issue Transmissions Issues/Problems

Newell33 · December 20, 2015

One thing I've noticed is that many forums don't allow members to post problems or start many threads identifying the same issue like this site does. That could be good or bad. Good for members that want to express themselves and get guidance but bad because it could distort truth about the amount of vehicles having these problems.When I purchased my 2011 F250 SD back in 2010, I had several trips to the dealer about the 6 speed tranny's shifting. Ultimately, the final flash made the issue better but my hand calculated mpgs were down by 2 mpg permanently. At the time there were other complaints about tranny tuning with that same transmission. I know some had to be replace because of mechanical damage. These things happen.Ultimately, you have to decide what's best for you. But, I wouldn't let what's posted in these forums make my decision for me. I would keep these issues in the back of my mind but would evaluate each vehicle independently. While there are many posts of this sort, as a whole, they represent a very small fraction of the amount of GM trucks sold. Annually, GM sells hundreds of thousands of trucks and some will be problematic as with any other manufacturer.This by no means allows GM to not address the issues and fix the problematic vehicles, nor belittle what some owners are experiencing.

You are somewhat correct. I visited this forum only once in a great while when I owned my previous GM trucks. Now I visit almost daily following the threads which describe many of the issues and characteristics that my truck exhibits. It's great that some enjoy their trucks. I really loved my 2011, and my 2007.5 Duramax. Unfortunately, this truck is a disappointment for me, and I can't wait to move on to something different. All trucks have issues, and while certain aspects of these trucks are a step in the right direction, there are all kinds of quality and driveability issues which are a huge step backwards.

Badass69 · December 20, 2015

I've been happy with my new f150, mind you I've only got 1000kms on it.

If you check out the f150 forums the only common complaints with them have to do with doors misaligned from the factory and loose leather on the seats. I haven't seen a single thread on there yet like the ones on here that go on forever with lots of guys complaining about the same issues.

I really think Ford stepped up their game to try and get their name out of the mud. This is my first ford and if it ends up having issues it will be my last one.

What Ford forum are you on lol. It's nothing but whining and bitching over there lol. The battery draw problem like mine has a long thread, interior smell from the a/c, tranny complaints aimed at the pump not pressuring up properly, Ecoboost CAC problems and on and on. The 15's are new enough that only so much will be out for them but as time goes I am sure the complaints will pile on just like the 09 to 14's. The 15 and up runs the same powertrain and most of the same parts as the 14's did so the issues will carry over.

Ford doesn't build a bad truck but the 6.2 is gone... and the 5 liter is not even on my radar..... Ecobusts are of zero interest so that did it for me.

andyhaug · December 30, 2015

Dropped squeaky off so they can try and figure out why it has a belt squeal during startup. They gave me a 2016 loaner with 1500 miles. There are no improvements to the shifting in the 2016s. Still clunks, still gets lost while downshifting. I am still working on getting it to flare. Now at 76 years of GM automatic transmissions, far less than my expectations.

On the plus side, the new headlights are awesome, much brighter out front now. They also must have changed the throttle response. My 2015 takes off from a stop with a low acceleration, then about half way through the intersection changes to a higher acceleration. So far the 2016 has not done this, but since I have been used to this lag feel it makes for some interesting take offs. Heated seats are much better too. They get hotter faster and the seat doesn't have the plastic crackle that my 2015 has.

Ron.s · December 30, 2015

My 16 with 8 speed is smooth as silk. Much improved over my 14 with a six speed and much better than the two 15's with 8 speed I test drove. In city driving its so smooth that I don't even feel some shifts. So far no erratic shifts or hard downshifts. No slip yoke clunk! I've been Leary, looking for issues but so far this truck is a superior quality build. This is after only 3 weeks but my 14 had issues from day one. Very pleased!!!

andyhaug · January 20, 2016

Looking for some advice on my nagging transmission problems on a 2015 5.3 6 speed 8500 miles, 2300 on the transmission. Dealer doesn't want to hear anything about it anymore and GM's solution is to check for updates whenever it is in for service, basically no solution. I asked if anyone was working on it and they couldn't give me an answer so I assume no. I think there are 3 TAC cases open on my truck for transmission problems, but these don't seem to matter and are just supposed to make me feel like someone is looking into it.

