[Voyager]

Got my car back from the GM dealer yesterday after getting a new GM certified transmission installed.

My 35R wave plate was playing up. About 4 weeks ago I contacted GM customer service to see if they could offer me some financial help to replace my transmission. They took about 1 week to get back to me and basically told me to naff off and that I was on my own with this one.
I had been speaking to Matt at Key Diesel and Transmission in the USA and after a few telephone conversations I decided Matt was the man to do the 35R wave plate upgrade. So I booked my car in with him last Saturday.
I live in Canada and I was going to make the trip from Canada to see Matt, about a 3 hour drive for me.
The week before going to see Matt, my wife wanted to take a trip into Toronto. Well it happened my tranny died on me on highway 401 as we got stuck in the dreaded Toronto traffic.

The car lost all gears and what I found was that if I switched it off for a few minutes I managed to get some gears. We did get to our destination. The next day I had to get towed back from Toronto to my house, about 3 hours away, as it was too stressful to attempt the journey back with a screwed tranny with my wife and son on board.

The GM dealer who replaced my tranny was fantastic. They did the job for the smallest of costs, so all in my tranny cost me $3495, which was amazing as another dealer was wanting 5 grand to do the same job.
My transmission failed at 100k miles, or to be exact 159800Km,s

I would like to take this opportunity to say a BIG THANK YOU to Matt at KEY DIESEL AND TRANSMISSION for all his help and advice.

I also want to say that I will never buy another GM product. I came to Canada from Scotland 8 years ago and I always drove Vauxhall cars which is also a GM product in the UK. This didn't make any difference to the GM adviser who dealt with my case when I asked for assistance.

Anyone who has an Outlook which has symptoms of a 35R wave pate about to go, Get it changed right away. Speak to Matt at Key Diesel who will do the upgrade, and it will be a **** sight cheaper that a new transmission.

 

[Richychabo]

how much did he charge?

 

[GerryL]

Can you tell us the build date of your 2007?

 

[Voyager]

My Outlook was made in Jan 2007, the GM dealer here in London, Ontario, Canada charged me 3500 bucks for a fully recon SERTA unit. So far all is good with no further issues apart from a dead battery due to the -40 temps here

 

[electbc]

What is your mileage? GM just announced special coverage for the 35R wave plate for
ten years or 120,000 miles (?km). Unfortunately mine went at 140,000. :angryfire:

 

[mswerb]

We had our transmission replaced a while back, can we be reimbursed for any work done? It was serviced at our local GM Dealership.

 

[electbc]

You will receive a letter from GM and they will state the procedure to get a reimbursement if your vehicle is involved.

 

[ls973800]

We had our transmission replaced a while back, can we be reimbursed for any work done? It was serviced at our local GM Dealership.

Instead of waiting for GM to send you a letter or contact you, you could start the process yourself. The following is a section copied from Campaign #14404 issued by GM on March 3, 2015 regarding the failed wave plate extended warranty. They are giving until March 31, 2016 to submit for reimbursement.

Customer Reimbursement – For US
Customer requests for reimbursement of previously paid repairs to correct the condition described in this bulletin are to be submitted to the dealer by March 31 2016, unless otherwise specified by state law. If this is not convenient for the customer, they may mail the completed Customer Reimbursement Request Form and all required documents to the GM Customer Assistance Center. Repairs must have occurred within the 10 years of the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, or 120,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

All reasonable and customary costs to correct the condition described in this bulletin should be considered for reimbursement. Any questions or concerns should be reviewed with your GM representative prior to processing the request.

When a customer requests reimbursement, they must provide the following:

•A completed Customer Reimbursement Request Form. This form is mailed to the customer or can be obtained through GM GlobalConnect.
•The name and address of the person who paid for the repair.
•Paid receipt confirming the amount of the repair expense, a description of the repair, and the person or entity performing the repair.
Important: GM requires dealers to approve or deny a reimbursement request within 30 days of receipt. If a reimbursement request is approved, the dealer should immediately issue a check to the customer and submit an appropriate warranty transaction for the incurred expense. If a reimbursement request is denied, the dealer MUST provide the customer with a clear and concise explanation, in writing, as to why the request was denied. The bottom portion of the Customer Reimbursement Request Form may be used for this purpose. If the denial was due to missing documents, the customer can resubmit the request when the missing documents are obtained, as long as it is still within the allowed reimbursement period.

