My right wheel fell off...

[Biff]

I have a serious problem with my 2003 H2. My right front wheel and inner backing and axle came off. The lower flange broke away from the lower A-arm. This happened while I was driving on a paved road near my house. The A-arm hit the ground and spun the H2 off the road and into a tree. The right wheel's brake backing plate and axle came off all in one piece. Except for this one flange, the remainder of each front wheel is held in place by only ball joints. The upper flange is attached to a ball joint. The lower flange is a major structural component of the front end. There was no impact to any of the parts of the right wheel assenbly or axle even after I was thrown off the road. Obviously the brake line and ABS circuit was severed immediately. I had no brakes and little other control. After the H2 hit the tree, it came to a stop. The bottom of the tree stayed stationary, but the top of the tree broke off and came down (HARD) on the right windshield post, bending the post and shattering the windshield. With no front wheel, the H2 does not have any mobility except for skidding and sliding.

The front-end on a H2 is identical to Chevy and GM trucks. The new Chevy SS has the same front-end.

"Why is this?", I ask rhetorically.

GM says that the wheel broke off due to driver error or in-attention. They will not provide any letter stating anything. The dealer deferred to the GM Zone Manager, because I am a "good customer". I include quotes because that is how the dealership's General Manager introduced my case to the Zone Manager. The Zone Manager inspected the vehicle two days after the incident. It took him a month to call me. The vehicle has been there for two months. During this time I made an appeal to the GM Allegation Department. The Allegation Department called me after about a month they said that they have to concur with the Zone Manager because they don't disagree with Zone Managers. They made no inspection that I know of. They did, however, call the Hummer Technical rep at the dealership and asked him if the wheel came off before or after I went of the road. He said he didn't know.

The vehicle has about 2500 miles on iot and has spent over four of the five months that I have owned it at the dealer. First to go were the transfer gears. Apparently a re-design was being done at GM while the vehicle was down for this problem. GM shipped no parts until the re-design was done and the new parts manufactured. Apparently the shift mechanism was made out of plastic.

The only time I took the H2 off-road was to go to a Hummer rally sponsored by the dealership.

I feel that GM is acting in bad faith.

The dealership offered me a $35k Chrysler Crossfire in trade. I paid cash for the H2, an LL model that I paid $61k (cash) for. They have estimated that are $14k in damages to the vehicle from the tree damage and the right front axle and wheel damage. They presented this as the worst-case-scenario cost. I realize that it is a little high, probably twice the actual cost.

I'd appreciate some feedback. Pictures and videtape are available.

Biff
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Biff.HATEs.his.Hummer@Biffs.Biz

[This message was edited by Biff on 10-29-03 at 09:51 PM.]