Issue 1: No response to accelerator pedal. It has done this a few times, when changing lanes in town I push on the pedal and it does nothing for about 5 seconds. Did it again a couple of days ago, took off from a stop light making a left onto a 4 lane road. Accelerated off the line then let off to make the corner, when I pushed on the pedal again I got nothing for about 5 seconds.

Issue 2: This could be related to issue 1, but I am not sure. The transmission takes up to 3 seconds to downshift. Worst I have seen is slowing down for a car turning in front of me, when I get back on the gas it does nothing, then it downshifts with a big clunk. This issue seems to be worst when the transmission temp is between 60 and 80F, although the performance is not great at any temperature.

Issue 3: When upshifting it feels like the transmission tells the throttle body to slam shut fast before it is really out of gear. This causes a significant decel feeling. Again, this seems to be worst between 60 and 80F, although it will do it at other temperatures. What is a little strange is when it starts doing this if I floor it and get up to the speed I want then let off it seems better. It also seems like if I do a bunch of short trips this gets worse.

Since the dealer and GM don't want to do anything about these problems, what options do I have?

pretindica · January 20, 2016

Looking for some advice on my nagging transmission problems on a 2015 5.3 6 speed 8500 miles, 2300 on the transmission. Dealer doesn't want to hear anything about it anymore and GM's solution is to check for updates whenever it is in for service, basically no solution. I asked if anyone was working on it and they couldn't give me an answer so I assume no. I think there are 3 TAC cases open on my truck for transmission problems, but these don't seem to matter and are just supposed to make me feel like someone is looking into it.

Issue 1: No response to accelerator pedal. It has done this a few times, when changing lanes in town I push on the pedal and it does nothing for about 5 seconds. Did it again a couple of days ago, took off from a stop light making a left onto a 4 lane road. Accelerated off the line then let off to make the corner, when I pushed on the pedal again I got nothing for about 5 seconds.

Issue 2: This could be related to issue 1, but I am not sure. The transmission takes up to 3 seconds to downshift. Worst I have seen is slowing down for a car turning in front of me, when I get back on the gas it does nothing, then it downshifts with a big clunk. This issue seems to be worst when the transmission temp is between 60 and 80F, although the performance is not great at any temperature.

Issue 3: When upshifting it feels like the transmission tells the throttle body to slam shut fast before it is really out of gear. This causes a significant decel feeling. Again, this seems to be worst between 60 and 80F, although it will do it at other temperatures. What is a little strange is when it starts doing this if I floor it and get up to the speed I want then let off it seems better. It also seems like if I do a bunch of short trips this gets worse.

Since the dealer and GM don't want to do anything about these problems, what options do I have?

Give up . On top of all of those issues, i also have a slight acceleration into 2nd gear when starting from a stop. It is something normally that is just aggravating, but sometimes it shifts really hard into second making a sudden jerk. When it is raining and the ground is wet, especially when i am turning left, i have to literally accelerate as slow as possibly or else when it shifts into 2nd my truck peels out. I am pretty sure everyone in my neighborhood thinks i am crazy because i will take off like an 80 year old man and once it hits second gear i accelerate like normal. When i first go the truck i got the whole "it has to learn how you drive" excuse, and they acknowledged that it had a issue with the gear shift. Now they act like i am just crazy. Where i work 3 other people have GMC trucks and mine is the only one who has the gear shifting issue, they all have the 3 issues that you listed. It will be two years that i have owned my truck this February and no fix yet. Until then, i hate everyday that I have to ride in my truck to and from work. Good thing for me I own a Harley so in the spring and the fall i ride that all of the time. Best of luck to you getting anywhere with this, and if you do, please let us know what the resolution to the issue was.

