Transmission Issues on 2016 Tahoe

[mrsegel]

I purchased a 2016 Tahoe in December and have put about 700 miles on it. About two weeks ago I was on the highway and the car slowed down to 15 miles per hour and would not go any faster. I tried accelerating but all that did was increase the revs. I was able to slowly drive the car back to my house and had it towed to a dealer. I have recently been notified that the transmission needs to be "torn down" and rebuilt. I have been trying to get in contact with GM to explain that I am unhappy with this as a solution as the car is basically brand new.

 

This post is to serve as a warning in to how they deal with situations like this. I was given a case number and told that someone would be reaching out to me. After a week I decided I would check in because no one had called me. After being unable to get in touch with anyone at GM I decided to call the dealership. That was the point where they told me the plan to rebuild the transmission. All of this was taking place without my knowledge and before I had been given any information. Apparently my advocate at GM that was working on the case was unable to get in touch with the service department at the dealership so the matter was being tabled...I guess.

 

Today I called again was not able to get in touch with my designated "Senior Account" rep. I told the person on the phone I would really appreciate speaking to someone else that could help me. Twenty minutes later they came back to the phone and said they were unable to find that person or a supervisor. The suggestion was to wait until someone would call me back within 24 hours. After not receiving a phone call the first time, I was hesitant to do this but did anyway. I got a call from my senior account rep a few minutes later saying they were still waiting on information from the dealership regarding the repairs. How was I able to get the information before they were if they were working on my behalf?

 

Anyway, I am now attempting to get GM to take the car back or replace it because I do not trust a car that has transmission issues before reaching 1000 miles. Has anyone gone through this process? I had a Tahoe before this car that had no issues and used to advocate for the quality. The way this situation has been handled by the company is very eye opening.

 

 

[newdude]

So you waited a week without calling the dealer or GM? I'd have called the dealer first as they have your truck and would have gotten more information. Or even drive do the dealer (if it is at a local dealer) and find out about it.

 

Let them fix it and drive it. I'd trust it.

Edited February 10, 2016 by 15HDriver

[Daryl Z71]

I wouldn't have a problem keeping that vehicle with a rebuilt transmission. As long as it's done correctly you shouldn't have any further issues. Even then you'll have a warranty. Just make sure it drives fine after the work is completed.

[barry1]

I've had a problem with the transmission om our 2015 Suburban. It shifts when it wants to when passing and coming out of a turn. Feels like it can't make up it's mind (if it had one) when to down shift. Dealer told us "it's supposed to do that." got it on my phone of him saying this and got it to my attorney to keep in case this POS causes an accident. Drive it until it blows up. GM isn't going to help you at all. I've been fighting with them for over a year. Good Luck

Edited February 10, 2016 by Daryl Z71

[mrsegel]

So you waited a week without calling the dealer or GM? I'd have called the dealer first as they have your truck and would have gotten more information. Or even drive do the dealer (if it is at a local dealer) and find out about it.

 

Let them fix it and drive it. I'd trust it.

I was told by the dealer that it would be a week until they could look at it because only one guy in the service department could work on the transmission. I was also told by GM customer care that they would be contacting me as soon as they had any information. So to answer your question, I did wait a week. I have a voicemail saying that GM has a "bulletin" about this issue. Does it not seem like they should make these things properly the first time?

[sahls01gmc]

I understand your frustration. I do also want to ask a question. Have you ever had a mechanical piece of equipment fail.....ever? If so, why did it fail? These things are not invincible, otherwise we would all drive 1 car our entire lives. Unfortunately, some of these flaws show up rather quickly (less than 1,00 miles in your case). The silver lining is they are fixing the problem for you. If these cars were to never break down, they would never have a warranty on them. Things happen, let the warranty take care of it.

 

I know it doesn't help that you just bought it....you're expecting it to be flawless. And you're not wrong for thinking that way either.

[crest150]

I have had the exact same problem with the 709 miles on my 2016 Tahoe. It happened on the turnpike during rush hour traffic and no one would let me to the shoulder until smoke emitted from the rear of the vehicle; I believed I was going to experience death. The dealer has had the Tahoe for a week now and I have heard nothing from them. Reading you post has given me fear of accepting the vehicle back no matter what GM does to repair it !

[Walker17]

I am on my 2nd transmission issue with 2016 Tahoe. It first went out at 1200 miles.

They had to replace the clutch assembly for gears 456. Everything was working great until last week when transmission went out again at 16,000 miles. Car was towed to the nearest dealer and found out again that the clutch assembly for gears 456 has to be repaired. There is a GM bulletin that the dealerships receive for this issue. Obviously can't trust this car anymore so I am talking to the dealership to see what my options are.

