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1) About 4 months ago it started making clunking sounds when in A4WD and it felt like the wheels were slipping.
2) Clunks real bad when shifting down from 2nd to 1st at a stop in A4WD. Can only drive it in 2HI now just for fear of something breaking although 2HI is starting to feel sloppy.
3) After about 45 minutes of driving, come to stop and start to go again and hear a creek for a few seconds
4) Yesterday, started it up and 2HI light was constantly blinking and it would blink in any other gear i put it but would not actually change over.
Now I bought this GM CERTIFIED and thought that would be the best way to go on something used. I guess I was wrong. Warranty is up, I have a newborn on the way and do not want to get stranded with this vehicle. I cannot afford $3k in repairs and owe more than the vehicle is worth. I really do not want to get stranded on the side of the road with my newborn when the transmission goes.
I guess this is just a little rant if anyone has any input?
Jason
Within several months the cruise control broke, then the radio went silent after getting that fixed it went back in b/c the gages were shooting up and down even when i was in park. This is not suppose to happen to new cars.
As if these problems were not enough the car just started to turn off. This problem started first only when i had the air conditioning on, then the heat now everything could be off and the car still cuts off. At first the car would warn me to cut engine, now - no warning. I brought it to the dealer to get fixed like always - "wow we never had this problem before, let us fix it". then poof a couple of days later i get the car and like clock work days go by my service engine light goes on (never to turn off) and the problem still exists. Now that i am past warranty i refuse to pay for something they can not or will not fix. This is were it gets interesting one day (of many) while i was at the dealership, one of the sales managers whispered to me "get rid of it trade it now, trust me". So i am going in this weekend to do just that.
Oh did i mention the brakes started to squeek two days into owning it and they have ever since - they said all semi metallic brakes do that and there is nothing we can do about it.
So sad b/c I really do love my TB too bad it's crap.
Jason
Summary:
-2002 Trailblazer LT 2WD
-Transmission failure at 78,000 miles
-Near accident with two children in car ages 2 and 7
-Major repair cost
-Significant safety problem
-Multiple listings of identical failures (sun shell/ reaction gear) planetary system.
-Reportedly known defective and (under designed) part. This will be the NHTSA’s responsibility to investigate and sort out.
-Some reports of “silent recall” however never acknowledged with my conversations
-No warning of oncoming failure
-Owners manual doesn’t recommend any transmission service until 100,000 miles
-Never towed anything
-Wife driven/ garage kept
-Significant engineering accomplishments in transmissions have been made in the past decade with materials and lubricants. There is absolutely no reason a tranny should fall apart on an automobile towing or not under 100,000 miles especially if your following the manufacturers maintenance recommendations
Read on if you have time.
On 10/26/06 while traveling with my two children( 2 and 7) the transmission failed in my 2002 (TB)Trailblazer LT. I was merging into 40~45 mph traffic from a side road, there was more than adequate time to enter traffic and accelerate to traffic speed before oncoming traffic would approach. Entering the intersection I heard and felt a heavy clunk in the rear of the TB and immediately following a horrendous screech and whine (transmission failing). I immediately checked the rear-view mirror since I was now in quickly approaching traffic with no power. The engines RPM’s raced and I let off the gas and then slowly re-applied the gas and the transmission caught (worked), however I could only get the SUV up to about 20mph fearing engine problems because the tranny wouldn’t shift gears and engines RPM’s were racing. At the same time I yelled at the kids to hold on because it looked like the approaching car wasn’t slowing down. ( I assume they saw me enter traffic and presumed I would be at traffic speed by the time they approached). For the second time I heard a horrendous screeching this time the tires of the car behind me. I’m certain that car would have hit us had they not managed to swerve slightly to the right rear of my TB. I managed to slowly drive the TB to the closest Chevrolet dealership, fortunately only a couple of minutes away, and getting the finger from every pissed off Black Friday shopper in the city. Left the TB with dealership and tried to deal with two children and transportation arrangements.