Willshire · January 26, 2016

Have you considered a tune? Reading up on torque management, it cuts torque during a shift supposedly for longevity. I'm thinking a tune to remove torque management helps shifting issues. Transmission may shift firmer but thAt is actually a desired outcome. The sooner the clutches grab the longer they will last. I raised my apply pressure in my 08 and the trans lasted til I sold it with no sign of letting up. After my bb tune the only code my truck ever threw was an o2 sensor in 200000 miles

andyhaug · January 26, 2016

I have considered a tune. It is frustrating that I have to fix something that GM should be fixing. Does anyone know if a tune fixes the problems I am having? A lot of the issues seem to be temperature related.

Willshire · January 26, 2016

Issue 1 seems to be an issue with the signal from the pedal to the tb motor since it is drive by wire. You're right though it sucks we have to figure out our own issues

Rham22 · February 13, 2016

First post. Thought I might be the only one having trouble after hearing what service department was telling me. I just bought a 2016 Silverado LTZ with an eight speed and it shifts horrible. Love the truck but not fun to drive while taking off and stopping. Truck has 1500 miles on it now because according to service department I have to get my truck to learn my driving habits. I am either a bad driver or have a truck with a learning disability. When truck sits over night or going home from work it always jerks a couple times taking off. Never fails. When I first bought a few weeks ago every time I would stop it would do something that felt like it was still shifting down when I should be stopped and actually feel like a double stop or surge forward. May sound crazy but really is the only way I can explain. There have been a couple times when I pulled into a parking spot to where it felt like I hit a curb because of the way it would stop. I have never experienced anything like this with any vehicle I have ever owned. Seems like the computer is not in sync with the transmission at all. I will make turns and vehicle don’t seem to downshift when it should. I truly feel like I am driving a manual shift truck without using clutch. Love the truck and hope enough people speak up so this problem can be fixed. According to my service department vehicle runs as it should. If this is the case I wish I would have kept my perfect running 2013 Ford F-150 4×4.

rickdi321 · March 3, 2016

hello I have a 2014 ltz z71 with 3.42 rear the transmission for the most part shift OK but some times if I take my foot off the gas and go to accelerate again it clunks loud and jolts also some times when going slow around parking lot the transmission seems to get lost and shifts poorly I have had a 1999 sierra a 2003 silverado and a 2008 silverado they all seem to have the same type of problems this very disappointing I would think by 2014 they would have got it right I really like the features on the truck but cant believe that they cant get the transmission to shift right I'm not sure I would buy another gm truck I have had it to the dealer multiple times and always told their is no fix with every truck losing faith GM please help

5829BMG · March 4, 2016

Mine seems very temp sensitive esp below 80degrees.1st-2nd shift at times will make you fell like your going to face plant the steering wheel. Once up to temp its much better most of the time and has bad days also. Just wondering if one could wire in a resistor in the trans temp sensor harness and make it think it's actually hotter than it is for a more positive shift.

