I have a 2023 Yukon XL and the transmission seems to hesitate. Took it to the dealer and they said there were some codes going off and they reset them. It ran fine for a week then started again. Anyone else have this problem or know of a fix?
Transmission hesitation
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Welcome to the Forum from NH.
Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.
I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.
Pics of the truck, please.
I cannot personally assist you with your issue, but other members of this Forum much more knowledgeable than me in this area will chime in.
Did the dealer give you the trouble code numbers?
Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.
I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.
Pics of the truck, please.
I cannot personally assist you with your issue, but other members of this Forum much more knowledgeable than me in this area will chime in.
Did the dealer give you the trouble code numbers?
You did not say how many miles are on the vehicle.
The majority of shifting related problems are all valve body related. The GM 10 speed valve bodies are known to have problems. The longer the vehicle is driven with sloppy shifting, the more wear and possible damage to the clutch packs.
I would hope the dealer documented the codes on the repair order, even if they are not on the copy you received, hopefully the tech put the codes on the notes. You may be able to have the Service Advisor get you the technician notes.
I would also suggest getting your own OBDII App. If the SES/CEL/MIL comes on any generic OBDII tool should be able to read and display the codes. There are phone App for $10 or under and you can buy an OBDII interface for around $35 so you can always have a code reader in the vehicle at all times. I one in most of my vehicles.
You may also want to read over this thread to get an idea of what is going on with the GM valve bodies - https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thr...peed-valve-body-kit-finally-installed.153898/
The majority of shifting related problems are all valve body related. The GM 10 speed valve bodies are known to have problems. The longer the vehicle is driven with sloppy shifting, the more wear and possible damage to the clutch packs.
I would hope the dealer documented the codes on the repair order, even if they are not on the copy you received, hopefully the tech put the codes on the notes. You may be able to have the Service Advisor get you the technician notes.
I would also suggest getting your own OBDII App. If the SES/CEL/MIL comes on any generic OBDII tool should be able to read and display the codes. There are phone App for $10 or under and you can buy an OBDII interface for around $35 so you can always have a code reader in the vehicle at all times. I one in most of my vehicles.
You may also want to read over this thread to get an idea of what is going on with the GM valve bodies - https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thr...peed-valve-body-kit-finally-installed.153898/
It has 63,000 miles. So there is no recall on this issue. The only thing I can do is to take it to a transmission place and have the valve body replaced?
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@NickTransmissions, our resident transmissions expert, may have a perspective on this.
I had a new transmission installed at 80,000 miles, last February. I bought it used at 70,000 miles last June. I think I am going to change fluid often. I don't know how the previous owner took care of things. I tried changing fluid and filter before it went to dealer hoping that might be the cause but it was too late. Mine started not moving occassionaly from a start. The dealer said the fluid was burned and it only had less than 2,000 miles on when I did the service to when I took it to the dealer. I went to a dealer because of the bulletin about the abrupt bang in downshift every once in a while. They said the bulletin was not the problem with mine.
How many miles has the poor shifting been happening?
The best bet is to have a full diag work-up performed. This starts with pulling up all the DTCs then working them from smallest to largest. Next step is the test drive with live data to verify each condition/drivability symptom by seeing it in the data (examples include excessive shift times, TCC slip during high TCC duty cycle, etc). From there (depending on what the data reveals), follow up component testing should be done, including to the transmission's wiring harness, variable force solenoid set as well as anything else that may have flagged in the data during the test drive.
If a preponderance of the evidence points to the valve body, the next step would be to drop the valve body, hot tank it, completely dry it then vacuum test it for areas of poor sealing integrity. If the VB fails the vac test, first step would be to determine what, if any, restorative valves or other produces are available in the aftermarket and try those first (a lot less costly compared to replacing the entire VB assembly). If all else fails, and there's no obvious indicators the transmission has suffered internal damage or damage to the converter, replace the valve body and see if that resolves the problems.
Around 2,000
OK, this will be somewhat long.
I will start with the PITA part, since you have a V8 engine in your truck the front exhaust "Y" pipe needs to be dropped from the exhaust manifolds so the trans pan can be removed. It does not need to be fully removed and the output should have a flex connection so the 6 exhaust nuts on the manifold studs need to be removed to allow the front of the "Y" pipe to drop about 3 inches. Additionally if the 5.3l is set up like my 6.2l then the drivers side Pre-cat O2 sensor will need to be removed in order to remove one of the exhaust stud nuts.
