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2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

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Old October 18th, 2006, 7:04 PM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

I'm gonna try and ask a question here. Please, do not attack!

Does the customer satisfaction campaign address the issue at hand? I don't have the veh in question but it sounds like it might be two different things. Does the "liftgate molding" and "liftgate hinge" adhesive mean the same thing/problem?

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General Motors has decided that certain 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburbans, and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles may have been built with an incorrect adhesive on the liftgate window molding, resulting in the possibility of the molding partially separating from the window.
Old October 18th, 2006, 8:30 PM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

No it doesn't address the same issue.
And this moron can't understand that production procedures, suppliers, parts and equipment do change all throughout the production run.

Just a classic case of a dead beat wanting something for nothing and trying to drum up public support by finding some other deadbeat that agrees with him.

And there is no distinction between 60K and 80K or 37K miles! Out of warranty means just that.
Old October 18th, 2006, 8:31 PM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking


ORIGINAL: tahoe07

I'm gonna try and ask a question here. Please, do not attack!

Does the customer satisfaction campaign address the issue at hand? I don't have the veh in question but it sounds like it might be two different things. Does the "liftgate molding" and "liftgate hinge" adhesive mean the same thing/problem?

Condition
General Motors has decided that certain 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburbans, and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles may have been built with an incorrect adhesive on the liftgate window molding, resulting in the possibility of the molding partially separating from the window.
Thanks for the reply, people here have been quite harsh.

I dont know what they are refering to as molding, but the entire top of the window appears to be held together with the same type of adhesive. This includes the hinge, gas strut, and any type of molding.

Brad
Old November 9th, 2006, 10:33 PM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

"OUT OF WARRANTY".....

I have an '04. Under the 3 but a little outside the 36. So, yea, it's out of warranty, but my dealership is opting to cover the failure.

The hinge is integrated into the plastic trim around the glass. Since it is an integral part, it is infact the same mentioned in the '05 bulletin. I think you'd understand better if you weren't so quick to flame others. According to my dealership, there have been "several" Tahoes to come through their dealership with the hinges separating from the glass.

Warranty or no, this does seem to be an issue with a defective part or assembly process. Being that the same design was used from at least '02-'06, I'd guess this is going to be more wide spread over time. My wife and I use the lift glass a lot loading groceries and such.... so I'd also guess that the failure will be seen sooner by those who use the lift glass alot. After looking at the material, It really doesnt look like it was thought out well enough to handle the weight of the glass and the power of those struts.

This has been the only issue with my Tahoe.... otherwise, I've been pleased with it.
Old November 13th, 2006, 12:36 AM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

We've been reading the posts and decided to jump into the fray.

We have an '04 YukonXL Denali and it's rear tailgate glass separated at the hinge also. The glass is not broken, but the hinge appears to have broken where the adhesive mounts the glass to the hinge.

We do not pull utility trailers. No cherubs have pushed the glass upward to the point of separating the hinge. No obstructions became lodged between the glass and the tailgate. For all reasons we know, the hinge failed for no explainable reason.

We took our vehicle to the dealership to have it repaired or replaced under the extended warranty we purchased when we bought this vehicle. The claim was denied because the failure was to "a hinge" which is not a mechanical component. The dealership shop folks said they thought it should have been covered under the warranty, but they only have opinions, they don't administer the extended warranty so you can't hold their opinions as grounds for coverage if the warranty wants to exclude the coverage.

We find it interesting that our vehicle is not the only one with the separated hinge at the back glass.

So put us down in the camp of vehicle owners with a tailgate glass that has a failed.

/some things should not simply fail and fall off vehicles.
Old November 13th, 2006, 11:42 AM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

After repairing and looking closely at the mechanics of the whole rear glass combination, I think that I have found the cause of the problem. The struts that lift and hold the glass are quite heavy. I found that you can put alot of stress on the hinge area if you lift the glass after unlatching it from the gate. The best thing that you can do is to unlatch the glass, and let the strut lift the glass until it is fully extended. What happens is that when you try to lift the glass it is pulling on the strut, and pushing on the rear of the hinge, which makes the front of the hinge want to pull away from the glass.

