2015 Tahoe w/ 66k miles - just had to replace transmission

[Dave72]

I bought the truck in November of 2018 with 54k on it. The truck was one owner and from everything I could tell had been babied. The interior and exterior were nearly perfect.

We had 2 years and 12k miles of trouble-free use and we also babied the truck.

Two weeks ago I was towing 1000 lbs. of play sand in our small 8' utility trailer (so no more than 2500 lbs. total weight). The trip was just across town and was less than 5 miles total distance. I was almost home and I noticed the truck was acting funny. As I started from a stop it was acting like it didn't know what gear to go in around 3rd gear. It was a hard sensation to describe, the truck just seemed to stumble around going into 3rd.

I took it to be looked at and was given the diagnosis that the torque converter went and we would need to replace the transmission. $5,000 later and It's back to normal.

I just want to post this so it might help others with future decisions. When buying the truck I was trying to decide between the Tahoe or a 4-runner and I regret the choice I made.

 

[Dave72]

Pretty sad when it was just out of warranty. We just had our lifters and push rod replaced, 62,500 miles, cost $5900 to repair. I have always kept up maintenance as scheduled. GM didn't care, just blew us off. My Tahoe is a 2015 LT

 

[swathdiver]

I bought the truck in November of 2018 with 54k on it. The truck was one owner and from everything I could tell had been babied. The interior and exterior were nearly perfect.

We had 2 years and 12k miles of trouble-free use and we also babied the truck.

Two weeks ago I was towing 1000 lbs. of play sand in our small 8' utility trailer (so no more than 2500 lbs. total weight). The trip was just across town and was less than 5 miles total distance. I was almost home and I noticed the truck was acting funny. As I started from a stop it was acting like it didn't know what gear to go in around 3rd gear. It was a hard sensation to describe, the truck just seemed to stumble around going into 3rd.

I took it to be looked at and was given the diagnosis that the torque converter went and we would need to replace the transmission. $5,000 later and It's back to normal.

I just want to post this so it might help others with future decisions. When buying the truck I was trying to decide between the Tahoe or a 4-runner and I regret the choice I made.

Don't regret the decision, the Tahoe is a much nicer vehicle than the 4-Runner and they have their issues too.

Change the fluid every 36-45K miles and consider getting rid of the transmission thermostat. As many of us are recently learning, the bottom half of the torque converter that bolts to the engine can sometimes flex too much which causes the clutch material to disintegrate which soon takes out the transmission as well. One can get an improved converter.

 

[Loren Edwards]

Don't regret the decision, the Tahoe is a much nicer vehicle than the 4-Runner and they have their issues too.

Change the fluid every 36-45K miles and consider getting rid of the transmission thermostat. As many of us are recently learning, the bottom half of the torque converter that bolts to the engine can sometimes flex too much which causes the clutch material to disintegrate which soon takes out the transmission as well. One can get an improved converter.

My plan moving forward is to change the transmission fluid with the oil, but only by pumping it out of the dipstick with a transfer pump and then replacing the gallon I pull out with a new gallon.

Then, every 50k I'm going to drop the transmission and replace the torque converter (and I'll replace the trans filter at this point too). I'm looking at it like a timing belt job on an interference engine. With the threat of a 5k job if that thing goes it's just not worth risking it. When I replace it I will absolutely look for the best option on torque converter.

 

[Bill 1960]

Since the weak TC is a known issue, are the replacements of the same design? I would think by now the new or reman units would have implemented an upgrade.

 

[Tiredmechanic23]

My plan moving forward is to change the transmission fluid with the oil, but only by pumping it out of the dipstick with a transfer pump and then replacing the gallon I pull out with a new gallon.

Then, every 50k I'm going to drop the transmission and replace the torque converter (and I'll replace the trans filter at this point too). I'm looking at it like a timing belt job on an interference engine. With the threat of a 5k job if that thing goes it's just not worth risking it. When I replace it I will absolutely look for the best option on torque converter.

Honestly you would be better going aftermarket with the converter. They are far more reliable than the factory ones were. Mine failed at 90k randomly. Converters can last the life of the vehicle if quality. PATC makes a great converter and is who I went with and have had 0 issues since. There are other retailers as well with a quality product. Same with my trans I had it beefed up a bit over factory with a rebuild from TK performance. For about 5.5K ive got a far better trans and converter that has taken me beating on it well so far. With the average driver it should last well over 200k.

 

[Oh Kee Pah]

Thanks for sharing, I’m feeling your pain. Literally. Mine’s at the dealer getting a new transmission right now at 61k miles.

And they just called me to say come and look at what they drained out of the transfer case. Sounds like it’s ready to fail also.

@Bill 1960 -> What exactly DID the drainage from transfer case look like? Were there chunks of stuff? I think I may be dealing with a similar issue and hoping to get some help...

 

[Bill 1960]

@Bill 1960 -> What exactly DID the drainage from transfer case look like? Were there chunks of stuff? I think I may be dealing with a similar issue and hoping to get some help...

Unfortunately they did NOT save the oil for me to examine. They DID leave the magnetic drain plug as it was, coated with a moderate amount of steel fines. Their mechanic felt it was excessive, but I’ve seen similar results from new gearboxes just after draining the break in oil. We have no way of knowing, but it’s likely this was the factory fill with 61k miles of use. No chunks, no loosening of the chain, no loose bearings. The unit has been functioning perfectly and runs quietly. I told them to reinstall with fresh oil and we’ll run it for a while then drain and reinspect. Depending on what I see then I may send a sample to a lab for wear metal analysis. Their senior trans tech agreed with me that transfer cases are not prone to sudden failure and there should be ample warning in the form of noise or slipping before it’s toast.

Hope that helps.

 

[GordoSD]

I bought the truck in November of 2018 with 54k on it. The truck was one owner and from everything I could tell had been babied. The interior and exterior were nearly perfect.




I just want to post this so it might help others with future decisions. When buying the truck I was trying to decide between the Tahoe or a 4-runner and I regret the choice I made.

 

[GordoSD]

My 2000 made it to 294977.

This doesn't help you but my 99 5.7 just turned over 205k and no tranny probs at all.