Stupid engineering.....

[badfish82]

I own alot of cars, some work some dont. Lol i like too beat them up"way of the world" who does not? One of the biggest pos's i have is my newest its a 2004 trailblaser. My wife drives it the thing has never had a good ass beating in her possession, aside from brakes 6000 lbs stops in 10 feet. All that aside this thing is a heap, the trans lines run against the block, rotted so bad they burst going down the road. She almost toasted it but felt slipping and pulled over towed ect.. Today im driving it and all of a sudden no power steering loud pump wtf. I pull over and look too see where the leak is. The pump is on the passengers side and i trace the lines around the front and up the drivers side too the top of the shock tower where the lines are metal too metal attached no clips just a big dumb looking bracket...never will i ever buy a gm suv again.[IMG][IMG][/IMG][/IMG]

[badfish82]

[IMG][/IMG]

My 21 year old cb is more reliable than this 8 year old heap...really chapps my ass lol.

[wed3k]

That's one thing I can't understand, I'd love to buy american but the shit is just garbage. I think I'd almost would rather have a Volkswagen ( oh wait I do...)

[wildBill83]

Too many [img] brackets ...

Thanks for the heads up, going to check the trailblazer at home for the same issues.

[Granite CB7]

Not very well though out at all, just a great place to hold water and salt right against those steel hardlines

Reminds me of how dodge clamps these mild steel brackets/holders onto their brake flexlines. Well, the steel ends up rusting and swelling so badly that it literally chokes/constricts the flexline. Then you're left w/ partial fluid flow, then some of the calipers can even seize up from the lack of activity @ the pistion.

[alan lx]

It's sad in a way. You know there had to be a few smart people at GM when some of this stuff was designed. And I used to be a die hard GM fan. Still am at heart for the old cars. And some of the new GM stuff is good. But its stuff like this that in a way got my interest in the imports, and to Honda, and to this forum. Keep it up GM!

[badfish82]

Ya those brake line brackets suck ive had that happen. I just cant believe how many stupid line issues, electric it even kills a gas cap in a month. Cel comes on, ive owned this for a year and im almost ready too finish this thing and get her another tank.

[GeoffM]

Ford is no better.
Tried to change a crank sensor on an 05 Crown Vic.

The compressor is exactly in the way. We're going to have to remove the serpentine belt, compressor, and then we can finally get to the bastard.

[deevergote]

American companies are just now starting to realize that "buy American" isn't going to keep selling their cars much longer... and foreign engineering has long since surpassed much of what American companies seem to do by default.
The American companies have also been using essentially the same engines and transmissions (with minor variations) in all of their vehicles for the past... crap... 20 years? 30 years? 40 years? More?
Meanwhile, Honda has pretty much phased out every bit of technology found in the old F22As that came in our cars. The K series has very little in common with the F.

The old designs are tried and true, and they can be solid... but a car built around an engine that can trace its roots back to the 60s will be adding a ton of extra doodads that weren't around back then. Rather than reinvent the engine, they just work the new junk around it... and it turns into a complicated mess!



I have 3 cars: my 92 Accord, which has never failed me (I've failed it... but even in my greatest moment of failure, it still got me home.) My 09 Fit, which has 283,000 miles on it (2 clutches and a blower motor... NOTHING else needed repair.)
And my 06 CTS-V with 100,000 miles. A top of the line performance model from GM's top of the line brand. Running an engine from Chevy's world class performance car. I love my Caddy... but that thing has more wrong with it than the CB7 and Fit combined! Suspension creaks, worn bushings making everything clunk, broken motors for power seats, an engine that MIGHT be knocking... or it might just sound like that normally... A rear diff vibration... and a "low oil" light that comes on after 3000 miles (apparently, up to 1qt oil consumption per 1000 miles is "normal", according to GM... but my Fit goes 10,000 miles without dripping or burning a drop!)

[ON_N20]

Welcome to the world of GM

I work on all makes and models on a daily basis, and I really feel that most GM's are just built with unsatisfactory quality. I cant count how many low mileage Grand Ams, Grand Prix's, pick-ups ect that I lift up and the brake lines and fuel lines and so on are just horrific and rusted to little twigs. My 22 year old Honda's vital lines appear nearly new, and thats after driving through every Wisconsin winter since it was built.

And thats just the tip of the iceberg. I have repaired countless GM v6 engines with intake gasket problems. I have seen unusually high numbers of suspension related faults, and frequent visits into the shop for check engine light related issues. GM continues to use their signature "deathcool" coolant (dexcool), which they still swear by. Not trying to pick on GM, but it does seem like they have a much higher problem per car ratio than other makes and models. I've always thought of GM vehicles as temporary transportation Oh well, it keeps me employed

It does appear though that GM, like Ford, may be increasing their quality with the newer product lines coming out today. Time will tell

[GeoffM]

a "low oil" light that comes on after 3000 miles (apparently, up to 1qt oil consumption per 1000 miles is "normal", according to GM... but my Fit goes 10,000 miles without dripping or burning a drop!)

That's actually true, and hilarious.

[deevergote]

My 02 GTP was such an awful vehicle. I drove that thing into the Honda dealership the day I bought my Fit with no gas in the tank. I told them there was no way in hell I was driving that stupid GTP off of their lot!
Multiple oil leaks, 4 blown shocks, an interior that was falling apart, major transmission issues (including random "limp modes" instances that nearly got me rear-ended on highways.) Not to mention the lights with terrible output (fixed with HIDs), and the brakes that didn't even stop the damn car (fixed with 04 Grand Prix upgrades.)
The 3800 under the hood was directly related to the engine found in the Grand National... a very well respected engine, apparently.




American cars today really do seem to be made better. Magazines seem to like new American products, but I can't tell if they're not just doing their part to "bail out" the American companies.

[Domesticated]

I think Edmunds top ten worst cars list about 6-7 GM related models. Not that I'm biased or anything...

[SOHC-FTW]

Love GM personally i've had quite a few and some well over 200k, but newer car's IMO are built like crap in the first place. I've seen hondas from 2000+ that are just junk and falling apart same goes for others aswell. I know alot of it has to do with the owners.

[Losiracer2]

My 09 Fit, which has 283,000 miles on it (2 clutches and a blower motor... NOTHING else needed repair.)

283k and still on the original shocks? thats pretty impressive.