Quote:
Originally Posted by N Camarolina
I don't have an automatic so not completely aware of the recall issue at play here, but I'll provide another possible point of view to yours as food for thought. It would seem reasonable to expect that even if you voided your warranty, you should be eligible to receive recall service free of charge, when the recall is a preventive measure. But in this situation, it sounds like you are trying to ger GM to pay for damage that has already resulted to your transmission, reasoning that the damage is due to something directly related to recall (poorly engineered or manufactured part?).
Most recalls (GM or otherwise) have to do with safety or (possibly) attempted correction of a poorly engineered part in an attempt to prevent premature failure of said part. It isn't typical to fix a part that has already been damaged by something related to the recall, and if it was, the cause (the defect for which recall is being issued) would have to clearly be driving the failure result. This did happen with certain early 2000 Honda automatic transmissions, but getting Honda to pay for fixing busted transmissions was an uphill battle (they just wanted to add a preventative part to improve oiling).
In your case, you've muddied the waters further by modding your engine and adding 100HP to a stock system. So now, even if there was a case for consideration that a transmission engineering defect is the cause of the transmission malfunction and damage (the $2000 you are referring to, I assume), it's difficult to know whether your car's transmission problem is due to said engineering defect or instead, the mods you made to your engine.
You know well that GM's policy is that modding the engine or the tuning voids the warranty on the powertrain. And GM can defend that by arguing that owner mods may have caused the problem. So it shouldn't be surprising to you that if you want GM to pay to fix a damaged part of the drivetrain on your car, they'll refuse in situations where it's clear that you've modified the engine/tune, even when the part in question is part of some kind of recall issue.
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I never said I had damage to my transmission. In fact I have no problems with it right now.
But here's the thing: A tuned / modified transmission is going to inherantly shift harder. One of the symptoms of this issue is hard shifting. So how do I tell what a hard shift is related to this problem as opposed to normal operation of my transmission?
Furthermore, their software update is a placaebo lie and will not prevent this issue from occuring. It is not a stop gap or remedy at all. Why? Because one of the troubleshooting steps to determine if you need to rebuild or replace the transmission is to check the condition of the transmission fluid. Now in my case here's the catch 22. When I rebuilt my engine I also changed my trans fluid, filter and gasket at 64,000 miles. So even if I were to upgrade the valve body, or GM were to do the recall work of any kind. There is no possible way for them to determine if my Transmisison is damaged at all without completely disassembling the transmission. Add in the fact that they still have to prove their defective valve body did not cause the damage which they also cannot do, and even if they do disassemble the trans find damage, there's no way for them to prove in court beyond a shadow of a doubt it was caused by the engine modifications and not the defective valve body.
And to add to that: Stories of transmissions failing exist such that the milage this issue can occur ranges from 3000 miles to 120,000+ miles. This software update CANNOT predict 10,000 miles before the issue occurs. It's flat out bullshit and GM is lying about it. This is GM pushing people out of warranty to force consumers to pay for something that can injure or kill people. Which is them ignoring NHTSA regulation. While lying about their claim to care about the safety of the consumer. This is text book Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices.
Furthermore, regardless if my engine is modified or not is irrelevant. According to Magnuson Moss Warranty Act one of the stipulations is that at the time of purchase the vehicle has a warranty and was stock when purchased. My vehicle was 100% stock, and had Full Bumper to Bumper warranty when purchased. Rather or not it is used or not does not matter.
Add to the fact this recall affects stock vehicles and my vehicle was not always modified and would STILL be on the recall list regardless. IF my mods caused the problem, then that means GM explicitly is admitting their stock tune is bad from the factory. Even more so when they fail to prove in court the modifications caused the issue of their "Admitted" "DEFECTIVE" "Valve body." Otherwise it would not affect stock vehicles now would it?
GM cannot legally deny on the basis of modifications because this issue affects stock vehicles the same as it affects modified vehicles.
Lastly the clincher is this: They are ignoring NHTSA regulation, rather or not I have a warranty is irrelevant it is STILL a safety recall that can injure or kill consumers and/or the people around them. This makes GM 100% liable. They admitted to that liability when they issued the recall on March 6th 2025.
As mentioned Tuning the TCM doesn't prevent the issue from existing on every vehicle on the recall list. It may change when the valve body fails, but it won't change the fact it will fail. GM has already admitted to the defective part. So under Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, GM has to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my engine modifications caused their "DEFECTIVE VALVE BODY" to fail. GM cannot prove this in court it is not a legal battle they can win at this point. Not to mention there are multiple sources that can testify to the valve body defect, and many people who can verify on stock vehicles the failure of the valve body. And I even know some people with modified vehicles who have the exact same issues as well.
GM has no pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out of.
This is just standard Red Tape GM things.