The next issue is if the nuts can be removed without breaking the studs, kind of depends on where the truck resides and how much moisture, snow, ice, salt and so forth. Often the nuts can be heated with a torch to allow them to expand so they can be removed.
Good news, is the problem has only been going on for about 2k miles and you did not tow regularly, the bad news is the trans has 63k miles and has never been serviced. Dropping the trans pan on these V8's is a PITA. Dealers can charge as much as $1200 for trans fluid and filter change!
You need to get the codes read and DO NOT have the codes erased so what ever shop plans to work on the vehicle has some clues to what is going on.
You used the statement, the transmission seems to hesitate. Unclear exactly what you are describing but it sounds like slow upshifting or gear changes or possible hunting during a shift. These 10 speeds IMHO have crappy 2-3 & 3-4 shift as built and delivered. Too much shift overlap, delay in shifting, slippage, just not a precise shift. Also seen a few downshift issues into the 3rd or 2nd gear.
The valve bodies are MAJOR problem areas with these transmission, internal leakage and the paper gasket on the separator plate fails often. The shift valves also wear quickly.
You are in a tight place now due to valve body issues and availability. My understanding is GM just released a new Reman valve body part number that shows it was build in both Germany and the US as I recall. Not sure how available these newer valve bodies are.
I have not seen much in the aftermarket to address actual problems with the casting wear. I think this is because the GM 10 speed valve bodies have been so problematic, even at low miles, the aftermarket has not jumped on the bandwagon with bore reamers and oversize valves, but I could be wrong.
The problem with even this newest Reman GM valve body is it a Reman and it still has the crappy separator plate with paper gaskets as far as I know.
If I was in your position, not 100% what my first move would be. Since I DIY all of my work, I would look into the codes, determine if they are valve body related issues which they are most likely, then I would order a NextGen valve body kit and proceed to pull the valve body out to update it. The biggest wildcard is at 63k miles do the main valve body castings have significant spool valve bore wear? If so even the NextGen kit may not solve the problem 100%.
When the pan is pulled there WILL BE metal in the pan, this is true of almost every transmission pan. The issue is the size and quantity of the metal indicative of a major failure. Often trans shops will scare customers with the metal in the pan show. I pulled my pan at 8k miles and there was fine metal on the magnets, but after doing many trans services and rebuilds I have a good idea of what is acceptable and what is not. I felt what I found in my trans pan was pretty typical for the mileage, nothing I was going to lose any sleep over.
I would only be out trans fluid and my time if I went the NextGen route, clearly you will be paying someone and it may be a gamble on how to proceed and if the NextGen kit solves your problem.
Finding an honest shop that is willing to take on the job is another issue. I would personally stay away from the larger national chain transmission shops. I would try to find the best independent, shop and speak with them and see if they are aware of the NextGen kit and know what it takes to get the valve body out of the transmission.
I would stay away from GM factory rebuilds as well. Same crappy valve body problems, I would put the NextGen kit in even a factory rebuild trans or Reman valve body based on my experience.
Hopefully you can get some more life out of the transmission with something like a valve body upgrade kit. But if for some reason the trans needs to come out, I would HIGHLY recommend replacing the pump drive gears with the OE Ford gears, they are a drop in replacement and are straight cut gears and not angle/helical cut gears. The GM gears side load the bearings and wear them out quickly and will cause a pump whine long before a catastrophic failure of the pump gears occurs.
I would highly recommend an aftermarket trans pan like the PPE which has a drain plug. This way a least the fluid can be drained and refilled easily, I plan to do this on my truck every other oil change or about every 7-8k miles, its not so hard once the pan has a drain and I am buying the ULV AC Delco fluid for around $7 per quart, so it will cost me around $60 for each drain and fill because my aftermarket pan takes an additional 2.5 quarts of trans fluid.
In any event you need to plan your next move carefully for parts availability and to not clean out your savings account. I would make sure GM reman newer generation valve body are available before even having the vehicle up in the air. Last thing you want is to tear the trans apart and have months delay in getting parts.
Good luck.
I will start with the PITA part, since you have a V8 engine in your truck the front exhaust "Y" pipe needs to be dropped from the exhaust manifolds so the trans pan can be removed. It does not need to be fully removed and the output should have a flex connection so the 6 exhaust nuts on the manifold studs need to be removed to allow the front of the "Y" pipe to drop about 3 inches. Additionally if the 5.3l is set up like my 6.2l then the drivers side Pre-cat O2 sensor will need to be removed in order to remove one of the exhaust stud nuts.
