2016 Yukon XL Needs New Transmission - Not Happy

[kiboater]

I have a 2016 Denali and so do two friends of mine. All three of us have had the transmission shutter issue which is corrected by replacing the fluid. I would be very concerned that an unfamiliar or inexperienced "technician" might not know the cause and pull the plug and find metal. I have seen a lot of transmissions that had metal filings in the pan but were perfectly good. The shutter is very pronounced and could be mistaken for an internal failure. It is hard to believe that changing to a different fluid would make a difference but it clearly does. A second opinion might be a good idea.

 

[kiboater]

2016 Manual states Normal Operation (most of us) no trans fluid change required. NO dipstick provided. If SEVERE then 45K. Severe conditions would be taxi, police etc with extensive idling etc.

Severe service (which most of us drive, unless you’re on highway at steady speed all the time) states 45k:

‘Change automatic transmission fluid, if equipped. If filter is serviceable, change filter. (Applies to: Severe)’
Change trans

 

[CMoore711]

I had the shudder in my '15 Yukon Denali 8-speed and at 45K miles they performed the transmission TSB, full fluid flush and filter replacement with the new Mobile1 ATF specified in the TSB and also performed a TCM relearn. The shudder went away completely and today at 104K my transmission is operating fine.

Do you have a Denali with the 6.2L and 8 speed or do you have a 5.3L and 6 speed?

If you have the 8 speed I would take the TSB to your dealer and have it performed, even if you have to pay out of pocket it should be equivalent to a transmission fluid flush/change and new filter. Do that before you start going down the road of replacing the whole unit due to the shudder.

 

[nokuy]

Wife's Yukon has the 6 speed transmission so it's not party to the aforementioned class action suit. It was serviced at recommended intervals. I reached out to GM via social media and they are helping in this matter. While I am still not very happy about this known issue, I will say that I am grateful that GM is trying to help. They could have said "tough luck". Perhaps it's because they realize an issue exists.

 

[OR VietVet]

2016 Manual states Normal Operation (most of us) no trans fluid change required. NO dipstick provided. If SEVERE then 45K. Severe conditions would be taxi, police etc with extensive idling etc.

Guarantee you most of us do not drive the "normal Service". It isn't just the way we drive and the miles but the weather conditions as well. Basically, if you qualify in just ONE of the severe duty examples, then you stick to severe duty maintenance schedule. It is never that you qualify for all the examples, even on the normal schedule.

 

[swathdiver]

I have the previous generation with the same 6L80 and no thermostat, so mine runs cooler. When my truck hit 153K miles, we sent in a sample of the transmission fluid for analysis, it had 36K on it, second time it had been changed. BlackStone Labs said it had about 10K of life left in it. So we changed it. That fluid had towed for about a week or so around town in that two and a half years.

Don't kid yourselves, change the fluid often or plan for rebuilds.

 

[Tiredmechanic23]

Wife's 2016 Yukon Xl 4x4 began shuddering on the highway Thursday night. She was 2 hours from home. Was able to limp to a nearby GM dealer and I drove the 4 hour round trip to rescue her. The service advisor called us yesterday morning and explained that they pulled the plug (maybe pan) and that there was a large amount of metal shavings in the fluid. They are recommending a complete transmission replacement to the tune of $4,900! Only 80K on the clock and she is diligent about keeping up with service requirements. Merry Christmas. 2020 just keeps on giving. Interestingly, our previous 2011 had the same exact issue at a bit over 100K. I've owned 7 Tahoes/Yukons since 1997 and all but these last two have been fantastic and have never had issues such as these. I reached out to a trusted person in the transmission field and they told me that the transmissions in my wife's vehicle has known issues. Apparently the torque converter is the culprit. Has anyone else experienced this unfortunate issue?

Here is another thing that begs to question.... So the warranty when brand new is 60K miles. This rebuild/remanufactured unit that they are suggesting we install carries a 100K mile warranty. Maybe someone can explain that one to me.

2016 2wd failed at 94k miles. No shutter just nothing past 2nd. Converter had sent trash through the trans. Had it rebuild by TK performance and run a PATC billet converter and have 0 issues at this point. Im only at 111k now but its holding up well.

 

[BlaineBug]

45,000 is a good initial mileage to drain and fill the transmission. I plan to do mine next summer, likely a few thousand beneath that number, but nonetheless. At about 38,000 right now with the 6 speed.

 

[swathdiver]

45,000 is a good initial mileage to drain and fill the transmission. I plan to do mine next summer, likely a few thousand beneath that number, but nonetheless. At about 38,000 right now with the 6 speed.

There's a guy in here named Trevor, goes by Mr. T. He published his service log on his 2007 Denali and at the time was closing in on 200K miles. He changes his trans fluid on average about every 42K miles and she's still running strong. This is what prompted me to consider even shorter intervals along with the report from the oil sample.

 

[tsuintx]

Converter on my wife’s Suburban puked its guts out right at 80K, still within the warranty and the Chevy dealer rebuilt it. Now, about 50K later it still works great. Time for fluid change, actually.