Hiss- Uh Oh- big problem...

[ziemann]

Greetings all- I don't post often, but lurk here several times a day.

Just curious if anyone has had a similar experience as I did this morning. I drive my H3 about 1500 miles a week in a sales job in the upper mid west. This morning, it was about 50 degrees outside. I turned up the heat just a bit this morning to take the chill out of the inside of my truck. Immediately, I noticed the stench of antifreeze and the windows in my H3 started to steam up with a film of antifreeze. I knew immediately what had happened.

My H3 was purchased in Fargo, ND- unfortunately I was no where near there. It just happened that I was close to the only Hummer dealer in Minnesota (they have 2 locations). I pulled it in the service drive and the service writer immediately said, "thats not good"....hehe. I explained my situation and they immediately began working on my truck. Within a couple of hours they had the dash completely torn out of the vehicle and were already starting to reinstall a new heater core. They expected that that it would take quite a while to clean out the duct work and shampoo and clean the interior of the truck since antifreeze is all over.

The dealer knew that this is my work vehicle and bent over backwards to try to improve this bad situation. I explained to him that I was stranded there, and he offered immediately to get me a loaner. After a couple of hours of waiting, I drove out of there with a 2007 Cadillac CTS. I must say, given my foul mood and abrupt problem with my H3, he really went the extra mile to make me happy. I commend Wally McCarthy Cadillac/ Hummer in Roseville, MN for not only working hard to make a bad situation better, but they got me on the road in a great car so I could hit most of my appointments with customers today. They are truely a class act.

I am sitting in a hotel tonight, and hope to pick up my H3 tomorrow afternoon...

Again, I have lurked for a while. I have never read a thread about an issue like this...has anyone else? I am assuming it is a freak problem, although the mechanic working on my truck said this is the 3rd H3 in the past year he has seen like this....

[lotus4s]

Yikes, sorry to hear that. Good that they took care of you though.

How many miles on your truck and how long have you had it?

Maybe f5 will chime in with some warranty #'s.

[Alan06SUT]

Originally Posted by lotus4s

Yikes, sorry to hear that. Good that they took care of you though.

How many miles on your truck and how long have you had it?

Maybe f5 will chime in with some warranty #'s.

just trade hummers with one the florida guys, they wont be needing the heater.

Good luck and hope they get the smell out of the carpet, padding, etc. That antifreeze is very corrosive, so if they don't get it all up, it may lead to premature rust, etc. on whatever surface it touches.

[Hummer Guy]

interesting problem..glad to hear about the good service!

[westhillsat]

Glad they came through on the loaner


Bummer about the heater core

[Hmmm2]

Wow, I haven't read about that type of problem yet. Did the antifreeze spray out on you, too? Hope they take care of it all for you as soon as possible. A big ""to Wally Mc Carthy Cadillac/Hummer in Roseville, MN for taking care of you today! Let us know how your H3 is after you get it back... don't lurk! Join in!

[DRTYFN]

Originally Posted by ziemann

I am sitting in a hotel tonight...

2 things:
1. Don't touch the bedspread except to throw it on the floor. Lots of "bad things" have happened on hotel bedspreads and they don't get washed.

2. Check under your mattress.

Glad to hear that dealer treated you the way ALL dealerships should.

[f5fstop]

A blown heater core? Very uncommon problem, that is until over 150K on the odometer.

[RubHer Yellow Ducky]

Originally Posted by Alan06SUT

just trade hummers with one the florida guys, they wont be needing the heater.

Good luck and hope they get the smell out of the carpet, padding, etc. That antifreeze is very corrosive, so if they don't get it all up, it may lead to premature rust, etc. on whatever surface it touches.

Guess you were not here (Miami) when it SNOWED (i forget the year it happened)

Hey it can get cold here. I had the heat on in the house one time last year...

Glad the MN dealer was a BIG HELP

RYD

[CorvetteOJ]

YES! I have had my H3 for nine months and about three months ago, with only 2000 miles on it, mine developed a "cold coolant leak" as stated by the dealer. Mine never leaked inside, but after I shut it off, there would be a hugh puddle of coolant under it. I called my dealer (100 miles away) and he told me immediately what it was. He said he would send a flatbed after it and send the local Enterprise Rental agency to pick me up and get me into another Hummer or Cadillac. He did both exactly as he said he would. I am 60 years old and have owned 62 cars in my lifetime and have never experienced that kind of service from a dealer.

