Background: I have been a member of this forum since a few months after its inception. I have forgotten my member name though, not being on in a year or so (I didn't like the name anyway - somethng like K2-5S-SL, if that even rings a bell). That was when you earned your status by helpful posts and I think it was 40 or so to become a "regular" member. (So After the time criteria and before the Buy a Star program.) Anyway, point is I wish I was back soley for persoanl enjoyment and comradery. But the fact is I am back to try and save lives of people I called brother or sister & their loved ones in the good old days of this forum. Not some newbie alarmist.

[b]THIS RECALL CAN BE / IS A MATTER OF LIFE & DEATH FOR YOU AND YOURS!!!!![/B]

I know that's dramatic, but it's not overly dramatic, as I think my own personal saga culminating the evening before yesterday will show (Obviously if it's already taken care of it doesn't apply, but please be completely sure).

I would respectfully ask the Mods to add an extreme Caution, Danger, Please Read or other appropriate safety flag to the heading of this topic because it may otherwise be missed by someone entering the forums and not wanting to read four, going on five pages of comments to find this.

Content: After reading this forum, joining the forum and then buying a 2006 Solstice (w/ LSD) [cool dealer - just kidding] in March of that year. I had hope to be "lucky" and not be amongst those identifying a rear differential leak. 500 miles no leaks - great. Oh, now people were saying it looked like it was happening typically, but not always around the 2400 - 3k mark, if it happened at all. Ok, 3k no leaks - nice! About 3500 miles hmmm what's that on the garage floor? Doesn't look like much. Well better check it out. hmm isn't enough of it to really tell the color very well or rub it between ones fingers without a lot of grit in it. (I know what most fluids are ( water, anti freeze, engine oil, battery acid, no too sure about brake fluid anymore after seeing some blue stuff, geesh at least 3 colors of washer fluid now, hmm never did work with power steering, transmission fluid, or differential juice though). My garage floor is porous where the leak was, not sand and gravel but not painted or sealed or smooth either. Remembering this board - sugar! I bet I got that differentail leak they talked about. Darn I just took it in for State Inspection etc. at the dealer a month or two ago, had it up on the rack, everything looked fine to both of us. hmm well the leak isn't below the center pumpkin it's off to the drivers side a bit. well lets not deal with this concrete, maybe it's from the tractor or the Jeep and not the Solstice. So, I pull the Solstice out on to the nice smooth sealed driveway tarmac, checked the next day, not a drop. phew. Guess it must have been that old Wheelhorse. But let's look underneath with a flashlight anyway just to be safe, and let's keep her out in the driveway next again week - not a drop spotted. Put her back in the garage, that spot doesn;t seem to be going away like I expected and now i know nothing but the Solstice has been parked in that bay. but its not big area or very large of quantity, can't be a full fledged leak, doesn't even look like a pint, don;t know anything about Diff's but would think they must hold at least a quart, can't be that bad, would think i would hear those big gears grinding if it was only partially lubricated, let alone dry, maybe this is what they said about an over filled vent tube or extra put in by the part manufacterer. Let's check at the supermarket, oh sugar! what's that sound on the way to the store I hear somehting while shifting, not a full fledged clunk but a louder than what had been normal sound while shifting, break out laughing, I was being lazy and shifted too slowly at low rpm now i see what they were argueing about; that it wasnt the rear dif. making the clunk it was unskilled driver, I bet this is exactly what happened lol. Well lets pay attention and shift right. hmmm still making the louder sound, geesh, is it whining now too or is it just me hearing things because now i remember more of the threads. turn the radio off and pay attention, seems louder but still not bad, certainly not a big or even moderate clunk to in my book, well better keep an ear open. next week or so no sound nor leak spot on floor dries up all seems totally fine again - checking for spots at supermarket was a bad idea. wow I never noticed how many spots are covered with various fluids already, let alone adding AC condesation puddles in the summer. well no leaks anywhere and no sounds from the tunnel anymore either. - great. I'm too big to get under it, and don't have a lift so the next step would have been raise her up jacks or ramps, but all looks fine, yeah must have been that little extra overflow some folks noted. yippie. Got lucky after the scare after all. Only thing i can really fault myself on. Hind sight 20/20 probably should have thought maybe it was leaking down onto something else and thus not getting to drip down off the bottom of the pumpkin where i expected it and maybe then i would have put it up to get fully and upclose underneath. still with the amount and the timing i dont know that i would have ended up taking her in any sooner. A plan now known to be doomed to a few weeks too long.

