Automatic Transmission Torque Converter problems of the 2012 GMC Acadia

The torque converter is failing per dublin GMC. That is the cause of the stuttering. In addition, the rear lift gate has failed and will not stay open in either power or manuel mode. Apparently my vehicle manufactur date is out side the recall months for this recall (per dublin GMC and self check on this website) recall # 5420 and nhst #15v415000. How do I get the mfg to pay for this potentially lethal failure (it almost got me when it failed as I was taking groceries out of back).

The transmission is slipping or shuddering under certain conditions. Most frequently noticeable around the shift points between 2nd&3rd, or 3rd & 4th, especially when the engine is downshifting to climb a hill. There is a strong vibration and rpm bounce a bit before it finally engages after a couple seconds. I have recently learned that Acadias have a long history of transmission problems, notably the torque converter and wave plate.

The car sputters and hesitates when changing gears. I took it to a GMC dealer and found out the torque converter and transmission were bad. I researched and found multiple complaints of this happening with the GMC Acadia. I received a price of approximately $4500 to correct the issue. I did contact GMC and was told no assistance would be offered.

While accelerating, the vehicle will shudder and jerk, even vibrate violently at times. The rpm meter jumps up and down while it does that. You cannot give it gas while it is doing this (you can but it does not accelerate). I was on the interstate when the vehicle began to do this and starting losing speed quickly. Luckily, that time it only lasted a few seconds before I was able to speed back up. This could easily cause a wreck. Took it to the dealer and they found no error codes or issues. I explained what it was doing directly to the mechanic and he knew immediately it was the torque converter. He explained that my Acadia would not go while it was jerking because the car is stuck in between gears. Apparently a very common issue with the Acadia but no recalls. Even though I am still well under the mileage of my warranty, gm will not cover the cost to fix because my warranty expired a few months ago.

Around April/may 2015 I began noticing issues with my vehicle when shifting, upshifting and downshifting while driving. I took it into the dealership several times with complaints of the transmission skipping, hesitating, sputtering, and a variety of other words that I used to describe the issue. The problem continued to become worse. Time and time again the dealership told me they test drove the vehicle, couldn't duplicate the issue, and couldn't do anything further b/c no code was coming up on the car. Again, in December 2015, I took my car back in because the problem was worsening. Again, the same story from the dealership. Only this time they suggested I service my transmission. I did. Then I was told that there was clutch material in my transmission fluid which meant the clutches were failing and I would be looking at a transmission rebuild sooner rather than later. I asked what if anything could be done, I was told nothing because there were no codes on the car. So I have a car that I purchased 3 years and 3 months ago brand new looking at a transmission rebuild. I then contacted corporate and began the process of a formal complaint. After speaking with corporate and then subsequently the dealership again, the dealership took my car back in. This time. They pulled out the transmission, and behold, the 35r wave plate was cracked (which I asked if that was it back in may after doing some internet research and seeing that several others have had this exact same issue with a cracked wave plate) and the torque converter was replaced along with a couple of other items and the system flushed. It seems as though there is a design flaw with the transmissions that need to be corrected. If this is such a common problem, why is GMC attempting to play dumb when there are obvious issues and push the cost off onto its consumers?I feel 100% that the dealership knew all along.