The service department called me back with preliminary diagnosis (blown transmission) metal shavings in the transmission oil and no reverse. They would not do a complete break-down because they were aware of similar problems plus the additional cost of a full breakdown analysis. The sun-shell “grenades” per the technicians words. I told them to go ahead and replace the transmission since I could not afford to be without a vehicle (which ended up costing me an arm a leg and another leg, plus 7 days ) even after GM paid 30%. I didn’t have the money to cover this but the worse of the two evils was to be without a vehicle.
After doing extensive research on the subject it is easy to find that there is definitely a faulty part and a significant safety issue here. Google this for instance: “2002 trailblazer transmission problems +sun gear”. The only thing preventing a full re-call in my thoughts (being an engineer myself) is the huge cost to the manufacturer to recall and replace/repair this problem and most importantly there has not been an injury to date (at least not reported). I am certain Chevrolet/GM is fully aware of the problem based on my research and they are sitting on the problem until they are forced to make a recall, I pray that it is not at the expense of someones life. To see over 81 complaints actually registered with the NHTSA within a narrow search criteria go to:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/complain/complaintsearch.cfm
use the vehicle search +
Year : 2002
Make : CHEVROLET
Model : TRAILBLAZER
Component: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Some of these complaints do not match my problem but there are TOO MANY that have exactly the same phenomena as I have described (think of how many people just don’t pursue this problem).
Read on if you want to know about my Customer Service conversations.
Customer Service experience:
Talked to a Customer service manager and took general information details etc , Immediately transferred me to Specialist (maybe because I mentioned silent recall). Specialist went over details I gave to first person and was very apologetic, however never admitted or denied to the silent recall. Scheduled a follow up phone discussion for two days later after she had time to review the material. Received a phone message that the specialist would not be able to keep appointment because of promotion however she had advanced the issue to the next level district manager to see if they “couldn’t get this covered” (still have the recorded message). Got a call on 10/29/06 TB was fixed, asked if they heard anything from GM Cust. Serv. (no). Told them I would have to wait until I heard from them before I proceeded. Called back several times with no return phone call on 10/29/06 because TB was ready. Tried again on 10/30/06 and finally got specialist around noon that day. Specialist said they had reviewed the material and decided to cover 30% of the charges, to which I questioned the obvious known defect and unquestionable safety issue, along with requesting 100% coverage. This transmission was only at 75% of the mileage before they recommend the first service. The specialist just sat there and listened and never gave any answer just that they had made there decision. At that point I suggested they contact the dealership and ensure the paper work was handled, I needed the car today. Of course I called the dealership before I left work for the day to confirm the paper work was handled and it was not. Immediately called back specialist (this, 4 hours after our initial conversation) and she said she had just talked to them and everything was okay. Demanded she have the District manager call me since he was involved with the decision, to which she said she would put in the request. Called back dealership to confirm and they said still waiting on final decision, so I had to wait until 10/31/06. Talked to dealership on 10/31/06 and still hadn’t finalized with cust. Serv. At this point I’m livid and demand an immediate answer. Dealership calls back shortly and says car is ready and with appropriate paperwork. Got my car and left , never received a call from district manager.
Make your complaint known to the NHTSA, and then
Changed the front wheel hub assembly this morning. Actually, quite easy. Do I love american cars and trucks for this. I am not a mechanic and it took me about 2 hours. If you are going to change this yourself, make sure you shop around for your parts. I went 2 parts places and one quoted me 307 + tax. This is in Canadian dollars. The other one wanted 1200 for the same part. I did not dare going to the dealer to find out how much would have been this job.
I have a call in to GM and I am at a stand still right now. I would just like to know what words you told them that may help me out in getting the deal that you received.
From what I have read online & experienced, it seems that having an understanding dealership that values your past and possibly future business is key to getting a good deal.
I just started having a problem when shifting from 2WD to A4WD. It sounds like the u-joint is going to fall apart. No problems in 2WD or in 4HI.
At what point will GM have to do a recall? It seems like there are a multitude of problems with TB Transmissions.
THanks in advance.
