Pontiac Solstice Forum - View Single Post - Differential Problems Poll (8/07) for all owners. Please Respond

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAO

certainly wish there was a way to determine the overall size of the issue with the diff, meaning how many cases have been actually reported.....big GM knows the answer, but will probably never release it unless there is an engineering design safety directive from the NHTSA...that requires the carmaker to report/document the problem, number of occurrences, actions taken by the automaker to remedy the issue or make repairs...etc....

33 responses....and probably close to 45K or more cars on the road now.....so probably not a good statistical sample.......

Oh, this is in no way a poll that will give us a reliable statistical sample. There are WAY too many variables in the equation. Right down to the forum demographic. If ONLY the very active members posted, you might be able to consider it a good sample size, but that is not the case. Everyone can respond, and among casual forum users, you tend to have a larger representation of owners with problems than actually exist in the community. Many owners will never seek out a forum for simple social/community enjoyment, but many of them will if they experience a problem to research it and get a solution. As a result, the percentage of owners with problems on a forum is higher than the percentage of owners with problems overall.

Then the poll is flawed in other ways. Do you consider the vent leak really a "problem?" Some work fine, but weep fluid during aggressive driving. Maybe it is a design shortcoming, but it isn't a mechanical problem or build quality problem either. Also, someone might have had a weeping vent, but the dealer mis-daignosed it leading the person to believe they had a bigger issue.

Then there is the issue of the clunk. Some are worse than others. GM tends to maintain it is not a problem that will result in a component failure. It is more of an annoyance (in their estimation) and they have developed a partial cure in the torque bar. Yet, the poll only asks if you have a clunk. So you have a bias by the respondant to determine if they have a "clunk" and there is no way to tell if they are diagnosing the right clunk or not, or whether whatever their car is doing qualifies as the clunk. Then there is the question as to whether this clunk is really a problem, just an annoyance, or somewhere in between.

Regardless, between the clunk and the vent leak, we could have a lot of respondents with either or both problems, who really do NOT have a mechanical issue whatsoever and own a car that will not need any rear end repair over it's lifespan, and only have the inconvenience and annoyance caused by the design of the rear carrier and mounting assembly.

The poll is mainly for the fun of it, to see how it turns out, and to satisfy those who want to know. But as you point out it is by no means a definitive figure to be relied upon either. There is no scientific basis to this poll.

Last edited by Fformula88 : 08-16-2007 at 10:22 AM.

	Fformula88 Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: So long, and thanks for all the fish!	Quote: Originally Posted by PAO certainly wish there was a way to determine the overall size of the issue with the diff, meaning how many cases have been actually reported.....big GM knows the answer, but will probably never release it unless there is an engineering design safety directive from the NHTSA...that requires the carmaker to report/document the problem, number of occurrences, actions taken by the automaker to remedy the issue or make repairs...etc.... 33 responses....and probably close to 45K or more cars on the road now.....so probably not a good statistical sample....... Oh, this is in no way a poll that will give us a reliable statistical sample. There are WAY too many variables in the equation. Right down to the forum demographic. If ONLY the very active members posted, you might be able to consider it a good sample size, but that is not the case. Everyone can respond, and among casual forum users, you tend to have a larger representation of owners with problems than actually exist in the community. Many owners will never seek out a forum for simple social/community enjoyment, but many of them will if they experience a problem to research it and get a solution. As a result, the percentage of owners with problems on a forum is higher than the percentage of owners with problems overall. Then the poll is flawed in other ways. Do you consider the vent leak really a "problem?" Some work fine, but weep fluid during aggressive driving. Maybe it is a design shortcoming, but it isn't a mechanical problem or build quality problem either. Also, someone might have had a weeping vent, but the dealer mis-daignosed it leading the person to believe they had a bigger issue. Then there is the issue of the clunk. Some are worse than others. GM tends to maintain it is not a problem that will result in a component failure. It is more of an annoyance (in their estimation) and they have developed a partial cure in the torque bar. Yet, the poll only asks if you have a clunk. So you have a bias by the respondant to determine if they have a "clunk" and there is no way to tell if they are diagnosing the right clunk or not, or whether whatever their car is doing qualifies as the clunk. Then there is the question as to whether this clunk is really a problem, just an annoyance, or somewhere in between. Regardless, between the clunk and the vent leak, we could have a lot of respondents with either or both problems, who really do NOT have a mechanical issue whatsoever and own a car that will not need any rear end repair over it's lifespan, and only have the inconvenience and annoyance caused by the design of the rear carrier and mounting assembly. The poll is mainly for the fun of it, to see how it turns out, and to satisfy those who want to know. But as you point out it is by no means a definitive figure to be relied upon either. There is no scientific basis to this poll. Last edited by Fformula88 : 08-16-2007 at 10:22 AM.