It’s not necessary for you to know how to fix your Traverse. You just need to find somebody who does know how. Ask your friends, relatives, fellow bar hopper, fellow church goers, coworkers, anybody you have a personal relationship with, ask they who they use to repair their cars. From that list interview of couple of shop that work on Chevy’s, choose the one that makes the most sense to you.
Be sure to tell the shop owner which of their customers recommended the shop to you. That gives you little leverage b/c the shop owner then knows if you aren’t satisfied with their work you’ll likely tell their other customer, and that business might be lost.
Don’t these newer transmissions that always keep the torque converter locked generate more debris in the oil when they shift? So the transmission fluid should be changed more frequently than transmissions of the past. They also got rid of the oil cooler since the transmissions are more efficient and generate less heat.
I wonder how the previous owner managed to put more than 35k miles per year on the odometer, especially in a rural environment like NH. If–as I suspect–this vehicle was used for commercial purposes, and especially if the trans was not serviced at least 4 times, trans failure is very much understandable.
No transmission always keeps the torque converter locked. If they did it would stall the engine every time you came to a stop, just like a stick shift not using the clutch.
Solenoids generally determine shifting but can put a car into limp mode. Our olds went to second gear on the freeway and it was the solenoid pack for about $350. Really a good transmission shop needs to determine what it is but at that mileage and if regular fluid changes haven’t been done, starting over with an overhaul might be better in the long run. I don’t understand though the engine sounds terrible part.
You mentioned a minister. That implies a congregation. That is a resource. Ask for recommendations for a mechanic and I one sounds good, ask for an introduction.
Living in a cabin on top of a mountain in a national forest an hour from anywhere with no cell service or internet masy sound idyllic but it is not inexpensive.
There are no free miles on a car. The more miles you rack up, the ,ore it costs. Atruck based suv would hold up better but cost more to buy and eat ,ore fue. Driving on dirt roads calls for more maintenance. Oil, air filters and trans fluid should be changed under severe service schedules. Towing shortens transmission life.
Whatis your plan if one of the kids gets really sick?
I am going to go way against the grain here. With this much debt and this many miles on the Traverse, I would cut bait now. Spending a bunch of money to repair/replace the transmission is unlikely to result in long-term reliability, because the engine will likely go bad soon. I have a co-worker with an Equinox, he had to have the motor replaced at around 150,000 miles, again due to owing so much money on the vehicle, and now only about 18 months later the transmission is starting to slip.
If your finances would allow you to pay this off, sell it as-is, and buy something else, I would do that. If you can afford to tow this home, put a used transmission into it, and trade it in, that could be a good option as well.
If your finances are already tapped out, I’d consider other options, such as defaulting on the loan, and declaring bankruptcy if sued. Depending on the laws of your state, it may be possible for you to declare bankruptcy (alone) and shed your debts, while still protecting your husband’s income and assets (if you are married). Of course, this is not legal advice, and you should see an attorney if you are considering such a course of action.
4 years and 140k miles. That’s 35k miles per year. This should be mostly highway miles then, unless the vehicle was used as a delivery vehicle. 140k highway miles is too soon for a transmission failure. Because highway miles are something like half as bad for a transmission as city.