Another 3,000 miles about 6,500 total now, no problems at all, havent' been on the forum in a year or so. Driving my daughter back from shoping getting off at a clover leaf going 30 to 35 mph under a large interstate type bridge in the right hand lane and gonna stay there, accelerating to 40. NO warning! NO grinding! NO feel in the wheel, just out of nowhere BANG! echo, sounded like driveshaft busting a universal, kinda hard to tell much tho with the underpass accoustics. In a split second: check rear mirror pull off road horsing wheel aim for guardrail, somethings real bad. Darn looks like gonna hit rail, pat self on back good job missed rail/stopped short. Absolutely as good as I could have done under the circumstances. [felt like both passenger side wheels where bound or broken, maybe one or both flat maybe rim off maybe axel broke extreme torgue on passenger front wheel and hub] car at dead stop, nose 3 inches form gaurd rail, drivers side tail 3 foot out in the highway, just after rush hour traffic, thank God cause it's a nightmare right there even after the revamp of 2 years ago cause it was so bad, but still lots of traffic. car starts and runs fine, shifter feels fine, try to let out clutch and go forward since it's only about 20 yards to be able to limp off the road completly - no go - thing won't budge even a sixteenth of an inch. just turned dark, not good spot can't get out for several minutes as cars flow by but the minority are going too fast not seeing flashers, honking at me and or others now as they have to swerve around and compete for the lane next to me, of 3 lanes of traffic finally get out semi-safely, and set up reflecrtive triangle that takes care of the folks exiting the highway, but not the folks who can't see it behind the other traffic of 2 lanes trying to get on the on ramp in front of me. gotta get daughter safe, not safe in car, then have to get self outta the road. no damage to car or people seemingly other than whatever broke, car wheels look fine surprise - nice! leaning to the passenger side looks to be only because the gradient of the very small shoulder. WOW skid is only about 20 feet maybe 10 yards long, guess it didn't take as long to come to a complete hault as it seemed behind the wheel. obvious from the skid the whole rear end locked up and became a boat anchor only the rubber of the tires solidly on firm dry pavement to slip, or in this case grip very well, all too well in this case. thankful that no one was behind me let alone tail gating, would have gotten creamed in the rear for sure, no warning, no brake lights unless i hit them, don't remember, wouldn't matter except the lights might have warned, couldn't feel any ABS shimmey the rear just locked up and draged us to an almost immediate hault, almost right where it happened. call for tow, gotta love mobile phone here even if hate for other reasons. phew Cop comes and sets up in back of car and triangle, phew car is finally safe now, good thing was only 15 minutes and in a 40 mph zone and off to the right when it happened.

If this happened from 2 minutes to a half hour ealrier up on the highway. Where we were in the middle lane I have no doubt either immediately - should a tractor trailer have been behind us, or if any vehicle was even a normal distance behind us, F1 refelexes by that driver still would have gotten us clipped in the rear at best, or attempting to flee the vehicle thru moderate traffic, the car parked in the middle of the road, Solsitce would have become simply a ticking bomb! Even without any initial collisions someone driving down the center lane would never be expecting someone parked there! Let alone 2 people running across the road in a 65 mph limit, SOMEONE ON THE CELL PHONE OR CHATTING WITH THERE COMAPNIONS FOR EVEN A SPLIT SEcOND OR SEEING US TOO LATE AS THE ONE IN FORNT OF THEM SWERVE AROUND US, OR THE LITTLE WHITE KNUCKLED 70 YEAR OLD PEERING OVER THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD MOST CERTAINKLY SMASHED RIGHT INTO AND STRAIGHT AWAY OUR REAR END AND WE ALL KNOW WHATS IN THE TRUNK I WONT MAKE ANY NIKKI LAUDA JOKES BUT I AM SURE JIMMIE STUART WOULD BE READY AT THE MIC

