Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I pulled into the drycleaner yesterday and up alongside parked another H3. We gave each other a 'thumbs up' on our choice of vehicles.;) I asked her how she liked hers .. she said she bought hers last Oct with 2500 miles on it and loved it, but had her first problem last Wednesday. Curious, I asked her what happened. She said when she'd come to a stop, or an abrupt stop, her rear tires/brakes would GRIND! OMG!!! She probably thought I was crazy when I kept saying, "WHAT?!?!" She goes, "Yeah, I took it to the dealer, described the problem and they fixed it in a day". I asked her if the dealer was ------, (the dealer service dept who had been trying to figure out MY problem for 6weeks and who never did figure it out) she said, "Why, yes!". ARGHHHHH!!! :twak: I told her what I went through and she thanked me for paving the way. I'm thinking that the 2nd dealer (service dept) who had fixed my problem in a DAY must have called the original (6.5 week dealer) and told them what my problem finally turned out to be .. a warped rotor. I'm venting here, I know. I won't mention the dealer by name because they learned something through my problem (I hope). But, it sort of infuriates me that all that time, I was being told that the grind was 'common to all H3's" and that was that.. nothing more could be done. GM/Hummer Corp took good care of me, so that's all that matters now. I had a great Customer Service Rep through GM. ;)

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Its Back :mad:
Getting the grinding noise again.:mad:
They turned down rotors replaced pads ay 12,000 miles all was fine till now at 19,000 miles its doing it again.:crying:
I will bring it to the dealer sometime this week and insist on NEW rotors and new pads .It has to be a problem with some rotors being defective. ? :confused:

Unless its the front this time :eek: (I looked at front pads they still look
meaty)


Hmmm3 did they replace or resurface your rotors ,I forgot ?.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

So thats the cause. I have 8000 mileson my Yellow one and will call tomorrow to make an appointment.

RYD

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

F5, Do you know anything about this ?????

RYD

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

The first dealer resurfaced one rotor and put on new pads. Of course, I still had the sound. The 2nd dealer told me one rotor was clearily warped, so they turned it (again) and the other 3 as well. Replaced all brakes and pads. They said they also cut the pads slightly (?) into a wedge shape which they said will make them more operative for my driving purposes. (I live on a hill, so a lot of my driving goes up and down that hill). All I know is that SO FAR I haven't had that sound come back. It has been about 3 weeks and I've been to Las Vegas and back in it. keeping my fingers crossed. If the sound comes back anytime soon, I'll also insist on new rotors. I'm not going to have them re-surface them again. Good luck! Keep us updated!

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Try this. Make sure your parking brake is fully released. Underneath the driver's door is the parking brake cable. There is one cable that starts at the front, goes to a metal piece that connects to two cables that go to the rear (these go to the individual rear parking brakes). Pull hard on the metal piece (toward you or down toward the ground) a few times and release. If your parking brake cable is binding/rubbing this will free up some slack in the cable and make sure the parking brakes are not rubbing. See if you still hear the squeal.

The 2006 parking brake cable is run over metal edge that gouges into the cable assembly. The 2007 parking brake cable is new and routed a little differently.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Only thing I know is 90 percent of what people call warped rotors is really pad residue on the rotor. Turning does fix the problem. Pretty darn hard to warp a large rotor like the ones on the front, and the back brakes do so little on normal stopping that can't understand how they get overheated enough to warp.
Have not heard anything, and I have 17K and no brake problems or noises. In fact, the only noise I have is behind the new NAV system, and I would bet it is the adapter vibrating.
If we are having problems with rears heating up and warping, I would have the dealer make sure the park brake is adjusted correctly after the brakes are repaired. If out of adjustment, the brakes will be too tight, apply too much pressure to the rotor and overheat the rotor (and the pads).
I will add that I will not use factory pads when I change the brakes (if I keep it that long:D ). Factory pads SUCK, since they cannot use asbestos.
So, the pads are made with other organic materials that tend to cause them to wear too fast, and tend to leave residue on the rotors when heated up (mountain driving is good for this).
I'm hoping someone comes out with a low dust, kevlar pad for the H3 before I have to change; if I have to change.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

F5 Doesnt the e brake have a seperate pad (scrub brake). :confused:
My brother and I noticed it on my prevous brake inspection.

