NHTSA Complaint #10569454 — 2007 HUMMER H3

I WAS SITTING IN THE LINE AT MY SON'S SCHOOL, BEEN SITTING THERE 2 - 3 MINUTES, AND I SMELLED COOLANT. LOOKED AT MY GAUGE AND IT WAS RIDING JUST BELOW MID-POINT....NORMAL. GOT MY SON AND STARTED HOME. SITTING AT THE RED LIGHT, I SMELLED COOLANT AGAIN. THIS TIME I KNEW IT WAS MY CAR. WE WENT TO A SERVICE STATION AND ASK IF SOMEONE COULD CHECK TO SEE IF WE HAD A LEAK. THEY PULLED MY H3 INTO THE BACK AND HOOKED UP A PRESSURE "TOOL" TO THE RADIATOR AND LOW AND BEHOLD, BUT A HAIRLINE CRACK ON THE UPPER DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE RADIATOR. THE MECHANIC LAUGHED AND SAID I WAS THE 2ND ONE THIS WEEK AND THE 6TH ONE SINCE THEY OPENED 6 MONTHS AGO. HE SAID THAT H3S WERE KNOWN TO HAVE RADIATOR ISSUES BECAUSE THE RADIATORS WERE PLASTIC! SERIOUSLY...PLASTIC! I WAS GIVEN A QUOTE OF $1,100 TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR WITH ANOTHER PLASTIC ONE AND THAT WOULD GIVE ME A 2 YEAR OR 24,000 MILE WARRANTY. I BROUGHT THE TRUCK BACK TO MY HOUSE SO MY HUSBAND COULD LOOK AT IT. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM WITH HUMMERS AND YET GM HAS NOT DONE A RECALL. I FOUND A NUMBER FOR HUMMER CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CALLED THEM. WHEN I TOLD THE MAN THAT ANSWERED I HAD COOLANT LEAKING, HE SAID "OH, GIVE ME YOUR ZIP CODE AND I WILL FIND A LOCAL DEALERSHIP THAT CAN REPLACE THE RADIATOR." NO QUESTIONS...HE KNEW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS ALREADY. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO "INVEST" IN A DIAGNOSTIC AND IF THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED IT WAS A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT, THAT HUMMER MIGHT "PARTICIPATE" IN THE REPAIR COSTS. I WOULD THINK WITH THIS BEING SUCH A COMMON PROBLEM, A RECALL WOULD BE IN ORDER AND POSSIBLY A REPLACEMENT RADIATOR THAT ISN'T PLASTIC! *TR