Transmission just took a shit
It does leave a bad taste in someones mouth when their transmission goes south. Especially when it is before 100k. Cars are built pretty well currently and it seems they should last longer.
However, we also like fast cars. Fast cars build up heat in the transmission and heat is the #1 killer of transmissions.
While there is a perception that this is a GM only problem, all manufacturers have their transmission problems.
I have a good friend who is a Transmission Tech. I met him when we worked at the dealsership years ago. He loves dodges, but hates their automatic transmissions. He has even owned a couple of dodges with automatics and done all the exact servicing and such that is required. All have had transmission problems. He had a Civic as a commuter car that end up having the transmission go. He was googling to find out more and found out it is actually pretty common for Honda's to have transmission problems too.
A couple of other guys who we worked with at the dealership moved over to another dealer in town that sold Honda, Chevrolet, and a couple other brands. 2 of the guys we know very well bought Honda Accords because they could get a great deal and always heard they run forever. Both of them used as commuters to and from work. As they worked there longer and talked to the guys and the dealerships Honda shop they learned the transmissions will fail like clockwork. One guy has his go right at 60k miles. The other guy traded his in at 59k because he knew it was a timebomb.
This isn't specific to GM or our cars. It is magnified because our cars make power which = heat and puts stress on transmission components. However, less powerful cars from other manufacturers have similar problems.
Pick your poison.
However, we also like fast cars. Fast cars build up heat in the transmission and heat is the #1 killer of transmissions.
While there is a perception that this is a GM only problem, all manufacturers have their transmission problems.
I have a good friend who is a Transmission Tech. I met him when we worked at the dealsership years ago. He loves dodges, but hates their automatic transmissions. He has even owned a couple of dodges with automatics and done all the exact servicing and such that is required. All have had transmission problems. He had a Civic as a commuter car that end up having the transmission go. He was googling to find out more and found out it is actually pretty common for Honda's to have transmission problems too.
A couple of other guys who we worked with at the dealership moved over to another dealer in town that sold Honda, Chevrolet, and a couple other brands. 2 of the guys we know very well bought Honda Accords because they could get a great deal and always heard they run forever. Both of them used as commuters to and from work. As they worked there longer and talked to the guys and the dealerships Honda shop they learned the transmissions will fail like clockwork. One guy has his go right at 60k miles. The other guy traded his in at 59k because he knew it was a timebomb.
This isn't specific to GM or our cars. It is magnified because our cars make power which = heat and puts stress on transmission components. However, less powerful cars from other manufacturers have similar problems.
Pick your poison.
As far as blame is concerned, it's shared by GM and the dealers. Yes, there are lousy dealers, but a GM warranty rep has to approve something as big as a transmission replacement. In my situation, they didn't question the problem either time and authorized rebuild/replacement without issue, so YMMV. If you feel a dealer is being uncooperative, then contact your GM zone office and demand that they send a rep out. The contact info for GM is on a trans problem thread over on the GMLS4 site, so you can begin your fight there.
Just remember that any trans you get through a GM warranty will have the same flaws and likelihood of failure as the one coming out of the car. If you want it done right, then you'll have to at least spend some of your own money, much like we did, which is also documented here and on GMLS4.com.
I'm clear that all manfacturers have trans problems at some time or another, but the failure rate on the LS4 cars is absurdly high, and heat is not the primary cause (though it certainly doesn't help). I know Honda had a ton of problems with its 5-speed auto, but they did finally revise the trans so that it was no longer a common issue. GM didn't do this on the LS4 cars. The remanufactured 4T65-HDs we get from GM dealers have the exact same flaws as the original, and there's no such thing as a brand new one because they're out of production.
As far as blame is concerned, it's shared by GM and the dealers. Yes, there are lousy dealers, but a GM warranty rep has to approve something as big as a transmission replacement. In my situation, they didn't question the problem either time and authorized rebuild/replacement without issue, so YMMV. If you feel a dealer is being uncooperative, then contact your GM zone office and demand that they send a rep out. The contact info for GM is on a trans problem thread over on the GMLS4 site, so you can begin your fight there.
Just remember that any trans you get through a GM warranty will have the same flaws and likelihood of failure as the one coming out of the car. If you want it done right, then you'll have to at least spend some of your own money, much like we did, which is also documented here and on GMLS4.com.
As far as blame is concerned, it's shared by GM and the dealers. Yes, there are lousy dealers, but a GM warranty rep has to approve something as big as a transmission replacement. In my situation, they didn't question the problem either time and authorized rebuild/replacement without issue, so YMMV. If you feel a dealer is being uncooperative, then contact your GM zone office and demand that they send a rep out. The contact info for GM is on a trans problem thread over on the GMLS4 site, so you can begin your fight there.
Just remember that any trans you get through a GM warranty will have the same flaws and likelihood of failure as the one coming out of the car. If you want it done right, then you'll have to at least spend some of your own money, much like we did, which is also documented here and on GMLS4.com.
I would agree to a point. I know of several people (3 who I work with now) who had muliple transmission failures in their Honda Oddyssey. Two guys have gone through 2 and 1 guy has gone through 3. All of which were Honda replacements. They have the same design as the original. My buddys that had the Accords said the Honda replacements for their cars were the same and you could basically count on every 60k miles for those.
I think part of the problem is this transmission just is not strong enough in factory form to handle power in a front wheel drive system. The transmission choice was on GM . They could have used stronger parts as they do in Corvettes. They cheeped out and we are paying the price. I did a fluid and filter change, top notch upkeep on the car and it still failed. I am going to trade it in I think on a 1500 series truck, and will miss the mileage and HUD for sure. I have always owned GM, 15 Z28's, 5 Firebird Formulas, 2 Trans Am's, GMC Caballero and even a Buick T-Type. Some how a 5.0 Mustang slipped into my stable but got rid of that junk pretty quick. I never had a tranny go that wasn't abused. This is a poor design for sure.
By solving those two problems, you'll have a pretty reliable transmission.