The e brake seems good,I beleve it should be tighter it goes down far to grab.
Im going to bring it in on tuesday.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

got me; I forgot, still thinking old days.:D I'll do some checking tomorrow on brakes.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

F5 we didnt remove the wheel but my brother said the placement of the cable on the backing plate it seams theres a scrub brake.
If you could confirm this that would be great.:D

I made an appointment for tuesday 9am,sevice manager said no problem replacing brakes and rotors in the back if its the same problem,He also said they wouldnt turn down the rotors a second time.
SM said if I will get a loaner if needed.
They treat me good over at ramp hummer they always give me a loaner :D

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

You HAVE been lucky in that regard, fourfourto. Your dealer seems to step up to the plate and always tells you they'll replace parts. I have to wonder if dealers here get 'points' for not replacing warranty parts.(:rant:) It would be awesome to hear a Serv. Mgr. just come and say, "Yeah, we're gonna replace your rotors instead of turning them .. new pads and all, ESPECIALLY since you've been having nothing but problems with them." Uh-huh.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

There is a separate brake shoe assembly that grabs for parking. The rear rotors are like a hat and the inside of the hat is a mini-drum brake. When you press down on the parking brake the shoes are cammed out and make contact with the drum.

I was wondering if the parking brake is releasing fully. That's why I suggested to pull on the parking brake cable to make sure the cable isn't sticking in its conduit. The foot petal may come back up fully but the cable may not be completely releasing. I know for fact that there have been H3's in to get the parking brake cable replaced and that the 2007's have a new design. You never mentioned that the brakes are grabbing or pulsing when stopping nor did you mention any smell or unusually high rear temperatures. My interpretation (which I could be wrong) is that the sound is a nuisance sound.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

is that the sound is a nuisance sound.

No its a grinding sound definatly not normal.
Parking brake seems fine not to tight(If it was it would have worn down by now)Also it grabs low,probobly needs tightened .
Last time I checked the temp of rotor at my brothers shop and they were normal.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I don't think the sound is normal either - I was trying to get at if there are other issues you can feel versus just hear. The fact that you mentioned that the parking brake grabs low is a sign to me that the parking brake cable is not moving freely in its guide (not releasing properly), the parking brake is not adjusted properly, or the parking brake shoes are worn. Did you try what I suggested - tugging hard on the parking brake cable underneath the driver's side. It will feel tight to start with. If you tug on it and it frees up, you have a parking brake cable problem.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I had the same problem, I was about to order new brakes, I took it to a local shop and they just apply a cleaner to the rotors and rotate the tires.. done deal this was done on Sunday and no noice until today.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Fourfourto, do you feel a slight sensation in the brake pedal JUST as you come to a complete stop and JUST as you are hearing that grind sound? When I would hear the grind in the rear right, I'd also feel 'something' in the brake pedal. Almost as if I could feel the 'grind' in the rear brake. Chevy High Performance thoughts sound right on, too. But, you and I had the same grind problem months back .. so I'm tending to think warped rotor. I'm anxious to hear what they find out for you.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I'd also feel 'something' in the brake pedal. Almost as if I could feel the 'grind' in the rear brake.

:iagree: X2 thats they way it is now and was then.

Hopefully fixed by tommorow afternoon.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

:rant: Dam what a freekin day droped off 3 they didnt have anyone to come with me for a ride so I got a loaner(another story see below)
They call me at 3pm say it ready and nothing checked out bad after they pulled all 4 wheels. Said Normal for hard stops on the H3 ?,I flipped out a little on the phone said I will come down and bring you for a ride.
Anyway Im driving back there a little pissed and a lady making a left stoped short and a young girl stoped short behind her in a mdx suv,I didnt see the first car.
I slammed the brakes and the 2007 silverado loaner rent a car slams her in the back:eek: f*cked up the front of the truck and the back of her mdx.had to get police report ect.
Anyway I called hummer to see if I could pick it up late after 5 and head sevice guy said they cleaned rotor (= brake cleaner)and seem better.He said he leaves at 5pm.

