2008 Vue 3.6 V6 AWD Shifting Issues
 

2008 Vue 3.6 V6 AWD ~ 90K

Car started "landing" not smoothly into the next higher gear a few times in the last month. Nothing reproducible. Thought not much of it.

Today, started the same behavior, then began to do the following:
start our from a stop, tach rises to 2k, hesitates, then goes to 2500 ish, then tranny slaps into 3rd. Doesn't seem to be dependent on pedal position as the above happens with normal acceleration attempts.

If pushed under harder acceleration, the rpms still do the funny stuff

Same strangeness up to 5th.

Fluid level 1/2 qt low --capacity 9.5 qts Topped off no change. Oh -- no leak spots in the garage.

It feels as if it is slipping intermittently into neutral as there seems to be no power transfer when the rpms are rising immediately before shifts into 3rd and 5th as described above.

It's due for a fluid/filter change -- but I have a feeling this is more than that.
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Could clogged up fluid channels in the tranny cause this behavior?
Tranny control module?

No SES light so I did not try to read codes although now that I think about it there might be stored pending codes that haven't set off the light yet.

Mot sure if my older code reader can talk to it. Will find out.

I'd go ahead and do the filter and fluid change, man. It sure won't hurt and you may luck out. Try a bottle of Lucas transmission treatment in place of a pint or quart of fluid. I've had some good luck with it over the years.

my older odb2 scan tool does not talk to the Vue.
Per Autozone's reader there are no pending codes.

I drove it around this afternoon to see if I could isolate exactly which shifts are the problematic ones. Turns out it is upshift to 3rd and 5th only.
Diag was made quite easy once I realized I could use the tapshift option to shift at will into the next higher gear --and know which one it is.

(-- I corrected the text in my initial post so someone searching later on can find correct info)

Having done some internet searching (which I was counting on sw2cam suggesting I do), I found that the 6T70 6 speed is indeed prone to failure of the 35R clutch wave plate

Here's the TSB I heisted from a post I found (no warranty on completeness or correctness)

TSB Number: PIP-4327A
Owners of 2007-2009 Saturn Aura and Outlook, and 2008-2009 Saturn Vue equipped with the 6T70/75 6-speed automatic transmission may experience no reverse and slip/flare/harsh shifts in 3rd and/or 5th gear. Codes P0776 Clutch Pressure Control (PC) Solenoid 2 Stuck Off and P0842 Transmission Fluid Pressure (TFP) Switch 1 Circuit Low Voltage may be set.

The 35R clutch wave plate may be broken, allowing the piston to overstroke, causing the piston to leak and resulting in loss of apply on vehicles with greater than 25,000 miles.

During the repair process it is important to install the wave plate in the proper orientation to prevent the possibility for the failure to re-occur. Install the rounded edge of the new wave plate internal splines facing the 35R piston.

NOTE: The same TSB applies to 2007-2009 GMC Acadia, 2007-2009 Pontiac G5, 2008-2009 Pontiac Torrent, 2008-2009 Buick Enclave, 2008-2009 Chevrolet Equinox and Malibu, and 2009 Chevrolet Traverse, equipped with the 6T70/75 6-speed automatic transmission (RPO MH2, MH4, MH6 and MY9).


......hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


off to dealer tomorrow (still has my old Saturn techs there :)


meets both 5 yr and 100K criteria of 5/100 powertrain warranty

Good you did a search, bout time someone did. But I'd not tell you to do a search on this one. I'd say take it to the dealer it's under powertrain warranty for 5 years 100,000 miles.

LOL

Yep, I looked at a couple of Vue's before I got the Equinox. Both had hinky transmissions, so I went with the Chevy. Still regretting it as is loves gas, but it has been reliable.

Sitting at dealership awaiting ride home. 35R issue confirmed. Warranty repair. 1 week downtime as they sub out to local tranny shop.

Rube--the tsb includes the 08 and 09 equinox with the six spd tranny so heads up if yours fits the bill.

Thanks derf, but mine's an 07. I like the way it rides and handles, but the AWD is not something I really need here in Tennessee. And it averages about 23 mpg. The sad part of that is that mpg is with the traction control off! I haven't had any problems with the transmission. I'm closing in on 98,000 miles now. On the other hand, my 99 Grand Caravan just rolled 188,000 miles and is still going strong. The key to the Mopar vans is using the correct fluid in the transmissions. ATF+4 is the ONLY thing to put in them.

Well, vehicle back 2 weeks later
8 days to repair 3 5 R failure
6 days, 1 loaner car, 2 return visits to tranny shop and 2 tranny mounts until they actually re-installed the tranny mount correctly. (had awful vibration in 5th and 6th at low rpms with tranny mount installed incorrectly).

Apparently the same mount can be installed differently depending on the vehicle (as the tranny spans the GM line). Or so I was told.

You'd think the same people that took it apart could put it back together the way they found it. I'm still trying to figure out how they hosed the original mount it came in with............

Whatever.

Total cost to me: $0
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Drove Chevy Cruze LS (as loaner) -- no get up and go in lower gears but a bit peppy in upper gears. Cheesy interior but it's entry level. And yes, you can still get two manual side view mirrors.

Glad to hear you finally got it back and everything's working as it should. Oh, just as a side note, my Equinox just has a 5 speed automatic transmission. Totally different animal, I guess.

ok derf .............. it's been awhile, hows that tranny doing now?

Hey sw2cam, are you referring to John Travolta? LMAO

Shifts smooth -- seems better than when new -- not sure what else they did while in there. I'm a happy camper and so is the wife.