I recently replaced the trafer case control module on my 02 TB LT 4WD after getting stuck in a PARKING LOT this winter. I was not very impressed with the 4WD capabilities of the TB....seemed like the 4WD would engage for a second, but then slip out....in 4HI or LO. Replacing the TCM made a WORLD of difference in 4WD traction, and fixed the crummy mileage I had been getting for a while too. I believe the faulty TCM was engaging AWD at highway speeds without my knowledge.
I loved the truck at first, but right before I traded it in at 80000 miles, I began running into a slew of problems (tranny, ball joints, AC working sporadically, half the fan speeds did not work, multiple replacements of tail light bulbs (after recall fix,) 2 new water pumps, fan clutch.....ugh. I was glad to be rid of it for $700 more than I owed. I have owned two Fords that had 120K+ miles when I traded them in, and a Isuzu Trooper with 190K miles when it finally died. What happened to GM vehicles, I'll never know. I certainly won't be buying one again, however.... :sick:
I have replaced the trans at 34000 miles "never towed anything with the truck prior.Fan clutch junk and now the 4wd selector goes blank after 3 months not selecting 4wd and then you have to disconnect the negative for it to remember it is a 4wd. :mad:
Thanks ! dman
thanks
Snowstorm1
Thanks
Dman
I also noticed the rear windshield wiper blade came on by itself twice, the 4WD switch will not go into 4Lo and the battery gauge seemed to move on its own both in park and driving - anyone else experience the same thing?
What should I do about tranny? Ext Warranty expires in 6k miles.
When the car goes about 50 ft or when it reaches 20-30 MPH, everything goes back to normal.
Some people told me that I need to replace the transmission fluid filter and oil. Others told me that my transmission is bad. By the way, this happens only 30-50% of the time.
All this started about 3 weeks ago. Please help. Thank you
I was being listed for a doule lung transplant at a hospital about 50 miles away from my home. My 2004 Dodge 1500 was about 2000 miles from becoming out of warranty. So, we decided we needed to have a new, reliable, warranteed vehicle so we would not have any problems during my upcoming MAJOR surgury and lengthy hospital stay. We got the 2007 TB SS in mid-January, I got called for my surgery on January 31. I was hospitalized for 15 days during which my husband made daily trips to the hospital for visits. I was discharged after 15 days, and had to return for a bronch/biopsy 5 days after my discharge. On the way to the hospital our transmission BLEW UP while we were doing 75 MPH on the interstate in major traffic. My husband was able to get it to the side of the interstate and we had to have it towed to our dealership. Barely 2000 HIGHWAY miles on the TB, and we figured out we had made the worst mistake of our lives. NEVER a problem with the Dodge, and I wish to God I had kept it.
The Dealer absolutely refuses to replace the tranny with new; just put all the old parts in a new case, even though all the fluid had blown out on the interstate and we know the parts had to have sustained damage. But we are stuck. Nothing we can do. Even took it to another dealership to see if they could help, they refuse to touch it saying our dealer had already made a decision on it.
We have since had to have the vehicle back to the dealer 3 times because the tranny was still leaking.
I loved the SS when I drove it off the lot, but now I can't stand to even look at it. I keep waiting for it to blow up again, this time probably while I am driving, and I'm not as good a driver as my Husband, who was also a mechanic for 20 years.
We have called Chevy directly and they are of NO help in resolving. We want a NEW transmission, as the old parts HAVE to be damaged. No luck. We have contacted the State as the first step in lemon law process. But even if we are able to get out from under this vehicle, we don't know if we are going to be able to get our money back, and we certainly won't get my truck back, which I loved.
:lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
Good luck.
The service manager told me that the problems with my TB are "just a fluke" and most people have had good experiences with theirs. I am seeing here that this is not quite true.
I only have another year of payments left so I hesitate to sell it. But it pains me to pay close to $400 a month for a car that I constantly have to pour money into to fix. One thing is for sure though; I will NEVER buy an American car again, especially a GM car.
PSmith :P
Thanks!!!
For not the issue is sporadic but has been becoming more and more frequent. Of course everytime I get it to a transmission guy it stops doing it and they have no clue what it causing it. Does ANYONE where have any clue what would make it do that? I would like to get it fixed before the whole thing explodes again.
Would the clutch fan on a TB impact the function of the Transmission like that?