This morning the temp. was 2 degrees, with a wind chill of -18. This morning pulling into my work parking garage I had a problem. While making turns, something in the front was causing the front wheels to feel like they were in 4WD Locked, even though they were not, and there was a low-pitched rubbing sound that sounded exactly like you were blowing into an empty two-liter soda bottle. If you have ever felt what 4WD Locked feels like on dry pavement when you forget to disengage it, that's exactly what it felt like.

At first I thought maybe the 4WD didn't disengage properly but I used it almost 45 minutes prior on the ice in my development. I disengaged/reengaged the 4WD Locked a few times and could hear it engaging/disengaging so that sounded ok.

The ONLY thing I can think of is that because the front end was getting hit by -18 wind chill for 45 minutes without using the brakes on the highway, that maybe one or both of the front brake lines froze up, and it's causing the caliper sliders to freeze and keep the brake pads stuck to the discs.

I haven't changed the brake fluid since I got the truck, but I have used a turkey baster a few times to suck the brake fluid out of the container and refill it using synthetic. I've done that a few times since I've got it. That's my cheap easy way of changing the brake fluid .

Anyway, anybody ever have this happen or have any ideas? I wouldn't think the brake lines would freeze. I'm afraid something is wrong with the differential or gearbox, but like I said, I could hear it physically disengaging. That didn't seem to help it though. It helped a little to pump the brakes, but I didn't thinka bout that til after I started writing this.

All I know is I'm getting REALLY tired of this every two month cycle of having problems with this thing. I'm seriously starting to wonder if I'm going to keep it once the lease is up. Obviously I got a lemon, but because it has almost 50k miles and every time it's a new problem, I don't think the lemon law would do anything for me anymore.

 

After reading this traction/differential thread, I wonder if maybe the issue was the TCS was trying to do something because it felt slip on some of the ice spots in the garage? I dunno.

https://www.hummerforums.com/m_113086/tm.htm

 

I am not the brake fluid expert but I know you can't mix silicone and the glycol based fluids ( DOT 5/DOT 3 ) If you removed the brake fluid using a baster you didn't completely empty/flush the system and have mixed fluid types. Not all components are compatable with the DOT 5 fluids and this can cause the seals to fail. The silicone based brake fluid can attach to the gunk in your system and cause corrosion also. You may have had a seal fail and cause the piston or pistons in the calipers to be locking up. Hopefully some of the more knowledgable mechanically inclined types will put in their two cents worth some.

 

Well that could very well be the casewith this cold weather. I checked with the dealer before I did it and read up on it, as well as talked to my mother's bf who taught it for so many years, so I thought it would be ok. Everybody told me as long as it has the same DOT rating as the factory fluid, it should be ok. I know I use the same DOT rating as what was from the factory. I believe it's DOT4 on the H3, or at least mine, but I don't remember.

I only did it once or twice because I didn't have a garage to work on it and didn't have the time to get it done, and this was over a year ago. I haven't had any brake problems yet, except that my pads need to be replaced very soon. They have maybe 15% left. Maybe I'll take it in once I get back from vacation and get the brake fluid replaced completely by the dealer.

I do, however, remember having this problem once before in really cold weather in my parking garage. It was the same situation. I drove it in this frigid cold weather and when I got to work, I had the issue, but it went away after work.

We'll see what happens when I leave. I just hope I can get out of the garage without anything breaking. As long as I can do that, at least if it's a major issue I can call AAA and have it towed to my dealer.

 

It's still in high lock.... reverse in a circle and it should unlock.


[sm=icon_rtfm.gif]

 

I have had mine stuck in High-Lock even though the lights on the dash indicated it was unlocked. Follow Steve's advice and drive in reverse in a circle. That should fix it.

 

yea Mike, I would say you are still in high lock. Everytime you take any 4x4 out of 4 wheel (or 4 lock in the case of the h3) always go reverse a few feet to kick it back into normal mode. I've had the same problem with my h3 a few times...especially in the freezing weather these electric actuated t-cases suck....I really wish the h3 has a stick on the floor for 4x4 shifting[:@]

 

My wife thinks because her family has drilled it into her head all these years that because I don't let the car warm up for ten minutes in the cold is why I'm having problems [&:]

Anyway, thanks for the info. I can hear the click underneath when switching it back, but that's what it sounds like, which means once again my differential case bushings are probably going to crack and break from the stress of having it in locked on the pavement.

It's supposed to go up to about 20 degrees around noon, so I'm going to go warm up the truck for about 15 minutes and hope the heat from the engine defrosts the crap underneath enough for me to drive it in the garage and try to disengage it. The problem is there are some tight turns in this garage and unfortunately if I can't get the thing to disengage something is going to break or crack, and most likely that's the differential. I'll be damned if I am going to be held accountable for a crappy design.

This is a Hummer and it's not supposed to have issued when it gets a little cold. I'm really started to despise my truck. Nobody else seems to have the problems I do. I don't think it's all H3's, just mine unfortunately.

 

When it's real cold mine will make a loud clunk when it transfers back to 4high

 

Well my problem is I'm stuck ina 10 floor parking garage and in order to get to a place where I can even do a partial turn, I need to drive it up to the 10th floor. I'm on the second now. I'm going to have to drive up and down the level I'm in forward and reverse and hope it disengages. I drove it 40 miles after supposedly disengaging it. Does that mean it's been engaged the entire time? That kinda sucks considering I was driving 65 to 70 for 40 miles. I hope there's nothing else wrong with it.