GM Recall of the Heated Washer Systems

[sreilly77]

So I am curious what you guys think about the recall on the heated washer system. GM sees to be pointing the finger at the company who made the system, while that company is pointing the finger at GM saying that some of their cars had faulting wiring, causing a voltage spike and the heated washer system to short. Not to mention that some other GM cars without the heated washer system were catching fire as well. See the link below for more info:

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010...m-runs-deeper/


There is a video on the internet of a gentleman who took apart the washer fluid heater and showed you the issue at hand. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPmVE...eature=related

So for the time being, I took out the relay for the heated washer system on my '06 Lucerne. Now is that enough to shut the system down, or is there a constant 'hot' wire coming from the battery to the heated washer fluid module? If anyone could answer that question for me being I am not too savvy with car electronics, I'd appreciate it. Also, I'd like to get some opinions on this situation as well.

Have a great 4th of July holiday everyone!

[polarzak]

It is probably the only option my Lucerne does not have...and therefore the only thing I have NOT had trouble with. I believe it was a fairly expensive option and GM will not fix the defect and is reimbursing owners only $100.00. Pretty poor in my opinion.
In another post you said the Lucerne is amazing. Either you are very lucky, or you bought the car second hand and all the problems were fixed. Mine was a nightmare from the beginning. If you are interested, read this thread for the horror story.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=673289
It has actually been fairly good lately, mainly because everything that could go wrong, has, and has been fixed. Someone will probably get a really nice car soon, because it is being traded. Good luck with yours.

[sreilly77]

Originally Posted by polarzak

It is probably the only option my Lucerne does not have...and therefore the only thing I have NOT had trouble with. I believe it was a fairly expensive option and GM will not fix the defect and is reimbursing owners only $100.00. Pretty poor in my opinion.
In another post you said the Lucerne is amazing. Either you are very lucky, or you bought the car second hand and all the problems were fixed. Mine was a nightmare from the beginning. If you are interested, read this thread for the horror story.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=673289
It has actually been fairly good lately, mainly because everything that could go wrong, has, and has been fixed. Someone will probably get a really nice car soon, because it is being traded. Good luck with yours.

I read your thread about your Lucerne and am sorry about the issues you've had with it. I bought mine with around 30,000 miles on it a month ago and have put almost 2000 miles on it, all highway. I have owned Town Cars and a Cadillac and I feel like my Lucerne rides better than any of those cars. It is very smooth, doesn't shake, and drive straight. I have the Continental Touring tires on it, with the 17 chrome rims. It is super quite too.

I also have the 4.6L Northstar V8 that I am very happy with. I get around 17mpg in stop-and-go driving and almost 27mpg on the highway (I usually drive around 70 mph).

When I ran a carfax on the car before I bought it, I noticed that the front struts were replaced around 15,000 miles. That is very unusual to happen to any car and hopefully that is something I won't have to worry about. But I had purchased a 3 year/40,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty on the car that covers everything except tires and brakes, whichever come first. However, the 40,000 miles is added on to the current mileage, so the warranty will expire at 70,000 miles or 3 years from last month.

Have you had any other issues that I should keep in mind? I am mechanically inclined and one of the reasons why I bought this car is because I know a good amount about the Northstar V8 engines.

I hope your Buick starts serving you better than it has.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by sreilly77

I read your thread about your Lucerne and am sorry about the issues you've had with it. It is very smooth, doesn't shake, and drive straight.
I hope your Buick starts serving you better than it has.

Thanks for your kind words. It has been a very frustrating experience. and after changing the original tires, mine does ride nice now. It really is a beautiful car..mine is black, tan leather interior, dark tinted windows, and like yours has the chrome 17 inch wheels. I only have the 3.8 engine, good enough for me, but that Northstar must just cruise along nicely. GM must have had issues with the struts...mine were replaced at around 40,000 miles (my 2000 LeSabre had almost 200,000 with the original struts) Strange...yes.

As for what to look for, well, other than things that just may break or stop working, there are a couple of things you might check as a preventative step.

Make sure your glove box light goes out when you close it. Some have a bad switch and the light stays on and the battery goes dead.

