NHTSA Complaint #10565263 — 2009 GMC ACADIA

CURRENT ISSUE IS A TRANSMISSION FAILURE, APPARENTLY THE "3-5-R WAVEPLATE." FIVE MONTHS PRIOR, MY WIFE AND CHILDREN WERE TRAVELING OUT OF STATE. THEY EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND WERE STRANDED ON A RURAL HIGHWAY NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED IN TO A GM DEALERSHIP, "REPAIRS" WERE PERFORMED UNDER WARRANTY, AND WE WERE TOLD WE COULD PICK UP OUR CAR. MY WIFE (AGAIN WITH CHILDREN IN THE CAR) MADE IT LESS THAN 10 MILES FROM THE DEALERSHIP BEFORE THE ENGINE FAILED AGAIN. THIS TIME ON THE BRIDGE OF A MAJOR HIGHWAY....NO WHERE TO EVEN EXIT THE VEHICLE. AFTER THE SECOND INCIDENT THE ENGINE WAS REPLACED (AFTER 3+ WEEKS OF DIAGNOSTIC WORK). WE WERE TOLD THE DEALERSHIP WAS NOT ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM THAT CAUSED THE ENGINE FAILURE. ENGINE WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. TRANSMISSION HAD BEEN SHIFTING ERRATICALLY FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. AT TIME OF ENGINE FAILURE/REPLACEMENT, GM DEALERSHIP THAT PERFORMED THE ENGINE REPLACEMENT ADVISED US THAT THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS/SLIPS WERE "NORMAL" FOR THIS PARTICULAR TRANSMISSION. THEY ADVISED A TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSH, WHICH WE AUTHORIZED. SHIFTING REMAINED ABRUPT, SLIPPING CONTINUED, BUT AS WE WERE ADVISED THIS WAS "NORMAL", WE CONTINUED DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND DID NOT SEEK FURTHER REPAIR. TWO WEEKS AGO, (NOW AT 82000 MILES, BUT SIX WEEKS OUT OF 5 YR WARRANTY), THE SLIPPAGE BECAME DISTINCTLY MORE EVIDENT, VEHICLE AT ONE POINT WOUND NOT CONTINUE FORWARD MOTION THROUGH AN INTERSECTION AND HAD TO BE IDLED TO ROADSIDE. AFTER MULTIPLE CALLS, WE WERE ADVISED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL GM DEALERSHIP. DIAGNOSIS OF 3-5-R WAVEPLATE FAILURE WAS GIVEN. THIS TRANSMISSION WAVEPLATE FAILURE IS A WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE THAT CAN CAUSE DRIVER AND/OR PASSENGERS TO BE PUT AT SERIOUS RISK FOR INJURY. OUR HOPE IS THAT AN INVESTIGATION WILL TAKE PLACE TO REQUIRE GM TO RECALL/REPAIR THIS ISSUE BEFORE SOMEONE IS NEEDLESSLY HARMED. *TR