NHTSA Complaint #10374433 — 2006 PONTIAC VIBE

I PURCHASED A USED PONTIAC VIBE WITH APPROXIMATELY 30,000 MILES. WE STARTED NOTICING THAT THE CAR WAS SHIFTING ROUGHLY AND MAKING STRANGE SOUNDS LAST SUMMER. WE HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING REGULAR SERVICE WITH OUR MECHANIC, WHO COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG. IN SEPT OF 2010 , WE RECEIVED THE RECALL ABOUT THE PCM FROM GM. PART OF THE RECALL MENTIONED ' HARSH TRANSMISSION SHIFTING'. I CALLED THE CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER FOR PONTIAC THREE TIMES OVER THE COURSE FOUR MONTHS, ASKING WHEN THE RECALL WOULD OCCUR; I RECEIVED NO ANSWER. I FINALLY TOOK THE CAR INTO AN AUTHORIZED GM DEALER ( SOMEWHAT OUT OF MY NEIGHBORHOOD SINCE THEY HAVE MOSTLY GONE OUT OF BUSINESS.) HE INFORMED ME THAT I WOULD MOST LIKELY NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT A COST OF $6500. I ASKED IF THE PCM WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE. HE REPLIED THAT IT WOULD COST $5000 TO REALLY DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE OF THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE, AND THAT I AM FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE. I DID NOT AGREE TO THE WORK. IS THERE NOT SOME SET TIME LIMIT THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAS TO RESPOND? WE HAVE HAD THE CARE IN THE GARAGE FOR THREE MONTHS WAITING FOR GM