More Owners Complain Of GM Transmission Defect Amid Pending Lawsuit
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This past April, a class-action lawsuit surfaced as consumers bound together to voice their displeasure over General Motors vehicles. Specifically, models equipped with the eight-speed automatic transmission. Now, more owners are speaking out.
Local North Carolina news station Action 9 WSOCTV reported on one local owner who showed the problem off for the camera. While the lawsuit alleges shakes, jerks, or a “hard shift” when selecting a gear with the automatic transmission, this owner highlighted the “Chevy shudder,” as he called it. At speed, he showed the steering wheel shuddering and shaking. He claims the problem is nearly constant in his $52,000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500.
GM told the news station that owners should visit a dealership to walk through the protocols with a technician to solve the problem. Numerous technical service bulletins (13 as of this past April) exist for issues like so many owners describe in their vehicles.
The transmission is the 8L90 or 8L45 automatic transmission, which is found in numerous GM vehicles. The transmission pairs to cars on a rear-wheel-drive architecture, meaning owners of GM’s sports cars, luxury sedans, trucks, and SUVs have the 8-speed automatic transmission in question. A full list of vehicles that house the transmission is below:
- 2015-2019 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2017-2019 Chevrolet Colorado
- 2015-2019 Chevrolet Corvette
- 2016-2019 Chevrolet Camaro
- 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV
- 2016-2019 Cadillac ATS and ATS-V
- 2016-2019 Cadillac CTS and CTS-V
- 2016-2019 Cadillac CT6
- 2015-2019 GMC Sierra
- 2015-2019 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL
- 2017-2019 GMC Canyon.
Supposedly, the problem is most common when accelerating or decelerating as the transmission moves to select another gear, though, it’s not specific to a gear in particular.
In the lawsuit filed earlier this year, owners said the issue may be the torque converter, which could be exposed to undue friction. In this case, gears may not function properly as metal shavings move throughout the transmission. We need to note this is not a definite cause and only an alleged problem stated in the lawsuit.
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Source: Action 9 WSOCTV
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I have 2016 Silverado Z71 with the crap tranny, had it less than a week, took it back bc of hard down shifting and shuddering, was told it is “normal”, I’ve had it back to the dealer going on 4 times for same “normal” issue! To me, there is a problem and they just can’t figure it out! I’ve always been a Chevy truck guy, but this truck is pushing me away!
It’s your torque converter
I have a 2019 Sierra AT4 with 18k miles. Love the truck, however not the 8 speed transmission. My 2002 Tahoe with 200k has a MUCH better trans. than my $50k AT4. My local dealer tinkers with software drops, etc. and isn’t offering any serious Concern with the “Chevy shudder” and sloppy shift points. Also, my Navigation/GPS is squirrelly too. They replaced the fin, however it still drops signal often, even on clear days.
I’m getting close to contacting the GMC district manager for North Alabama and see if that will get me somewhere? If not, maybe have a sign printed up that says “Google Chevy Shudder if you’re thinking about buying a 8 speed GM truck”
My 2020 1500 RST 6.2l 10 speed just went into the shop,WITH 786 miles on it.Threw a check engine and lugged and lurched to my local dealer(not the one i purchased from).Was informed 4 hours later that the code was for a valve cover in the tranny.Okay,i do a little research online and find its a known issue(albeit with 8 speeds)and call the service dept.Let them know that from what i can gather,the problem is the viscosity with the fluids that gm has filled the trannys with.They inform me they have NEVER heard this and when they drop the pan,it will evacuate from said area but NOT THE torque convertor.Right,so i tell the tech hey if youre gonna fill it with something else can we just vacuum it and make sure it is the same throughout?Tech responds “This is what GM has instructed us too do,we cant scour the internet for known/reported/ issues,and apply them based on you’re recommendation”.NOT TOO MENTION i bought a 55,000$ truck a month ago and i have NO courtesy vehicle.Was told,”Well the person who deals with that,left at 11:30 a.m. so it will be tomorrow before we can accomodate you”.SWEET,so now i know why i did NOT purchase a vehicle from said Dealer.Last time i checked i work for a 50-100$ subscription a month company and we jump through HOOPS to fix paying customers problems.Let alone that they do not stock 2020 parts(every vehicle on the lot is a 2020)so i have to wait several days for “the part”.In closing the next time you have a problem with you’re payment delivery “provider” Bradley Chevrolet in Arizona,i’ll make sure to let you know that my employer has not authorized me to cover every aspect of said problem,and fix some of what “may be” the problem based on our analytics.
2015 GMC SIERRA 1500 Z71. The transmission shudders and down shift really hard between 20 and 40 mph. If you slow down for a curve and ease back on the gas it will go to shaking and jerking. Have had the trans flushed. Not any better. I have pulled out on the road several times and about got hit because the transmission was in the wrong gear. Very dangerous. This is the 6 speed transmission. Will not let my wife drive it. First GMC I have had and will be the last if something is not done.
EXACTLY the same thing my 2016 Silverado is doing! Annoys me to no end! Dealer keeps saying it’s “normal”. No it’s junk!! GM needs to do something
Just took my 2015 chevy z71 into the dealership because my truck was doing the same thing. Come to find out it is the torque converter sending metal shards into the transmission. Have your mechanics check that.
I also have a 2015 Z71 and have the same problem of the shuttering/ gears changing eratically mainly at low rpms going up a hill. Took it to a dealership today and was told the exact same thing , torque converter shedding metal into the tranny. What service did they do and did it fix it ? I was quoted $4654.00 to fix, does that sound right ?
