2017 9-speed Transmission Catastrophic Failure

4463 Views 11 Replies 4 Participants Last post by campb292, Oct 8, 2020

Frank.E.

Discussion Starter · Oct 5, 2020

My 2017 Malibu Premier suffered what they called a catastrophic failure .. "grenaded" as they said.

Happened a month ago, at 61,000 km (approx 38,000 miles)

It has taken 6.5 weeks to get a new transmission from General Motors for a swap. The dealer recommended against rebuilding it given the damage they found inside when they opened it.

I had a few things happen to the tranny over this time leading up to the failure...

At about 25,000 k I got check engine light on while driving. When I got to my destination and went to place car in reverse... it wouldn't. Then, when I tried to put it in drive, it wouldn't. Turned car off for a few minutes, turned back on, light was off and all worked.

GM Checked codes, said the sensors in the tranny needed to be resent.. they cleared codes, re-set and it was fine.
This happened one more time ... didn't bring it in because the tranny wouldn't let me shift with check engine light on, then turned car off for a while, codes weren't there when turned back on and car was drivable.... dealer again said a code was tripped but it had cleared.

Then a month and a half ago... was on the highway for about 15 min.. got off at off ramp.. drove about 1km and bang... dropped the transmission....

Questions ... is this a known issue with these Trannies? what would cause it to blow like that?
I'm thinking those codes tripped early on in relation to the transmission were really warning signs.

How worried do I need to be about this going forward? It was horrendous losing the tranny while driving and I only thank goodness it wasn't my kids or wife driving when it happened. 70kmh to 15kmh almost instantly... whiplash event,

I was literally thinking of buying the car out for my kids this coming July when the lease ends .... is it worth it to or is this tranny design a chronic failure?

Any insight would be more than appreciated.

Cheers all and stay safe!

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cp-the-nerd

· #2 · Oct 5, 2020

2017 was the first year for the 9-speed automatic. There are a handful of instances of 2017 premier transmission failures on this site, but it doesn't seem to be a major rampant problem. A new transmission should remedy the situation and not have the same defect as your first-year 9-speed. If you aren't confident in the car anymore, don't buy out the lease.

Lots of reliable used car alternatives on the market to get for your kids. Maybe something not quite as fast as the premier 2.0T? Just saying, I was a responsible kid, but my first car had 120 horsepower and it was still enough for me to be an occasional dumbass.

It's ridiculous that it has taken over 6 weeks to get a new transmission. Best of luck getting everything resolved.

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Frank.E.

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 5, 2020

I appreciate the reply cp ... hopefully those tranny issues resolved with my new one installed now.
Yes, lots of options out there.. but they both enjoyed driving the Malibu so as long as safe, they suggested to buy it out (split between two boys) and I'll get into something new. Thanks again for the reply.

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cp-the-nerd

· #4 · Oct 5, 2020

I check out the used market occasionally because my wife and I will be looking for a 3rd vehicle for family duties, and I am floored at the prices you can find for cars 2 years old with under 30k miles.

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campb292

· #5 · Oct 5, 2020

I wouldn't have concerns about the replacement transmission. The early issues you reported - failure to enter forward or reverse - were not uncommon to the 2017 and early 2018 9-speed. There are a couple dozen reports of that on this forum. They cleaned up problems with debris created in production and created a calibration update. I can't remember the last time I read of this. Most who experienced that got the calibration update or valve body / solenoid replacement and have been trouble free from that particular issue. What you experienced, the priors followed by complete failure, I can only recall one other case of so it is really, really rare. I'd have confidence in any current GM 9-speed. I bet the fixed up car will serve whoever drives it well into the future. Good luck with whatever you choose.

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Frank.E.

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 7, 2020

Good news... Transmission replacement done... Picked up the car yesterday aft.. But quickly upo. Driving home I noticed a few other issues... Wheel alignment is way off, steering wheel off centre and the steering wheel doesn't want to spring all the way back to centre after making turns, more noticeable turning left.

I'm not mechanically inclined so I genuinely don't know but do they move around steering components to do the tranny work?

Just want a little knowledge before calling dealer to express issue this morning.

Thanks again for the replies everyone.

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campb292

· #7 · Oct 7, 2020

Removal of the old transmission and installation of the new requires disconnecting the drive shaft/half shaft axle. Doing that requires removing the outer tie rod and lower control arm ball joint. Front left strut is removed and axle disconnects from the hub among other things. So yes, alignment can be affected. They should have done an alignment after completion. Call them back ASAP and have them diagnose and correct it.

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Frank.E.

Discussion Starter · #8 · Oct 7, 2020 (Edited)

Thank you campb ... Dealer noted that transmission specialist did the alignment instead of the alignment guys and they suspect he didn't do it correctly.. I'll report back for the Board when completed. I'm bringing it in this aft for diagnosis and fix.

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cp-the-nerd

· #9 · Oct 7, 2020

It's pretty shameful they let the car leave the shop like that.

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DrivenDaily

· #10 · Oct 7, 2020

Yeah, a simple test drive would have killed two birds with one stone: he'd know that the trans is working properly, and he'd know that the steering is right.

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Frank.E.

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 8, 2020

Car was brought in late yesterday afternoon and they did vehemently apologize for having the vehicle leave in that condition. As they explained, turned out the tranny specialist did the alignment and did it wrong (whether it was even done at all remains a question but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt). Alignment specialist diagnosed the issued and they were all remedied with a proper alignment. For my trouble the dealer put two free oil/lube/filter changes on my account.

Last question .. what warranty is attached to the replaced transmission?

Thanks again for all the replies.

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campb292

· #12 · Oct 8, 2020

I think it is 12 months / 12,000 miles or remaining powertrain warranty on a transmission replacement. In your case it looks like still 60,000 / 5 years from initial delivery date.

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