Does anyone know more about bad transmissions on the 2006 Monte Carlo SS's? Ours went at 45,000 miles and we'vehad the car less than 2 yrs! Just got it replaced yesterday by the dealer (remanufactured one), and they were willing to pay for half of it. There have been several TSB's on it, but they won't say too much. Car wouldn't shift right and eventually lost some gears. GM told them not to even take the tranny apart, just replace it. Dad is in the Impala club and they are saying it is a problem on the 2006's (first year with the V8 and tranny combo).

 

I cna easily see where it would happen... and it was the first quesiton I asked hwen I found out the V8 was going on the FWD transmission... but so far, no members to my knowledge have had the problem until now.

 

Were you "On-it" a lot?
Do you think the V-8 had too much power for the tranny?

Most of the research I've been doing on the Driveline in my 04 Monte LS, indicates that there isn't anything suspected of failure and that good preventative maintenance will provide reliable service from BOTH the Engine and the Transmission for a long time and 150K+ Miles if you are good to the Mill and Tranny!

 

4t65s aren't made to handle hard power, though the factory tuning,with all the torque management added into the programming isn't enough to protect the tranny, and anything other than grandpa driving will put a hurt on it. Sometimes the factory programming isn't properly done, and line pressures vs. loads and throttle position are not all working in sync... you'll get bad shifts as a result, too much torque applied in a high gear, and impromptu lockup and disengaging of the TC... all recipe for disaster on our precious 4t65e.

There are performance rebuild options out there, notably from ZZP, Dynotech. Lucky for me, I have a local shop that has been doing rebuilds on the 4T65s for the taxi companies, and learned what works best for reliability, and they use ZZP parts too... I have a rebuilt 4T65 that has taken ALOT of abuse over the past 2 years... and it's still as strong as the day I got it. I actually never blew my original tranny either, and I was tough as nails on it as well. I put plenty of track timeon both my trannies. On the other hand, there are many people with stock GTPs with the 4T65e that have blown before 75k miles... sometimes they go, sometimes they don't...

That being said, you should have REFUSED to pay for a cent of the replacement, especially considering they are putting in a "reman". That remain was probably a 4T65 they picked up from a wrecker, and they did a pan drop and filter, and called it a "reman". They paid low dollar for the replacement, kept your "busted" tranny, and they'll farm it out to a tranny shop to repair it for probably less than $1500, in addition, they get the warranty dollars from GM, and they get money from you. That's why they're called STEALERSHIPS, but to be frank, they only get away with it when they prey on the unknowing.

If you were paying half, they should have at least given you the busted tranny in return so you could recover the cost... grrrr.

Send a letter to GM head office, asking for a full reimbursement. 2 questions though: How much did you pay out of pocket for the tranny replacement? and What was the exact issue with your tranny when it went? Did you have any gears working at all?

 

Thanks guys
We don't beat the car (even the dealership saw that it wasn't abused). I drive it about 104 miles/day roundtrip to work...mostly highway miles. I first noticed it starting to act up on the highway doing about 65-70mph. It mostly happened onslight to moderate accelerations (wouldn't shift right, slipping) and a LOT of shuddering. As it got worse, (waiting at a redlight and then trying to go) the engine would rev upand when it would catch, it would spin the tires and the traction control light came on.The cardidn't seem tohave the problem when Istomped on it hard (it responded).The car was still running when we dropped it off. On the paperwork, they did refer it to a TSB (one of the ones we found on the internet), transmission slipping, debris found in pan. Total charge was 3500, we paid half 1750 (GM paid 1750)....because it was a TSB and not a recall,plus we were out of the warranty(had46,000 miles on the car).We did not get the extendedwarranty...we won't do that again. The service manager told us that GM does not replace any transmissions with new ones...they are always remanufactured. We will write a letter to GM to see if we can get any of our money back.
It seems the general consensus (of what everybody thinks) is too muchtorque with the V8 and that GM fixed thetran problem in the mid 2007's. My Dad has an 08 Impala SS and is in the Impala club anda guy says that last summer (mid 2007), his local dealershiphad a bunch of Impalas that looked light in the front end. He asked the service manager about it and he said theywere all waiting for transmissions.
Thanks for the input!