Hey I know i was immortal at 16 to 25 too (haha), and almost any one who has them knows everything changes when you have a child you love. I had a great life and have no complaints but the probability that in a center lane expressway scenario if this thing goes just the chance of being lucky and ending up like Steve Reeve would be like winning the lottery. This is from instant death to sitting trapped in a ticking bomb, literally no exageration for you and yours. unless you only drive in northern minnesota or arizona or the like, just think how typical simply driving down the highway with normal traffic is, and in 10 yards (more due to speed I know but not much relatively speaking) you park your car and expect not to, WITH NO WARNING TO YOU OR OTHERS, an expect to make it out unscathed. ANd IF YOU DO, YOU CAN SIT THERE ANd WATCH AND SEE IF YOUR BELOVED SOLISTICE SITS THERe FOR THE HALF HOUR TOW TRUCK OR LUCKY A COP DRiVE BY WITHOUT GETTING totally CREAMED and, MAYBE KILLING A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER PEOPLE. And find yourself saying wow well it could have been much worse!

THE BULLETIN ITSELF SAYS THAT THIS HAPPENED TO ONE KNOWN person already AND THATS NOT ME SO I AM AT LEAST THE SEcOND, AND I WOULD GUESS PROBABLY HIGHER. THIS RECALL ISN'T FOR ESTiMATED CORPORATE EFFICIeNCY. THIS RECALL IS FOR A DEATH THREAT ON YOUR LIFE FROM THE CAR YoU LOVE TO DRIVE. IT WAS DESIGNED, you're protected by law, AND YOU ExPECT it NOT TO DO EXACTLY WHAT IT CAN DO IN A FLASH --KILL YOU AND ANOTHEr PERSON DEAD IN A BLINK OF THE EYE . This is a GUN pointed right at the back of your head and don't expect the convertable top to deflect or protect you.

Sorry to be morbid scary or off color. But I can't be emfattic or dramatic enough to try and get across to you this is not a wait till February like i was gonna do, or a don't fix it if it ain't broke which i do use as a rule of thumb myself, it just doesn't apply here, or an i'm too lazy i probably won't have a passenger i care about anyway kind of excuses. please read or re read what achieftan says even tho you may think it's rocket science it sure seems to be that rocket science maybe going on inside that pumpkin and out of view to even the smartest most saavy driver. By the grace of God, luck, timing what ever you want to say, myself, and more importantly my 17 year old daughter escaped death. There is no warning, there is no reaction timing fast enough, so please don't take any chancE. Take it in NOW, as corny as it may sound, if nothing else the life you save may be your own. You drive around in a nomex suit? you have even a secc approved cockpit? you wear a helmet in your Solsitce? Yeah you can be just as good as a pro driver...and certainly every driver around you demonstrates all the time to you how good they ar... you got a remote control for others' vehicles?!

I don't agree with he who ends with the most toys wins necesarily but it's catchy so --certainly he who dies and can't play with his/her toys anymore loses. DON'T BE A LOSER! If it applies to you DON'T WAIT! TaKE YOUR SOLSTICE IN TOMOrRoW! DON'T DRIVE HER TIL YOU CAN GET HER IN, HAVE SOMEONE FOLLOW YOU THERe, get it towed and charge the recall in the end, BETTER TO OVER KILL THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS THAN ONESELF! yOUr SAGE ADVICE AND WISDOM, YOUR YOUTH AND SKILL, YOUR MONEY OR YOUR EGO, the law or your mouth, being right or being perfect WONT SAVE YOU ON THIS ONE. IF YOU'RE IN ANY BAD SPOT AND THIS LETS GO EXCEPT FOR AN ASTRONOMICAL EXCEPTION YOU'RE DEAD!

Sorry for this saga becoming an epic. If i didn't think it was of critical importance or didn't care i wouldn't spend the time. But how it can happen when you did all or all but one of what the smartest and best would have done or at least the normal and reasonable and still have it make no differnce in the outcome and the outcome being the ultimate penalty I tought it appropriate to give all the details I could recount in the hopes of it hitting home with everyone it can. Trust me while the odds may seem rare they completly don't matter anymore when it happens to you.

