2002 Oldsmobile Bravada Powertrain & Transmission Problems

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE PCM FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,000.

IT ALL BEGAN WHEN I WENT TO WALMART TO GET SOME TIRES ON MY 2002 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA ALL-WHEEL DRIVE...WELL I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR ALL 4 TIRES,SO I ASKED THEM IF I COULD PUT TIRES ON IT? AND THEY SAID YES..SO THAT IS WHAT WE DID..WELL 1 MONTH AFTER I HAD THOSE 2 TIRES PUT ON THE FRONT,THE FRONT END OF THE TRUCK STARTED MAKING NOISE AND WAS HARD TO TURN...I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC AND HE SAID WALMART SHOULD HAVE NEVER PUT JUST 2 TIRES ON THE TRUCK..CAUSE ALL 4 TIRES HAVE TO BE THE SAME OR IT WILL MESS THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE UP..WELL IT MESSED THE FRONT DIFFERENTIAL UP ON MY TRUCK..I TOLD WALMART ABOUT IT AND THEY PAID TO FIX MY TRUCK AND PAID FOR 2 MORE TIRES FOR THE TRUCK MAKING ALL THE TIRES THE SAME...WELL ITS NOT BEEN A YEAR AND ITS STARTING TO DO THE SAME THING AGAIN!!!! SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM ON THESE ALL WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES BUT IT HAS BEEN FOR ME!! NOW I SIT HERE WITH A WIFE AND THREE KIDS WITH NO VEHICLE!!!! *TR

ON FRIDAY, 01/16/09 AT 7:45 AM I WAS ON MY WAY TO WORK. AS I WAS DRIVING THE "SERVICE ALL WHEEL DRIVE" LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS ONLY A COUPLE OF BLOCKS FROM WORK SO FIGURED I WOULD CONTINUE MY DRIVE AND CALL A MECHANIC WHEN I GOT THERE. ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WAS LIKE THE VEHICLE BECAME POSSESSED AND I HAD NO CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. IT SPUN ME AROUND 3 TIMES SLAMMED ME HEAD ON INTO A SNOWBACK, THREW ME BACK OUT SPUN ME AROUND AGAIN AND THREW ME BACKWARDS INTO THE SNOWBANK AGAIN BEFORE THROWING ME BACK OUT ONTO THE HIGHWAY. I WAS VERY SHAKEN BUT THE VEHICLE SEEMED TO STRAIGHTEN OUT AND LET ME DRIVE, SO I VERY SLOWLY CONTINUED ON TO WORK. WHEN I GOT TO WORK I CALLED KORONIS MOTORS IN PAYNESVILLE AND EXPLAINED TO THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THEY CAME AND PICKED UP THE VEHICLE AND CHECKED IT OUT. THEY SAID IT WAS A MALFUNCTION OF THE ALL WHEEL DRIVE AND THAT THE TRANSFER CASE WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. I WAS VERY FORTUNATE THAT ON THAT PARTICULAR MORNING, FOR SOME REASON THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC, HAD THERE BEEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE SERIOUS. KORONIS MOTORS IS IN THE PROCESS FIXING MY VEHICLE NOW, THE MECHANICAL AS WELL AS THE PHYSICAL DAMAGE THAT WAS DONE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT AUTO MAKERS ARE ALLOWED TO EQUIP VEHICLES WITH MECHANICS THAT CAN FAIL IN THAT WAY, I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, I OR SOMEONE ELSE COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED. I DIDN'T THINK THAT THE MINUTE THE LIGHT CAME ON THAT IT MEANT THAT YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY STOP DRIVING!!!! THIS NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT VERY SERIOUSLY. *TR

