GM Does It Again.....

It is telling that some here are so willing to call anyone that questions a US manufacture as a Hater. I've owned nothing but US made cars all my life. The first foriegn car I've owned was a Volvo with 330,000 on it. Never burnt a drop of oil or slipped a gear. Still have it. Does that make me a Hater?

I think I remember a little deal with Ford and some tires and the fire prone Pinto (Owned one and never got burnt). Or the brake and trans issues on the Ford pick up. Chrysler had a recall on automatic trans gear shift locks that would allow the trans to shift out of park. (Mine ran down a hill and hit a tree with my grandson in it.) Got a recall letter from them 6 months after the accident, Grandson suffered no damage thought the mini van was totalled

Check out the pictures of my front brake rotors with less than 60K on them from my Denali. So why did they rust on the inside.

IMG_0958.jpg

I work for a global company and we no longer own the car business even though they are still built in the original plants and under the same standards as when we owned them. Otherwise they loose the name. Does that make me a Hater?
 
my Avalanche has had 3 sets of front rotors and 4 sets of rear in 140k
the pads were still very thick at 100k but I replaced all with top end Wagner parts and no issues since 100k

I suspect heat dissipation is bad on the OE parts
 
We drive Audis and Acuras but I have to say I was impressed with a Lincoln Town Car that took us to SFO last week. It had 935,300 miles on it. The leather in the back set was a little worn but still looked very presentable. Been using the same limo company for years and the cars are all high mileage Town Cars. Most have 200,000-300,000 miles on them and still look and ride like new cars. The owner of the company does the maintenance by the book (no 3,000 mile oil changes) and runs them through a car wash every day. Ford seems to build pretty reliable cars although the Town Cars are very old designs. GM cars seem to scream "Look at my poor quality every day as you see them with one front running light burned out." What's going on with that? Now brakes?
 
[ GM cars seem to scream "Look at my poor quality every day as you see them with one front running light burned out." What's going on with that? It's called" Daytime running lights", and being that they are on all the time, the bulbs are burning out, you can program the car for them not to run during the day resulting in longer bulb life.
 
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susanandlance said:
[ GM cars seem to scream "Look at my poor quality every day as you see them with one front running light burned out." What's going on with that? It's called" Daytime running lights", and being that they are on all the time, the bulbs are burning out, you can program the car for them not to run during the day resulting in longer bulb life.
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Yep. Know what they are. Most new cars have them but it's the GM cars that seem to have one light burned out.
 
wazzuCMGrad said:
By the way, the hatred for the Detroit three needs to stop. They, directly or indirectly, are responsible for 10-15% of the US manufacturing, total, and whether you like them or not, their success is part of the engine of our economy.

I lived in Detroit for a year and saw first-hand what those systems are like. Knowing the folks on the lines, brake pads would be something that would be easily overlooked if you knew how the cars come down the lines.

I know our company isn't perfect; we shouldn't expect others to be either regardless if they received taxpayer assistance or not.
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searay215 said:
As a GM retiree.....
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I hate to rain on your "I LOVE GM" parade, but can either of you guys who profess to be familiar with GM explain to this poor ol' country boy how someone never caught these missing parts....on up to 4,500 cars? Doesn't someone drive the cars off the end of the assembly line to a storage lot somewhere? Doesn't someone on the QC team inspect the axle assemblies as they come off that part of the assembly line and before they're put into the chassis?

I'm not defending Toyota for their recall problems, but keep in mind one thing--those issues arose after the cars had been driven for thousands of miles, and those were DESIGN faults, not where someone just plain forgot to put his parts on the car as it came down the line. We're talking about two completely different sets of circumstances here folks.

Maybe the GM workers who were supposed to be putting brake pads on these cars were out partying on their lunch hours at the bars with the friendly folks from Chrysler (Google "Chrysler Workers Caught Drinking On The Job") or sharing a joint with their UAW buds.

Ya can't make this stuff up!
 
I got the same BS with the brake rotors on my Yukon and Silverado. The answers and reasons I get from the service manager at the dealer are rediculous.
 
susanandlance said:
[ GM cars seem to scream "Look at my poor quality every day as you see them with one front running light burned out." What's going on with that? It's called" Daytime running lights", and being that they are on all the time, the bulbs are burning out, you can program the car for them not to run during the day resulting in longer bulb life.
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It's been the law in Canada day time running lights must be on for many years. My 1995 never changed a bulb, my 1997, never changed a bulb, 2005 and 2008 never changed a bulb. My 1997 had 340,000 kl on it when I traded it in. My 2008 has 104,000 kl just about 65,000 miles, I think we have been spoiled over the years and just like to complain about it now. When was the last time you changed spark plugs? I remember changing them every 10,000 miles tops back in the 60's and 70's. Every 5000 miles for an oil change, my car tells me when to change the oil now and my first oil change when the car was new 11,500 kl and the oil was still at 80% they asked me why am I here. Headlights use to change them a lot even into the 80's always carried a spare bulb.
I laugh at people complaining about the unions and the cost of the car, GM at their last contract talks in Canada said the Impala has $900.00 in actual labor the rest is parts. Guess we need to start making all our parts in China like a lot of the off shore companies do to satisfy some here.

