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2017 9-speed Transmission Catastrophic Failure

4427 Views 11 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  campb292
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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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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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.
It's pretty shameful they let the car leave the shop like that.
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