unrealface · March 7, 2016

hello all,

So I traded in my 2008 sierra for the 2016 sierra quicksilver worst decision ever. So whenever it is a cold start like in the morning or after the truck sits there for awhile the truck seems to slip gears from 1-4. I had it happen on reverse to. Also it slips when I am turning which if I turn in front of traffic and it slips I will get hit. Almost happened to me a few times. It has gotten so bad that when it freezes up that I will rock forward in my seat. (ie launch me forward when it finally gets into gear) I had sent it in 4 - 5 times now. The first time they said they replicated the issue when I go pick it up they then say they didn't replicate it. Well we get in an argument and we catch them in the lie (which we have a recording of). Also when I tell them the truck is unsafe that I could get into a wreck because of the issue on the turning the service tech seems not to care and told me that we could sue gm and everyone if I get into a wreck. No Empathy at all from this service tech. Then last week I jump out in traffic and have someone running up on my tail so I floor it guess what nothing happens. So I took it in today after going all over town before hand which now the truck is running hot and drive around the head service tech and a fellow from GM well guess what it does none of the things that I have described above. So they say there is nothing they can do. Oh and I talked to the VP of MikeMorgan Dealership and he said he would be waiting for me when I showed up. Well he didn't show up. I have had them keep overnight and then they tell me that they didn't replicate it which is ridiculous because everyday that I have had this vehicle it slips from a cold start. Oh this truck only has 684 miles on it. They keep on saying that there is a computer on the transmission that learns how I drive. But now that I see that it has been happening since 2014 I am glad that it isn't just me. I have also learned that if I trade this truck into like Toyota I lose $10,000.00. I am on a lease btw. Also another thing when I go walking my dogs in my neighborhood and hear a car alarm go off that maybe just maybe someone has stolen my truck and they just might drive straight into the ocean, but my luck they would return it after it starts slipping on them too.

MyakkaLivin · March 7, 2016

Looking for some advice on my nagging transmission problems on a 2015 5.3 6 speed 8500 miles, 2300 on the transmission. Dealer doesn't want to hear anything about it anymore and GM's solution is to check for updates whenever it is in for service, basically no solution. I asked if anyone was working on it and they couldn't give me an answer so I assume no. I think there are 3 TAC cases open on my truck for transmission problems, but these don't seem to matter and are just supposed to make me feel like someone is looking into it.

Issue 1: No response to accelerator pedal. It has done this a few times, when changing lanes in town I push on the pedal and it does nothing for about 5 seconds. Did it again a couple of days ago, took off from a stop light making a left onto a 4 lane road. Accelerated off the line then let off to make the corner, when I pushed on the pedal again I got nothing for about 5 seconds.

Issue 2: This could be related to issue 1, but I am not sure. The transmission takes up to 3 seconds to downshift. Worst I have seen is slowing down for a car turning in front of me, when I get back on the gas it does nothing, then it downshifts with a big clunk. This issue seems to be worst when the transmission temp is between 60 and 80F, although the performance is not great at any temperature.

Issue 3: When upshifting it feels like the transmission tells the throttle body to slam shut fast before it is really out of gear. This causes a significant decel feeling. Again, this seems to be worst between 60 and 80F, although it will do it at other temperatures. What is a little strange is when it starts doing this if I floor it and get up to the speed I want then let off it seems better. It also seems like if I do a bunch of short trips this gets worse.

Since the dealer and GM don't want to do anything about these problems, what options do I have?

First timer. Read this post above and other than the temperature relationship, I have exactly the same issues. 2015 Sierra 5.3 and six speed. Damn near killed myself a week ago on the interstate...had to make a quick decision to either slam on the brakes or floor it to make a lane change. The truck made that decision for me. No response at all. Had to slam on the breaks and veer to the shoulder to avert rear ending someone. Dropped off at the dealer and all I got was "Well, we took it out for a test drive and everything is as it's supposed to be". But at least a ticket was recorded. After driving little beater trucks while raising a family with four children and getting them all through college w/o them being slammed with debt. all paid for. Finally was able to buy the truck of my dreams. Never thought the dream was actually a nightmare. Thank you GM...wish we (tax payers) never save your ass from bankruptcy. Ironic, I kept my 2004 F250 diesel w/ 274,000 miles to pull my horse horse trailer once in a while and I'll be damned if that the engine and tranny are as tight and responsive as the day I bought it. Go figure.....

Timmyboy188 · March 7, 2016

I'm having some weird shifting feelings at low speeds. I got a 2wd '15 Silverado as a loaner for some other issues on my truck that was getting fixed, and noticed it shifted MUCH better than mine. I may bring it in for the tranny if it continues...