 

[mswerb]

How do I get the reimbursement Form???

 

[diamondjax]

Contacted GM about my tranny last week. They had GM Roadside assistance tow it to the dealership for free. The transmission was slipping from 2nd to 3rd so we stopped driving it immediately. GM issued me a service number starting with 71-. I had it towed to my local GM dealer on a Saturday afternoon about 5pm. Service department closed at 3pm and was closed Sunday. Went out there Monday morning and the lady at the Service Desk said "We really don't work on Saturn issues, you'll have to take that to a Saturn dealership." Really. I wanted her to point me to the nearest one (since they no longer exist) just to make her go through the hassle of trying to locate one but I was trying to be nice. Finally she ran my VIN and told me "It will take us about a week or so to diagnose the problem. We will contact you when we know what it is. It may not be covered by this special coverage if it isn't related to that issue." She also told me I would have to pay for the diagnosis if it wasn't covered by the special coverage.

At this point I called GM back. I am now making a payment and paying insurance on a vehicle that I can't drive. It's my only family vehicle and I have 3 small children under 7 so getting them to school and around certainly presents a challenge without a vehicle. GM called the dealership and asked them when it would be diagnosed with me on the line. The lady said about a week or so. Not sure how long to repair it as we are really busy. I asked about a vehicle to drive while they repaired it and got no offer of anything and only "we're sorry" Got vacation coming up on 4/4 and I will be willing to bet it isn't repaired by then so I will have to rent a vehicle to go on vacation while still making the payment on the one I cannot drive. I am grateful GM stepped up and admitted fault to the issue but I am being punished by going without a vehicle for what will more than likely be a month through absolutely no fault of my own. I stopped driving it immediately as so not to tear it up more and contacted them with the issue. I bought this one owner, 73k mile clean Carfax vehicle from another GM dealer about 2 hrs from home and had the exact same issues with them. Made 6 trips (yes, 6 trips) that equaled 160 miles round trip to get them to fix a clicking in the steering wheel and the airbag light that they swore worked fine though it came on the day we test drove it. Got cussed by the dealership owner who said "I didn't even make much off that vehicle and now you want me to fix it again?" I told him I only wanted him to keep his word (which I have in email form) when he told me he would repair it. Can't seem to win for losing so it's a wrap for me and GM. Once this jewel is fixed I will be trading it in immediately for something I can depend on. WHAT A JOKE.

 

[mswerb]

You should look into finding a certified Saturn repair dealership, shouldn't be that hard. Have the vehicle towed from the dealership that is at right now! They sound as if they will not fix it in a timely manner. No reason why they do not have service loaner vehicles. Especially if it will take them a week to diagnose. (That is a joke)

 

[ls973800]

How do I get the reimbursement Form???

Phone numbers listed in an update to the original release by GM regarding the wave plate failure. Call one of the numbers listed below.

Reimbursement: If you have paid for repairs for the condition described in this letter, please complete the enclosed reimbursement form and present it to your dealer with all required documents. Working with your dealer will expedite your request, however, if this is not convenient, you may mail the completed reimbursement form and all required documents to Reimbursement Department, PO Box 33170, Detroit, MI 48232-5170. The completed form and required documents must be presented to your dealer or received by the Reimbursement Department by March 31, 2016, unless state law specifies a longer reimbursement period.

If you have any questions or need any assistance, just contact your dealer or the appropriate Customer Assistance Center at the number listed below.

Division
Number
Text Telephones (TTY)
Buick
1-800-521-7300
1-800-832-8425
Chevrolet
1-800-222-1020
1-800-833-2438
GMC
1-800-462-8782
1-888-889-2438
Pontiac
1-800-762-2737
1-800-833-7668
Saturn
1-800-553-6000
1-800-833-6000

 

[electbc]

Instead of waiting for GM to send you a letter or contact you, you could start the process yourself. The following is a section copied from Campaign #14404 issued by GM on March 3, 2015 regarding the failed wave plate extended warranty. They are giving until March 31, 2016 to submit for reimbursement.

