[Ed Coryell]

I had a similar problem with my H3 about 4 months ago. At about 8,500 - 9,000 miles, I started hearing a grinding noise when coming to a stop that I thought at first must be a problem with the brakes. I took it to the dealer (Hall Hummer in Virginia Beach) and after two days of looking at every possibility, and several phone calls to the factory reps, it was determined that the problem wasn't with the brakes, but rather with the transfer case. The rep suggested they cycle through 4H - 4H-locked - 4L to see if that fixed the problem, and it did. They said that they were going to start recommending as part of the 3K oil change maintenance that the transfer case also be cycled at least that often. It's been almost 4,000 miles since then and (knock on wood), the grinding noise has not returned.

BTW - I bought one of the first H3's off the lot here in June 05, and am very happy with the vehicle. Haven't done any serious off-roading yet, but did drive it through a snowstorm in NY last winter, and it handled great.