2009 Hummer H3 problems
NHTSA has received 95 complaints about the 2009 Hummer H3, and 36% of them involve electrical system. After that come wipers, windshield & visibility (13%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 95 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 36% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 74,000 miles 66 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 12 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 9 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 66 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 74,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 74,000 miles (25 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Hummer H3 with enough data (34 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Driving to work one morning it was a winter cold day I was going northbound and a vechicle going southbound pulled out to pass a transport truck and kept going I slowed down went to right a wee bit and car hit me head on !! I was woken by onstar and finally got out exiting the passenger side door !! I received left knee abrasions and few cuts and checked over by ems and did a followup later on day other driver transported to hospital with bad injuries !!
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 hummer h3. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35-40 MPH over a pot hole, the side air bags deployed. The passenger in the front seat was struck in the head with the air bag and sustained minor injuries. The seatbelts then became extremely tight on the passengers and the interior dome lights illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 hummer h3. The contact stated that as soon as the engine was started, the whole dash emitted smoke. The resistor wire under the glove box caught on fire and it spread rapidly. The vehicle was destroyed. The fire also spread to additional vehicles that were parked near the contact's vehicle. There were no injuries. A fire report was available. The failure and the current mileage was 120,000.
We had been having problems with the AC not working as well as it used to and blamed it on the age of the vehicle. The first time we took a trip outside of town and after 1.5 hours of driving, the AC completely stopped working. We looked at the blower motor connector module and noticed discoloration and melting of a plastic wire connector. We had ordered the part to replace it when we heard the recall announced on TV. We returned the part and are waiting for the local GMC dealer to get the recall notice.
While driving the plastic case on the side of the driver seat breaks away and automatically starts the electric seat to move down and back, causing risk of accident