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2004 Transmission

D

DAAW

New Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2003
Messages
8
My 2004 Z-66 has 3600 miles on it. Yesterday it started to"shudder and clunk" when upshifting and downshifting between 1st and 2nd gear. I left it at the dealership (Sunday) and they called me first thing this morning stating they could not even get in gear to move it. They stated they would need to send it to an independent tranmission shop for repairs.

What are everyones thoughts on this. I agreed to their solution, but after thinking it over, I am not sure it's such agood idea. (of course what choice do I have). I am concerned that just any repair shop is not equipped to diagnose and repair the vehicle. I do not know the reputation of the repair shop they are sending it to. How can I be assured that the shop even uses new GM parts. I called GM Customer Assistance this evening for no other reason than to document my concerns. I asked the rep, why not just authorize a new transmission. She stated that it was not GM's policy to replace a repairable part. Am I being unreasonable?

Thanks in advance to any advise/suggestions
 
Well, it could be me but I would drop it at the door of the dealer and tell them to keep it and replace it with another vehicle. I could be wrong but I would be,just as you are, highly pissed off. Man hope it works out, that is just wrong.
 
I would take your vehicle to another dealer that has a transmission tech on staff. The fact that this shop does not is alarming.
 
A dealership giving your vehicle to a private tranny shop?? I have a bad feeling on this one...I would call them and tell them if they can not fix it themselves REPLACE IT...It seems that maybe they are trying to look for the cheap way out to fix it...Remember they will have to eat the cost of a new tranny,Let say new tranny is $2500...Compared to some yocal tranny shop ripping it open and replacing parts, and having to break those factory seals....Fight this one, and call GM if needed...I have never personally heard of a dealer giving out work like that....IF YOU HAD A BROKEN CRANKSHAFT WOULD YOU LET THEM SUB OUT A REBUILD???SAME THING HERE, EXCEPT ITS YOUR TRANNY....FIGHT IT.....Hope all goes well....
 
I agree 100% with FATALANCHE. My Av is in the shop now for the 2nd time on tranny failure. I've got no power at all. 3600 miles? The truck still didn't get broken in yet. I'd drive the Av thru their front window. I made a fuss today at the dealer, but they are fixing it. There's pretty much nothing that I can do except pray that I have the problem within 30 days again so that I may Lemon Law it. damn! 3600 miles? Next time I buy a truck I'll just give them $35000 and say give me a truck that doesn't run please. That just burns me up.
 
Not to defend what the dealer is doing, but it is perfectly acceptable for a dealer to farm out transmission work to an outside source. They might even be doing you a favor in fact. You might even be able to get a better warranty from the place that does the transmission repair than you can get from your local dealer. Most reputable transmission shops give you an automatic 12month/12K warranty on their repairs that is good nationwide (if it is a large chain).

I just got my transmission totally rebuilt at a local AMMCO. They gave me a 12mo/12K warranty and would have sold me a lifetime warranty for less than $100. The repair was totally covered under my GMPP extended warranty and I still have 24K left on that so I did not op for the lifetime warranty. As far as using genuine GM parts, the part in my transmisson that initially caused the failure was a cheap aluminum part and AAMCO replaced it with a hardened stainless steel part that is guaranteed not to fail like the original genuine GM part.

The reason I ended up taking it to AMMCO in the first place was that the dealer could not even look at mine for over 2 weeks because they were so backed up on transmission work. This could also be the case with your dealer.

By the way the 4L60E transmisson that is in the Avalanche is one of the most common transmissions out there, so being equiped to repair it should certainly not be an issue no matter where it is repaired.
 
02 Z71,


I hear your arguement, but still feel uneasy about the solution....IF your motor went, would YOU let your dealer farm out a Rebuild, or would you Expect a new motor....Also the fact is somebody opens up your tranny, whats the chances its not gonna leak.....DAAW....I Hope all goes well whatever you decide to do...Listen if you decide to let the local tranny guy do the work, make sure you tell your dealer, that you want them to pay for an extended warranty , as a gesture of GOOD FAITH........
 
I lost my tranny and now the dealership won't even warrenty it because I have headers on it.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. I think it is a great idea to ask/demand for an extended warranty.

I'll keep everyone posted on what happens.
 
I had a second generation SHO that went through 3 transmissions. Each time it was "fixed" it went to an outside source while under warranty.

So, I'm not so sure it is a good thing.
 
FATALANCHE said:
....IF your motor went, would YOU let your dealer farm out a Rebuild, or would you Expect a new motor....
Click to expand...

FATLANCHE, if it were MY motor I most certainly would expect MY dealer to rebuild or replace the motor, but that is because of the know issues that GM has with these motors. But in the case of a transmission as far as I am concerned the 4L60E is a modified version of a transmission that GM has had out there for many many years, so any REPUTABLE transmission shop will be able to do a good quality repair on it. Hell even if the dealer did REPLACE the transmission it would be a rebuilt transmission that could have been rebuilt by any authorized GM transmission rebuilder.

