Chronic and/or endemic issues

[OVERKILL]

The last few days I've seen several GM trucks with some serious electrical funkery going on with the tail lights. One guy's blinker was doing the top of both sides and the middle of the left side while the right side middle was solid, thought he had his 4-ways on at first. Today, saw another where it was doing some sort of weird dim blink thing, as were the mirror lights. I recall that a few generations ago they had major issues with dash electronics.

Ford I know had chronic front suspension issues on the 97-2003 (Heritage) body style trucks. Our Expedition was one, the Moog front end parts seemed to be much more durable.

Certain generations of Subarus ate head gaskets. Was there ever a permanent fix?

Some others that I'm not sure qualify:
- 90's Dodge Caravan transmissions
- early 2000's Honda Odyssey and Accord V6 transmissions
- BMW valve cover gaskets and plastic coolant tanks (E46, E39)
- Pentastar oil coolers?

I'm sure some of our techs can share some more that they see regularly (@Trav, @clinebarger, @Fahrvergnügen).

Of course in some instances, the aftermarket has responded with a fix (Moog for the Ford suspension stuff, Dorman with the aluminum Pentastar cooler housing) but some of this stuff is a bit beyond that sort of scope, being fundamental design issues.

 

[oggb]

Certain generations of Subarus ate head gaskets. Was there ever a permanent fix?

The naturally aspirated EJ25 was the problem child and there were aftermarket gaskets that were supposedly more reliable than OEM. The 2006+ turbo models were semi-closed deck and were far less prone to head gasket failures but did have the occasional issue with external head gaskets leaks.

 

[HemiBenny]

I’ve repaired so many of the GM 1.4l PCV issues, one of them being the Buick Encore that we got for my MIL. It’s a garbage design that is prone to failure. Dorman has supposedly designed parts to fix the issue, but I‘ll believe it when I see it when it comes to Dorman parts. I guess it would be worth a shot considering the GM parts WILL fail.

A few pics from my work on her Buick. A very well maintained 1.4l with an OCI of every 5,000 miles/6 months, whichever occurs first, since new.

 

[dishdude]

Pretty much all H/K engines.

 

[clinebarger]

What year GM trucks? The LED taillights on K2XX '14-'18 Yukons are pure trash.....The thin Tin jumpers that connect the boards together crack. They cost $500 a piece from GM .

'88-'99 GMT400's also had circuit boards to connect the circuits in the tail lamps, They'd crack/short & cause interesting issues.....I still replace the boards a lot....But Dorman is about the only source now & of course they're hot garbage......Express/Savanna also have circuit boards with similar issues.

Bad/missing grounds will cause some funny issues with incandescent lights as they WILL find a ground even if it's through a another bulb! Paint/Body guys/shops are terrible at fixing wiring....I see a lot of issues (Bad grounds/splices/connections) caused by shoddy electrical repairs made during collision repairs.

Stepper Motors in 2000's GM clusters are known to fail. They were just stepping away from resistive style gauges & it was a learning curve for them! Is as if they had digital display down better than PWM/Duty Cycle driven stepper motors?

1.4T PCV issues & Coolant leaks.....I have a '15 Cruze with 80,000 miles & it's needed many cooling system parts replaced. 2.4L Ecotech & 3.6L High Feature engines needing Timing Chains. 6L80E converter failures, 8L90E has a whole host of problems.

'19 & up DFM 5.3L/6.2L have to be the biggest piles I've seen....I WILL NOT touch one unless it's getting a full DFM delete.

Ford 3V 5.4L.....Probably don't need to go into detail, 3.5L/3.7L FWD V6 water pumps taking engines out, 3.5L/3.7L/3.5L Ecoboost Phasers & Timing Chains.
Super Duty Cab Mounts.....How hard can it be to make Cab Mounts? I get one at least every month with shot mounts & most customers can't believe all their "suspension noise" is the cab moving around.

Chrysler.......I do many Hemi Cam & Lifters.....However, My shop is known for doing major engine repairs, So that's likely why I see so many.
While GM has there fair share of terminal fretting issues, Chrysler is just as bad if not worse! Unplug a module connector/In-line connector & it fixes the issue temporarily. I have a lot of money tied up in terminal crimping tools because of this.
TIPM issues.....If you work on Chryslers....You know why I listed the TIPM., Does your horn sound off in the middle of the night for no reason?....You might need a TIPM!


I've rambled on enough.

 

[OVERKILL]

What year GM trucks? The LED taillights on K2XX '14-'18 Yukons are pure trash.....The thin Tin jumpers that connect the boards together crack. They cost $500 a piece from GM .

'88-'99 GMT400's also had circuit boards to connect the circuits in the tail lamps, They'd crack/short & cause interesting issues.....I still replace the boards a lot....But Dorman is about the only source now & of course they're hot garbage......Express/Savanna also have circuit boards with similar issues.

Bad/missing grounds will cause some funny issues with incandescent lights as they WILL find a ground even if it's through a another bulb! Paint/Body guys/shops are terrible at fixing wiring....I see a lot of issues (Bad grounds/splices/connections) caused by shoddy electrical repairs made during collision repairs.

Stepper Motors in 2000's GM clusters are known to fail. They were just stepping away from resistive style gauges & it was a learning curve for them! Is as if they had digital display down better than PWM/Duty Cycle driven stepper motors?

1.4T PCV issues & Coolant leaks.....I have a '15 Cruze with 80,000 miles & it's needed many cooling system parts replaced. 2.4L Ecotech & 3.6L High Feature engines needing Timing Chains. 6L80E converter failures, 8L90E has a whole host of problems.

