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SUVs Buick Rainier Buick Rainier, Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy
18277 messages, Last post on Nov 18, 2009 at 6:43 AM
You are in the Buick Rainier Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
| I think that you may have copied and then pasted you posting just one too many times. Maybe you can still fix it if you get here soon. | |
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I'll start with my bottom line. The more I drive this, the more I like it. Great truck! I' ve got a black Envoy SLT 4WD, rear locking diff, heated leather seats, polished wheels. Took delivery in mid-May, so the front end TSB had already been done. Price was $32,200 with the GM supplier discount. I pay cash when I buy, so I can't say what the lease terms would have been. Problems: Only one very minor one. The center console was loose and squeaking. The dealer pretended to fix it ("they're all like that"). I fixed it myself by disassembling the console, putting felt where things rubbed together, and putting loctite on the screws when I put it back together. Squeaking is gone. Took all of twenty minutes and was easier than arguing with the service manager. Aside from that, everything else seems to be screwed together properly. This is the first thing that I have ever bought from GM, and I was more than a little worried about how good or bad the quality would be. (My mother's Chevy Celebrity was a sad, sorry excuse for a car) I've been very pleasantly surprised by how good my Envoy has been so far. Hope I can still say that at 50,000 miles. This is a great vehicle for a tall person (I'm 6'4"). There's plenty of leg, elbow and headroom for the driver, and the driver's seat is almost perfect. The front doors are long, so it is easy to get in and out, and the b-pillar doesn't intefere with visibility. The rear hatch opens high enough to clear my head and the load floor is just the right height for me. Thank you GM. The engine and drive train is surprisingly smooth. I have no complaints about the power. The transmission shifts smoothly and predictably. The gas mileage is a lot better than I expected: for June, I averaged 18.2 mpg; for July so far it is 19.4 mpg. (80% highway, both months) It used a quart of oil in the first 1,500 miles. At that point, I did the first oil change (Pennzoil 5W-30, AC-Delco PF59 filter). There has been no further oil consumption. The overall vehicle seems very quiet, solid, with a good, smooth ride, and no shakes or rattles. It seems very nimble for a two ton plus vehicle. The steering would benefit from more on-center feel, but is otherwise quite precise. It tracks very well on the highway. I haven't had the problem with wind noise that others have mentioned. (I followed the manual's instructions for placing the roof racks. Maybe that helped.) There's plenty of room for my requirements for carrying people (three of us plus the cat) and stuff. Some pleasant surprises: -The instrument panel and switch lighting is very well done. -It's very easy to fold down the rear seats compared to my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee. -The oil filter and drain plug are accessable. (My last car was a Lincoln Mark VIII - bad filter location) Basically, I'm *very* happy with this truck. I get the feeling that the people who designed it and built it were really paying attention to what they were doing. But I'm also an engineer and I can't help having a few suggestions for the "next release"..... Notes to GM for future improvements: - If you could make the lumbar support adjust a little higher, and get a little smaller, the driver's seat would go from being almost perfect, to perfect. - Did you really need to use so many *different* textures of imitation armadillo hide on the interior plastic bits? It makes the interior look a little cheap. Please check out the Acura MDX interior when you decide to do the "Envoy Denali" - There's a hands-free phone setup here that I can't *use*! It would be nice if I could use the Onstar hands-free phone equipment with *my* cellular phone. Onstar wants nearly triple what I pay for a minute of cellular. Do they really think I'm dumb enough to pay that?? I hope this helps.... Regards, Dennis |
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| Has anyone had a problem with the black trim on the exterior of the doors. Mine seems to be fading fast. I have washed it three times so far (I can't stand a dirty vehicle) and it seems to be getting worse. Should I be using so kind of spray on these plastic/rubber parts? It shouldn't be looking like this yet. I have to have the exterior handle on the back seat door replaced, and the cargo storage area cover replaced. Other than that I love this SUV. Took it on a trip with a full load of beach stuff, two kids, two adults with the a/c running full time and got 20.8 mpg on highway. I now have 1,000 miles and the mpg has improved from 16 to 20. Ordered the Husky floor liners and they made clean up so easy, nothing worse than vacucumming sand.. Thanks if anyone has suggestions for the trim. | |
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sostrouble, I ordered my running boards through a dealer at 10%over cost. GM Parts Direct have them listed for $228.00 each board and $2.00 for each bolt X 24. These are the factory running boards for 2002 Envoy. Part nos. are Step 1 ea.15044601 list $380.00 Step 1 ea.15044602 list $380.00 bolt 1 ea.11518482 list $3.33 If there is a one part number kit available, I'm not aware of it. |
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| I wouldn't be suprise if the dealer prep'd (detailed) the trim with some form of Armor-all or black polishing. After a couple of soap washings, it can show a "fade" look. Are there any other places where the black looks dull? | |
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I'm expecting to take delivery of my Bravada any day now. Funny how life makes you take a second look at things.....In April, I fractured my pelvis. I never even knew what a gift sitting down or lifting a leg meant before. Had never even considered a running board unless it was standard equipment up until then. When I bought the Bravada, I insisted on running boards. I'd pay extra. Was told that no running boards were available on the Bravada even though they were pictured in the brochure. "Brochures are printed way before we actually get/know the cars." OK. The dealer, maybe afraid of losing a sale? said they would install an Envoy running board on the Bravada....under carriage configuration, etc. was very similar on both cars. Cost? Less than $200, installed. Either I'm being sold a bill of goods or you are. Take care. |
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| From where did you order your Husky floor liners? Are they the specific model for your Envoy? I contacted one dealer and I was told they have not been issued yet. Do they offer good coverage on front floors? Thanks for any info you can provide. | |
| It's really hard to keep black trim looking good. I have tried armor-all, STP protectant, and that back to black stuff. I would stay away form armor-all it has a drying agents in it. It will look worst if it drys all the way out. I just started using this new stuff from Stoner car care http://www.moreshine.com/. They have a bunch of spray care care products. I have used their window cleaner with great results. So I tryed their Trim Shine and vinyl cleaner sprays, the stuff works very good. Makes the trim very black and stays that way thought a few washings. The best part is all you have to do is spray in on and walk away, it's like that no-touch tire cleaner. Check out their web site. They always have special deals | |
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