2002 Buick Rendezvous: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Oct 27, 2014 · Airbags, Brakes · 155,000 miles · MI · crash

Car stopped in front of me, was room to stop in time, however ABS system kicked in & prevented vehicle from stopping - it only slowed it down. Road was clear & dry, no need for ABS brakes. Brake pads & rear rotors were less than 3 weeks old & front tires were only 3 days old at time of accident. Tested brakes by removing ABS fuse & car stops great - fault in ABS system. Also, air bags did not deploy, but air bag warning light on dash came on solid red & stays on at all times now. Accident was caused by ABS system improper setup or manufacturer.

Filed Jun 2, 2014 · Brakes · 130,000 miles · CT

We bought the car from a used dealership in oct. 2013. Just over a month later we are having problems with the vehicle. The light came on, the dash saying ABS disabled. As this comes if you are slowing down you literally have to pump the brake to stop. This is scary especially when you are trying to come to a stop behind someone and you are not sure if you are going to have enough distance to come to a complete stop before hitting the car in front of you. This light likes to come on while we are driving roughly 65 on the interstate as well, not really effecting driving just stopping. We have already paid to have it fixed in december of 2013 was told it was a bad ABS sensor on the front wheel. Well here we are only a few month later and its happening all over again. We figured we would look into recalls before we go and pay to have it fixed again because it's looking like it's going to be a recurring problem.

Filed May 14, 2014 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · MI

1st occasion (3/11/11): I was driving east bound on a freeway, in the right lane, and at a speed of approximately 45 miles per hour. I also had my two young boys (ages 4 and 7) in the car with me. I had to brake suddenly when traffic backed up unexpectedly and it was at that moment my brakes failed and I had to veer off the right shoulder and up onto the embankment and fortunately did not crash into another car. I had minimal brake power. My regular repair shop was about 3 miles away and was able to very slowly drive my car there. The brake line on ABS pump to right wheel had to be replaced. 2nd occasion (2/28/13): I was driving east bound in the right lane of a busy road during rush hour traffic. I was going about 30 miles per hour. I had to brake hard for traffic backed up at an intersection. Again, my brakes failed and fortunately there was enough distance for me stop before hitting the car in front of me. I had minimal brake power. At the intersection I turned right, heading south bound and then was able to safely pull into a parking lot and park my car. This time I had to be towed to my repair shop. The same brake line failed ' the brake line on the ABS pump to right wheel had to be replaced again.

Filed Apr 15, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 70,000 miles · OH

Had battery replaced during routine maintenance. After two days the car would not start battery was dead. After the 3rd battery we took the cat to the dealer. Thet checked everything said it was the battery again!!! So we had it replaced at that time. We also had them fix the ABS for the 3rd time in 5 years. The car was at home two days later would not start! Had it checked this time it was a module and then the dash cluster wnet out while they were fixing the car. Still same problems took the car out again this time after gm called us. They kept the car for three weeks, said it was a short in the stereo. Now 1 week later car is dead again!!!!!

Filed Dec 5, 2013 · Engine, Visibility · 75,000 miles · KY

Bought used in 2004 with 45k miles. In 2006 I had to have the window control replaced. In 2009 at 70k miles I had to have main gasket on engine replaced (was told buick knew of problem but refused recall) and 2 heads replaced as kept losing coolant & overheating. The very next year the body control module went out & had to be replaced. The ABS light has been on for years & no body, not even the dealer who replaced the control module, can get it to go out. Last year the fuel gauge quit working. This year the left front hub has gone bad at 170k so I can't say it wasn't due, but the overheating gauge keeps going into the red & the overheat light comes. Had it check and the thermostat is working fine, I am not losing coolant and the coolant is good, & there is no water in my oil. I can't drive more than 2 miles without the overheating light coming on & the gauge going into the red.

Filed Sep 11, 2013 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 110,345 miles · DE

Got ABS & tcs lights and either "traction system active" or "service traction system". Two dtc codes c0036 & c0245. Ck'd left wheel sensor per buick service manuals by disconnecting connector at wheel hub & ck'd ok. No problem again for more than a year. Recently got same lights abt & tcs and master light (ck traction system). Also, concurrent got a thumping sound from left front of vehicle over bumps & when applying brakes. Also, when turning left/right the ABS pump would turn on (felt thru steering wheel). Scan tool confirmed left wheel solenoid activated during test drive. Ck'd the front wheel sensors AC voltage out put per buick service manuals & found left wheel sensor output at 150 mvac and right wheel sensor at 120mvac for "approx" same wheel speed; spec is 100mvac when "spinning wheel" (no speed of wheel in spec!). Other sensor cks (open, shorts to ground, short to voltage, shorted together) all ok. During long trip (400miles) problem (ABS,tcs, etc) lights never came on. Problems that occurred during local/short trips totally went away during long trip???? Sooooo what to do??? Plan to change left front wheel hub as thumping in front end during braking (bearings?) hasn't gone away.