 

$3500! Highway robbery for a reman. Most shops will take your existing tranny, and have a factory equivalent rebuild for less than $2000.

ZZP rebuild with single chain, input shaft, and some other refinements to strengthen totals under $3500... and you have a stronger tranny than brand new, which can handle more than what your V8 puts out.

Unbelievable... I'm sorry for seeming shocked, but I'd be furious with them for what they charged... it didn't cost them more than $1500 in parts and labour to replace your tranny. They got $1750 from you, and they got $1750 from GM... they walked away with a 133%+ profit on that deal.

I hope you get your money back...

 

2006 isnt the first year with the tranny motor combo. the 2005 GXP got it first. There are GM Bulletins for the trans and i can post them if you want. These transmissions can take abuse becuase on my 2006 monte i took out all the torque management and raised shift points and line pressure, then put in a shift kit and would chirp 2nd gear whenever i got on it, and i Always got on it. never had a trans issue

 

I have worked in Chevrolet service for 30+ years.I am the shop foremanat one of the largest Chevrolet dealers in New York State.We have not seen alot of 4T65E failures on LS4 W-bodies.Most of the 4T65E failures we see are V6 vehicles,probably because of the higher percentage of V6's vs LS4's out there.With all that said,if this vehicle came into our service department we would have evaluated the transmission problem & looked the vehicle over for signs of severe abuse or modifications that could havecontributed to the transmission failure.We also would have run a vehicle ID number inquiry in the GM Vehicle Information System to check if the vehicle was salvaged.If all of these items checked out ok, we would have replaced the transmission with a Goodwrench remanufactured transmission(3yr/100,000 warranty)and performed a thorough transmission cooler flush to remove any debris from the previous transmission failure.We would have covered this replacement due to low miles on the vehicle and the existence of technical bulletin #07-07-30-012C which was issued 10/18/2007.This bulletin addresses 4T65E transmission failures in LS4 equipped W-Body vehicles. If your transmission was replaced at a franchised Chevrolet dealer,this most likely isthe transmission that was installed in your vehicle.(Goodwrench Reman.) I have seen some dealers use an AC/Delco reman. that has a 2yr/24000 warranty,but not when GM is paying for the repair or a percentage of it.In any event,I highly doubt if the dealer purchased a salvage yard transmission and sold it to you & GM as a reman unit as suggested.You should have received some warranty paperwork stating the warranty coverage on the replacement transmission also.I also want to add that the total price you werequoted for this repair is higher than we would charge. On a final note,I just want to say that ALL dealers are not STEALERSHIPS that prey on the unknowing customer with thieving tactics as suggested.We sell over 4000 new Chevrolets a year and have a service department with a great staff of technicians that handle every repair situation presented to them in a highly professional manner. We did not get to this level of customer sales and service by being a STEALERSHIP!!!

 

Hey Steve (aka bowtietech),

What would qualify as "severe abuse or modifications that could have contributed to the transmission failure"?

Would my 2 little mods (CAI and didderent mufflers)qualify?
Also, what would you change to make the tranny strong enough to handle future mods?

Just wondering, thanks.

Mark

 

Very respectful reply bowtietech...

My comments were made as a result of a general observation of people's experience with their dealerships, and my own experiences combined. I did not mean to insult the quality of service you uphold at your dealership.

It's too bad that all dealerships do not operate as you say your dealership operates... that would be a utopian dream.

Unfortunately, dealerships have to make their money, and the bulk of it is made in the parts and service... since sales margins are getting smaller and smaller with the competition these days. The easiest way for them to make a quick dollar, is to play the prey game... only a handful out of a hundred repairs/services will come back to bite them. It's an acceptable loss to make the quick buck.

I simply spread the awareness that there are other alternatives to get equivalent or better parts, at a MUCH better price. In our community, it's in our best interest to save money where we can, while still staying reliable.