Customer Reimbursement – For US
Customer requests for reimbursement of previously paid repairs to correct the condition described in this bulletin are to be submitted to the dealer by March 31 2016, unless otherwise specified by state law. If this is not convenient for the customer, they may mail the completed Customer Reimbursement Request Form and all required documents to the GM Customer Assistance Center. Repairs must have occurred within the 10 years of the date the vehicle was originally placed in service, or 120,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

All reasonable and customary costs to correct the condition described in this bulletin should be considered for reimbursement. Any questions or concerns should be reviewed with your GM representative prior to processing the request.

When a customer requests reimbursement, they must provide the following:

•A completed Customer Reimbursement Request Form. This form is mailed to the customer or can be obtained through GM GlobalConnect.
•The name and address of the person who paid for the repair.
•Paid receipt confirming the amount of the repair expense, a description of the repair, and the person or entity performing the repair.
Important: GM requires dealers to approve or deny a reimbursement request within 30 days of receipt. If a reimbursement request is approved, the dealer should immediately issue a check to the customer and submit an appropriate warranty transaction for the incurred expense. If a reimbursement request is denied, the dealer MUST provide the customer with a clear and concise explanation, in writing, as to why the request was denied. The bottom portion of the Customer Reimbursement Request Form may be used for this purpose. If the denial was due to missing documents, the customer can resubmit the request when the missing documents are obtained, as long as it is still within the allowed reimbursement period.

They should also state that repair must have been done at a GM approved shop. Here is my rejection message.
William,
Thank you for getting back to me regarding the Wave plate extended coverage. The VIN is 5GZEV23798J293588.
The mileage of the repair was 139,536, current mileage is 160,000. Any help with any sort of reimbursement would be greatly appreciated. The cost of repair was 3615.56 done at Gold Seal Transmissions in Upper Saddle River NJ.

Bruce

Hello Bruce,

Thanks for your response. After further research, I see that Gold Seal Transmissions is a non-GM repair facility that you enlisted the services of. Due to this, reimbursement is not an option, unfortunately. We are only empowered to work with certified GM dealers to review potential cost assistance or reimbursement at a customer's request.

William R.
GMC Customer Care

 

[Voyager]

Started my claim 10 days ago. Got a call from my GM dealer who replaced my transmission, that he had a nice cheque waiting for me in his office. Got a full refund for the full cost of my GM certified transmission

 

[mswerb]

Started my claim 10 days ago. Got a call from my GM dealer who replaced my transmission, that he had a nice cheque waiting for me in his office. Got a full refund for the full cost of my GM certified transmission

Why was the check sent to the dealership?
My wife asked how we would get our check just the other day. I assumed it would be sent directly to us.

 

[KC4ZGE]

:blob: :blob: :cheers:


got my letter I only have 50000 miles but so far so good at least one one less thing to worry over

 

[diamondjax]

So now the Chevrolet dealership in Cullman, Alabama called today and told me that my transmission (the one that had just been finished being repaired 1 day prior to it breaking down again) has torque converter issues, broken clutches, and bolts floating around inside it. He said he wouldn't even consider rebuilding it due to the damage and replacing it would be a better option. Funny thing is I have the repair invoice from the original "repair" and it says they replaced 3,5 and reverse wave plates, input durm (drum maybe?) and other damaged clutches. So if this is the case then why would the clutches be broken already? I only put 200 miles on it. It's now far worse than it was before I had it worked on under the special coverage. They told me the special coverage won't cover this either. How is it that a special coverage repair obviously done improperly (bolts shouldn't be floating around inside the tranny should they?) that made the issue WORSE than it was originally not be covered??? That transmission had not been apart in the 7 months I have owned it and I find it too coincidental that now after it's been "repaired" that all of a sudden it's in worse shape than before. Do I have any recourse here?