[mrw803]

My wife was sitting at a red light two days ago and when the light turned green the car would not go even with the pedal pressed to the floor. The check engine light started flashing and the car moved at a crawl. After doing a diagnostic with OnStar they reported "Transmission Failure/Powertrain Failure" and to get the car to the dealership within a day. Yesterday the car was towed to my dealership and today we're getting a rental courtesy of GM. My trusted service advisor is in the process of running diagnostics at the dealership and while there's no definite diagnosis yet, he says they will probably need the car for at least a week or so. I have an 09 LS with 28,000 miles on it. Has anyone had any problems of this magnitude or know what could have caused this? We drive mixed (highway/city) through mostly flat terrain here in Buffalo, NY.

 

[rbarrios]

If you have an 07 LS--- you dont have a Traverse....
YOu have a GM-- but not a Traverse

 

[quantum]

I looked at the OP previous posts, looks like he has a 2009.

 

[mrw803]

Yes, I have an 09--sorry.

 

[andylibby]

I have an 09 LTZ with just over 25,000 miles. So far, no problem with mine.

mrw803, do us all a favor and report back on what the cause of your failure was and how it was resolved by GM. I, for one, would want the offending component (engine, transaxle, whatever) replaced with a brand new item instead of rebuilt.

I hope they get your car back on the road soon. Best of luck. :thumb:

 

[AA/78U-Blue Gold]

If it's a transmission replacement; it will be a new unit from LDT. GM seems to be taking back defective transmissions so they can determine the cause of the failure

 

[zepcom]

Yikes!!

Sounds like a major issue for sure. Seems like this is a very isolated incident, and it should be 100% covered (including rental car) under your powertrain warrantee. I'm from Buffalo NY too, so sorry to hear about your bad luck with your Traverse.

Let us know when you get a dealership update as far as diagnosis, what they're planning on replacing, and how long they estimate it will take!

--zepcom

 

[mrw803]

I just got off the phone with the dealership. They had to disconnect the auto start system (installed by selling dealership for delivery of vehicle) to be able to communicate with the car. No codes were present except a historical code B1440, corresponding to the ignition switch. They cannot find anything wrong with the ignition switch at present and have not been able to duplicate or discover anything wrong with the powertrain or transmission. They have contacted GM and neither GM knows of what is causing the problem nor are there any service bulletins about the problem. I asked why OnStar Diagnostics told me powertrain/transmission failure and was told that OnStar cannot get specific fault codes, only general ones i.e. can say that there's an engine or transmission problem but cannot specify exactly what the problem is. There was a problem a few months ago with the auto start and not being able to communicate with the vehicle. After three trips to the dealership and a phone call to GM it turned out to be the oxy sensors. Apparantly there must be some problem with aftermarket auto starters and the recommendation was to never buy one not installed at the factory and not to have one installed aftermarket. My next move is to call the selling dealership, ask them to remove the auto start and give me a refund. I'll keep the forum posted as new information becomes available.

 

[zepcom]

Ahhh.... aftermarket starters often bypass the ignition sensors and other "tricks" to get the truck to start.

I wonder if an alternative is to go back to the selling dealer and ask if they can remove their cheap aftermarket (and now found to be non-functional) starter and replace it with the GM advanced two-way remote starter. Or at least if they can remove their aftermarket starter and then pay your dealership for the upgrade.

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f22/2-way-advanced-remote-new-info-gm-64582/

http://gmaccessoriesstore.com/2way-advanced-remote-start-vehicles-with-remote-keyless-entry-engine-start-requires-dealer-programming-p-5322.html



[url=http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182461]http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182461[/url]

That last link above has some great pictures of what is included with the GM Two-way advanced starter kit.

Good luck, glad it wasn't engine failure as you had been told by Onstar!

 

[rbarrios]

OHHHHHHHH- yeah-- it seems the aftermarket remote starters are nothing but trouble...
There are those that have no issues with an installed unit...
But when they hiccup-- a dealer- many times will not work on something until the possibly offending unit is removed.

Thats why I now say-- remote start? --- get it Factory.. or at least a GM unit.
theres too many computers talking to each other nowadays to try to install an aftermarket unit...

