Automatic Transmission problems of the 2001 Chevrolet Blazer

Transmission reverse gear failed. Needs a complete teardown and rebuild. Cost to rebuild was between $1400 to $1600.

My 2001 chevy Blazer changes from 2wh to 4 wheel drive automatically while the vehicle is moving. This isn't the first time this has happened. I was able to get my car off of the road safely and change it back into 2wh, but it kept switching back into 4 wheel drive. There is evidently a defect.

My friends borrowed my vehicle, a 2001 chevy Blazer, and went camping in the mountains. The vehicle was parked at a location that could have been very dangerous due to this failure, it was near a creek bank with a drop of approximately 30 feet. When the vehicle was started and put into reverse all it would do is coast forward which could have been very dangerous if they did not react in time as it could have went over a cliff. Fortunately they were in an area where there was a pay phone. They were staying at a state park and there are many areas that are very remote and are several miles away from phones or people. I was advised by aamco transmission that they see this transmission problem on a regular basis and it is caused because the reaction sun shell was made of an inferior metal and even in repair technical bulletins it specifies to repair problem by replacing with a "more robust heat treated reaction sun shell". When this occurs, it also affects second and fourth gears. In order to repair this problem the transmission needed completely rebuilt at a price of $2,326. 38 plus a towing bill.

While driving automatic transmission doesn't shift properly from the first to the second gear. Also, reverse is not working any more. Dealer was notified.

This was not the first time I had a problem with the transmission in this car. Earlier in the year I put it in the shop because it seemed to be falling out of overdrive. It was repaired and I had two months of incident-free driving. We went on a weekend trip. After I stopped and restarted the car, I noticed my clock reset itself. Two hours into the trip, the car started jerking in and out of gear. We drove two hours back to the dealership where they found a computer wire was disconnected. Two hours later, the car starts slipping in and out of overdrive again. It would run in 3rd gear, we were close enough to our destination, we continued on in 3rd gear. When I got back home, I dropped the car off at the dealership and told them to fix it. I was without my vehicle the majority of the following 6 week period. I was driving on the interstate in the rain, there was a fatal accident, I slowed down & turned on my flashers, I had no tail lights, flashers, etc. I had already had the multi-function switch replaced shortly after I bought the car because someone almost rear-ended me. The engineer from Chevrolet came down and could find no cause for my transmission problem and offered $1500 trade allowance, which leaves me stuck with another Chevrolet and a higher car payment. In addition to the transmission problem, one of my tires was worn out after 30,000 miles, the 2nd one 15,000 miles and an alignment later. After only 45,000 miles the wheel bearing on the front drivers side was shot, the same side the tires were going bald on.

Complete dealer dissatisfaction & incompetence with a "they all do that" answer!!!. No safety defect listed in summary.