2002 Buick Rendezvous CXL from North America - Comments

We bought a 2002 CXL AWD Rendezvous with 36K miles on it 3 yrs ago - wish this website had been available then! Both front wheel bearings, drivers side door doesn't open or close correctly, the chrome wheels are peeling, brakes twice - front rotors warped AGAIN - A/C condensor (found an aftermarket place - Radiatorworld I think was the website) They were less than 1/2 half the dealership price for parts and a local repair ship installed it - total was way less than 1/2 of what the Buick dealership wanted. Now the paint on the hood has started to blister along the back edge - looks as though a seem wasn't sealed at the factory. Now I also have a squeal in the power steering and a knock in the left front when I turn under braking. What a piece of junk. I spoke with customer service at GM and they don't give a rats ***. It is amazing to me that with the number of complaints that have been made that GM acts blind to the situation - I am all for a class action suit against them.

I bought the 'Vous used and got a great deal (should have been my first clue) because it had high mileage. I thought that it was discounted because of the mileage being high... guess not! The first time I turned on the air, it didn't work. Took it back to Buick dealership and they replaced the condenser... they felt bad and covered half of the $1000 bill. It still doesn't blow hard enough to cool the car. I was told that the reason was because the head gasket needed to be replaced. Had to spend $1300 in January to replace the head gasket. I've been considering getting rid of it, but I really like the interior roominess and the comfort of the vehicle. After reading all other comments...I'll probably trade it in on a Saturn Vue. I would participate in a class action suit.

The comments here only confirm my experience with 2002 Buick Rendezvous CXL. I paid close to $48,000 with almost all the options, and now have paid more than $4,000 for repairs last month alone. AC condenser craked, engine gasket cracked and coolant leaked. yesterday, AWD disable warning came up so I went to the dealer, guess what? another $650. The GM dealer even said that it was a defective part, nothing that drivers of this car could have caused, because it was a computer part on the front right wheel.

NEVER BUY RENDEZVOUS!

As others, I really wish that I read this web site before I bought my 2002 CXL last year. I was choosing between a Lexus RX 300 and this car. I choose the Buick for several reasons 1. the cost 2. It had more bells and whistles for the money I was spending. 3. The room. First I would like to say I LOVE MY CAR, but I HATE ALL THE PROBLEMS.

Boy do I regret buying the car now. I have experienced all the same problems as everyone else. But thankfully, I did buy the extended warranty and do not have a lot of money out of pocket. -- Maybe around $400.00.

First week home the computer had to be replaced. 2 months later the intake manifold had to be replaced. 5 months later a/c problems. 4 months after that - the sensor for the digital display which tells you the temp in external and internal went bad. Month after that Back end starts to moan dealer said the back end fluid had to be replaced and probably should every 30,000 miles (I looked in my manual it does not mention this as maintenance anywhere) - replacing the back end fluid cost me $260.00. Another month goes by and I am now getting water in the tail lights. They want $500.00 to do this. I did not have this replaced yet because the warranty will not cover this because it is considered a water leak.

I am trying to convince my husband to trade it in now, but he won't because we still owe 4 more years on it. But I don't feel it will last that long.

Class action suit sounds good too me.

My only recommendation to anyone is who looking at these cars in to run the other way (don't walk RUN)

I hear your pain. I went thru the same thing and owed $15,000 and I decided to trade it in for a Toyota. I took a loss of $9000 but now I don't have to deal with the problems that the Rendezvous had. Getting rid of it will solve your problems as it did mine. I can rest in peace now.

Did anyone else get the notice around September 10, 2006, that because of the wheel bearing issue, (they are not calling it a recall), the warranty for the 2002 Rendezvous wheel bearing is being extended to 5 years or 60,000 miles? I was over 60,000 miles when I had to pay for my repairs, but you might be able to get reimbursement from Buick if you meet their guidelines.

I just purchased a 2002 Buick Rendezvous... the company I financed through purchased a 2 year warranty for me. After reading pages and pages of other comments on this vehicle.. I am now a little worried.

I think I made a huge mistake... It took several visits to get me to walk out of the dealership with a smile.

Again after reading this website I am extremely worried.

It has been a month and the brakes are squeaking.. I told the dealership I purchased the car from and they said "the car has been sitting a while, just wash the brakes"

With my previous car I was able to use the recycle air feature and the air would blow just as cold as if the A/C was on.

With the Buick Rendezvous I have to have the A/C on constantly. The car has 53,000 miles on it I purchased it for 9,000 + finacing 6,000. which totals $15,000.00

Any advice!!!

I just purchased a 2002 Buick Rendezvous... the company I financed through purchased a 2 year warranty for me. After reading pages and pages of other comments on this vehicle.. I am now a little worried.

I think I made a huge mistake... It took several visits to get me to walk out of the dealership with a smile.

Again after reading this website I am extremely worried.

