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 just recently bought a 2018 that had 20,000 miles and only put 12,000 on and and my transmission just went and stuck in first but mine is the 6 speed. The first time I noticed a problem with it and I took it in and all they did was hook it up to a computer to find a problem and they never did.
Where do I find the service bulletin for the transmission flush? I have the 6 speed tranny in my 18 Silverado z71……Mine has the hard shifting
Always a GM guy, I own a 2010 Chevy Tahoe LTZ and never had any issues with engine or transmission.
Decided to buy a new 2019 GMC Sierra and had nothing but problems with the transmission, paid over $75K for a pick up and been very disappointed!!
Took the truck back to the dealership with 500km because the “smart transmission “ was learning my driving patterns , was shifting hard between 1-2, and a camel kick from R-1. The dealership hooked up the computer and reset it.
Had to tow the truck back to the dealership because the back tires locked on me !! Almost went through the windshield!! They told me that they had to replace the transmission module.
I have 50K on the truck and just finished dropping it off again because the transmission shifts so hard between R- 1 that I spill my coffee.
If anyone experienced the same problem, please let me know and share your story!
Going thru the same exact thing right now with my 2019 silverado rst, but my driver side brakes engage slightly when they want mostly around corners so I go to the vet it gas and it does nothing but big my engine down . The kicker is that the dealership says that can’t work on it cause they don’t know what the problem is cause there are no lights on , and they tell me to drive it until something breaks so I’m waiting for a wreck so I can sue or they fix it when a light turns on don’t know what else to do
Believe me or not, I was having that issue with my 2016 Z71, dealer bs and all, so I decided to get a plug-in module to disable the active fuel management system, and surprisingly it made a HUGE improvement in the shift quality.
I had a 2012 Denali whose transmission went out at 46,000 miles. It cost me $1200 dollars to repair it. I later traded it in for a 2018 HD Denali. At 44,000 miles it went out in an intersection, and I towed it to the dealer. I was told that it was NOT covered under warranty. I questioned that the transmission would not move. The dealer ended up repairing it and asked me to pay the $250 dollar deductible. The service rep said a battery was bad and that causes bad signals to the sensors, so I changed the battery for $250–yet almost a month later the transmission went out again. After shutting the car off and on multiple times it finally slipped into gear and I drove it to the dealer where it was repaired again. It drives smoothly now.
Earlier, this same 2018 Denali–with few miles on it–had idiot lights that said it had coolant problems. I took it in, and the dealer topped the radiator fluid off, and claimed that it was an oversight from the manufacture. The warning on the dash board continued for the next two years. I continued to complain to the dealer about it and he said it just needed to be warmed up? I would then clear the bar off my dashboard.
At 43,000 miles i heard noises, and took the car into the dealer, where they tightened the leaf springs. I was then informed that I had a bad radiator, that it would cost $1400 dollars to repair. The Service department denied knowing of a problem, and told me to pick the truck up. I said I wouldn’t drive a truck without radiator fluid in it due to the risk of warping the heads. I called GMC national consumer complaints, and for the next month worked with them to get a repair. It was finally done under warranty, because the truck had been in and discussed a few times for that radiator issue. There must have been some poor quality control at the factory.
At 33,000 miles the steering wheel delaminated. They said they would cover it, but after 9 months and it a refusal to repair it the mechanic said it was due to abuse, and said that it should have been okayed by GM before ever being approved. I asked the mechanic, and service rep if that was my responsibility 9 month prior? I don’t think so.
I have had nothing but problems with the last 3 trucks I have purchased.
First truck was a new 2015 Chevy Silverado 1500, I had the truck for a few months and the electrical kept going out on the truck, The dash would disappear while driving and the entire dash would get hot to the touch. The dealer agreed it was a known issue and bought back the truck in full. I had it less than 6 months.
At the same time I returned the truck to the dealer I decided to upgrade to a new 2016 2500hd Silverado with the z71 package. I started having shifting issues around 7,000 miles, I brought it to the dealer 3 times and was repeatedly told it was not a problem, That its just a normal clunking and slipping and it will go away. I contacted my Lawyer who is extremely knowledgeable about the lemon law in North Carolina. He told me to keep brining the truck in and keep very detailed information on what I brought it in for and what they claimed to have found. He told me I needed to bring it in a minimum of 6 times before I could file any lawsuit paperwork on the truck. My husband was so sick of talking to them, That on the final visit (# 6 ) he told me you go pick up the truck because I can’t handle it. When I arrive to get it the last visit they were not going to give me any paperwork on the reason for me brining it in or what they found wrong. When I asked the tech to give me the require paperwork documenting my visit he asked me why I needed it. I flat out told him I have been speaking to my lawyer who informed me I needed 6 documented visits in order to fill my lawsuit under the lemon law. He proceeded to tell me to hold on for a second, When he returned he said they would keep the truck a couple more days to go over it again, Less than a day later they called to inform us they needed to replace 4th gear in the transmission because it was bad and that we could pick up our truck in a couple days after repairs were made. When I picked up our truck the mechanic told me he was sorry for the pain we had to deal with and that he knew it was an issue and chevy had actually recalled every engine up to the one before ours and he had to follow protocol. He said he had another truck (same make, model, year as ours ) in the shop with 5400 miles that had the same issue as ours and now he knew how to handle these issues going forward. The total for the repairs were just over $16,000 all of which were covered by warranty. I still have this truck and have had zero issues since then.
