[OutlookDriver]

While speaking with the Attorney Generals Office, I was told that perhaps the transmission issue faced or facing many Outlook, Acadia, Enclave, and Traverse owners may be of interest to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That is the agency that decides if a safety issue warrants a recall from the manufacturer.
Help us all by looking up the following site and filing a safety complaint and tell your story. If enough of us register our tansmission problems, it may eventually lead to a recall of the transmission from GM:
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

 

[anth7149]

I filed a complaint yesterday with everyone,including GM, Saturn, NHTSA, almost every on-line car complaint community. Bought a 2007 Saturn XE on July 31, 2012, and the transmission went out on 11/8/12; the day after, i bought an 2008 Acadia because I really liked the Outlook and they were similar. Now I find out that they both share the same problems with a wave plate in the transmission that at a minimum will cost $3200. I have posted everywhere... sooooo pisssed, Oh! I also posted on PissedConsumer.com LOL

 

[GM Customer Service]

@anth7149, I apologize for my confusion; do you still own the 2007 Saturn?

Michelle, GM Customer Service

 

[OutlookDriver]

Help yourself and everyone else --- submit a complaint with the NHTSA

 

[OutlookDriver]

There are three methods you can use to contact the NHTSA if you suspect a safety-related defect in your vehicle. You can take any (or all) of the following actions:

Call the U.S. Department of Transportation's Vehicle Safety Hotline: (888) 327-4236 or (800) 424-9153, toll free from anywhere in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
Report the issue online at the NHTSA's vehicle safety Web site: http://www.safercar.gov/
Send a letter via U.S. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigation (NVS-210) 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590

 

[sat2008urn]

I wanted to comment on the Outlook (Enclave, Acadia, Traverse) 6 speed transmission. I have a 2008 Outlook and my daughter and son-in-law own one as well. Last Saturday their tranny gave up the ghost and it was the wave plate that everyone else who has had transmission problems talk about. I felt responsible because I kind of directed them to the vehicle that they bought in the summer of 2011. They love the vehicle but it became a real surprise when they lost the transmission. I personally went to the GM dealership where they purchased it from and spoke to the manager of the service department. He was extremely cooperative with helping with the problem. What made this an even more squirley problem was that their 5 year powertrain warranty had just run out it October (had 72000 on odometer). He simply quoted a price that they would have to pay (less than$700) since past warranty date and GM would pick up the balance. We thought this was fair and had the dealership do the repair. They are warranting the work for 12,000 miles or 12 months ( also acceptable). I bought my '08 last year, it was certified but had the tranny rebuilt before I purchased it. I am very happy with my vehicle and have had only had one problem since buying it. The steering wheel was making a squealing noise and had it fixed under the certified warranty. My take on the issue is that GM can be flexible in helping with the transmission problem. But you MUST talk to the dealership and talk to the right people that are dealing and possibly wrestling with GM and not just take it to a transmission shop and expect GM to reimburse for the repair. That will never happen. Follow a process and try and talk to the key people that deal with this every day at the dealership. :angel:

 

[GM Customer Service]

I wanted to comment on the Outlook (Enclave, Acadia, Traverse) 6 speed transmission. I have a 2008 Outlook and my daughter and son-in-law own one as well. Last Saturday their tranny gave up the ghost and it was the wave plate that everyone else who has had transmission problems talk about. I felt responsible because I kind of directed them to the vehicle that they bought in the summer of 2011. They love the vehicle but it became a real surprise when they lost the transmission. I personally went to the GM dealership where they purchased it from and spoke to the manager of the service department. He was extremely cooperative with helping with the problem. What made this an even more squirley problem was that their 5 year powertrain warranty had just run out it October (had 72000 on odometer). He simply quoted a price that they would have to pay (less than$700) since past warranty date and GM would pick up the balance. We thought this was fair and had the dealership do the repair. They are warranting the work for 12,000 miles or 12 months ( also acceptable). I bought my '08 last year, it was certified but had the tranny rebuilt before I purchased it. I am very happy with my vehicle and have had only had one problem since buying it. The steering wheel was making a squealing noise and had it fixed under the certified warranty. My take on the issue is that GM can be flexible in helping with the transmission problem. But you MUST talk to the dealership and talk to the right people that are dealing and possibly wrestling with GM and not just take it to a transmission shop and expect GM to reimburse for the repair. That will never happen. Follow a process and try and talk to the key people that deal with this every day at the dealership. :angel:

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with this. I’m happy to read that things worked out for your family with their Outlook. Do they have the vehicle back?

Michelle, GM Customer Service

 

[OutlookDriver]

You know, that's all well and good, but what if, after speaking politely with the Customer Service Manager to make a deal, you tell the truth about how you feel for paying for the repair, he tells you that he is taking the offer back. Should I have lied and said "Oh, thank you for selling me a vehicle with a defective transmission. I am more than happy to pay $1800 for your poor design because I have so much to spare". Maybe I should not have said that I thought that I would get a little better deal from the company that I trusted (Matthews Auto Group and GM) since the unsafe transmission issues with the Outlook, Acadia, Traverse, and Enclave are well documented. If he didn't want my honest opinion, why did he ask?