Im guessing the starter-- was somehow wrecking havoc with the communications between computers-- and caused the engine/tranny code to be set.

 

[mrw803]

After speaking with the very helpful sales manager at the selling dealer I was notified that no Equinox or Traverse for model years 2009 or 2010 had a factory installed auto starter on their base models and all auto starters added to these vehicles had to be aftermarkets. Therefore, the sales manager stated he couldn't add the GM 2-way advanced auto starter system to my Traverse or he would do so at no additional cost to me. He did say that he wants me to bring the car to him tomorrow and he will send it back to the installers and have them make sure they didn't make any mistakes when putting in the auto start system and that the system is performing as it should. He said if I'm still not satisfied he will take the auto start out and give me a refund. He also mentioned that when he called the installers for this auto start system that they stated they have installed the same aftermarket system to well over 400 local Traverses and have never had any of the problems that I am describing. The installers are a well respected local company who install many aftermarket systems for several local dealerships here in Buffalo. So stay tuned, I'll keep you updated.

 

[bobg1951chevy]

If an aftermarket part (electrical, in this case) would be the culprit in a wiring failure, etc., GM could say "NO" to warranty coverage. I would not, on my vehicles, install anything aftermarket that could ultimately make the vehicle go up in smoke.

Not worth the risk.
Bob

 

[rbarrios]

your dealer is right- the LS models were not factory equipped with remote start.
or equipped to have remote start added after the fact.
So I see why they went aftermarket...

Though-- I THINK... some members here have had the dealers install the GM unit... on at least the LT1. ( I have an LT1 with factory installed remote start).

I know theres a thread on here-- where there was a discussion on that models they added remote start... and Im tempted to say that someone had an LS- where the dealer managed to install all the components needed...
ill try to find the thread....

 

[mrw803]

Well, here's the resolution to the problem--the LS was never made to have any remote start installed whether it be factory or aftermarket. Therefore, the dealership removed the remote start and is sending me a check for the purchase price plus tax. There's a lesson to be learned here--stay away from aftermarket unless you absolutely know for sure it will not cause you any problems. To date, the transmission and engine are acting just fine.

 

[rbarrios]

sure sounds like the aftermarket remote start was sending transient signals into the communications channels used by the onboard computers--- and causing havoc.... or something like that...

 

[andylibby]

Nice to know it's not a breed characteristic that we all need to be aware of.

Thanks. :thumb:

 

[AA/78U-Blue Gold]

A friend of mine experienced a similar issue with their Dodge truck; the dealer installed an aftermarket remote start and then about 3 weeks later; it wouldn't start. Come to find out; the aftermarket remote start was interfering with the onboard electronics...............system removed and all is well again

 

[GXPWeasel]

Well, here's the resolution to the problem--the LS was never made to have any remote start installed whether it be factory or aftermarket. Therefore, the dealership removed the remote start and is sending me a check for the purchase price plus tax. There's a lesson to be learned here--stay away from aftermarket unless you absolutely know for sure it will not cause you any problems. To date, the transmission and engine are acting just fine.

Glad they found the problem, but sucks that you can't have Remote start. I know that would be a very hard option to NOT have, once you've had it already.

 

[Narg]

Just a side note, the thing I find interesting is that I believe what your wife experienced was the GM "Limp Home" mode. When the car believes something is seriously wrong, but is still running it will allow the car to crawl. I forget where I read about that, but it's interesting to note. I understand it's a safety thing in case the computers have gone wacky the car won't pull a "Toyota" and speed up un-expectedly or something worse. GM puts a LOT of thought into their designs.

 

[rbarrios]

Just a side note, the thing I find interesting is that I believe what your wife experienced was the GM "Limp Home" mode. When the car believes something is seriously wrong, but is still running it will allow the car to crawl. I forget where I read about that, but it's interesting to note. I understand it's a safety thing in case the computers have gone wacky the car won't pull a "Toyota" and speed up un-expectedly or something worse. GM puts a LOT of thought into their designs.

Reduced power- I think is what may show up on the dash...
In previous GM's it was also known as the Limp Home mode or something like that...