When my husband needed a bigger truck for work, He decided to avoid gasoline and bought a new 2019 Chevy 3500hd Ltz Diesel. Within the first month we needed to do an oil change and had added def 3 times in the spam of 6 weeks. We brought it into the dealer to see if this is normal or if this is something we should be concerned with. The mechanic said maybe it wasn’t topped off at time of purchase and not to worry about it. This of course was a HUGE RED FLAG given our past experiences with our last 2 trucks. We bought this truck in November of 2018 and to date have had to replace the fuel filter 4 times this truck has less than 40,000 miles on it. This truck is also having shifting issues, It started in October of 2020, We were coming to a stop light and the truck shuddered into gear so hard both my husband and I said here we go again. It only happened that one time so we thought nothing of it. Well last week it was cold so we used the remote start on the truck and it wouldn’t start which we thought to be odd. So my husband goes out and starts it manually and proceeds to leave after it warms up, The second he pulls out of the driveway I get an alert that the engine and transmission need to be serviced the same time his check engine light comes on in his truck. So he turned around comes home and parks his truck until we bring it into the dealer. We schedule the appointment and are told it would be $149 for a diagnostic fee, I said why would I have to pay for a diagnostic when it’s a warning on my engine and tranny which our both covered under warranty? I also never paid a diagnostic fee with my 2016 for the 6 times I brought it in. He said if its covered we won’t pay the fee. The dealer calls to tell us that he found nothing wrong with the truck, That it needs a fuel filters. WHAT? We just replaced the fuel filter on the 27th of October, He said that the fuel filter needs replacing and that is what’s causing the truck to shift hard. I of course know he’s full of [email protected], He is just trying to get money out of us for the filter, the diagnostic fee, Which is going to be around $ 300+. I also feel they are trying to claim this needs to be done so they can void any warranty issues if we refuse to do this service. We will continue to bring the truck in the 6 visits required for our lawyer and start the same process we did for our 2016.
People ask why I continue to purchase Chevy’s, The answer is simple we are die hard chevy fans and always have been. However, After doing this the last couple years and continue engine and tranny issues we will never by another chevy again.
My 2019 1500 rst 71z is having the similar problems. Went to Home Depot 2 days ago. When I turn on the truck and put it in drive,the emergency parking automatically engaged. I only managed to released it after 10 minutes of trying. Drove the truck back home and realized the MIL indicator is on. Had a mechanic friend scanned the truck to no avail, but he told me it’s a transmission issues. I’m terrified after doing some research and reading all the comments. Why are gmc ignoring all these problems?
I have 2015 GMC Sierra crew cab truck only drive it in the summer time. All of a sudden without any warning signs of of any transmission problems. My transmission started shifting really hard from second gear to third gear. It would just bang and shake the whole truck. So I bring to the dealership that I bought it from brand new in 2015. They tell me the transmission is shot. I ask them so is it covered under warranty? They tell no, because I’m over the 5 year/ 100,000 mile warranty. I have only 76,000 miles on it and I’m over the 5 years by 5 months. That is just not right. You pay big money for these trucks and they aren’t going to stand behind their product. That is not right. I’m a little upset with them. I talking to customer service and they said they will help me with some assistance for having it fixed. The person said, they going to try and get $1,900.00 towards the repairs what nothing when it cost me over $4,700.00 to have a new refurbished one put in from GM with a 3year/100,000 warranty. I not real happy with GM Right now. They are going to let me know in a couple of days what they are rein bursting me for. If it isn’t the full amount I’m going further. This is not right.
These GM transmissions seem to be total crap. The problem is almost universal with these trucks since 2015. GM has known of these problems for a long time but continued with the eight speed despite the fact that this transmission is weak and unreliable. The quick fix was to change out the transmission fluid rather than build a new , reliable transmission. GM should redo the transmissions or stop selling trucks. There are so many pissed off customers that they would have to be absolutely stupid to not recognize the huge problem.
I have a 2019 GMC Sierra one level below Denali and it’s the worst investment I’ve made in a vehicle. I’m 58 been buying cars/trucks since I was 16. Bought this thing and the transmission skips sometimes in the mornings and causes it to come a stop. Been back to dealership twice and told it’s normal 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ . Biggest regret I’ve had and would say never buy a GM until they fix this issue and admit it’s a problem. Have always bought GMC but never again. My son is a carpenter and he just bought a new Dodge Ram yesterday and I lined up the purchase. If I wasn’t being given the run around by my dealership in Ontario about my truck 🛻 he would have bought a GMC.
2016 z71 currently at Chevy dealership with fried transmission at 120k. Been having issues with the trans since 50k miles. Went in for flush & other “services”. Never changed anything. Flush helped in for maybe 2weeks. I pay extra 52$ a month for extended warranty & if I didn’t this would of costed me $4800. I have to pay total 170$ for everything to be done after I’ve spent 25k on the truck a couple years ago. Chevy trans has been garbage since the 80s. Crazy to think 30yrs down the road we still have the same 4l60 in these trucks that can pull 10k lbs. come on Chevy, do better. My truck could blow up right now & I’d buy another Chevy so you have faithful customers but pick up on those transmissions.
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