What if that Customer Service Manager lies about just taking the plug out to check the fluid when in fact the transmission has been dismantled without your authorization ($498 - still not repaired, parts on a pallet)? What if, when confronted with this information, GM Customer Care doesn't care about the behavior of someone who has the GM/GMC/Chevy/etc. logos on the side of their building and markets their products?

I am glad for you that THE person to talk to at your dealership, the Customer Service Manager, didn't lie to you. I am glad that the GM Customer Care rep cared enough to ask about your experience.

I don't seem to have elicited that same level of Customer Caring. My Outlook has been held hostage now for about 80 days. After paying their ransom of $498, I hired a Saturn Service tow truck operator (yes, they still call themselves that) to haul it to another GM dealership, but they were not allowed to perform the tow because Matthews Auto Group would not release it. Customer Care did offer a "Sorry for your troubles" when called, so I have that going for me.
So now, not only did I file a safety complaint with the NHTSA, I have also spoken with the local Attorney Generals office and filed a Service Repair complaint with the DMV.

 

[sat2008urn]

Back to the 2008 Outlook that my daughter had wave plate problem with on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Yes the vehicle was repaired and she has put several hundred miles on it and everything is fine. Thanks Michelle for asking. 8)

 

[GM Customer Service]

My pleasure, sat2008urn; I’m very happy to read that everything is going well with your daughter’s Outlook.

Please, don’t hesitate to contact me in the future.

Michelle, GM Customer Service

 

[platypusking]

I've got a 2008 XR, I'm wondering just how much it will take to get a recall on this transmission issue. We were pulling into our neighbor hood and our transmission went out, 79K on the odometer. Luckily we where very close to the house and no traffic and made it into the driveway. Our local GM dealer was very unhelpfull, but I've seen him try to charge "fluid reclamation fees" to friends who went there for a duplicate key to be made. So we took it to AAMCO. $3100 later - which blew away our adoption savings fund - (with a 3 yr transferable warranty) they had found it was indeed the 3-5 wave plate... which according to them is a common repair. Luckily they let me look at the parts they put in and keep the damaged parts for evidence, and the aftermarket part are much beefier than the GM parts. According to their records this is the same tranmission used on the Outlook, Accadia, Traverse, and now the new Ford Taurus.... And the difference in price from the GM kit with the thin plate vs. the Aftermarket kit..... hold on to your hats.... cause its......... $150. HELLO!!!!!!! I looked on YOUTUBE and wow there are several videos showing this as a "common" problem. On edmunds, over 600 of us have had this happen... just on edmonds.... I was leary in getting a GM product, but we have a family of 7 at the moment and it seemed to fit the bill nicely. It drives nice now with the rebuilt transmission, but we are looking to sell it and start rebuilding our adoption fund this transmission blew away for us. Thanks GM for not standing behind your product.

 

[GM Customer Service]

I've got a 2008 XR, I'm wondering just how much it will take to get a recall on this transmission issue. We were pulling into our neighbor hood and our transmission went out, 79K on the odometer. Luckily we where very close to the house and no traffic and made it into the driveway. Our local GM dealer was very unhelpfull, but I've seen him try to charge "fluid reclamation fees" to friends who went there for a duplicate key to be made. So we took it to AAMCO. $3100 later - which blew away our adoption savings fund - (with a 3 yr transferable warranty) they had found it was indeed the 3-5 wave plate... which according to them is a common repair. Luckily they let me look at the parts they put in and keep the damaged parts for evidence, and the aftermarket part are much beefier than the GM parts. According to their records this is the same tranmission used on the Outlook, Accadia, Traverse, and now the new Ford Taurus.... And the difference in price from the GM kit with the thin plate vs. the Aftermarket kit..... hold on to your hats.... cause its......... $150. HELLO!!!!!!! I looked on YOUTUBE and wow there are several videos showing this as a "common" problem. On edmunds, over 600 of us have had this happen... just on edmonds.... I was leary in getting a GM product, but we have a family of 7 at the moment and it seemed to fit the bill nicely. It drives nice now with the rebuilt transmission, but we are looking to sell it and start rebuilding our adoption fund this transmission blew away for us. Thanks GM for not standing behind your product.

Hello,

I am sorry that you feel that way. Please know that we're here to assist you if you need our assistance in the future should anything come up. You can always contact us.

Sincerely,

Jennifer T.
GM Customer Care

 

[4alexa2]

I filed mine today!

 

[T5oriano]

I also had the same issue with my transmission, lucky the extended warranty covered it, still had to pay $100 dollars for the work done to the transmission though. My GM receipt is dated 10/17/13 and it was for the same problem 3-5 broken wave plate. At the time I took it in, my 2007 Saturn Outlook had 88,908 miles on it.


Can I still file a complain to the NHTSA, to make them aware that there are other customers having the same problem even though they already corrected the problem???