The problem was the heater core. They also removed all my dash and some of the right front fender liner to access it. The greatest miracle of all, when they put it all back together, everything still worked and there were absolutely no noises or rattles anywhere.

Yes, I too was shocked to hear that a heater core was bad so early in its life. At least mine was leaking on the ground and not in the interior. That is my "heater core story."

[cestwick]

We have had a couple of cores done at our dealership too..not a very fun job..

[HummerNewbie]

Originally Posted by Alan06SUT

just trade hummers with one the florida guys, they wont be needing the heater.

Hey, I think we saw 30* once or twice last year

Glad to hear they took such good care of you. Hope they get you back on the road today.

[wpage]

Was there any prior symtom ie low fluid prior to problem?

[Field Scout]

I had the same problem 2 weeks ago got truck back from service dept. working on radio trouble, noticed an oily spot on center arm rest. I thought it was just the tech guys not being clean, next day with a/c on high I start getting hit with what seems like condensation, call the dealer they say they've never heard of that and to bring it in on monday morning(It was 5:55 friday eve). 20 min. later I've got a pool of coolant in my passanger side floorboard. It's fixed now but still has a faint coolant smell mostly when you first turn on the air.

[ree]

Wow ziemann. I use to live in the St. Paul area. About two years ago I had a string of crappy experiences with them. It sounds like they might be shaping up. Good thing since I'm moving back to the twin cities next month and will have to deal with Wally McCarthy for something at some point.

BTW, if you don't mind can you PM me the service writer's name so I can see if he's improved or if they have new staff?

[SDH3]

Brainerd, Minnesota and Fargo, N.D. Wait a minute, I saw this movie, a car dealer has his wife kidnapped and tries to stick GM with phony sales. Good thing your dealer wasn't like the William Macy character. Wow!, you get some winter white outs up there. Glad to hear your dealer really helped. Now go to the Ramada Inn and chill out on the buffet. Aye!

[ree]

Originally Posted by SDH3

Brainerd, Minnesota and Fargo, N.D. Wait a minute, I saw this movie, a car dealer has his wife kidnapped and tries to stick GM with phony sales. Good thing your dealer wasn't like the William Macy character. Wow!, you get some winter white outs up there. Glad to hear your dealer really helped. Now go to the Ramada Inn and chill out on the buffet. Aye!

Uh. That dealership was in Golden Valley MN, (Minneapolis), not Brainerd

[Hmmm2]

Originally Posted by RubHer Yellow Ducky

Guess you were not here (Miami) when it SNOWED (i forget the year it happened)

I lived in Miami (actually Coral Gables) when it had snowed in Miami! i can't remember the year, either. I tried to take pics of it, but the snowflakes were so microscopic in size that they had shown up as looking like rain in the photos.

[ziemann]

LOL, thanks everyone!

Just got home. Picked up my H3 about noon today. Everything was back to perfect. NOT a grease spot anywhere from everything that was torn apart. They had detailed the interior and the exterior. They said they had cleaned all of the duct work and deodorized it. The carpet was also cleaned and smelled great. The truck actually had a new car smell again.

On the road, it was quiet. No queaks. I turned on the heat and the air and it smelled like the same stuff they put on the carpet. No antifreeze smell.

I commended them for their work and told them how impressed I was. Frankly, it seemed really odd...I am not used to that kind of service. They did make sure to tell me that I would likely receive a service survey in the mail. They asked that I rate them excellent. I am assuming that they receive some sort of incentives for this kind of rating. In this case, Wally McCarthy Cadillac/Hummer is deserving.

I am headed to North Dakota tomorrow again on a over night trip. I am confident that all issues were taken care of.

AND BY THE WAY- they replaced my roof rails!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Lastly, I must say I enjoyed the Cadillac rental. It was kinda fun to drive for 24 hours. But, it's still not as fun to drive as my H3...

(Wpage- no inital symptoms- I had never had the heater on. It just suddenly happened)

(Ree- I will PM you with the service writer's name)

[ziemann]

And to answer another question....it occured at a little over 16,000 miles. Mine was built in October '05. This is the very first issue that I have had with the truck other than the roof rails...which were no big deal.....