Ask Someone: 2019 Chevrolet Equinox #1749850690

Ask Someone Who Owns One
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I have a 2019 Chevy Equinox LT. I originally leased it in 08/2019 for 3 years. The 2nd year into the lease, the transmission started slipping and shifting was delayed. It had roughly 5000 miles on it. I took it in, no codes came up for diagnostics and they don’t me they couldn’t do anything.

It only did it during the warm/hot months. Never had issues during the winter when it was cold.

My lease was up in 2021. No one had any vehicles at that time and my Equinox only had around 8000 miles on it, so I bought out the lease.

The transmission slippage and delayed shifting still happens every summer but this year, 2025, it got progressively worse. I took it in in April and codes came up on diagnostics. They replaced the transmission with a rebuilt one. I drove it for a week and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear were shifting really hard.

I took it back, they put another transmission in. I drove that for a week and 3 and 4th gear were shifting hard.

I took it back twice after that and they said that they found chunks of metal inside the transmission. They fixed that. I got it back and it was shifting even harder. I took it back again, they put another new transmission in it. This one still shifts hard.

I took it back once again and they had it for a couple days and then I got it back, they said that can’t do anything with it.

I have another appointment to take it back again next week, I have a feeling they are going to say that they can’t fix it. It literally has 26000 miles on it and SHOULD NOT be having these kinds of issues.

I have no idea what to do since I cannot afford to buy another car.

GM sucks when it comes to transmissions.

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Welcome, your Ask Someone Who Owns One has been redirected to Car Talk…

We need to know what engine you have 1.5 or 2.0L and if you have the 6 speed (6T40) or the 9 speed (9T50) automatic transmission??..

You need to check into the Lemon Laws in your state, I would think yours would be a good candidate for a buy back…

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1.5 l 6 speed and I already spoke to an attorney and I do not qualify for Lemon Law

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and it’s automatic.

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An odd question for you, are you running E85??

I would take it to another dealer for a diagnostic, you may be at a dealer with a tech that doesn’t really know how to properly diag a late model transmission… You could even have a wiring issue causing this..

EDIT:
Have you contacted GM corp about the issue, they might even send out an expert to see what is going on… But that probably needs to be your next step before going to your next appointment…
This doesn’t necessarily sound like a trans issue if they have put multiple different transmissions in it, it sounds like a TCM or software issue, wiring issue, or even an issue with the engine system or sensors giving incorrect info to the ECM/TCM etc etc causing it to max out the line pressure to keep from hurting it and that is why the hard shifting, and even breaking internal parts from max line pressure over and over, but there should also be codes in the ECM/TCM etc…

This is where you need a tech to not just say the trans failed and replace it, but ask why it failed and find the answer to why it failed, and then fix it, and only then replaced the damaged trans…

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No. Regular gas. I cannot take it to another dealer because my extended warranty will only cover the place where I purchased it. I cannot afford to pay for any other work some place else. I have gotten a couple quotes from other places and it’s more than $4000. I just can’t swing that. That’s about what I paid for the extended warranty 3 years ago.

I contacted GM. They pretty much don’t give a shit.

I found out yesterday that the dealership told me about the Technical Service Bulletin (had never heard of this until I posted this comment) that GM has for that particular issue and they did everything that the bulletin said to do and the dealership can’t do anything else. While I am still driving it and 3rd gear shifts real hard. 2nd gear shifts hard. 4th gear sticks and is delayed.this is the 3rd transmission they put in in the last 2 months.

GM told me they basically pull transmissions out of the junkyard or from older vehicles in a lot and are supposed to rebuild them but they didn’t do that for the ones that they put in my vehicle. They sent them as is which is bullshit.

I contacted an attorney and they wanted $5000 down and after all is said and done whether we win or lose, I am looking at $20k plus for their fees. I would be better off just purchasing a different vehicle

I think I’m just gonna have to figure how to purchase a new vehicle cuz I cannot be having this much anxiety every time I drive it. Out of all the Equinoxes I have had in the past, this one was my favorite besides the transmission issues. I wanted to keep this until I paid it off. It just rolled over 27000 miles. Shouldn’t even be having issues like this.

1 Like
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Who is the warranty through (name of warranty company), cause any GM warranty should be nation wide through GM… If aftermarket warranty, still should be able to use many different shops…

When you called GM corp, did you complain and say you will never buy another GM product, or ask nicely but firmly about any help??

There is something we are missing here…

I would spend a few hundred dollars to have a real transmission shop that rebuilds transmissions and have them diagnose the issue, you can decline having it repaired or most transmission shops have financing available…

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It’s FJF warranty and it’s specifically set up to use only at the place where I purchased the warranty. Which they did not tell me that at the time when I signed it and it didn’t say that on the contract. I tried to fight it but it didn’t go anywhere. I’m tired of fighting these people.

You say a couple hundred dollars to take it someplace else, yeah nope. More like thousands.