From what I've read (I did a search), pretty much all of these 6 speed 6T70/75 trannys (generalizing) will develop this issue/failure as it is a weak point of the design (2007 being the first year for this tranny). I'd like to think it was repaired with redesigned parts.....

I guess it's just a question of who gets it under warranty and who gets screwed.

(good thing wifey drives 20K/yr)

I love the concept of co-corporate platform automotive design. That means that a single entity design group can sit some where and design a car using left over parts from an incomplete production run some where and create a corporate platform that can be sold by 6 or 7 or more makes of cars in who knows how many countries with brand names familiar to the local economy. That means all you have to pay is one engineering group and the guy who designs the name tags, and they don't even have to be much good other than doing something cheap. Other famouse names that come to mind?
Yugo! A Yugoslavian Fiat if I remember correctly was one. Or the transmission used in the Vue that was a joint venture with GM and Fiat and Yugo. There was a good design!
Of course corporate platform is a politically correct euphemism that is also refered to with a certain amount of disgust known as Badge Engineering. This of course dates back to the early days of mass production where Budd Stamping had facilities world wide stamping out bodies for multiple companies and was quite willing to mix and match pieces and give some one a "new" model with engines supplied by Lycombing and few other engine manufacturing out fits. Thus making the significant difference between any of these things being the name on the badge that identifies them.
I know Ruby is having good luck with his Chrysler van, I am with my 2007. But my 1996 purchased with 100,000 on it already had at least one new transmission installed in it and 35,000 miles later and 4 transmissions I got rid of it. You know they will only change 1 transmission out with in the 15,000 mile warranty they give you. If between two of them they get 15,050 miles on them before the next one goes, that one is on your dime.
But today, having successfully dumbed down the buying public and getting rid of talented engineers?
I hear Chrysler is not going to make a Van shortly. If that comes to pass, then I have no reason to buy a Chrysler. I guess it will be time to start looking at something from Korea.
Pat has one of those Korean Vans, and it seems to be doing well for her. So maybe it is time to shift to some one who wants to import something I want to buy rather than looking at something made here I do not want to spend my money on.

Oh Yuck --

Wife's ride is an '09 Aura ... 76k on the clock. Where/how can I establish if or not she 's gonna have a problem with this issue?

need to determine if it is a 6T70/75 tranny in there. The TSB seems to only mention SUVs with the exception of the Malibu. I'd think a call to the dealer would be in order to determine from the VIN what's down there

Dealership/Saturn buddies will be getting a call Mon morning -- more to follow

It probably would not hurt to run a web search on transmission problems. Something like this one:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&....0.1RXP2UDCG9E
It might be amazing what shows up.

Amazing things happen when people read stickies and do internet searches.

Yeah the goodies you can find are amazing.

"The internet is full of information
Some of which is true"

....lol....

Vue back at dealer.
1500 mi since waveplate repair (and from review of the invoice actually quite a bit more)

Wife drove home 40 mi on a 97 degree day. Parked in driveway for 20 min.
Came out to go to dinner and vue would not go into any forward or reverse gear -- only had park and neutral. Turned off and restarted -- no dice.

Took an S car to dinner.

Came back 1.5 hours later -- it's like nothing happened.

I suspect they did not clean out all of the debris from the waveplate failure, and the system has debris lodged in the cooling lines causing it to overheat when the car sits after driving and there is no breeze to cool the tranny.

The TSB for this wave plate failure is SUPER big on the importance of cleaning up the debris from the failure.

The former Saturn dealership subs out their tranny work to a local shop -- who I'm betting doesn't read TSBs on Saturns....

Ideas?

The former Saturn dealership subs out their tranny work to a local shop -- who I'm betting doesn't read TSBs on Saturns....

Ideas?
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I think you have it pretty much covered although not mentioned is the general reputation the transmission developed for poor reliability which points at a poor design in the first place. It probably would not hurt to run a power flush through it if it can be done. Although I don't know that it can be or wasn't but it would not surprise me if not.
I can attest to the fact the transmission in my Chrysler, a 2007 had developed the same type of reliability reputation apparently because a of questionable size when placed in the van from the car application the wight worked against it along with neglect and abuse. It had a reputation well deserved for being failure prone.
It was redesigned in 2002 according to reliable sources and I can attest that the 2007 drives more like a 700r4 than it does as the transmission used in 2001. It must have done some good as it has been reliable and sound. And cooling? It dawned on me when I put a radiator in that there are no transmission lines to it and what appears to be a small aftermarket transmission cooler under the car is the only cooler used. It must work well as it is hotter than Hades here and the transmission has held up well using it. So I intend on using something similar for the 700r4 I am installing in my Hornet.
It looks like the right thing to do. I always though it was silly to run transmission fluid up to the radiator where generally it adds to the heat already in the radiator but it worked most of the time well enough anyway I guess to get the job done. But this looks like a better solution.
you might want to consider doing the same thing if you can get away with it. Which would eliminate any junk trapped in the radiator that should have maybe been cleared out with a flush.

well, for 5 days they drove it a bunch, then parked it to let it heat up, then were not able to reproduce the symptom.

Fluke?
Piece of crap temporarily hung up in valve body, cooler/etc now dislodged and sitting on a filter screen?
gremlin?
Snuffleupagus?

I pick it up tomorrow.

Let's see if I get a diag charge.... I'm bringing the service manager multiple gifts of music....plus I've been visiting them since 97

well, picked it up today -- didn't act up with several stops on the way home in 100 degree heat.

No diag charge. Not sure if related to the gifts of music or my sparkling personality