[Jeffman]

Same here 2015 Tahoe. I blocked traffic during rush hour and had to be towed. Gears 456 had to be replace.

This $60,000 purchase big waste of money. Tahoe has been nothing but trouble since day 1 Never buying GM again.

Edited August 6, 2017 by Jeffman

[Clyde25]

I purchased a 2016 Tahoe LTZ in April 2019 with approximately 85k miles. August 2019 with approximately 90k miles. I started experiencing an issue with the transmission as explained in others explanations/complaints listed on this site.  Stopped at a red light and when it turns green, push gas to accelerate and vehicle doesn’t move but produced high revs on engine. It final kicks into gear but struggled at low speed to get vehicle home. Had it towed from my home to a Chevy Dealership just before Labor Day weekend. I understand holiday weekend it may take a few extra days for vehicle to be serviced. It is now Friday, September 13 and has yet to be looked at by the dealership. Frustrated I contacted another dealership 50 miles away to see how backed up they are. Claims I could get it towed in today and they can get working on it by Monday.  Meanwhile I am next in line at the current dealership but they only have one transmission guy and he has been waiting all week on parts for a Traverse so he can put it back together. This dealership also only has one bay table for this guy to work on one vehicle at a time. Instead of two where if he’s waiting for parts on one he could be working on another one. 

[Mark R.]

I have a 2016 Tahoe & it was a recall on the vacuum pump (Which helps the brakes to work) for this model. While on I95, I had to stand on the brakes doing 55 mph to slow down in traffic & saw my life flash before my eyes. This issue has also messed up my transmission. When I tried to stop the vehicle, it cut off & the vacuum pump issue caused issues with the transmission  in which the dealer said had nothing to do with the vacuum pump. Keep in mind that I had zero issues with my transmission prior to this recall. I will never buy a GM product again. They are not willing to help at all. 

[J FLoyd]

I have owned a 2016 Tahoe since July ‘16.  From day one there has been a hesitation when accelerating and after repeated trips to the dealer, I gave up due to nothing ever being found wrong. This past weekend while driving the transmission started to slip causing high rpms but only minimal acceleration (10mph) The vehicle has 120,000 miles and transmission is gone. I had it towed to my local mechanic (dealer that I tried using earlier, Peters, has not been helpful in prior complaints). 

My shop tells me he is replacing transmissions regularly on these year model vehicles when they reach near or go over 100,000 miles, that GM is aware but will not take resposibility. He is currently replacing one on a truck and the owner of that truck tells me the dealership he first took it to told him it would be over a month before they could get to it due to the volume of transmissions  having to be replaced. 

My question is, how do we get attention to this and get GM to acknowledge and take some responsibility for this obvious fault of the manufacturer. 

[Tobqluu]

Well, you guys just have another 2015 LTZ Tahoe owner that just dropped his Tahoe to the dealer for transmission failure.   My transmission  failed in February of 2019, I took it to the dealer, they told me it was my fault for not having oil changed.  They got me to forks out 5k for a new/rebuilt transmission with 3 yrs/100K miles warranty.  10 moths later (November 2019) my wife came out one morning to take my 2yrs daughter to her babysitter and the thing wouldn’t go forward or reverse.  Lucky for us it was in our driveway.  It’s in the dealer now for 2 weeks, she just called the service department and the manager told her they don’t know when they’re going to get the parts (8) from GM . He told her there’s a lines for these parts.  GM are trying to make produce them as fast as they can, so his answer to her is, don’t know when you’re going to get your Tahoe back!    Smh!    At least they’re giving me a loaner.  

[ashley_31]

We have a 2015 Suburban LTZ, transmission went out while driving down the interstate with our whole family in the car, almost causing us to crash. We got the same run around with GM. No help. The dealer I bought it from was just as shady. The dealer and GM were talking behind our backs and telling us two different stories. My suburban had 101,000 miles so warranty was up, Basically we were screwed! A year after a bought the suburban the magnetic air ride failed, paid $1800 to replace that. Now the transmission? I have now put $7000 into a $65,000-70,000 vehicle. I m stuck! Can’t sell it bc I owe more than it’s worth, the value has decreased so much, (I’m assuming bc all of the issues they are having). We fixed the transmission out of pocket but I still don’t want the piece of shit, I’m waiting to see what else go wrong with it! I heard the air conditioning is next...  

[Ken.e]

I have a 2016 Chevy Tahoe LS, owned since new, babied, just hit 50k miles. The transmission has never been amazing by any means but it recently starting shifting erratically. The most annoying part is having to wait 2-3 seconds when going from neutral to D, before I can apply throttle - once the gear is fully engaged I guess. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to dropping $$$$ on a trans. Any preventative measures I can take at this point?