Was very surprised when travelling up a slight incline the tranny let loose. No forward, no reverse, stuck on the hill on a HOT day with wife and two dogs in the truck. Luckily the engine still ran, so AC was available. I am fairly religious about maintaining my vehicles, and was genuinely surprised when this broke. My 93 Suburban was sold with 190K trouble free miles.
All things considered however, I was lucky that it died only a mile from home and we had another (Dodge) truck to use to continue our trip. Another 200 yards and we would have been on 25 miles of two lane, no shoulder blacktop ahead of us and nowhere near our pickup... So.. All things considered, I am lucky to have broken down where we did and not on the rolling mountains in West By God Virginia!.
The AAA tow truck driver recommended a local transmission shop and it's there now being evaluated, so the wallet hit hasn't been revealed just yet. Reading now that some are on their 2nd -4th-5th transmission does not give me warm fuzzies about what lies ahead for this truck as my last Suburban was so darned reliable.
Transmission showed no signs of wear or fatigue. I simply stopped at a stoplight and when I hit the gas again it failed. Disappointed it didn't last longer than it did.
we are now on our 3rd transmission for our 2005 Suburban. First one under 100,000 miles 2nd one at 114,000 and third at 140,000. Each claiming that it was a different part in the transmission that went wrong. This will be our last Chevrolet Suburban!! What a shame we would like to buy American but not at this price.
We really wish the transmission would have gone a bit longer. It was missing 2nd and 4th gears. It was an expense that we wish we didn't have to pay and think that a car with this amount of initial cost would perform better in this area. I noticed there were a variety of people with transmission and front panel odometer and tachometer problems.
I was picking up my parents at the airport. Just as I pulled into the arrival flight line of traffic, BOOM! I thought someone had rear ended me. The vehicle would barely move in D. I limped out of the airport and to the side of the road. Eventual repair cost was about $2500 and a new transmission. Now it's as good as new and should last at least another 100K. Think twice about buying this year Suburban!
- Robert R.,
Colorado Springs, CO, US
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DRIVING ALONG AT HIGHWAY SPEED, CRUISE CONTROL SET, SUBURBAN SUDDENLY LOST ALL FORWARD MOMENTUM AND ENGINE SURGED TO NEARLY 5000 RPM. KNEW VEHICLE HAD COME OUT OF GEAR, THOUGH THE SHIFT LEVER WAS NEVER TOUCHED. HAD TO CANCEL ROAD TRIP AND TURN AROUND AND ATTEMPT TO GET HOME. WAS OVER 500 MILES INTO A ROAD TRIP.
LIMPED ALONG FOR APPROXIMATELY 1.5 HOURS BEFORE TRANSMISSION FINALLY GAVE OUT. WAS SLIPPING PERIODICALLY WHILE TRYING TO LIMP HOME. ENDED UP STRANDED IN SE GEORGIA. HAD TO PUSH SUBURBAN FROM ROADWAY TO SHOULDER. HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO TRANSMISSION SHOP AND AS OF THIS WRITING HAVE NOT HEARD WHAT THE FINAL DAMAGE IS GOING TO BE.
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT SHOULD NOT BE OCCURRING. ONLY 94,500 MILES ON THIS SUBURBAN AND IT HAS BEEN BABIED SINCE NEW. WHEN I SEE SO MANY COMPLAINTS OF A LIKE NATURE, GM MUST KNOW THAT THE PROBLEM IS WIDE SPREAD AND THEY SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS WHO BOUGHT IN GOOD FAITH. IN MY CASE, BECAUSE TRAFFIC WAS FAIRLY LIGHT WHEN THIS OCCURRED, THERE WAS NOT MUCH DANGER INVOLVED--BUT HAD TRAFFIC BEEN HEAVY WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.