By the time I got there everyone in service was gone .
On the way home it wasnt doing it but I didnt come to many hard/downhill stops.
I will see what happens over the next couple hundred/thousand miles.

Bad day:mad:

If the brakes start grinding again im going to open a can of whip ass and go off on them like a crazy man.:twak:


First accedent in 20 years at least it wasn't my H3:D

Going to have a couple beers and calm down:beerchug:

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

OMG! What an awful day! Well, at least you weren't injured in the accident! (BTW, did you buy that extra loaner insurance they offer? :giggling: ) Secondly, they sprayed my rotors with something the first day of the ongoing 6 weeks (before my problem was resolved), and it didn't work .. so you better pull out that 'can of whip ass' you mentioned just to have it handy. They told me SO many times during the 6 week period that the grind sound was normal for all H3's. EVEN after going for test drives with me and HEARING it!!!! :eek: You know it's not .. just like I knew it wasn't .. so stand your ground. :rant: I did. I've sent you a PM, too .. look for it. Let us know what happens, ok? Hope you're okay after the accident .. no sore back, neck, etc.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Im ok so was the 2 young girls( I felt bad she just took her road test today )
I didnt get the extra insurance,so I will have my insurance co take care of it.
As for the tire dressing the dealer only put it on when picked up new last august.
I made a rim guard protector out of cardbord with a hold handle ,so no overspray get on or behind the rim.
I only detail the tires every month or so.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

F5,

Any word about defects etc on the brakes???

RYD

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

The service guy did mention something about a notice about the brakes.He didnt show me anything .

They wrote this on work order.
C/S when braking hard there is a grinding noise.Verifed concern. Norn=mal condition for vehicle when braking hard.

I told them it does it on normal braking going down hill with stopping at the bottom without feathering of brake.It doesnt have to be a hard brake.

Ill wait till it gets worse and will go with them for a ride and say YEH ! thats Normal! Yeh Right !. and if I have trouble with them doing a repair I will insist on a hummer rep. I will give it a few weeks and see what happens.

Anyone with any info from gm for the H3 for brakes please list them. thanks in advance.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I know that abs brakes make a grinding noise when coming to an abrupt halt. If that is the prob. nothing can be done about the grinding noise, It's an inherent prob w/ abs brakes.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Yeh my brother (ace mechanic) said does it feel like the abs.
I realy dont think thats it ,I already locked the brakes up testing abs on dry pavement,dirt,sand,rain ,snow ice ect.
At this point there not as bad as they were at 12,000 miles when they cut rotors and replaced pads.
I will put some miles on the H3:excited: .
Im going upstate in a few week so thats good for 1000 miles only 300 up there but we cruze around quite a bit looking at cabins/houses and looking for snowmobile trails.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

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.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Ed, do you normally drive in 4H all of the time .. never using the 4H-Locked or 4L? My particular grind was definitely in the rear right and I could feel it in the brake when I'd come to a stop. After all was said and done, they discovered a warped rotor. I don't off-road mine (though I have in a different H3 ;) ), so I always drive in 4H.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

This summer I was at the beach every other week used 4H lock and used
4 low a couple times fooling around the back dunes and some rocks.
so my tranfer case gets cycled every few weeks.
The sound is definatly from the brakes.


I don't off-road mine

Hmmm3 say its not so :confused:

:twak: get out there and tear it up :beerchug:

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

LOL, fourfourto. Chrome, mudflaps, steps prevent me in THIS vehicle. I have off-roaded in H3's and an H2, tho ..just not mine. ;)

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I wheel with mudflaps and steps,I just limit myself and know when to back up :D only got a small scuff on bottom of steps on this hill no big deal.:rolleyes:

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Ooooookay, fourfourto .. I'll baptize her. I'll let you know when I try MY H3 on some hills. Just know I'll have my teeth clenched and eyes closed when I think I might scrape any chrome/bling. :eek: ;)