I guess it all comes down to the reputation of the transmission shop that is repairing the transmission. But in any case voicing your displeasure with GM is always a good thing in case of future problems. When you call GM your calls are documented in their data base.

DAAW, What happened with your tranmission and mine for that matter is a rarity. I saw my transmission when it was torn apart and the part that initially caused the failure rarely fails, but it did. The 4L60E is a good solid transmission with a good history. There are bad ones out there, just got to hope that it gets fixed correctly this time. Documentation is the key especially when it comes to the dreaded lemon law since you only have 3600 miles.

Now as far as the lemon law goes check with your state to see what applies there. In most states you must document that you were without your vehicle while it was being repaired for so many days out of a year. So any time that you take your vehicle in for a warrantied repair, don't take it back until it is repaired. If the dealer says that they had to order a part and it will be here in a couple of days, let them keep the vehicle until the part comes in and is installed. My sister had this happen to them. They had a 94 GMC truck that was a lemon but since they had picked up the truck every time that a part was on order, they didn't have enough documented days of the truck being "out of use" for it to be considered a lemon. They eventually got it fixed after 6 trips to the dealer, then the problem resurfaced again a few years later. They ended up trading the truck in on another.

Good luck!
 
I got my Avalanche back today, and all seems ok. Only time will tell. For anyone interested I was told that the "torque converter clutch was sticking"...The TCC valve was found in a stuck open position. Upon further inspection, they found an extra clip left in the pump valve bore from the factory, causing the valve to be stuck open. They replaced clutch 3-4 clutches because of slight delamination.

Does this make sense to anyone?? Obviously I am not a mechanic.

I am still waiting on GM to find out if they will give me a component letter regarding the transmission.
 
you got it ! a grey one...what? was it you that left that clip in there? LOL
 
Hey Daaw,



Happy to see all worked out for you..Make sure that you check that tranny for any leaks and Fluid level....Do not give them an inch....You paid to much for your ride...... :rolleyes:
 
Right,

I just spent a good amount of time under the beast with a flashlight. Guess I am trying to find something. Everything looks good, but I will check the fluid level.
 
Sicilianos Avy said:
I lost my tranny and now the dealership won't even warrenty it because I have headers on it.
Click to expand...

Sicilianos Avy

What was the problem with the dealership not honoring your warranty? I?ve read a lot of posts about members installing headers and nobody mentioned problems with warranty. Is this an isolated case or is this typical amongst all dealers?
 
Sorry to say that I have experienced this problem. But, there is a solution.

When it happened to me ... I did the best that I could to get myself calmed down and then went to see the General Manager of the dealership.

You can't just walk in to see the guy. The whole thing is set up to keep the customers out of there. So ... I put my happy face on, went to the sales floor and asked the reception person what the General Manager's name is. She called him Mr., so I asked what his first name is. Then I left the building. (Reception might be reluctant to say what his name is ... so I would say something like I want to write him a letter to complement him on service department)

Later I returned to the dealership, walked around until I found his office. Then went into his receptionist and asked for GM by his first name. She thought that I was on first name basis with the guy so went in to ask if he had time to see me.

When I got in there, I did my best to be as cheerful and congenial as possible. I explained the situation to him without accusing anyone of anything. But, pressed home the point that the truck is new and I wasn't happy with some local person of questionable training working on my brand new car. I want a GM factory remanufactured transmission. Awhile later, after a friendly exchange ... he telephoned the Service Manager and told him to install a GM factory remanufactured transmission.

The Service Manager was not happy, but he did it. Remembering that I was going to have to deal with service in the future, I acted as though I was completely grateful for everything from everyone.

The end result is ... I got the remanufactured transmission, and whenever I got to the shop, everyone is extra nice (especially me) and they occasionally slipped me a free oil change coupon.

your neighbor ... ron :)
 
DAAW said:
"...send it to an independent tranmission shop for repairs."

"...Am I being unreasonable?"

Thanks in advance to any advise/suggestions
Click to expand...


an independent shop? that's crazy!!! if they can't fix it they need to give you a new one. the samething happened to my '02 Z66. i got a new tranny, torque converter, and had the tranny oil cooler flushed. you paid for a new tranny. not to have one "rebuilt" so soon.
mine had to be replaced because there was so much shrapnel inside you thought a bomb had went off in it. i told them if that was the case i wanted the torque converter, and tranny oil cooler, replaced too. i was told that if they do not replace those components along with the tranny GM would not pay them for the job. so as a guarantee to get their money from GM it had to be done. if they lied to me about the work they did... that's okay. i still have the warranty on their work. not to mention i have filed a formal complaint on these guy's before. i will not hesistate to do it again.
 
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