IN SNOWY WEATHER THE AWD FAILED. THE TRUCK VIBRATES WHEN TURNING IN BOTH DRY AND WET CONDITIONS. *TR

MY MOTHER'S 2002 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA HAS A BASEBALL SIZE HOLE IN THE FRONT DIFFERENTIAL, SHE WAS DRIVING AND EVERYTIME SHE WOULD TURN OR JUST TURN SLIGHTLY SHE WOULD HEAR A GRINDING NOISE. SHE TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALER WHERE SHE HAD PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AND THE DEALER TOLD HER WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS AND HOW MUCH IT WOULD BE TO FIX IT. THE VEHICLE IS NOW IN MY GARAGE WHERE WE ARE WAITING FOR THE PARTS TO COME IN. I WENT ONLINE TO FIND OUT IF THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM AND COME TO FIND OUT IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND IT HAPPENS ALOT TO THE BRAVADA. DO PEOPLE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE IS HURT OR INJURED FOR THIS TO BE RECALLED? SO WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE THAN WHY IS IT NOT ON THE RECALL LIST THIS IS NOT JUST HAPPENING TO A COUPLE OF PEOPLE IT HAS HAPPENED TO THOUSANDS AND WHY HASN'T ANYTHING BEEN DONE ABOUT THIS? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, JENNIFER HARRIS *TR

GM HAS A KNOWS ISSUE ON 02,03 AND 04 BRAVADAS, TRAILBLAZERS, ENVOY'S AND RANIERS. THE TRANSMISSION COOLER LINES HAVE A HARD INTERFERENCE WITH THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. ONCE IT WEARS THROUGH A STEADY STREAM OF FLUID LEAK ONTO THE CONVERTER. THIS ISSUE IS DOCUMENTED IN SERVICE BULLETIN PI01573. THEY DO NOT FEEL IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE EVEN THOUGH I SEE OTHER VEHICLES HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR THE SAME THING. *TR

TRANSMISSION AND ALL-WHEEL DRIVE PROBLEM WHEN BEGINNING TO MOVE, THE CAR JERKS 3 OR 4 TIMES AND THERE IS A METAL CLINKING NOISE UNDER THE FRONT. THE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE FAILS TO ENGAGE. THERE IS ALSO A PROBLEM WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL SHARPLY AT REDUCED SPEEDS. THE CAR WILL JERK AND THERE IS A WEIRD NOISE. I JUST TOOK MY CAR IN AND THIS REPAIR IS GOING TO COST BETWEEN $2000 - $4000 DOLLARS. *TR

THE DRIVE TRAIN NEEDS REPLACING AT 64K MILES. THE CAR IS BASICALLY IN CONSTANT 4WD, WHICH MAKES TURNING AT SLOW SPEEDS VERY DIFFICULT WITHOUT LOTS OF GAS AND IT IS NOISY. THIS CAR IS TOO YOUNG TO BE FACING THIS TYPE OF ISSUE AND WITH LOW MILES (USUALLY 100K FOR THIS SORT OF THING). *CN

THE DIFFERENTIAL AND NOW THE CAM BEARINGS ARE GOING. THE VEHICLE HAS 108,000. WE DID REGULAR OIL CHANGES AND MAINTENANCE ON THE VEHICLE. WE EVEN BOUGHT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT THAT RAN OUT AT 100,000. DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE VEHICLE STARTED TO LURCH THEN WOULD NOT GO OVER 35 MPH. FRONT DIFFERENTIAL HAD A WHOLE THE SIZE OF A BASEBALL BLOWN OUT. THE DEALER HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. IT WAS IN SUCH A PLACE THAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE HIT ANYTHING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. NOW THAT THAT IS REPAIRED WE ARE LOOSING OIL PRESSURE AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THE BEST WAY TO REPAIR THIS WITH A MOTOR WITH THIS MANY MILES IS PULL IT AND PUT A CRATE MOTOR IN IT AT $4-5,000. THE VEHICLE ITSELF LOOKS LIKE NEW. NOW IS $36,000 PILE OF JUNK! AND WE STILL OWE ON IT! *TR