'19 & up DFM 5.3L/6.2L have to be the biggest piles I've seen....I WILL NOT touch one unless it's getting a full DFM delete.

Ford 3V 5.4L.....Probably don't need to go into detail, 3.5L/3.7L FWD V6 water pumps taking engines out, 3.5L/3.7L/3.5L Ecoboost Phasers & Timing Chains.
Super Duty Cab Mounts.....How hard can it be to make Cab Mounts? I get one at least every month with shot mounts & most customers can't believe all their "suspension noise" is the cab moving around.

Chrysler.......I do many Hemi Cam & Lifters.....However, My shop is known for doing major engine repairs, So that's likely why I see so many.
While GM has there fair share of terminal fretting issues, Chrysler is just as bad if not worse! Unplug a module connector/In-line connector & it fixes the issue temporarily. I have a lot of money tied up in terminal crimping tools because of this.
TIPM issues.....If you work on Chryslers....You know why I listed the TIPM., Does your horn sound off in the middle of the night for no reason?....You might need a TIPM!


I've rambled on enough.

I don't know GM well enough to comment on the year, but these were probably like post 2008? maybe? Only saw them from the rear, I'd be able to narrow it down further if I had seen them from the front.

 

[CR94]

The naturally aspirated EJ25 was the problem child and there were aftermarket gaskets that were supposedly more reliable than OEM. The 2006+ turbo models were semi-closed deck and were far less prone to head gasket failures but did have the occasional issue with external head gaskets leaks.

My niece's 2012 Outback recently required head gasket replacement. I thought 2011 was the last year of the "problem child" EJ25. Wrong?

Pushrod Subarus of the mid-1970s had chronic head-gasket (as well as rocker-arm) disasters, too. How far back in history are we going with this? I can recall other chronic issues of the '70s.

 

[HemiBenny]

TIPM issues.....If you work on Chryslers....You know why I listed the TIPM., Does your horn sound off in the middle of the night for no reason?....You might need a TIPM!


I've rambled on enough.

I remember my first-"first hand experience" with a TIPM issue. A Dodge Nitro sitting right behind me in the shop decided to let me know that it was,...right behind me.

 

[Rand]

My niece's 2012 Outback recently required head gasket replacement. I thought 2011 was the last year of the "problem child" EJ25. Wrong?

Pushrod Subarus of the mid-1970s had chronic head-gasket (as well as rocker-arm) disasters, too. How far back in history are we going with this? I can recall other chronic issues of the '70s.

it varied.. the fb25 started with the forester in 2011 IIRC the outback and legacy were later.

 

[Lubener]

These are from my own experiences. GM's 3800 series 2 engines , upper manifold burn thru and failure of the plastic based lower intake manifold gaskets. Second was frequent head gasket failures of Ford's very late 80's thru early 90's 3.8 liter V6.

 

[Skippy722]

2011-2017 Grand Cherokee and Durango water pumps on 5.7 HEMI’s, though they only officially recognized 2013-2017. FCA extended the warranty on them to 7 years/unlimited miles.

 

[4WD]

Pretty much all H/K engines.

Thought for a while there was a shavings (swarf)) left in block issue - but just too many since then …

 

[SC Maintenance]

Bulbs seem to last a very long time around here - maybe the mild climate, but I still notice lots of bulbs out on GM vehicles. I mostly notice brake and 3rd brake lights, since that is what I am watching for, and 4 out of 5 times it seems to be a GM product - most likely I think from mid 2000's to much newer - cars and trucks.

I always wondered if it was the car or just GM owners are bad at maintenance for some reasons. I would have to believe its the car since my 2008 Nissan had pretty much all original incandescent bulbs until recently. One finally burnt out so I just replaced every bulb except the high brake light as its LED.

 

[JTK]

There was a south main auto video not too long ago with I believe a 2019 Chevy Silverado that had a ground strap rotted right off in the front left wheel well area. It caused a bunch of issues.

 

[oggb]

My niece's 2012 Outback recently required head gasket replacement. I thought 2011 was the last year of the "problem child" EJ25. Wrong?

Pushrod Subarus of the mid-1970s had chronic head-gasket (as well as rocker-arm) disasters, too. How far back in history are we going with this? I can recall other chronic issues of the '70s.

I agree that Subaru has rarely made a reliable engine (the H6 engines being the exception) but this thread seemed to be about vehicles we're likely to encounter today.

 

[JTK]

my 2008 Nissan had pretty much all original incandescent bulbs until recently. One finally burnt out so I just replaced every bulb except the high brake light as its LED.

Right?

My older Nissans were always like that. I haven't had to touch a single bulb on our 2015 Versa, but it's only got around 71K miles on it. On the other hand, our 2019 Pathfinder, I've changed 3-4 headlamp bulbs and so many of the marker and turn signal lamps I lost count! Luckily, they're all pretty easy to get at and change..

 

[MrHorspwer]

I’ve repaired so many of the GM 1.4l PCV issues, one of them being the Buick Encore that we got for my MIL.

I have one of these jobs lined up for tomorrow, also on a Buick Encore. Easy to diagnose, easy to repair, easy money in the pocket.

I've only ever used GM replacement parts. There was a P/N change on the intake manifold a while back that allegedly fixed the check valve issue. I've never had one come back for a repeat failure.

 

[ATex7239]

I had a Ram that started having headlight dimming issues then started dying in the middle of rolling turns. Got rid of it shortly after. I did a lot of aftermarket work on the engine though. I cannot fully condemn the truck for it. It could have been on me.

 

[MCompact]

Oil filter housing gaskets on the BMW N20 and N55 engines

 

[dfarr67]

Admittedly I'm not a phord guy- but it's those phasers that get me, for the cost of repair you get the same poor replacement part.