2003 Suburban DEFECT - rear hatch glass hinge breaking - Page 3

Mine broke also and let me guess they didn't fix yours either and said it was because of abuse.. I am going to fix mine with glue and trade the thing off and never buy a GM product again.  My car I bought brand new.....You would think they would stand behind their product. 

Well, add me to the list as well.....My 2003 Suburban rear window hinge on the Right side completely broke away from the window. To me it looks as though they molded the metal hinge into plastic or adhesive. Seems to be a poor design to me as well. I didn't even want to take it to the dealer as I know I am out of warranty (90K miles) and since I knew it would be expensive. Trying to see if I can get a repacement window as I type this.
 
Good to know that I am not the only one, but sad to read that the poor engineering design was not addressed until 2007. No wonder American Car manufacturer's get a bad reputation when compared to Japanese Car manufacturer. This aside, I do love my Chevy Suburban as it has been a good vehicle aside from this poor design. I do pull a 24' Travel Trailer from time to time for camping trips, but I have read that this has happened to Sub's who don't pull a trailer.
 
Anyway, thanks to all for posting these issues as I have been able to get some very good information.

Just ran into the same thing with a 2002 Sub w/100k miles.  Opened the hatch and the right hinge seperated from the black adhesive.  I've noticed that the left hinge has a crack as well.  My local mechanic quoted $850 to replace it....I couldn't believe it!  Thinking GM may have had a recall, thought it would be worth checking with the dealership where I purchased the car.  We spoke with the service dept manager, Bill S. at Weir Canyon Chevrolet at he said that they haven't seen that happen and to bring it in as he'd like to take a look.  They gave me a quote for $890 and said that I was well past my warranty with 100k and gave me an 800 number for GM.  "What a crock!"......this will be my last GM value engineered piece of crap.                      

Interesting post all.  The right rear hinge broke loose on my wife's 2003 last week while sitting in a parking lot.  I guess it was it's time after reading all these post.  And to think I was just looking to see what to expect for the repair cost when I came across this site.  This is our second Suburban and may be our last, we have had electrical problems and the dealer can't fix those either.  The '91 she had was a real truck and we never had a problem with it.  She babies her vehicle and we have all our vehicles serviced regularly.  After looking at the design I think GM would be wanting to fix this with a recall rather than to loose their current customer base, no wonder their stock has dropped so much.  I have friends who keep telling me to buy Japanese but I can't do that, red blooded American and all.  But the Ford F250's are looking pretty good right now.  And ZX, I don't mind spending money to keep machinery in top running condition and expect too over time, but this is just plan lousy design and shody workmanship.  Makes you proud to say "Made in America".

I have a 2005 Z71 Suburban with 47,000 miles.  My rear glass seperated from the hinge in August  2007 in the 107 degree heat in South Carolina.  I quit using the rear glass hatch and lift the whole rear hatch up since I have not gotten it fixed yet.  I have dreaded going throught the inevitable fight over whose is responsible for this defect.  I was sure GM would not own up to this since I am out of the 36,000 mile warranty, and after seeing this forum my suspicions were confirmed.  I agree that a hinge should last a reasonable life expectancy of a car, which is considerably more than 47,000 miles or 2 years.  If they are going to mount a glass window to a steel hinge they should find something better than plastic to do it with, like maybe...... screws!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I will continue to watch this thread in hopes that something will evolve............

60.000 miles are not that many if they had 3 then they hav'nt  heard of the other 350 who didnt say anything  talk to a dealer they may help you  may be split the cost       marky

Like many others, I'm experiencing the filure of the hinge on the rear window lift-gate. I took over ownership of my 2004 Tahoe from my son.  In the interest of maintaining its excellent , unmarred, shiny appearance, I polished and waxed the entire vehicle.  While doing the roof, I noticed what appeared to be a dip/drop/indentation in the rubber across the top of therear window. Naive to the construction of the window, I thought it was nohing more than a flaw in the rubber.  Only after I began to notice the alignment of the window, with the frame of the vehicle, did I suspect something going on with the hinge.
 
A trip to the Chevrolet dealership resulted in what many others experienced; $1K to replace, and NO, it was not covered under my extended 75K warranty coverage.
 
I came across this forum while searching for a replacement/parts provider for something less than the $1K.  I had somet thoughts of trying to glue myself, and will go back and re-read the experiences of my predecessors.  Since encountering this GM maufacrturing flaw, I've taken to checking out Tahoes, Suburbans, and Yukons, and have noticed may others that are, likely, oblivious to what is happening to their vehice.
 
Chevrolet/GM's denialis amazing.  When I took the vehicle in and requested replacement bulbs, as 3-4 of the buttons on my radio went dark, they replaced the entire radio/CD/tape unit and charged me the customary $100 extended warranty charge. So the entertainment unit is covered under manufacturer's coverage, but not a window hinge?  AMAZING!

quote:

ORIGINAL: ZX1100F1

Just curious, what part of 3 year or 36,000 mile warranty do you not understand?
Especially if you aren't even the original purchaser, I mean man suck it up and have some dignity and pay the damn bill.
Your warranty has expired a long time ago.

 
 
AMEN Brotha!!!!

Thanks for bringing this back to the top "Brotha" it has been a while, and I have had other things to worry about.  8 posts and already looking for controversy, you ought to do well here - welcome to the forum. 

Read through the 6 pages of posts, and you will not only see that many other people had the same issue with the same truck, but on 7/9/2007 ZX1100F1 (your quote's author) did some more research and feels that there is a problem.
 
87,000 miles on the truck now, 20k + with the JB Weld fix and no problem - mabye GM should be using JB Weld to attach the hinge to the window?

Reverend Brotha:
Who said I'm not the original owner?  Just because my son drove the car, I happened to own the title, and as for warranty, I paid for an extended 75K coverage. Take your unappreciated little response and eat it.
 
Rxlrider:
Yes, I'm going to give your JB Weld solution a try.  I removed the right side hydraulic strut and the window immediately fell back into alignment.  However, now (after several months of lack of support) I notice it's starting to drop.  First weekend, where I can go without the vehicle, I'm going to give it a try.
Thanks,
Don

I have a 2003 Suburban LT and have enjoyed the vehicle for five years.  I rarely use the back window and do not tow anything behind the vehicle.  About a year ago the plastic cracked around the rear window and am reluctant to spend $1300 on the car.    

Add another one to the List of "Poorly Engineered" Hatch Glass hinge. My 2005 Suburban LT w/41,000 miles had a failure on the left hatch while on vacation in sunny Florida 2 weeks ago. Our hatch was seldom used because my wife is only 5''4" and has difficulty reaching into the car through the hatch. I thought it was due to the smoldering temperature our truck is exposed to in NC and FL. Dealer said same story $1100-$1200 and out of warranty. Only owner and treated very well. Found this post while researching replacement part on www. Hope this gets some attention from Chevrolet.

I have a 2003 Suburban with 75k miles. About 1 week ago, the rear window began making a whistling noise while driving. When I inspected it, I found that the hinge had separated from the window. I have probably opened that window 20 times since I purchased the vehicle new in 2003. I phoned the dealer that I purchased it from, they were completely aware of the problem, as they had seen it before, but said I should come it. Their answer was "it can''t be fixed, but rather a new rear window should be installed to the tune of $1,000. I contacted GM Customer Service who claimed they had never heard of this problem before, but also stated that the only solution would be to replace the entire rear window.

The vehicle has only been used for pleasure use, never towed a vehicle.

If you have had this happen to you or someone you know google: suburban rear window hinge

gerry.west@hotmail.com