hey guys i have a 2002 bravada with smarttrak. i have been having some issuese with the awd kicking in. it just doesnt do it anymore and when it is supposed to the service light comes on. i have replaced the transmission and rear diff already and was wondering if anybody has experienced this before. any help would be great thanks.

 

Hmm... I have never heard of that particular problem. Did the shop that replaced the transmission and rear differential check out the problem for you?

 

no i havent brought it back to then cuz right now i dont have the extra money for a shop to look at it. i kinda just wanted to try and troubleshoot it myself and work from there

 

Wish I knew more about those things, but I have never even been inside of one.

Did GM make a chassis service manual in 2002 for these? I don't even know what smart trac is

 

If the problem existed before you took it to the shop and they replaced the transmission and rear differential to fix it then they need to make good on their repair. You shouldn't expect a shop to just throw money at a problem until it is fixed.

 

If the service engine light is coming on, it's something in the electronics. If you're reasonably sure it's an AWD transfer case problem, why did they replace the trans and rear end?

At 11 years old and 165K miles, I'm not gonna waste any time and money troubleshooting or repairing mine. When it quits, to the junkyard it goes. Truck is in decent shape, but with age and miles it will not be cost-effective to start making high-dollar repairs like that.

 

they replaced the tranny and rear end cuz the were broken. the awd system had nothing to do with those problems at the time. they just started happening this winter and was looking for some help, hoping that someone might have had these problems or maybe some experience with them

 

Sorry, I have never heard of that particular problem. We don't get many Bravada owners on the forum. Aren't they the same vehicle as the GMC Jimmy? Maybe a forum covering those vehicles would have more info for you.

 

I have a 2002 Bravada, and I havent have any problems with the smattrak. I was wondering if you knew of any one who makes an adaptor to interface my IPOD with my Bose 6 disc stereo.

 

Or you could drop a 455 in it Bravada was on my list of drag cars.

Bravy, if it's doing it after the work has been done, take it back, NOW!! If they screwed it up or maybe didn't connect something inside the tranny, it's their problem to fix at no cost to you

 

When I have a pair of Starfires, a W34 Toronado and a Hurst/Olds that could give more benefit, pleasure and return, that POS Bravada can move on down the road. I have a totally reliable F-150 4x4 for winter and hauling.

Plus it has been the single worst vehicle I have ever owned, bar none.

Right now it has a safety inspection rejection because of a slightly loose pitman arm that really should have passed, but the shop was slack and looking for a job. Their jaws dropped when I announced I would not repair it, since they're used to me fixing whatever needs fixing. One of them says, "you fixed ball joints and brakes on the wagon last year and you won't put a pitman arm on this?" You don't understand- I love that old gray wagon. I have hated this POS since I'd had it six months. I think the big reason I have always hated it is because I know it is really nothing but a Blazer in drag, and my low opinion of Chevrolets is well known. This maintenance-intensive thing has reinforced it.

The rejection runs out Friday. After that, if someone offers me $1000 for it, it's theirs. It doesn't sell in a few months, to the junkyard it goes. It's not worth repairing to me.

 

I'm thinking about buying a 2002 Bravada. How easy is it to get parts for it? Does GM/Oldsmobile still make parts for the Bravada?

 

With the GMC Envoy, Chevy Trailblazer and the Buick Rainier being that they are the same after pealing the sheetmetal off, it should be fairly easy to keep it running down the road for a while! Only issues would be Oldsmobile specific i.e. the front bumper and grille and possibly the Smarttrack.

Nice rigs, loved mine when I leased one for a couple of years. I did have some issues, sometimes the bugger would not turn over, so I carried a manual push to start switch, turned the key on and popped the hood connected it to the starter and fired right up. It would do this every 5000 miles or so.

Also had the smarttrack engage while turning into parking spots, dealer reprogramed the encoder motor and eventually replaced it with no further issues.

Pat

 

Oldsmobile died, not GM. GM will support it as long as they would any other model, and the aftermarket will do the same. I had a '98 Cutlass until earlier this year, and had no problems whatsoever getting parts of any kind for it. In the case of the Cutlass, it was pretty much identical to the '98 Malibu, and Chevy is still around.

 

The smart track encoder motor is a weak point on this SUV, I had to replace mine twice and replace the transfer case once and the front dif. Wife turned a corner hit a bit of loose gravel the smart track ingaged and broke the housing when she hit clean pavement. Other than that was a great ride and we put 300,000 miles on it before she rolled it.We then went out and picked up a 04 and started over.
Steve

 

You can go to www.gmpartsonline.net or ebay search 02 bravada.

 

I race mine frequently with only the 6 cyl in it!! hoping to get someone to pimp my ride, as I have now dropped about $10k in it and my wiring still has my a/c blowing harder when I accelerate instead of my radio getting louder. No power to my passenger side. Air bags and compressor out right now. and a fan clutch that isn't broken but runs on high all the time.