NHTSA Complaint #10501721 — 2002 CHEVROLET SILVERADO

ON FEB 21ST 2013 MY TRANSMISSION BROKE AND IT LOST 2ND, 4TH, AND REVERSE, BUT WAS STILL DRIVABLE. I TOOK IT TO A LOCAL INDEPENDENT TRANSMISSION SHOP AND THEY SAID IT WAS A WELL-KNOWN PROBLEM. AFTER DOING EXTENSIVE RESEARCH I FOUND THAT GM HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS WEAK SUN GEAR SHELL SINCE AT LEAST 1998. THE PROBLEM IS THAT GM DIDN'T REMOVE THE FAULTY PARTS FROM THEIR INVENTORY, ALTHOUGH THEY UPDATED THE PART SOMETIME IN2000 GM MIXED THE NEW PARTS IN WITH THE OLD SO THAT THEIR STATISTICS WOULD SHOW THAT NOT ALL 4L60E TRANSMISSIONS FAILED. TRANSMISSION REBUILDERS SAY YOU CAN ONLY TELL THE FAULTY SHELL FROM THE UPDATED VERSION BY THE SERIAL NUMBER INSIDE THE FAULTY SUN GEAR SHELL. MANY ENGINEERING ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN TRANSMISSIONS HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE PAST TWO DECADES WITH MATERIALS AND LUBRICANTS. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR SUCH A MASSIVE GM TRANSMISSION FAILURE. WHAT MAKES IT SO BAD AFTER THE TEN DOLLAR PART FAILS GM CHARGES $3,000 FOR A REBUILT TRANSMISSION. IF THE FAULTY SUN GEAR SHELL WAS REPLACED BEFORE TOTAL FAILURE THE PRICE IS LESS THAN $1,000. I WATCHED AS MY TRANSMISSION WAS BEING REBUILT AND THERE WAS NO VISIBLE WEAR ON ANY OTHER PARTS. IT LOOKED LIKE BRAND NEW EXCEPT THIS FAULTY SUN GEAR SHELL. IF THIS PROBLEM IS SO WIDELY KNOWN FOR SO MANY YEARS THROUGHOUT THE INDUSTRY WHY WASNT THERE A FORCED RECALL? IF THERE WAS JUST ONE RELATED DEATH THE GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THIS, WHAT A SHAME. I FOR ONE WOULD LIKE SOME OF MY MONEY BACK, NOW KNOWING THAT GM FRAUDULENTLY COVERED UP THIS MASSIVE PROBLEM.