It has been a month and the brakes are squeaking.. I told the dealership I purchased the car from and they said "the car has been sitting a while, just wash the brakes"

With my previous car I was able to use the recycle air feature and the air would blow just as cold as if the A/C was on.

With the Buick Rendezvous I have to have the A/C on constantly. The car has 53,000 miles on it I purchased it for 9,000 + finacing 6,000. which totals $15,000.00

Any advice!!!

I bought my Rendezvous in 2003 new. I have to say it has been the most reliable car I've owned. The rear tailgate handle has torn off and yes my wheel bearings are going on me, but otherwise I haven't had any problems. Maybe I got lucky since some of these posts are pretty scary. It seems the 2002 models had more problems, perhaps they corrected some of those after the inital year. My lease is up in march 2007, and I'm gonna keep it as long as it behaves through the winter.

I bought my Rendezvous 2002 CXL Versatrac, June of this year from a car dealer, drove it for 43 days, transmission went on it, my mechanic was taking it apart when he noticed there was a factory rebuilt already in it?, checked the vin and the dealership said it was covered, brought it in & they said the tran was covered, but the transferr case wasn't, so I bought a $1,000 transferr case brought it to them, a week later still not fixed, they called said the transmission was not covered?, just got it back yesterday after 53 days,$5,600.00) this car now has had three transmissions, & I hear the moaning in the rear end? "CLASS ACTION SUITE" yes please!

We recently traded in our 2002 CXL. Just like most everyone else we have had to repair the wheel bearings 3 times, replace the rear end fluid, A/C condenser, brakes, rotors. The final straw was when the car was 2 weeks out of warranty and it blew the head gasket. We also still owed money on our loan, but it was worth the financial loss. The car was in the garage almost once a month. It seems like a shame because the beauty of the car just sucks you in. We have called the GM complaint line and we cannot get them to return our calls. My recommendation to all of you who are wondering what to do with your car…GET RID OF IT!!!

I bought an 02 Rendezvous brand new. Minimal problems over the 1st 3 years under the warranty. Nothing that I couldn't handle. Shortly thereafter, I've had nothing, but problems. Here's my list:

Expected events @ 30,000 miles:

- New Front Brakes

- 4 New Tires.

Not-expected:

- Front Driver side door doesn't close properly

- Body Module needed to be replaced

- drained battery which then needed to be replaced

- Front driver window "dropped" without provocation

- Rear radio & headsets doesn't work

- Flickering lights in dashboard.

Now, I get the sense the rear brakes are an issue and need to be replaced.

This car is a lemon and Buick should be ashamed of themselves.

I purchased the 2002 Rendezvous CX from a friend with 6000 miles on it. As soon as the warranty was gone I had an AC hose that had to be replaced. Since the warranty was gone just 2 days and after a lot of talk I had to pay $200 for labor only because of a design defect. The hose rubbed against the AC and rubbed a hole in the hose. Later I spent over $400 replacing a gas tank. It developed a hole in the PLASTIC gas tank. Now I have had to replace the water pump and the lower intake valve. This cost over $1200 Just two days later I have had to have the brakes replaced for another $229. I think this car is falling apart. I owe too much on it to trade it. Yes, count me in on a class action.

I have not even gotten through all of these comments yet, but I am glad (and sorry) to know that I am not alone. My 2002 Buick Rendezvous has been an nightmare. I JUST hit 60k and things are getting worse.

FYI - FOR ANYONE THAT NEEDS TO REPLACE THEIR AC UNIT - GM HAS EXTENDED THE Warranty ON THIS!! I found this out over the summer when mine went. My dealer was nice enough to call GM and push them on getting it covered even though my regular warranty was expired.

Other issues - I had to totally replace the electrical system in the car. I swore it was possessed! The radio would randomly change stations, CD player turn off, rear latch pop (all the time), and the worst - the locks would click between lock and unlock at random. Now I wish someone would have stolen the thing when it was randomly unlocked!

Brakes and brake lines. Whoa. I have had both sets of brakes replaced and ALL the brake lines. They split, blister, and leak fluid.

Engine gasket replaced. Wiper blades (front and rear) replaced multiple times. Then I had to have the driver side door fixed because it actually went out of alignment when it was opened on a windy day!

There also seems to be an issue when I pump gas. The nozzle always clicks off when I have barely started filling it up.

The other day I saw water leaking from it. Now what does that mean? It is fall and I have not been running the AC for some time now, so it shouldn't be condensation.

I called GM directly (at my dealers suggestion) to discuss compensation for the repairs. They did not seem shocked at all when I called and named these problems. Of course they "couldn't say" if they were typical or not.

I really feel like the car is unsafe and I want to get rid of this before something really bad happens. Of course it is recently paid off. Figures.

Is there anything we can do? So many people are having so many problems! GM should not be able to sell cars of such shoddy craftsmanship!

Do you know how to find out more information on the extended warranty for the AC unit? I had to have my condenser replaced just last year for almost $1200. I would like to look into that and see if that should have been covered under a warranty.