There is nothing missing.This is exactly how it happened. The conversations, the fighting with the dealership, the warranty company. I don’t have the funds to hire an attorney but besides that, it’s not worth it. I just wish folks would do what’s right. The warranty company said they will not pay to have a brand new transmission put in after paying for the supposedly rebuilt ones they put in and when I inquired about it with the dealership, it’s roughly $8000 plus labor.

I contacted GM twice. First time to ask them about the transmissions that they sent to the dealership and they told me where they get them and I told them they were shitty for doing what they did. They pretty much gave me an oh well attitude.

The 2nd time I called, I told them what the dealership said about the bulletin and they agreed that that is what it says and nothing more they will or can do because there is no other remedy. I just basically got stuck with one of their shitty transmissions. I told them it’s still not shifting right and they said after me taking it to the dealership 5 times now, they’ve done all they can do to fix it. I said this why people leave GM. They basically don’t care because they still have enough customers and continue making billions of dollars and losing some customers doesn’t really hurt their bottom line. That’s the attitude they presented to me.

I won’t stray from GM. I despise foreign vehicles.I don’t care for Ford or Chrysler. Can’t afford a jeep. The next vehicle will be a GM vehicle and may make different choices when it comes to the warranty.

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Warranty companies will send an inspector inspect and road test the vehicle before repairs are authorized. The technician will need to demonstrate the transmission has failed, if the transmission is operating properly during the road test or the only complaint verified is shift quality, the transmission replacement will likely be denied, and the technician receives no compensation for his time. This is the reason service departments are reluctant in getting involved with problems that can’t be solved.

Some aftermarket warranty companies will supply used transmissions from auto salvage yards; General Motors has no control over aftermarket warranty companies.

If your warranty company paid for a GM supplied transmission, those are remanufactured in a factory. The source of the transmissions can be from warranty returns, core returns or from salvage vehicles. The source is unimportant since the transmission will be rebuilt.

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They didn’t send an inspector. They just did the diagnostics and sometimes codes come up and sometimes they don’t. The mechanic road tested the vehicle. I was told by the dealership and the warranty company that a rebuilt transmission would be put in however, the mechanic said that they ordered 3 transmissions and when they opened the box to 2 of them, they were dirty, not put together well, and that dealership does not have an actual transmission mechanic to rebuild them. The 3rd one they sent, was not rebuilt either, they just pulled it from a junkyard. Which is bullshit.

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How can you be sure? The inspector deals with the technician, the customer is not involved with the inspection.

Who supplied the transmission? What is shown on your invoice? GM part number or used transmission?

They don’t need one, remanufactured transmissions can be shipped from the warehouse in one day. Remanufactured transmissions allow for faster repairs and fewer failures.

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I was there the first time and no inspector was there from the warranty company. I was in the garage with the mechanic.

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You stayed with the vehicle while the transmission was replaced? There is usually a process that takes several days to get approval from a warranty company for major repairs.

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I am still a little confused, why were you dealing with an aftermarket extended warranty when GM has a 5 year/60K mile powertrain warranty?? You are out of the factory warranty now, but only by one year… The free/included factory warranty is nationwide warranty at any authorized GM dealer, that means even a Buick dealer has to honor it…

That is for a diagnostic, NOT a rebuild/replacement as I stated you can decline the repair…

That is probably the reason they don’t care, you can’t go after a corp with a bad attitude and not be civilized, sounds like you have already burned that bridge with GM…

I still find it hard to believe that they put multiple transmissions (new/used/reman/whatever) in under warranty and never sent out an adjuster…

BTW Jeep is Chrysler (same powertrains)… and they have tons of issues… lol

That is how you should have talked to GM, telling them that you are a diehard GM owner and plan on buying many more down the road, while being nice, tell them you know this is not normal and and etc etc etc, but 1st call having anger in your voice only makes things worse, being nice might have got you much better service and or goodwill for help with the repairs…
But sadly I think you have burned all your bridges on this issue…

Sorry you are having to deal with this…

Again, a real transmission shop will be able to find the cause of all of this, again, I don’t think it is a 100% trans issue, the 6T40 transmissions are known for loosing reverse, 3rd and 5th gear, due to a 3/5/reverse wave steel breaking and causing internal damage… And from what you said about the 1, 2, 3, and 4th gear shifting hard, well the only thing (solenoid) that controls that is the (Green) Pressure control solenoid 5 (PCS5) and it controls oil to the 1-2-3-4 clutch regulator valve and 1-2-3-4 boost valve that sends oil to the 1-2-3-4 clutch, so either they are re-using the same valve body in all these transmissions or the TCM is getting incorrect info and or sending bad info to the PCS5 solenoid, or installing the wrong gen trans, your should be a gen3 IIRC, could be a wiring issue also…

Anyway you can post what codes it has and or has had??

I am also wondering if the hard shifting is caused by the transmission adaptive values learn procedure possibly being preformed incorrectly, or something like that…

Again, and I can not stress this enough, you need a real transmission builder to properly diagnose this issue, if not you will probably keep having failed transmissions no matter how many someone throws at it…