If you keep those nice chrome wheels on in a PA winter, make sure the insides are cleaned regularly. The inside chrome is extremely thin, and salt and brake dust will eat it away, the inside chrome peels off and corrosion gets under it and will work its way around to the front.

Front brake rotors will warp... not sure what you can do about it..I think it is just GM quality, or lack thereof. I replaced mine at around 50,000, and I am neither a fast driver nor do I ride the brakes.

Check the bottom rails (long pained strip that runs along the bottom of the doors) for loose or missing clips. One of mine was just strung with two clips, where if memory serves, there should be six.

You say you are mechanically inclined, well you are going to need that if you ever have to replace a front light...any light...beams or directionals. The whole front end (grill, bumper, bottom cowl, etc.) has to come off to replace any of them. If your bumper to bumper warranty doesn't cover it, the dealer will charge over $200 just to replace a simple bulb. It took me over 2 1/2 hours just to change a bulb. Poor design in my opinion so I replaced them all.

Anyway, that is all I can think of now. the Lucerne is a beautiful car and really turns heads. My wife takes it to work occasionally, and her boss, who owns some fancy and expensive German machine, is really impressed with it. Mine is a 2006 and was the first year of the model, and while it is built on a proven Cadillac DTS platform, it might have just had issues. Hopefully yours will not.

I have a Service Manual, in pdf format if you would like a copy. I bought it to figure out how to change a front light, and while it does have all kinds on information, that was one thing it did not have. I have the steps for that separately, which you can have also.

One other thing...if any of your computer driven electronics suddenly stops working, it might only be a computer reset. My 6 CD player went dead this morning, and will not accept a CD. I am hoping it is just a reset, but if not, I still have the stereo. I have had to reset before to get the backup sensors to function. You probably know this, but to reset the computer, simply disconnect the battery for a few minutes; it is under the back seat. You will have to reset you radio presets, etc. but it is cheaper than a trip to the dealer.

Good luck and have fun.

[sreilly77]

Thanks for all the useful information. I will keep an eye out for the things you said to look out for. I would like a copy of the service manual if you would be so kind. I'll send you a message with my email address. I've worked on all kinds of cars and have service manuals from Audi's to Subaru's and Fords to GM vehicles. Mine is also a 2006 CXL.

I have polished my chrome rims once already and did notice some pits on the inners of the wheels. I'll be sure to clean the inside of the wheels nicely the next time I wash the car. I knew that keeping those wheels would be a chore, but damn do they look nice! And I know what you mean by a head turner. I see people looking at the car all the time. Mine Lucerne is Pearl White with tan leather. So far, my friends have mistaken it for a BMW, Lexus, Lincoln, and Cadillac.

The 4.6L Northstar V8 is amazing. Talk about getting whiplash when you press that gas to merge onto a highway. You definitely don't need to mash that gas pedal at all, not even for passing a big truck on the road. But when you do punch it, it does eat gas (even though with it, I have given some new GT mustangs and new Camaros a run for their money ). It has been still hovering around 17 or 18 mpg in the city, with a solid 27 mpg on the highway. I do run it on 89 octane fuel, however.

I already replaced the front brakes and rotors because the rotors were warped. Every single GM car I've owned always would get warped rotors: My 92 DeVille, my 90 Fleetwood Brougham, and my 94 Grand Prix GTP. So I know it is a GM issue and has been for years. I do not have the 6 disc CD changer and I always use my iPod. I love the XM/Sirius radio as well, especially on long trips. The only options I am missing are the turn signals in the mirrors, the blind spot indicator, the navigation, and the 6 disc CD changer. The back up sensors do come in handy for city parking.

Like I said, I took out the relay for the heated washer fluid. At least you don't have to worry about that. I still am not sure if I am going to take the car to the dealer to have the part removed because I believe it is worth more than a $100 refund.

[polarzak]

I will send the manual to you when I get home today. Nice color the Pearl White. It and the black are the two best colors in my opinion, but maybe if I was a bit younger, I would like to have red one. Did not like the blue one I saw at all.
I agree with you that the heater part is worth more than $100. Pretty cheap of GM. Maybe if enough owners complain, they might sweeten the deal, or fix the darn thing.