I'LL THINK TWICE BEFORE I BUY ANOTHER GM PRODUCT AND BEING FROM FLINT, MI--THE BIRTH PLACE OF GM, IT HURTS TO SAY THAT.
bought my chevy in 2005 new. had transmission replaced /repaired six yes 6 times. last time was towing an empty auto transport and climbing a hill. would not shift into 3rd and 4th gear. selling my truck now. maybe i ll get an sequoia. disappointed in chevy/gm. david , florida
Only 90,000 miles and this 2005 Chevy Suburban has been a lemon since day one. Now the transmission is shot. Just received the call it will be $1600 to rebuild it - had to have it towed yesterday. Clusters (speedometer failure, along with other gauges), falling apart, items in the vehicle (a/c vents, door parts), doors don't lock, window failure (now in the up position permanently)... Had enough of this Chevy Suburban
Replaced transmission" 1st time 2009 @ only approx. 100M miles...
2nd time 211,000 2010 $1341.00 (Mr Transmission gave me a discount because of the 1 year warranty)
3rd time 311,000 2014 in shop now for a week.....
I never tow anything; just drive back and forth to work.
I had a GM rep tell me this transmission was too small for the vehicle.....
When does GM plan to correct this issue with its current owners?
Need a recall to upgrade the transmission so I don't have to buy a new one every 100M miles.
Mu husband owns a 1994 Silverado with 300,000 miles on it; original motor and transmission still work great.
What gives?
Had to get a rebuilt and beefed up transmission from a local transmission shop. Chevy dealer didn't diagnose the problem, even when I told them that I thought it was the transmission. They changed the wires and plugs and cleaned the injectors and blamed the "surging" on that. Never went back to that dealership.
I heard another friend mention his 2005 transmission went out at the same amount of miles as well. Hard to hear that this was not uncommon and not covered by Chevrolet. Obviously, they had some crap transmissions and should have sought relief from whoever provided them for the consumers. Sullies an otherwise good experience with this make and model. Definitely have second thoughts about going with Government motors again.
I have had 2 transmissions replaced in two separate suburbans. This latest was on the 2005 at 84000 miles. Before that on the 1997 suburban, I had to replace the transmission at about 87000 miles. What is it with suburbans and transmissions?
Had a 2001 GMC Yukon XL that the transmission went out on at 120K miles last year now my 2005 Suburban transmission just went out at 95K miles; transmission wouldn't shift into higher gears. Getting tired of buying new transmissions.
Was working fine then went to run to the store and no First gear in D. Have to shift it manually and the dealer says ohh nothing we can do. My girlfriend has a 2005 Avalanch and had the same problem. Her transmission cost her 1500.00 to fix. Talked to a local Transmission man here and has had alot of 2005 Chevy vehicles with the same issues. Why cant Chevy make or fix the problems they create? I am still paying on a vehicle that doesn't go anywhere
Was pretty upset when a 4 y/o cars transmission went out. A hot transmission light came on and would only allow the car to proceed at 15 mph. Took it straight to Transmedic in Gresham and they said it is a common problem. 1800.00 dollars later it drives normal again, now guess what, the speedometer has gone bad, which from reading here is another normal problem. Now I know why GM had to claim bankruptcy.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Was very surprised when travelling up a slight incline the tranny let loose. No forward, no reverse, stuck on the hill on a HOT day with wife and two dogs in the truck. Luckily the engine still ran, so AC was available. I am fairly religious about maintaining my vehicles, and was genuinely surprised when this broke. My 93 Suburban was sold with 190K trouble free miles.
All things considered however, I was lucky that it died only a mile from home and we had another (Dodge) truck to use to continue our trip. Another 200 yards and we would have been on 25 miles of two lane, no shoulder blacktop ahead of us and nowhere near our pickup... So.. All things considered, I am lucky to have broken down where we did and not on the rolling mountains in West By God Virginia!.
The AAA tow truck driver recommended a local transmission shop and it's there now being evaluated, so the wallet hit hasn't been revealed just yet. Reading now that some are on their 2nd -4th-5th transmission does not give me warm fuzzies about what lies ahead for this truck as my last Suburban was so darned reliable.
Wish us luck!
- Bill S., Herndon, VA, US