The next issue is if the nuts can be removed without breaking the studs, kind of depends on where the truck resides and how much moisture, snow, ice, salt and so forth. Often the nuts can be heated with a torch to allow them to expand so they can be removed.
Good news, is the problem has only been going on for about 2k miles and you did not tow regularly, the bad news is the trans has 63k miles and has never been serviced. Dropping the trans pan on these V8's is a PITA. Dealers can charge as much as $1200 for trans fluid and filter change!
You need to get the codes read and DO NOT have the codes erased so what ever shop plans to work on the vehicle has some clues to what is going on.
You used the statement, the transmission seems to hesitate. Unclear exactly what you are describing but it sounds like slow upshifting or gear changes or possible hunting during a shift. These 10 speeds IMHO have crappy 2-3 & 3-4 shift as built and delivered. Too much shift overlap, delay in shifting, slippage, just not a precise shift. Also seen a few downshift issues into the 3rd or 2nd gear.
The valve bodies are MAJOR problem areas with these transmission, internal leakage and the paper gasket on the separator plate fails often. The shift valves also wear quickly.
You are in a tight place now due to valve body issues and availability. My understanding is GM just released a new Reman valve body part number that shows it was build in both Germany and the US as I recall. Not sure how available these newer valve bodies are.
I have not seen much in the aftermarket to address actual problems with the casting wear. I think this is because the GM 10 speed valve bodies have been so problematic, even at low miles, the aftermarket has not jumped on the bandwagon with bore reamers and oversize valves, but I could be wrong.
The problem with even this newest Reman GM valve body is it a Reman and it still has the crappy separator plate with paper gaskets as far as I know.
If I was in your position, not 100% what my first move would be. Since I DIY all of my work, I would look into the codes, determine if they are valve body related issues which they are most likely, then I would order a NextGen valve body kit and proceed to pull the valve body out to update it. The biggest wildcard is at 63k miles do the main valve body castings have significant spool valve bore wear? If so even the NextGen kit may not solve the problem 100%.
When the pan is pulled there WILL BE metal in the pan, this is true of almost every transmission pan. The issue is the size and quantity of the metal indicative of a major failure. Often trans shops will scare customers with the metal in the pan show. I pulled my pan at 8k miles and there was fine metal on the magnets, but after doing many trans services and rebuilds I have a good idea of what is acceptable and what is not. I felt what I found in my trans pan was pretty typical for the mileage, nothing I was going to lose any sleep over.
I would only be out trans fluid and my time if I went the NextGen route, clearly you will be paying someone and it may be a gamble on how to proceed and if the NextGen kit solves your problem.
Finding an honest shop that is willing to take on the job is another issue. I would personally stay away from the larger national chain transmission shops. I would try to find the best independent, shop and speak with them and see if they are aware of the NextGen kit and know what it takes to get the valve body out of the transmission.
I would stay away from GM factory rebuilds as well. Same crappy valve body problems, I would put the NextGen kit in even a factory rebuild trans or Reman valve body based on my experience.
Hopefully you can get some more life out of the transmission with something like a valve body upgrade kit. But if for some reason the trans needs to come out, I would HIGHLY recommend replacing the pump drive gears with the OE Ford gears, they are a drop in replacement and are straight cut gears and not angle/helical cut gears. The GM gears side load the bearings and wear them out quickly and will cause a pump whine long before a catastrophic failure of the pump gears occurs.
I would highly recommend an aftermarket trans pan like the PPE which has a drain plug. This way a least the fluid can be drained and refilled easily, I plan to do this on my truck every other oil change or about every 7-8k miles, its not so hard once the pan has a drain and I am buying the ULV AC Delco fluid for around $7 per quart, so it will cost me around $60 for each drain and fill because my aftermarket pan takes an additional 2.5 quarts of trans fluid.
In any event you need to plan your next move carefully for parts availability and to not clean out your savings account. I would make sure GM reman newer generation valve body are available before even having the vehicle up in the air. Last thing you want is to tear the trans apart and have months delay in getting parts.
Good luck.
Last edited:
C-Lion
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My 2024 Tahoe (purchased new last Sept) has throttle lag when in Normal and Sport It makes me nuts. I drive in L9 instead and enjoy V8 power. I think it's the same as "trailer mode" in my old 2015 Suburban.
