2016 Silverado Z71 Transmission

[thundercles]

Well I just got a notice from my dealership service dept that the transmission is "burnt" and needs replacement at 77,000 miles! This is the 6 speed behind the 5.3. I told the service rep that this seems unacceptable and she stated that they have had to replace many transmissions in these trucks at similar mileage.  This truck has been babied its whole life with only light occasional towing.

 

I took it to the dealership because I noticed a slight "wine" and a slight difference in shift feel. Has anyone else experienced this or had any luck getting a dealership to cover outside of warranty?

[Lsgun1]

Fluid wears out, just change it and be on your way. You want to fight over a couple hundred dollar service that is supposed to be done regularly anyways.

 

https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2016/Chevrolet/Silverado/2016 Chevrolet Silverado1500.pdf

 

There's a service schedule

Edited October 22, 2020 by Lsgun1

[thundercles]

47 minutes ago, Lsgun1 said:

Fluid wears out, just change it and be on your way. You want to fight over a couple hundred dollar service that is supposed to be done regularly anyways.

 

https://my.gm.com/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2016/Chevrolet/Silverado/2016 Chevrolet Silverado1500.pdf

 

There's a service schedule

Sorry, I realize in my fury, I didn't fully explain. The dealership said the TRANSMISSION is burnt and quoted me $4700 to replace it. I was fully expecting them to tell me it needed a fluid change...

[davester]

You might want to take it somewhere else for a second opinion.  The dealer may be going for boosting their revenue this month...

[Lsgun1]

Ok I would be mad as well. I wouldn't just replace it since the truck is driving ok just shifts a little different. Try a flush and see what happens.

[CamGTP]

Beat on the truck more once you get it replaced. It may last longer not being babied.

[Grumpy Bear]

9 hours ago, thundercles said:

Well I just got a notice from my dealership service dept that the transmission is "burnt" and needs replacement at 77,000 miles! This is the 6 speed behind the 5.3. I told the service rep that this seems unacceptable and she stated that they have had to replace many transmissions in these trucks at similar mileage.  This truck has been babied its whole life with only light occasional towing.

 

I took it to the dealership because I noticed a slight "wine" and a slight difference in shift feel. Has anyone else experienced this or had any luck getting a dealership to cover outside of warranty?

These things live and die on service and use. Change the fluid. Bypass the thermostat. Do NOT beat on it to make it better. Lord 

[CamGTP]

Not driving it hard every once in a while like buying a Corvette only to never go full throttle when that car is built for speed and handling.

 

The more you baby an automatic with adaptive learning the more you are asking it to possibly slip the clutches and burn itself up. These transmissions are built to handle more power than the engines can make and I am going to put it to work.

[Grumpy Bear]

We will have to agree to disagree on this one. 

 

Nothing in that adaptive tuning tells the transmission to find the ragged edge of slippage an sit on it until it burns up.

 

 

[CamGTP]

I'm saying that if you had a feather foot all the time the adaptive learning is going to make the shifts nice and soft. Everyone knows that soft/slow shifts put more wear on the clutches than fast/crisp shifts.

 

If you drive with a heavier foot the transmission will adapt to that and shift it quicker, within it's limits of course.

 

Everything is a time thing with transmission, they can't last forever when the inside is made with parts that wear out.

[Grumpy Bear]

38 minutes ago, CamGTP said:

I'm saying that if you had a feather foot all the time the adaptive learning is going to make the shifts nice and soft. Everyone knows that soft/slow shifts put more wear on the clutches than fast/crisp shifts.

 

If you drive with a heavier foot the transmission will adapt to that and shift it quicker, within it's limits of course.

 

Everything is a time thing with transmission, they can't last forever when the inside is made with parts that wear out.

Torque management kind does this for ya.

Right?

 

Yup

 

I put 200K on the clutch of my 98 Civic. Put a new one in it. Sold it to a kid who killed it in 5K

Guys kill cam chain adjusters in TC88 Harleys in 30 K. I get 100 K from a set.

Harleys have wet clutches, jus like an automatic. I get 3 to 5 times more of them than guys with a more highly loaded, quicker, crisper shift.

Why LOAD.

I have 130 K on my brakes and 80% pad left. I know guys that can kill them in 30K. 

Nobody ever wore out a clutch pack lining faster treating to good. 

 

They don't wear out from 'slipping'. The wear out from the LOAD they are under while slipping.

 

[thundercles]

UPDATE: The day after leaving the dealership, the transmission completely s*** itself. Was driving home from work and all of a sudden, the engine and tranny would no longer engage and felt like I was in neutral. Tried shifting into manual mode and 4x4 but no joy. Weirdly enough, after sitting for about 15 minutes, I tried again and the tranny hooked up long enough to get me about a mile down the road. I repeated this a couple times until I made it to my driveway. Had the truck towed to a local mechanic and his reaction was similar to GM dealership, all new tranny required at cost of $4,700. 

[Grumpy Bear]

2 hours ago, thundercles said:

UPDATE: The day after leaving the dealership, the transmission completely s*** itself. Was driving home from work and all of a sudden, the engine and tranny would no longer engage and felt like I was in neutral. Tried shifting into manual mode and 4x4 but no joy. Weirdly enough, after sitting for about 15 minutes, I tried again and the tranny hooked up long enough to get me about a mile down the road. I repeated this a couple times until I made it to my driveway. Had the truck towed to a local mechanic and his reaction was similar to GM dealership, all new tranny required at cost of $4,700. 

What did the dealership do? Fluid or replace the transmission? Either way, that stinks. 

[thundercles]

The dealership didn't do anything. I told them not to touch it until I got a second opinion. The mechanic I had it towed to is putting in a new transmission. 

[amxguy1970]

Certainly not a regular occurrence but sh*t does happen, it is a mechanical unit comprised of hundreds of parts. That sucks but we are a GM family and know many who do and I can only recall two who had a transmission issue, one recently at nearly 200k without a fluid change (4 spd) and another years ago when he was younger and beat on it and would regularly throw it in drive from reverse while moving at a good clip. None of our or those that have the 6 spd (including mine) has had an issue. I just changed my filter and fluid last weekend at 78k, shifts fantastic. It hasn't lived an easy life but I treat it well. Good luck, hopefully the next one lasts a long time as they usually do. For what it is worth I have heard of failures with the ZF 8 speed and Allison units as well, it happens. 

 

On the plus side these engines are pretty durable, you have a new transmission and hopefully a paid off or nearly paid off truck, so you should be good for years to come. 

 

Tyler 

Edited October 29, 2020 by amxguy1970