Ken
 
sbw1 said:
Yep. Know what they are. Most new cars have them but it's the GM cars that seem to have one light burned out.
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I have an Ol' 97 Lumina, (commuter car) that has them, i've only replaced one bulb, in the three yrs. I've owned the car, and i commute 120 miles round trip everyday. I can't answer the bulb burn out problem any better, but to me it's not a big deal. If all i have to worry about is a bulb every now and then, big deal. I love that old commuter car, it has 150 thousand miles now, burns zero oil, ice cold air, and I haven't done s@#@ to it, other than reg. maint. I also have an 04 Ford Taurus (hate that POS), the lumina gets 5 mpg better mileage, rides better too. Last toyota and only one I'll ever own was a pick-up, eng/drivetrain was excellant, but when you'd lean against the fender it would buckle like a beer can, and had problems w/rust real bad. So, my opinion, all manufactures make POS's, just the way it is, I guess. I love my 01 Suburban, tows the ol' 280 to the boat ramp pretty darn good.
 
floriduramax1 said:
I still don't see how any vehicle could get all the way to the customer missing a brake pad:huh: It would have to grind:smt021
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I think this proves how high quality the rear brake componets are. Owners did not even notice a lack of stopping power while running on only the rear brakes. :grin: (Just Kidding)

sbw1 said:
Yep. Know what they are. Most new cars have them but it's the GM cars that seem to have one light burned out.
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Um, you should probably know that the DRL bulbs used in GM vehicles are probably the exact same bulbs in just about every other brand of car on the road. I recently replaced one of mine (original) and as I recall it was a Sylvania bulb. I think this is probably just one of those "things" you notice and focus in on when on the road, kind of like it seems like for me, every single time I get behind someone going 8 miles an hour under the speed limit or cannot make up their mind on a parking space in a parking lot, it seems like there is a Toyota emblem on the back.

Gofirstclass said:
I'm not defending Toyota for their recall problems, but keep in mind one thing--those issues arose after the cars had been driven for thousands of miles, and those were DESIGN faults, not where someone just plain forgot to put his parts on the car as it came down the line. We're talking about two completely different sets of circumstances here folks.
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You do have a point here, however if you will think back to all of the recalls Toyota had in the past couple of years, several of they were problems Toyota knew about and had been covering up for years that came to light when all of their "dominos started falling". Some problems they still have not admitted to for instance the Toyota engine sluge problem on cars built in the 90s till early 2000s. I wonder how many "recalls" Toyota should have had that have never been sinply because they would not admit to them.
 
moparlvr4406 said:
my Avalanche has had 3 sets of front rotors and 4 sets of rear in 140k
the pads were still very thick at 100k but I replaced all with top end Wagner parts and no issues since 100k

I suspect heat dissipation is bad on the OE parts
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Got a a set of Wagner rotors and ceramic pads at Advance Auto. Problem solved! BTW the dealer paid for the parts and I did the labor. Stand up dealer for a car out of warranty!
 
OldSkool said:
Got a a set of Wagner rotors and ceramic pads at Advance Auto. Problem solved! BTW the dealer paid for the parts and I did the labor. Stand up dealer for a car out of warranty!
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How many miles on the Wagner rotors? Do they show any unusual rusting? My rotors don't just rust...they rot if you know what I mean?
 
Woody said:
How many miles on the Wagner rotors? Do they show any unusual rusting? My rotors don't just rust...they rot if you know what I mean?
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Mine are at 40k and clean front and back
the Thermoquiet pads handle getting rid of the heat very well too
 
I sold my 2009 Cadillac STS last December. I sold it to.....GM.....they were forced to buy it back under the Lemon law. I've owned three cadillacs. EVERY one of them had numerous problems. As long as I can keep the admiral out of the show room...( they do make a pretty car)...I will not buy another cadillac....EVER!!!!
 
OldSkool said:
Woody, I only have about 10,000 miles since I put them on. I'll check them and get back to you.

By rot do you me this?

View attachment 23101View attachment 23102
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In the end I know it's all just rust but mine are literally falling apart in chunks. I have never seen rotors go to hell in all my years like this. Yes mine are similar to yours but many times worse in 12-18 months. The original rotors on both vehicles did well until wear required replacement. The new rotors put on are junk but the dealer tells me they are the same.
 
Random thoughts:

If you used the word "hater" to describe someone giving an opinion...

If somone bought a car they paid the price of admission to praise or bash it.

If you work there you can priase or bash it as well.

If you are a taxpayer forced to "save" a company you can praise or bash it.

If my company made it and it was bad I'd be embarassed.

If ANY of you went to a shop for a brake job and they forgot the pads they would be creamed in this forum.

There are different levels of recalls and mistakes. Seems forgetting a simple component is a bigger deal than finding out that some steel didn't get annealed properly or a cutting edge micro-circuit failed even after exaustive testing.

My 98 Tahoe pads and roters were toast after 17k My original 05 2500 Suburban brakes are still going at 102k. They can do it.

MM
 
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