No Serious issues, but the memory mirrors consistently lose their position and seem to aim wherever they feel like. I have had the mirrors reprogrammed twice and the actuators replaced once, and they are still aiming wherever they like.
Engine needed to be reprogrammed quite often to correct issues with stalling when cold and wheel turned fully in one direction.
Fan clutch needed to be replaced to prevent a "roaring engine" and lack of power when the engine was cold.
Leather seats are very cheap and prone to cracking no matter how often you clean and moisturize the leather. When the rear seat is folded forward, the seat pushes against the center console which can severely scratch the leather and leave an indentation in the seat.
The auto climate control will automatically turn the A/C on when engaged, which will kill your mileage.
Vehicle leans too much when cornering, which combined with a lack of side supports in the seats leaves you feeling like you will slide off the seat if you are going a little too fast.
Engine offers a good compromise between performance and mileage. Without the A/C running I get about 20 hwy 15 city and 17.5 overall. With the A/C on, this will drop to about 15 or 16 mpg overall.
The front seats are fairly comfortable except for the lack of side support. Center console is cheap and squeaks.
Onstar and Bose stereo systems limit ability to put after-market stereo equipment in.
Gets along great in the snow!
Original Reviewer...
Now at 4 years and 50,000 miles. Rust is evident on the inside of the right rear door. I'm guessing this is not typical? I have never had any vehicle show signs of rust this quickly.
Also, the center console has finally torn the leather on the rear seat. This is an obvious design flaw on the 02's.
I feel our 2003 SLE was a bargain at only $23,000 considering that virtually everything imaginable comes standard on the Envoys. We don't like leather, and our fabric interior has not shown a hint of wear in 40,000 miles of tough use. None of the power options has ever failed to
operate properly, and except for required servicing it has never seen the inside of a service department. We'd buy another in a minute if the mileage was better. 18mpg is hard on the wallet at current gas prices.
The early Envoys (the current body style) did have a lot of problems due to the idiotic computer system that operates everything (why they don't simplify all this crap and make it reliable is beyond me. Pre-computer cars were MUCH less of a headache). Most dealership service departments were totally clueless as to how to correct the problems, so there were TONS of irate customers that had lots of problems. We waited until 2003 to buy our Envoy and we have yet to have even a hint of a problem in 50,000 miles of driving.
As for the automatic climate control, ALL cars with this feature turn the A/C on to balance the temperature, even in the middle of winter. That was why we DID NOT buy this worthless and expensive feature. The manual system is great and works flawlessly. Same for the leather. Why people spend hundreds for something that is less comfortable than the standard fabric and feels like the vinyl seats in my old Plymouth Duster is beyond me. Our fabric interior looks as good as the day we bought it and is much more comfortable than the leather. If you want to impress people by wasting money, buy a Rolex and hang it from your rear view mirror.
I'd suggest reading the 1st review under the "2003" section. That one seems more typical of the average Envoy.
They seem to be very good vehicles.
About the automatic climate control, the a/c can be turned off unless you have the defroster on. You just press the a/c button when in auto mode.
I bought my 2002 SLT in October of 2001. Now at 130,000+ miles I still like the vehicle. Around 30,000 miles it ate the water pump bearing and the fan messed up the radiator and cowling. Since then it has mostly been electrical issues that come up. The mirror's memory has faded and it's developed a mind of its own, the 4x4 system had a "ground" problem in its circuitry, and the air conditioner off button is broken. The 4x4 currently doesn't engage although the encoder motor is now functioning after the board was replaced twice. My friend bought the same vehicle and his actuator in the front drive train froze up in 2wd. I'm guessing mine is the same - we'll know once the snow blows in and I finally bring it in to get fixed. I've had no issues with the leather interior and if you like toasted buns the heated seats are super hot on high. I don't know how my wife stands it on high. I rent cars all the time (including H2s & H3s) The H2 is awesome and no comparison, but I prefer my Envoy to the H3. The full size Yukon (Tahoe) is still about the best SUV ride out there.
I have been having the same problem as the first statement. I have been trying to figure out why the mirrors just seem to reset themselves, but I can't find any answers, but I do love this car.
A comment on tires: We own a 2003 GMC Envoy that came with the 17" Michelin tires. The traction and performance were great. At 70,000 miles the wear indicators were showing and it was becoming obvious that wet weather traction had fallen off dramatically, as should be expected.
Since this is my wife's car and her safety is VERY important to me, I wanted to purchase tires that would offer good traction. Since we have been SEVERELY impacted by the recession (I'm in home building and my income has dropped 70% since August 2007) I could simply not afford the $1400 asked for a new set of Michelins. The manager of the tire store I buy all my tires from highly recommended a tire brand called Nexxen. He said he had never had a single customer complaint on that brand. I had a set of them installed for only $560. I then took the Envoy out on the interstate and got it up to 105mph without touching the steering wheel to check for any signs of imbalance or instability. It was smooth as silk and rock solid. Last night my wife was caught in a blizzard (VERY rare here) and when she arrived home the car looked like she had returned from the Arctic Circle. Ice all over it and encircling the windshield. She said the traction of the new tires was great and she had no problems.
I wanted to pass this along because I know a LOT of us are having to really watch our budgets. The almost $900 I saved on these tires came in VERY HANDY for other needed expenses.
I love my Envoy. It's an 02 SLT AWD. Love it.
You guys will LOVE this. A very wealthy relative of mine finally got rid of his flawless 2002 Trailblazer. It had over 200,000 trouble-free miles. In March he "upgraded" to a new 2010 Mercedes because of the ego-appeal. This week he had a new engine put in it.
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