I butchered grammar to cut size. I am sure i have been redundant and only hope redundant enough, the spelling and typos probably abound. I am exhausted and have to go to bed and just can't make it to editng and dont want to wait till tomorow for fear it might be too late for someone. Please don't flame for trivial stuff here, if you have to at least keep what is supremely important intact regardless.

Best wishes to all.

^spyder, while yours is a horror story without a tragic ending as you were able to stop the car without further incident, you did possibly miss out on having your diff vent checked initially (there have been at least two procedures identified related to the vents) it does appear that whether the oil leaked out the vent or the seal is immaterial, the oil disappeared and your rearend locked up solid while you were driving. One has to assume that repair or replacement was covered by the warranty. But it would also appear that due to time when this happened your car does not have the newest fix so would presumable be included in the February recall. You can take it in now to be inspected but if you insist on an immediate fix if problems are identified you may not get the most current up to date fix. That's the reason for waiting until Feb., as the complete procedure and/or parts have yet to be exactly identified.

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When more than one friend wants to ride shotgun

No, I do not work for GM or any subsidiary or supplier.

dose it get the gear oil off of my new garage floor?

Well I thought that I might have dodged the bullet on this one. In fact I just went and did the survey that my diff wasn't leaking. I got my 07 Mean GXP in May 07 and now have a little over 16,000 mile on it. Today I went to lunch with some friends in their car and when we came back I notice a wet spot under the rear end of my GXP!! I then reach up under and felt the front of the pinon and pulled back oily fingers!! When I got home tonight as soon as I pulled it into the garage I got out and looked under her and watched drips fall from the fron pinion seal. Needless to say the next time it will be driven will be to the Pontiac Dealer as soon as I make sure they will have the parts on hand to fix it!! If that isn't enough a week ago I think I hit a Bobcat on my way home from work and did $1600 dollars damage to the front end! The good news is the repair shop is going to order my new intercooler from Hahns Racecraft and install it instead of the factory one. I will just need to pay the difference...........

Mark

When you bring it in, follow the site's recommendations:

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INFORMATION POSTED ON SITE
Any GM Solstice Service Manual and Service Bulletin information found here on site, or Sales and Product information should be thought of as correct and accurate as of the date posted. After that any information or procedure should be confirmed as still correct with your dealership.

I would like to have an answer for this Q as well as "Is GM going to recall vehicles which have already had a vent tube mod fix?"

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Totally different issues. The vent repairs were for vent leaks.

The upcoming recall is for pinion seal leaks.

As long as a car meets whatever qualifications GM uses to determine the pinion seal recall, can't imagine that it would matter if there has already been a vent repair.

__________________
INFORMATION POSTED ON SITE
Any GM Solstice Service Manual and Service Bulletin information found here on site, or Sales and Product information should be thought of as correct and accurate as of the date posted. After that any information or procedure should be confirmed as still correct with your dealership.

Thanks I will be sure too..........

Mark

Taking my car to the Dealer tomorrow to get the leak fixed. When I called then to ask if they had the the parts for the recall they did not know of it. I gave then my VIN number they looked it up and there are no recalls for my car at this time. I guessing that the recall is not showing up yet in their computers. Anyhow I'll update I what they do.....

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Mark

2007 "Mean" Solstice GXP
Fully Loaded
Solo RCD Cat Back Exhaust, Hahn Racecraft Intercooler

Because there is no recall.


Yet.

__________________
INFORMATION POSTED ON SITE
Any GM Solstice Service Manual and Service Bulletin information found here on site, or Sales and Product information should be thought of as correct and accurate as of the date posted. After that any information or procedure should be confirmed as still correct with your dealership.

True, but my dealer checked and the "Kit" is available already.
They ordered one and just got it in a couple days ago.

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Kitty Litter, followed by full strength Simple Green - both of which you'll have to buy without reimbursement.
Expanding on SD's answer, even cars that have al;ready had one or more seals replaced, even complete differentials, MAY be included to receive the most up to date procedure.
Be patient, grasshopper.
Just for emphasis, the intent to issue has been filed, scheduled for February. When full details have been transmitted to dealers we will know about it as well. Plus each affected owner of record will receive official notice from GM outline what procedures to follow for inspection and any required repairs.

__________________
When more than one friend wants to ride shotgun

No, I do not work for GM or any subsidiary or supplier.