In April 2011 on bumpy roads a grinding noise would come on and it took longer to stop the car. I called the dealer and was told it was probably the ABS system and could be a number of things, the computer module may be bad, the sensors on each wheel could be bad. I took the car in for service in may, had to replace the wheel bearings on one wheel and was told it was fixed $540. Then in June the car started doing the same thing, took it in again, was told another wheel needed new bearings $740 with a warranty. In August car started the vibrating and grinding again, you can hear a vibration like a motor or something comes on and then when you try to stop you have to push really really hard. At that point I went on line to check it out, seems lots of people who own either a 2003 Pontiac Aztek or a 2003 Buick rendevous are having these same issues. The dealers are taking advantage of a defect in the car. All the blogs that I saw online are having the same problem. Many people have repacked the bearings on all wheels, replace sensors and the harness to the computer module and nothing seems to work and the dealers don't seem to know how to fix it once and for all. My car has always been worked on by the dealer. So far my dealer hasn't mentioned the computer sensor but I'm sure after I've replaced all wheel bearings they will get to that. Bottom line is if all these people are having this same safety issue, your dept needs to look at it. This is a safety issue with the ABS braking system and no one seems to know how to fix it. We are keeping our cars longer and they should last well over 100,000 miles with proper maintenance. So now I have a perfectly good car with a perfectly good engine, but no ABS braking system and it can't seem to be fixed!

- Midwest City, OK, USA

Wheel bearings defective.

- Nekoosa, WI, USA

We purchased a new 2003 Pontiac Aztek in March of 2003. To date we have had the car in for repairs on the heater fan motor replaced twice, the drivers door hinges reset twice, the rear trunk release replaced twice, repainted the drivers door and rear drivers area near taillight because the paint was gone, several no-starts that were not repeated at the garage-but needed jump starts to run, rear drivers tail-light was replaced once because it was falling out and its starting to fall out again, front wheel bearings are being replaced tomorrow. We have a little over 18,000 miles on the car and hate it and will probably never buy another Pontiac because of this lemon. All repairs have been done under warranty so far, but what happens when that runs out? sell it to the next sucker I guess.

- Marquette, MI, USA

Both front wheel bearings failed at 16,000 miles. Dealer replaced both hub assemblies. Dealer did not have any reason for extremely premature failure.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

We purchased our 2003 Pontiac Aztek last July (03). This January, the vehicle started making a horrible grinding noise when driving on the highway. We took it to our local GM dealer for repair, and the left front wheel bearing had separated internally and needed to be replaced on 2/4/04. A few weeks later, noise returned. The right front wheel bearing had to be replaced today (3/29/04). This vehicle has less than 12,000 miles on it. One of the employees at the dealership said another Aztek with low mileage had to have one bearing replaced twice. Could GM have gotten a defective batch of bearings, or is there possibly some design flaw that causes the bearings to wear out abnormally quickly? for the most part, I love this vehicle, but there are two other issues with it which could make it less safe to drive. The 'spoiler' between the slanted and verticle parts of the back window does impair rearward vision (I usually use the outside mirrors to check behind me because of that fact). Also, the windshield wipers move more slowly, even in the fast position, than most vehicles we've owned, which impairs visibility even in moderate rainfall.

- Williamson, NY, USA

While driving at any speed consumer heard loud noise coming through the front end, vehicle was taken to the dealer, and mechanic replaced the front wheel bearings.

- Fairview, TN, USA