[fullthrottle52]

I have an 08 CXS Lucern in Pearl White. Northstar V8 -sweet. I have had it now for almost 2 years and have not had a lot of problems. Well maybe I have. I have 30,000 miles and had to replace the fist set of Michelen tires. Dealer put on new Michelin tires when I bought the car because of normal vibration. Had to take it in for new Lane Departure module last week. Onstar did not work for first 6 months. They gave me a free year after really bitching about it.
Dealer did nothing but replace the whole unit. It does piss me off about the heated washer recall. Pretty cheap. Other car manufactures have this option and would have fixed it. It was going to cost GM more to fix it than give everyone $100.00. Not everyone will bring them back so that really saves them money. It cost me more in my time missing work to take it to the dealer for a couple of hours than the $100.00 is worth. I went ahead and took it in and I received my check the other day. It came from the Dealer not GM. Thats a little suspicious. Does the dealer get more than the $100.00 to disconnect it?

Anyway, I do love the way my Lucerne Drives and rides. I've never had a car that goes down the freeway as smooth and queit as this car. Mileage sucks though. I have never gotten better than 22 or 23 on a trip. I do have a pretty heavy foot though. It is hard not to in this vehicle. It finds it's sweet spot arount 80 mph. Good luck to all.

[sreilly77]

Originally Posted by fullthrottle52

I have an 08 CXS Lucern in Pearl White. Northstar V8 -sweet. I have had it now for almost 2 years and have not had a lot of problems. Well maybe I have. I have 30,000 miles and had to replace the fist set of Michelen tires. Dealer put on new Michelin tires when I bought the car because of normal vibration. Had to take it in for new Lane Departure module last week. Onstar did not work for first 6 months. They gave me a free year after really bitching about it.
Dealer did nothing but replace the whole unit. It does piss me off about the heated washer recall. Pretty cheap. Other car manufactures have this option and would have fixed it. It was going to cost GM more to fix it than give everyone $100.00. Not everyone will bring them back so that really saves them money. It cost me more in my time missing work to take it to the dealer for a couple of hours than the $100.00 is worth. I went ahead and took it in and I received my check the other day. It came from the Dealer not GM. Thats a little suspicious. Does the dealer get more than the $100.00 to disconnect it?

Anyway, I do love the way my Lucerne Drives and rides. I've never had a car that goes down the freeway as smooth and queit as this car. Mileage sucks though. I have never gotten better than 22 or 23 on a trip. I do have a pretty heavy foot though. It is hard not to in this vehicle. It finds it's sweet spot arount 80 mph. Good luck to all.

I agree, the Northstar does find a sweet spot around 80mph. I'll get around the same mileage you get at 80. But at 70mph, I get almost 28mpg. HUGE different in 10mph. I couldn't believe it.

Anyway, I just took out the relay for the heated washer system. Honestly, the ground side of the unit has a hole in it so any moisture can drain out of it. Why not just drill a very small hole into the hot side so any moisture build up can just drain out there? I think that is what I am going to do. I will keep a close eye on it in winter time. But for now, it is inactive.

I have Continental ProContact V rated tires on my Lucerne. No vibrations, and a smooth quiet ride. The tires came with the car when I bought it since it was an off-lease vehicle. I am definitely going to stick with these tires, especially when I need another set. They are perfect. But I never had the OnStar activated. I don't really see a need for it to be honest. Is it really worth it?

My lane departure system seems to work fine. But I will keep an eye on that.

[studedriver10]

I talked to the dealer about this, it seems the company making the part went out of business and no one else is making it, so this is GM's solution.

[ponchonutty]

Originally Posted by studedriver10

I talked to the dealer about this, it seems the company making the part went out of business and no one else is making it, so this is GM's solution.

Nope. My shop has been retrofitting many of the GM vehicles with a direct replacement for the faulty heater/washer system. I even have a system for those vehicles that didn't come with the heated system too.

http://www.alphathermusa.com/

I sell them $100 out the door or $149 installed.