Filed Sep 5, 2012 · Brakes · 165,000 miles · FL · crash

Note: "service traction system soon" "anti-lock", and the "traction" lights lights began to come on, then off. Ocassionally ,there would be a vibration on the brake pedal when the brakes were applied. I had my son-in-law drive it but none of these things occured. Nest time I was driving all these lights came on then off and the brakes made the vibation. I drove it to the garage where I buy my tires and where they do service vehecles and asked them to check out all these problems. He drove it around the blocks but no lights came on nor did the brakes vibrate. He pulled a wheel but could not find anything wrong. A few days later the lights came on again and when I applied the brakes, the brakes would not stop the car and caused me to rear-end the car ahead who was stopped at the red light. My SUV was totalled but thankfully there were no injuries but after my problem, I discovered a forum on line and there are blogs describing the ABS, traction system problem in the buick SUV so why did gm fail to recall these vehicles? I wonder if there have been any major injuries or even deaths as the result of the brakes failing?

Filed Jan 5, 2011 · Airbags, Brakes · 85,000 miles · OH

We purchased this vehicle used in 2004, and over the past years we have had to replace the following: both front hub assemblies (with speed sensors), intake manifold gasket and the air conditioner condenser (one year ago). Just within the last 2 months we have had to replace the following: tie-rod, radiator, water pump, thermostat, head gasket, and the intake manifold gasket again. The vehicle only has 86,000 miles on it to date. The only thing that we had the buick dealer work on was the front hub assemblies, the rest of the work was performed by tire dealership, radiator shop, and an automotive repair garage. Now, the ABS light is on again meaning that one of the front hub assemblies are out (replaced by buick themselves) and our anti-lock brakes are not working. And, also, the air-bag warning light is on. I have noticed quite a long list of complaints over the internet concerning all the above problems others have had as well with this model buick which leads me to believe that it has been an on-going problem of which buick will not deal with nor step up to their responsibility. I have been told by auto-repairmen that they have had numerous customers come in with problems with the 3400 model engine. I have contacted buick concerning the air-bag problem, and they act as though they have never heard of any problems and deny any responsibility to look into it, even though they have issued a recall on the air bag inflator for this year, make, and model, just not for my VIN#. Over the years that we have owned this vehicle we have invested quite a sum of money into repairs on this vehicle, and it has never been in an accident! I believe that with all the federal safety agency safety complaints concerning the air bags system, buick should be held responsible! All the other unique problems with this engine have been repaired by us, and is too late to expect any help

Filed Jun 16, 2010 · Brakes, Electrical · 101,000 miles · VA

2002 buick rendezvous otherwise known as the money pit. Seems that as usual our latest expense (101,000) is not covered under the recalls, due to the manufacturing date of the vehicle. Smelled gas for a week, then noticed gas gauge fluctuating, never showing empty even though trip odometer showed it had almost an empty tank. Mechanic stated crack in the fuel tank, but car was manufactured before the recall date, so buick did not cover the cost of repairs. Have recently also experienced loss of all power to cigarette lighters, drivers side window fell down and entire regulator unit was replaced. Back hatch handle fell off, again. Rearview mirror also fell off. Ac fan will no longer blow at highest setting. These are all minor compared to the faulty ABS sensor, loss of traction control, AC condenser, tie rods, 2 replaced batteries, front wheel bearings, rotors. And those repairs are just from the last 3 years....

Filed Apr 17, 2010 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · MI

2002 rendezvous. Abs indicator light is on and this system is suppose to be disable but the ABS brake system keep activate while driving on a dry road. This cause braking stop distance to be longer and possible causing accident.

Filed Aug 20, 2009 · Brakes, Engine · 86,000 miles · FL

I own a 2002 buick rendezvous with 86,000 miles. Ever since I have had the vehicle I have had problems with the ABS system, having it fixed over & over. About a month ago my vehicle began overheating all the time. Since my extended warranty has expired taking it though the dealership I am sure would cost me mucho bucks which I do not have. My neighbor is a top licensed mechanic who has worked for a chrysler dealership for 30 plus years. He took the vehicle to work with him one day last week to see if he could locate the problem.. He informed me I had a leak in my intake manifold and it needs to be replaced. He checked to see if gm had any recalls for the problem, low and behold they did not. After telling me how much it would cost to replace it, I nearly passed out. I am a single woman and since the economy has fallen I have had to take 3 pay cuts at work. It was either take the paycuts or look for a new job. I can hardly even I have pay my mortgage, let alone pay for a major issue with my vehicle. I purchased gm cars before with no problems . I believe gm should stand up for their vehicles and fix the issue for me. I now understand there are many people out there that have this same issue.

Filed Mar 19, 2009 · Brakes · 74,000 miles · WI

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 buick rendezvous. While driving 45 MPH, the brakes failed and the ABS indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact kept pumping the brakes, but nothing happened. He applied the emergency brake to slow down the vehicle. Through online research, he found several complaints about this failure. The VIN was unknown. The current mileage was 82,000 and failure mileage was 74,000.