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Ok, you guys got me, in the past two days, I have noticed this groaning from the left rear brake; not a grinding, but more of a groaning when coming to a stop under heavy pressure. Slow stopping does not bring on the noise, only heavy or very heavy.
At this point I am not sure what it is, but it is not due to a warped rotor, this was confirmed today.
Personally, I'm leaning toward the inside the rotor's hat park brake assembly, and the brake shoes rotating on a dry backing plate. (L-Series Saturns had the same rear park brake system, and the same type of groaning noise; not as loud, but similar.) In other words, the park brake shoes are hanging up. This could explain why the rotor is removed and turned and reinstalled, the noise goes away due to the freeing up of the park brake assembly when the rotor is removed.
If it is the park brake, it would not cause a braking problem, only an aggravating noise problem.
I am trying to schedule the H3 brake service engineer to come over to my facility and let's tear into this and figure out exactly what it is.
This will take a few days, but I'll keep you informed.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Yessss, you're right, f5fstop ... it is more of a groan than a grind. I can't wait to hear what you find out about yours! My H3 is fine so far .. I hope they found mine and finally took care of it. I can't even imagine living with that 'groan' sound for the life of the vehicle. Do you feel it in your brake, too .. same as fourfourto and myself? Keep us in the loop. :D

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

CHP said to check e brake, I have no play in the cable .

I do use the e brake everyday at home because of incline.
Maybe e brake dust gets caught up in the lever or in the drum over time?

:iagree: I guess i could go along with more of a groan than a grind


Mine seams fine now and the dealer cleaned brakes ,I dont know if they removed the rotors .Maybe they cleaned e brake also thats why it ok for now.

F5 go down a long hill 60 MPH and stop on the hard side at the bottom.It is (was) most noticable then.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Long hill in southeast MI? No chance on that happening.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Update my wife just said :rant: its more of a grown.:rant: I told you grown :rant: YYY
:yawn: that is all

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

That's when mine would make the groan, too ... just at the base of a hill when coming to a stop ... after the rotors heated up.

LOL.. well, I'm glad your wife set you straight, fourfourto. :giggling:

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I don't know why you say that. Corvettes have had warped rotor problems for years, and that car has huge rotors, and 3/5 the mass of the H3 to stop. Mine warped in one good hard stop on the freeway at 100F. It's probably a GM design or material problem, rather than just the size.

Michael

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

Yes - I drive in 4H all the time - mostly local traffic, with alot of stop-&-go. The noise I experienced came from the front, so it does seem to be different than the problem you're having. I hope they're able to figure it out and get it fixed for you. Was the warped rotor a factory defect, or did something happen to cause it to warp? I know that the Hummer dealership here in Virginia Beach is very in-tune with all us Hummer owners, and will do what it takes to fix any problems we have. Good luck!

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

I'm sorry to say, but an actual warped rotor was not that common. As I said, the biggest problem with what people call warped rotors is actually pad material causing a high spot.
During our studies, the only rotors that had warping problems were the smaller thin, rotors used on small cars, and then the numbers were not that high.
Can you warp a rotor? Yes, take a factory rotor and autocross all day long, run it on a road course and turn them red, but normal driving makes it almost impossible to warp a large finned rotor.
Ride the H3 down a 13K foot incline and yes, it might warp. Drive it around town and no, unless there was a manufacturing defect. However, when a technician pulls rotor, puts it on a lathe, and checks it, if there are high spots, to him or her, it is warped.
The other big problem with what people say is a warped rotor is lateral runout. That is why GM has published quite a few bulletins in the past on checking lateral runout versus turning a rotor.

I might add, if a rotor is found to be warped, it is usually warped due to installation, not heat. Forget the cross pattern and cock the rotor upon install, and it will eventually wear into a warped condition.

Now, go back to the Toyota forum and bash GM there.

Re: Ran into another H3 with my problem yesterday ...
 

so that 100 degree outside temp is what made all the difference, huh? You so dumb.

You absolutely cannot warp a brake rotor in one braking instance, even if you dragged the brake for 17 years continuously. Heat warping is caused by continuous and repetitive high heat ups and cool downs. Of course, this applies to the typical modern day rotor on most vehicles.

GM has had a problem with warped rotors in the past on trucks mostly on the fronts. With the wierd tire wear and cupping problem with the tires that occurred, over time, the front rotors warped causing a need for them to be turned.