2007 Tahoe won't shift into Reverse

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GREGB1954

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Our LT decided to not shift into Reverse today. You can move the shifter just fine. It is parked against a curb and it seems that it wants to go forward in the forward gears against the curb. It actually felt like in N and R it was also going forward. Very strange. Any ideas?
 
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GREGB1954

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UPDATE: Chevy dealer declared that the tranny is bad and needs to be replaced for $3200!! I bought this Tahoe to replace my '95 that has 170k miles. Reason was it has the original engine and trans and I wanted to get one with less miles ('07 has 24k) for reliability purposes. So what happens???? Tranny goes out on the low mileage on.

No warranty due to years. So now I am back to driving the '95. What irony!!! We own 8 GM cars, 2 with very high mileage. We are advocates for GM products but all they will do in this situation get us a 10% discount or a "deal" on a new Tahoe...I will be better off taking it to Aamco who do excellent work.

I am convinced this tranny failed due to a manufacturer's defect. This is the 5L60E model that is an evolution of the venerated Turbo Hydramatic design that has roots back in the 60's. The design is solid and should last a long time. Failure at 24k indicates a flaw in the unit.

Anyone else experience low mileage tranny problems?
 
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GREGB1954

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Another update: Spent about 20 minutes on the phone with a 3rd appeal to GM service. They said, "with a vehicle of that age, not knowing if the previous owner may have abused the transmission like towing over its limit, and not knowing if the car was serviced properly....we cannot do anything else". My retort was there are no scratches where the tow hitch goes, and Carmax checked the vehicle out, and that if this is considered old, then how old is my '95 Tahoe that has towed a 4500lb boat for 6.5 hours non-stop in the hot summer to the South each year for 13 years in a row and its 171k mileage transmission works perfectly still (which is what I am driving again!!!), how can they utter such nonsense?!?!?!! Also, what service is performed on a transmission with 24k miles on it???? Very disappointed. I will not buy another GM product. They were great, I once agreed to the bailout, I no longer do. Should have let them disappear. Sad day for me. And we own 8 GM vehicles now and no other brands. What a shame. Sorry for the rant.
 

AZSCTACO

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I question whether that 07 really only had 24K on it. I know someone that can install a simple switch under the dash to disconnect the speedo......just saying :)
 
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GREGB1954

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We live in the Indy area and get a fair amount of snow on the roads, hence are cars get corrosion issues. When we were looking at used Tahoes, Yukons, and even an Escalade the mileage ranged from about 50-70k. We noticed that consistently there was body rot developing on the seam on the bottom of all the doors. So we found this one that had 19k on it with no evidence of rust, which is why we paid more for this one. Then we took in for rust prevention treatment. I am convinced it has low miles on it.

Final chapter on this situation: I have found that this is not an uncommon problem, but it is uncommon at such a low mileage state. It is conceivable that the previous owner had a bad habit of changing from reverse to drive while still rolling backwards which can lead to this. GM customer service would not do anything other than a $500 credit on buying a new one. Their position was I bought the Tahoe from a non-dealer used so they cannot verify the condition of the car, so they choose to do nothing. On the other hand, our local Chevy dealer, Penske in Indy, has really gone the extra mile in working with me so I am having them put a remanufactured by GM tranny in it with a 3 year/100k warranty. This is a great dealer to work with as I have had similar past experiences. They are all about serving the customer. That was my one shimmering sun ray in this episode.
 

felixgun

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Sorry to head about the issues. I have the same transmission in my avalanche with 91k mileage and it still drives perfectly. I think you got a lemon and GM just doesn't want to own up to it unfortunately.
 

angrysam

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Yeah not very uncommon. I think it is the reaction sun shell that goes out IIRC.

They would typically offer people some kind of assistance if the vehicle was under 60k miles and no more than 5 years old. You just missed it if they are still doing that.
 

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