Lurching 40 to 50 mph slight hill

[Dave LV]

Drivetrain shuddering problem has worsened in last 1000 miles. Now happens pretty much full time. Feels like miss in engine plus unbalanced tires. After two tries, determined to be "normal".

My present guess is that it is the transfer case since it happens even when the transmission is in neutral.

I am surprised no one else is noticing this since according to the dealership all three of their loaners have the same shuddering.

By the way, lemon laws appear to be somewhat useless in that if it can't be repaired in X times (usually 3 or 4 tries), then the car must be bought back...but what happens when manufacturer says defect is "normal" after 2 repair attempts? A loop hole that needs to be corrected.

[f5fstop]

Find another dealer, that is not normal. As for the dealer's statment, do you believe a dealer who won't repair your vehicle? If a dealers cannot find the problem, they love to say it happens on all H3s. Then you go to a forum and find out it is not normal. Odds are the dealer is full of s**t.
Personally, with your miles and my guess at when you purchased the vehicle, I would go after the rear diff.
If you had the cylinder head problem, you should set a code for misfire. However, if your rear axle is going, it will give the same symptoms, especially the unbalanced tire feel. Early, prior to August of last year, some of the rear axles were produced with lapping compound left on the gears, and this destroyed the gear set.
If you have a legitimate problem, three trips to the dealer is as good as three attempts to repair the problem in most states.
I go back to my first statement...find another dealer.

[Dave LV]

Actually, I have no complaints with the local dealer. They are trying to fix it and opened a case with GM corporate, but GM is the one that is saying it is normal after directing certain tests be run. The dealer must now wait for a GM representative to OK trying part replacements such as torque converter, transfer case, etc, or to request an engineer come observe the problem. Without GM's OK, nothing more will happen except arbitration.

Did you drive any of the H3 loaners to see if they really felt the same?

S.

[usetosellhummer]

Your dealer is weak, a call from the woner or GM can get things moving. Call Hummer customer service direct. You are too nice or your dealer is jerkin you. They did not build this many trucks to have this kind of problem. Did you won a truck before? The H3 is a truck and will react alot diffrent then fu fu unibodys. Make some noise and calls. Call who your lease is with. GMAC ? get some people working for you.

[lance-n]

I agree. MAKE SOME NOISE!!!
Don't forget to be grateful that you aren't over 1,000 miles from the nearest dealer!!!

[Dave LV]

Now at 12000 miles and vehicle still jerks at slight throttle once the torque converter locks. It is in the shop now to be investigated. The loaner has the same problem, if not worse, with only 1200 miles on it.

I am surprised that no one else has this problem since it appears to be a generic design defect according to what I've been told and experienced.

Perhaps driving on flat or slightly inclined roads at 40-45 mph is not common?

Oh, and to those who doubt, even my wife who is not a car nut notices the problem now. Also, I have driven probably 100 rental cars and owned about 20, none of which have had this anomaly. My guess it is related to the full time 4wd and how the slip shafts are arranged with the transfer case which is free to rock back and forth. Does anyone know of a shock absorber for the transfer case?