So is GM going to fix this truck for me or what do I do?
I sold mine and have never looked back. The loss was worth it. GM isn’t going to do squat about their transmissions.
$40,000+ truck and they just screwed us!
They aren’t going to fix it. I’ve had my at the dealer 4 times already and they changed the transmission out and it still does the same thing. They say there’s nothing they can do to fix it.
They aren’t going to fix it. I’ve had my at the dealer 4 times already and they changed the transmission out and it still does the same thing. They say there’s nothing they can do to fix it.
Who can I contact in regards to this issue? I’ve on my had the truck for 9months cannot afford to take hit on trading it in?
GM does not care that is a fact. I had the same issue on my 2017 Sierra Denali and they told me change the fluid at my expense. I sent an email to CEO Mary Barra only to be offered a$100 voucher for future service. I told them to keep the voucher that I was getting rid of the truck. I did exactly that and do not think I will ever purchase another vehicle from them. Their culture is such that once you buy they drop you. I told Mary all of the money GM spends to get a customer only to loose them by not doing the right thing is counter productive. I feel for the workers and anyone below management level as I cannot imagine working for that type of culture.
Little update on my tranny issue.The part is not available anywhere and is on back order.Theyve had my truck for almost as long as ive had it.Good thing i did not have any plans to travel for the holiday weekend….
I have a 2015 1500LT, I had a oil change 2 months ago when the shudder started, two days the shudder became more constant and more violent, yesterday the trans died all together, it has less then 90k in it, I don’t “drive it like I stole it” I babies the truck, kept up with maintenance, and now I’m out a vehicle because GM won’t fix the issue.
Your out of a truck because you dont want to pony up for a transmission that didnt last as long as you wanted it to. Its not under warranty, of course GM won’t pay for it. It sucks, I get it, but these people (me included) are upset because their transmissions essentially came from the factory wrong and GM wont – or cant- honor their warranty. Totally different scenarios.
We just traded our 2017 silverado with the same issues . I had it at the dealership 12 times for the same issues nothing was ever fixed they flushed the transmission 3 times and changed fluid. No help from GM at all .
That’s absolutely ridiculous, sounds like they want you to replace their mistake with a new mistake
If your truck was still under warranty they would probably tell you they cannot duplicate the problem same old BS I get every time.
I bring my truck in Keep telling me they can’t duplicate the problem. I have the Silverado High Country 1500 taxes interest and cost of vehicle out the door pushed close to $70,000. That’s about what I paid for my first home. I have 62,000 miles on my truck. the day my warranty is over if I bring it in, guarantee they will find a problem with trans probably to the tune of about $4,000. They just don’t want to fix it now because it’s on them, they know it’s my torque converter. I did get them to flush the transmission with Mobil 1 synthetic. made a world of difference with everything except for the hard banging when your car is downshifting when slowing down for a speed hump or a stop sign that you don’t completely stop at. As you go to accelerate the transmission gets lost from second to First gear smashes into gear sometimes with such ferocity that it feels like you’ve just been rear ended. I have had this problem since the day I drove off the lot new. Every time I bring my truck in for an oil change or some sort of service I also bring up the transmission issue try and get them to agree that the torque converter is losing pressure why else would it not stay in gear. they told me that it’s completely normal for it to act that way and that it’s waiting for you to make up your mind what you want it to do. That is a bunch of B.S. it either stays in second gear or first gear but desn’t get lost in the middle like it’s in neutral. Last time I was in for service I needed fuel injectors complete set of them 8 they would not look at the transmission unless I repaired the fuel injectors to me that’s extortion. Got GM to pay for half of the cost of the fuel injectors figuring now I’ll get them to look into the transmission. Only thing that happened is I lost money replacing the injectors and say we cannot duplicate problem is all I hear from them about the transmission. The reason why the injectors needed to be replaced was because I had a cold engine misfire after the car started up ran for a few seconds it ran fine. Now if I were to get rid of this vehicle I’m out the money that I laid out for the fuel injectors because I would not have replaced them. I would have just gotten rid of this thing I am finished with GM this is my third new vehicle from them never had any problems with my previous two but this transmission is a piece of crap. 8 speed. I get a little bit of the shuttering problem but it’s only because the truck is in 4-cylinder mode. If I put the transmission shifter into manual set it for no more than sixth gear it no longer will shift into 4-cylinder mode the shutter goes away. I don’t get the shutter like everybody else does it’s very subtle but I can feel it, unlike others who say their truck shakes so violently that their drinks spill over.
It’s too bad too because I love this truck. The transmission is really bothering me especially because I know if I wait it’s going to end up costing me and not them. This should be there problem not mine financially.
Ah yes the “can’t make it duplicate it” BS! I got the same comment from my dealership! And the “the truck is learning my driving habits” come on I was born at night, but not last night!
I tow a 4000 pound trailer with my GMC Sierra 1500. I was coming down a grade in manual mode using the gears to hold me back. I was in 4th gear at 2500 rpm. I shifted to 3 and BANG. Next thing I know I am free wheeling down the the hill. I shift to N and back into D with another BANG. This time it was in first gear and will not upshift. I was 12 miles from my Campground, so I limped in at 30mph in 1st gear, 3500 rpm. I am stuck hear about 30 miles from nearest GM dealer. Will have to get this POS towed, and am expecting it will take a new transmission. I have been a GM guy all my life. I am done with GM. My problem is I don’t like F 150s.
I’m all GM myself, and also do not care for the Ford or dodge. I’d be satisfied if GM would just step up and fix the problem.