Automatic Transmission problems of the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban

Transmission on a 2001 chevy Suburban with 76000 miles failed while on expressway almost caused an accident.

I purchased a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban in late 2005. We are currently on our third transmission with this vehicle. The first one locked up at 20 m miles and was replaced under warranty. The second failed at about 98 m and cost us about $2500 to replace as gm only offered a 1 yr. Warranty on replacement transmissions at that time. I'm already concerned about the third transmission as it occasionally has trouble dropping into first upon stopping. I think gm has a problem here that they are failing to own up to. My only consolation is this transmission has a three year warranty.

Performed a "kick down" to pass dump truck on highway. After passing the truck and back in my lane of travel the engine over revs to 5000+ rpms and car halts to a stop in front of the dump truck that I just passed, forcing him to swerve and stand on its brakes to avoid rear-ending me. The car now has only two functioning gears, 1st and 2nd. Transmission downshifts into first when trying to shift to 3rd. Car now has 81000 miles, my transmission shop says that my 3rd and 4th gear clutches are gone!!?? and a $1,500+ rebuild is necessary. The shop says its surprised that this happens to a low mileage truck like this. And so am I.

Purchased 2001 Chevrolet Suburban at the end of August, drove it for 1600 miles and the transmission went out. According to the mechanic, the transmission completely came apart inside. This bothered me because of the position of the transmission and my children in the vehicle, and the possibility of shrapnel coming out of the transmission. This, of course, did not happen but the dealership is refusing to take any responsibility and I have not heard from general motors. The vehicle is less than three years old and has 48000 miles on it.

While driving 20 mph vehicle stopped in motion with engine still running. Vehicle operated in reverse, but not in drive. Dealer was not notified.

Catastrophic failure of transmission; lost all forward gears on NJ turnpike after slowing down for stopped traffic. Transmission had to be completely rebuilt. Only 16,000 miles on vehicle; 1 yr 11 months old.

My 2001 Chevrolet Suburban got in an accident due to parking pawl failure while parked on a sloped surface. Parking pawl is a transmission gear safety locking mechanism that will prevent a vehicle from moving while in park position. I contacted general motors product allegation department to inform about this serious defect. General motors assigned an investigator to gather details and information the investigator submitted all the information and details of the accident to a general motors engineers who will review the cause of the failure of the parking pawl. Initial finding by gm authorized service repair shop, the cause of the failure was the premature wearing of the parking pawl mechanism. From a design standpoint this parking pawl mechanism by no means should not be subjected to any premature wearing. Otherwise, this is a serious and dangerous design error. After several months of review and investigations, gm said they found that it was material defect. The big question now is how many 2001 chevy Suburban was affected by this material defect. Also, gm representative was reluctant to provide me a copy of the investigation results conducted by their design engineers. The parking pawl mechanism failure cannot be detected easily by an average person, unless a thorough investigation will be conducted or an accident will occurred. Also, my 2001 Chevrolet Suburban was discovered by gm authorized service shop that the emergency parking brake was having a premature wearing on the brake pads. This really a very serious and dangerous case for all 2001 Chevrolet Suburban for having a potential emergency brake pad and parking pawl mechanism defect. I am highly suggesting this office to conduct an investigation to avoid a similar fate with firestone case. Because I suspect gm is covering up this defect to avoid massive recalls on all 2001 Chevrolet Suburban.

I would like to request your agency to conduct a thorough investigation about a defective parking pawl on a 2001 chevy Suburban, this parking pawl mechanism supposed to lock the transmission gear to prevent a vehicle to roll or moved while on park position, especially on a rolling hills or sloped parking lot. I am sharing this information for the safety of the general public and consumers who owned a 2001 chevy Suburban, because the vehicle has the tendency to moved while on parked position on a rolling hills or sloped parking lot. This problem cannot be detected easily by an average person. The vehicle need to be inspected at the dealership service shop and have it check for a sign of a worn out of the parking pawl mechanism. This information will benefit current owners of 2001 chevy Suburban that gm is not more than willing to pay any out of pocket expenses will incurred in case of an accident. Unless someone will get seriously injured as case may be. This input was on based on the accident happened on my 2001 chevy Suburban last June 20,2002. The body repair cost of my 2001 chevy Suburban was $4000 plus.

The vehicle is in awd or 4-wheel drive - step on the gas after being stopped, the transmission sounds as if it is about to fall off. When in 4-wheel drive the vehicle is difficult to turn. Also, rear heater takes 30 minutes to heat up, and then only blows luke warm air when the gas pedal is depressed. Manufacurer states by design.

While exiting the vehicle gear shift locked up. The vehicle would only go into reverse. Took vehicle to dealer, and dealer stated that a piece of metal got loose an tore up the transmission.