04 vue awd rear noise

[SL1commuter]

my mother has and 04 vue and while she was on a hill in the snow the AWD kicked in and she heard a strange noise from the rear end. sounded like a weird electric selenoid or some noise from a star wars movie. i've read from other guys on here that it might be a rear drive drum in the RDM?

This thing is still under the extended warranty at 49k miles. what should my father tell the service guys when he takes it in to get repaired? parents are thinking about trying to trade this thing in on something with a REAL rear differential haha!

is there any way to replace the RDM yourself? the service guy told me dad over the phone that the rear is a sealed unit and that maybe dirt got in there? if it's a sealed unit, why would dirt get in there? they supposedly check the rubber boots and inspect the rear everytime it's in the shop haha.

any input would be appreciated!;)

[cernest]

I have a '03 AWD, the bearing on the rear shaft caused us a bunch of problems until a service guy finally took the rear drive shaft out and drove without it, They finally found the problem in the shaft bearing. Our problem was more of a vibration then a noise, but we did have some noise.

[jdmessner]

The drive shaft support bearings and the RDM module are both known liabilities with the Vue AWD.

Long term reliability of both are not very good and they are both expensive to repair. (the drive shaft support bearings were somewhere in the neighborhood of $550.00 for both bearings.)

Neither job is recommended to be attempted by a backyard mechanic. There is alot of labour involved and will require the use of some speacialized tools.

Take it to the garage of your choice and get it fixed.

[Bigdaddy94sc2]

Might want to explain the sound better. The description sounds like possible normal operation of the RDM kicking in and slipping as well, but it could also be a problem.... try to describe it better.

But to help you out, if the RDM doesnt make noise while doing sharp turns at slow speeds, like in a parking lot, doing "circles that are close in diameter" then your RDM is fine.

[SL1commuter]

well, our drive way is pretty steep. when she bought the vehicle it never made this sound driving in the snow. it just recently started. it kind of reminds you of the sound of a loud starter on a car that is cranking continously. It only makes the noise while driving straight up an incline (no turning) in the snow (about 1/2 inch). i've never heard a sound like this come from a vehicle. it's not a vibration that i know of just a noise. i'm pretty sure they are taking it to the shop today.

my mother drives pretty cautiously, not irratically so i know it's not from abusive driving:xeye:

[BobbyP]

Sounds like only when the RDM is engaged you're hearing the sound. Let us know what they did to solve the problem. Sometimes replacing the fluid solves helps, otherwise they need to replace the RDM.