This might just end up being a GM rant but, if it turns into something then so be it.
Are there any bullshit problems with any vehicle you can think of…recall notice or not?
I have 2 examples, the 2nd one happening today.
My first example involves the GM 3800 series 2 motor, where the upper intake plenum explodes from a leaking fuel pressure regulator. A problem so rare, but when it happens, it’s pretty fukkin catastrophic. Imagine that on one of the most reliable v6’s ever. I’ll never own another N/A Series 2 3800 ever again.
The 2nd example happened today. The vehicle in question is my 2003 Chevy Tahoe. Im at the laundry mat this morning trying to be productive on my day off, just put blankets in the washer. I get back inside the truck which was backed in to the parking spot right in front of the laundrymat. Im thinking about what I want to eat and I glance down at my phone, when all of a sudden BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!! …White noise…then I heard glass shattering!! It sounded like a shotgun blast went off right next to me. I didnt know if somebody was shootin, if somebody hit my shit, or if somethin fell from a tree and hit the window. I get out and look…
I was so pissed with no one to blame, that shit was so random. I googled it and apparently its a thing that rarely happens on '00-'05 Tahoes/Yukons. I havent found a “fix” and there isnt a recall for it, so hopefully insurance will come through. Exploding rear hatch on 2003 Tahoe, its a thing
To me, those are some BULLSHIT random isues to have to possibly have with any vehicle. Are there some others out there that yall can think of, cause I’d like to know.
Edit: here’s a video of what happened to my first example, except mine was a beautiful '99 Gold Buick Regal LS… who I named Goldie. Same “venerable” fukkin 3.8 
Mine was in the process of getting jumpstarted and BOOOOOOMMMMM…FIRE!!!..BIGGER FIRE!!!
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Wasn’t there a big thing with 80s German cars needing to have a certain percentage of the car be recyclable, and Mercedes Benz made their wiring have biodegradable sheathing? Which meant a lot of those cars had massive electrical issues about 30-odd years later?
Or what about the Mazdas and Toyotas (I think) that had issues where they attracted spiders that liked the smell or taste of gasoline?
Just a couple off the top of my head.
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Yeah, the Mazdas had that issue. our family had an '07 Mazda6 diesel, and thankfully that wasn’t affected
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For those curious about the why and how… This sort of thing is the result of two things: Normal accidents, and the formula.
Normal accidents come from a book named Normal Accidents. In short, some systems are so complex and interlinked that it becomes inevitable for some element or another to go wrong. As we humans create more and more systems and expose them to more and more sequences of events, with each side growing larger… Random accidents due to a myriad of factors lining up become common. They become normal accidents. Toyota will inevitably make a part that sometimes eventually has catastrophic failure with no immediately visible cause, GM will inevitably make an engine where a small failure causes a subsequent, much larger failure.
Which brings us to the formula. In Fight Club, Edward Norton’s character used to work as a recall coordinator, applying the formula. Take the number of vehicles out there, the chance of a defect manifesting and the cost you face when a defect manifests and multiply them all together. If that’s less than the cost of a recall, it simply does not happen. In the movie, it’s based specifically around fatal defects, but it happens everywhere - and incidentally, not just with cars. If a defect is rare enough (because this specific normal accident has half a dozen conditions to occur) and inconsequential enough (because a broken hatch on a 20+ year old vehicle is unlikely to cause severe injury), it’ll be in the financial interest of the manufacturer to just leave the vehicles out there.
In short, your vehicle’s rear hatch blew because it’s impossible to make a perfect car. Toyota got reasonably close and most hatches are fine for a decent while, but they made a minor mistake which causes a rare failure mode. The bean counters decided it’s just not worth fixing.
It doesn’t help your broken rear hatch, but it’s an interesting little fact of modern life.
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I just imagine if ANYONE was behind the window at that moment, they would’ve been fucked UP. That shit sounded like a damn grenade goin off!! You see the pictures right? It was a wee bit more than a broken hatch, more like a blasted off hatch, but I get what you mean.
Yes, it affected the wiring harness to the engine, mainly on models with electronic fuel injection. Looking at the wiring harness is the first thing you should do if buying a pre 1997 Mercedes. Either it is bad or changed out, there is not a single original harness that still is in good condition.
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