The best fix would be to have a strut that was valved to allow a "overflow" bypass. This would allow a user to lift the glass by hand (which is normal) without the strut limiting how fast the glass is opened. The other option is as I have stated, is to let the glass open by itself.

Again, I am not dissatisfied with my GM, just the way that they have handled this problem.

Brad
Old November 27th, 2006, 12:34 PM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

Reading this thread and the juvenile, no, make that toddler, responses obscures the real issue here. I have a 2000 Sub, the hinge broke a few months ago, same exact problem described here, clearly due to faulty engineering/assembly/design/materials. These things should not break unless they are underengineered for the stresses (minimal) and loads involved. It is cheap plastic. It is a shoddy design. We don't even use ours that much, so it has not been subjected to a lot of stress. Yes the truck is 6 yr old, and has lots of miles, but still...

I stopped by a glass shop to see about a replacement, they said, "Oh yeah, that happens to these a lot (giggle)." That was a glass shop, not a dealer. Said it would be $700 for a replacement, or I could try to find a used one for maybe half that. They wouldn't even touch a repair.

So, what is a repair procedure that might work? Some kind of super adhesive with some reinforcing strips along the frame where the hinge is? I found some SuperGlue on their web site that is glass/plastic formulated, but I was thinking that the rear-view mirror stuff, a catalyzed adhesive, might be better? Or is there some other kind of super adhesive that would be better than that?

Please, flame away, tell me I'm stupid, etc. -- that is oh so helpful -- but the fact still remains this was a poor design and implementation.
Old November 29th, 2006, 11:45 AM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking


ORIGINAL: OldBenz

Reading this thread and the juvenile, no, make that toddler, responses obscures the real issue here. I have a 2000 Sub, the hinge broke a few months ago, same exact problem described here, clearly due to faulty engineering/assembly/design/materials. These things should not break unless they are underengineered for the stresses (minimal) and loads involved. It is cheap plastic. It is a shoddy design. We don't even use ours that much, so it has not been subjected to a lot of stress. Yes the truck is 6 yr old, and has lots of miles, but still...

I stopped by a glass shop to see about a replacement, they said, "Oh yeah, that happens to these a lot (giggle)." That was a glass shop, not a dealer. Said it would be $700 for a replacement, or I could try to find a used one for maybe half that. They wouldn't even touch a repair.

So, what is a repair procedure that might work? Some kind of super adhesive with some reinforcing strips along the frame where the hinge is? I found some SuperGlue on their web site that is glass/plastic formulated, but I was thinking that the rear-view mirror stuff, a catalyzed adhesive, might be better? Or is there some other kind of super adhesive that would be better than that?

Please, flame away, tell me I'm stupid, etc. -- that is oh so helpful -- but the fact still remains this was a poor design and implementation.
I actuallly repaired the hinge with JB weld. Basically when the hinge finally seperated completly from the window, I filled the void with JB weld, and then clamped it together with a Irwin 6" clamp. I let the adhesive dry for 24 hours, and put the window back on the truck. I did it almost 6000 miles ago and it is still holding well. If this fails, I may take the whole assembly to a glass shop and have them drill the glass out and fasten the glass directly to the hinge. I figure the worst that could happen is the window would break and I'll have to buy a new one anyways, unless GM issues a TSB by then (wishful thinking).

Brad
Old December 8th, 2006, 11:21 AM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

I joined the forum just to post this.

I don't care if the asholes here flame me or not.

I've got a 2000 Yukon that had the same hinge break in '02 under warranty and replaced. I've still got it and it's just broken again, through no fault of mine or mis-use. My wife has an '02 Tahoe with the same problem out of warranty I fixed it with JB Weld as well.

Bottom line, it's a very poor hinge design because it's not able to withstand normal loads due to opening and closing the glass. And yes I'm an engineer and I own up to it when I make mistakes.

Does this turn me off GM, no, but it does **** me off that they've done nothing to re-design it in 6+ years!?!?!
Old December 18th, 2006, 3:10 PM
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Default RE: 2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking

Barn doors rule!


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