NHTSA Complaint #10053267 — 2001 CHEVROLET VENTURE

INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSION. TOOK DEALERSHIP NEARLY 8 MONTHS TO REPRODUCE AND REPAIR. VENTURE WOULD AT TIMES NOT GO INTO GEAR AT ALL. THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY A SOLENOID. AFTER TWO TRIPS TO THE DEALER THEY FINALLY AGREED TO INVESTIGATE PROPERLY AND RESOLVE IT. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE REPAIR THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLIP OUT OF GEAR WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALERSHIP HAD THE VENTURE NEARLY 20 DAYS OVER THE COURSE OF 6 MONTHS AND CLAIMED THEY COULD NOT REPRODUCE EVEN WHEN THE SYMPTOMS BECAME PREDICTABLE TO ME AND I WAS ABLE TO CONVEY TO THEM WHEN IT WOULD OCCUR; USUALLY SOON AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE WHEN THE ENGINE WAS COOL. FINALLY AFTER LEAVING THE VEHICLE WITH DEALER OVER ONE WEEK WHILE ON VACATION THEY WERE ABLE TO REPRODUCE IT (ON THE DAY BEFORE MY RETURN). STILL TOOK THEM NEARLY 10 DAYS TO SCHEDULE VEHICLE BACK IN TO DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR. REPAIR TOOK OVER 3 DAYS. DEALERSHIP AND GM FAILED TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY EVEN AFTER THE VEHICLE SLIPPED OUT OF GEAR IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION WITH MY FAMILY IN THE VEHICLE. NEARLY CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. ONLY AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED DID I FIND OUT THAT THERE WAS A BULLETIN OUT REGARDING THIS VERY ISSUE THAT SPECIFICALLY LISTED MOST OF THE SYMPTOMS I EXPLAINED TO THE DEALERSHIP EVEN DOWN THE SOME OF THE SAME TERMINOLOGY. VERY DISAPPOINTED IN GMS FAILURE TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO THIS PROBLEM DESPITE DOZENS OF EMAILS TO GM ABOUT THIS ISSUE. THE FINAL DIAGNOSIS ON THE VENTURE WAS A STRIPPED GEAR IN THE TRANSMISSION REQUIRING A REBUILD. YOU'LL FIND THIS FAMILIAR IF YOU LOOK AT OTHER POSTINGS IN THIS CATEGORY ON THIS SITE AS WELL AS MANY OTHER SITES ON THE WEB. *CB