was only about 2 years old.

From the moment we drove it off the lot, it had problems. When we would stop for gas, it wouldn't start back up or it would just stall..

When we took it to the dealership, they ran codes and said we needed a new starter.

It happened again. We took it back to the dealer. They said we needed an ignition switch.

It happened again. We took it back to the dealer and they said it was the battery.

We moved from that state and continued to have problems. A friend of ours replaced the wires to the battery. We had the battery changed two more times over the next two years and the alternator was replaced. There were several other repairs done.

A couple of weeks ago we took it on vacation and an hour into the trip it stalled. It took us a few minutes to get started. A few minutes later, the battery light started blinking and the car began to ding. We pulled over but didn't dare turn off the car. When we realized it wasn't going to stop, we continued on our way and further down the road the security light was blinking, then the service vehicle soon light. Then next couple days we saw the check engine light, the high beam light blinking on and off, the air conditioner doesn't work and the vehicle starts to overheat when in traffic.

I do not want to fix it again. It is such a lemon. I just paid it off though and would hate to just throw it away (especially with all the money I put into it). Half the time the mechanics can't find anything wrong with it. This vehicle is a piece of junk!!!

I bought a 2002 RDV new. It has been an expensive lesson. I absolutely loved the car when it was working, but had pretty much the same set of troubles that are common on this site: wheel bearings, manifold gasket, head gasket to name a few. But the one that really gets me is the BCM. That is the computer that controls things like the lights, door locks, horn. That thing going bad is what causes the car to be "possessed" as described in the other posts.

I am in the electronics business and used to work with a person who said she had previously worked at the vendor that made that part; that there was a problem with the way the metal contacts were attached to the silicon chip; she even claimed to have done the failure analysis work on it. Yet despite that, and despite all the anecdotal supporting evidence, GM refused to admit there was a known issue with the part or mitigate the replacement cost in any way.

First model year? Aggressive design? Problems are to be expected. The test is how the manufacturer supports the "early adopters" and stands behind its product. GM failed the test miserably with this car.

Had they acted responsibly, I probably would have bought another GM car. But I will absolutely never, ever, ever, again. Just like I told them on the phone.

I am out one car, they are probably going to be out of business.

Anyway, I still have my 1996 Honda Accord which runs like a champ.

Oh my, why didn't I check this site out??? I bought a used 2002 Rendevous CXL with all the "bells and whistles" about 2 years ago that was a great vehicle up till now!! We needed the extra seating for our family of 7.

We did normal maintenance and repairs that is expected of a used vehicle with over 100,000 miles. Last month needed brakes, pads, rotors, wheel bearings, tires because they had worn unevenly and quickly, less than a year. Also had a feeling of trying to shift (this is an automatic) so after all this work about $1300 for parts and labor (done fairly cheap at a local one man garage) find out that the (shifting) problem is --- you guessed it -- transmission is fried!!! This is $2200+ job for rebuilt if you can find one.

So, needless to say I have a car that I still owe almost $8000 (try to get that on trade-in!!) that I can't drive and can't afford to fix!! What a rip-off. Never, never again!! Buick people don't care -- they hang up on me every time!! They say I am getting disconnected on my end!!

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM RUN -- DON'T WALK IN THE OTHER DIRECTION IF YOU EVEN SEE ONE OF THESE!!!

Would you all stop crying? My Buick is just fine; 2003, 72000 miles. Just take care of maintenance and you will save money in the long run. Quit scaring consumers. Deal with the decisions you already made.

ps sorry for yalls beginners luck. Next time get mechanic to check it out.

r. nostro orland.

I just bought a 2002 Rendezvous from a friend that was moving to Florida. It looked like a new vehicle all around. It is now in the shop for an A/C condenser compressor and what else, I am scared to ask!

I would love to be involved in a class action lawsuit. All aboard. rascaldog99@hotmail.com