My wife has a 2007 Saturn Outlook with 81,000 miles on the clock. We've had a few small issues here and there that I've resolved on my own (replaced sway bar links; faulty window switch on drivers side, etc.). We also had the mysterious steering wheel noise (which sounded like you were sliding a fingernail on a window screen when you turned the wheel) which magically disappeared a year ago. We had the headlight wiring and timing chain issues addressed by the recall.
HOWEVER, 2 weeks ago I drove the Outlook to Lowe's, and on the way back I heard a strange whine in 2nd gear. I rebuild old Jeeps as a hobby, and have torn down my share of slushboxes in those things, and metallic noises in a tranny is never a good thing. Simultaneously, I started losing reverse gear. I quickly hopped online to do a little research on the 6T76 transmission and I was blown away at the issues customers are having with this little booger. I called a buddy that runs a transmission shop and he confirmed my research about the "wave plate" shattering. He has worked on several, but recommended that I call GM to see if they would warranty the transmission. It has a 5 year/100k warranty, but the 5 years ran out in April. I called GM and spoke with a rep in India, but was pleasantly surprised at their willingness to help, possibly since I was armed with the info regarding the wave plate, and the fact that the tranny only had 81k miles. She asked me to take it to a GM dealer for diagnosis, which I did. They tore the transmission down and confirmed the wave plate was disintegrated.
My blood pressure spiked slightly today when another GM rep called the next day to follow up, and offered an "Owner Loyalty Certificate", i.e., a break on the price of a new GM. I hit the roof, and asked why I would want to buy another GM if major powertrain components fail at 81k?? I will say he was very professional and asked what I wanted out of this. I'm a reasonable guy and told him they should meet me halfway on a new tranny (yes, covering 100% would be nice, but I had come to terms that the warranty was expired) Within 15 minutes he called back and said they would agree to pay for 50% of the transmission repair.
I spoke with the service manager at the dealer today and they were ordering a "new" transmission with a 3 yr/unlimited mileage warranty. Yes, he said brand new, not rebuilt, and yes, he said unlimited miles, not 100k. I'll update everyone once the repair is complete.
While I understand all cars can have problems, its a shame that such a really nicely designed, multipurpose vehicle has had such quality issues.
HOWEVER, 2 weeks ago I drove the Outlook to Lowe's, and on the way back I heard a strange whine in 2nd gear. I rebuild old Jeeps as a hobby, and have torn down my share of slushboxes in those things, and metallic noises in a tranny is never a good thing. Simultaneously, I started losing reverse gear. I quickly hopped online to do a little research on the 6T76 transmission and I was blown away at the issues customers are having with this little booger. I called a buddy that runs a transmission shop and he confirmed my research about the "wave plate" shattering. He has worked on several, but recommended that I call GM to see if they would warranty the transmission. It has a 5 year/100k warranty, but the 5 years ran out in April. I called GM and spoke with a rep in India, but was pleasantly surprised at their willingness to help, possibly since I was armed with the info regarding the wave plate, and the fact that the tranny only had 81k miles. She asked me to take it to a GM dealer for diagnosis, which I did. They tore the transmission down and confirmed the wave plate was disintegrated.
My blood pressure spiked slightly today when another GM rep called the next day to follow up, and offered an "Owner Loyalty Certificate", i.e., a break on the price of a new GM. I hit the roof, and asked why I would want to buy another GM if major powertrain components fail at 81k?? I will say he was very professional and asked what I wanted out of this. I'm a reasonable guy and told him they should meet me halfway on a new tranny (yes, covering 100% would be nice, but I had come to terms that the warranty was expired) Within 15 minutes he called back and said they would agree to pay for 50% of the transmission repair.
I spoke with the service manager at the dealer today and they were ordering a "new" transmission with a 3 yr/unlimited mileage warranty. Yes, he said brand new, not rebuilt, and yes, he said unlimited miles, not 100k. I'll update everyone once the repair is complete.
While I understand all cars can have problems, its a shame that such a really nicely designed, multipurpose vehicle has had such quality issues.