NO SIGNS OF LOOMING FAILURE. NEEDS NEW TRANSMISSION WITH LESS THAN 70,000. GM REBUILT TRANSMISSION COMES WITH 100,000 MILE WARRANTY? CLEARLY A PROBLEM THAT GM KNOWS ABOUT BUT HAS DONE NOTHING.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA. WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, THE VEHICLE SWITCHED FROM TWO WHEEL DRIVE TO FOUR WHEEL DRIVE. THE VEHICLE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THIS TYPE OF FAILURE IS CALLED A CROW HOP. THE CONTACT HAD TO ACCELERATE IN ORDER FOR THE VEHICLE TO DRIVE AGAIN. WHILE MAKING ANOTHER TURN, THE FOUR WHEEL DRIVE LOCKED. EACH TIME THE FAILURE OCCURRED, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY CHANGED THE DIFFERENTIAL FLUID, BUT THAT DID NOT CORRECT THE FAILURE. THROUGH A SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED BY THE MANUFACTURER, THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE ENCODER SENSOR FROM THE TRANSFER CASE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THE TCM SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPROGRAMMED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 40,000.

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE DIFFERENTIAL LOCKED UP INTERMITTENTLY. WHILE THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED TO THE LEFT, THE RIGHT WHEEL LOCKED. THE DEALERSHIP PUT AN ADDITIVE IN THE DIFFERENTIAL FLUID, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTED. THEN, THEY FOUND AN ELECTRIC MOTOR THAT ACTIVATED THE ALL-WHEEL DRIVE TO BE DEFECTIVE. THIS CAUSED THE STEERING TO LOCK WHEN TURNING TO LEFT OR RIGHT. THIS VEHICLE HAS A NOISE THAT THEY CAN'T LOCATE. UPDATED 06/07/2006. *AK *TS

A PROBLEM WAS NOTED WHEN MAKING TURNS. IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSFER CASE AS PER TSB 020421008A. THE DEALERSHIP DID THE FIRST RECOMMENDED STEP TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM AND CHARGED ME $417.35. THEY SAID IT WAS FIXED BUT AFTER PICKING UP THE VEHICLE AND DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES I NOTED THE SAME PROBLEM. THE NEXT STEP WILL COST ME $547! I HAVE FOUND SEVERAL REFERENCES THAT LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT TSBS SHOULD BE COVERED FREE OF CHARGE! AFTER MORE RESEARCH I FOUND AT CARSTATS.COM THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR THIS MAKE/MODEL AND MANY OWNERS HAVE REPORTED SERIOUS PROBLEMS! HOW DOES THIS TURN INTO A RECALL?? *JB

WHEN MAKING SHARP TURNS (PARKING SPACE OR DRIVEWAY) FRONT TIRES BIND/CATCH. EXCESSIVE ACCELERATION IS NEEDED TO CONTINUE MOVING THE VEHICLE FORWARD OR BACK. VEHICLE COMES TO DEAD STOP WHEN MOVING SLOWLY AND TURNING. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY RECOMMENDED FLUSHING THE TRANSFER CASE, WERE GOING TO CHARGE TOO MUCH, SO HAD IT DONE ELSEWHERE. THE PROBLEM JUST CONTINUED AND SEEMED TO GET WORSE AFTER THAT WAS DONE. ALSO MAKES A LOUD MOANING SOUND WHEN TURNING. GAS MILEAGE HAS GREATLY DIMINISHED. GETTING UNDER 250 MILES/TANK NOW. VERY UNSAFE AND DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT SEEM DUMB TO WHAT'S HAPPENING. IF UNABLE TO DETERMINE PROBLEM, COULD CAUSE RAPID WEARING OF TIRES. HAVE TAKEN IT TO SEVERAL PLACES NOW 4 TIMES SINCE TAKING TO ORIGINAL DEALER SERVICE CENTER. I'M NOT EVEN CONVINCED THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE AWD SYSTEM. MAYBE DIFFERENTIAL? OR CV JOINTS? I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT'S WHY I TRUST SERVICE TECHNICIANS. *NM

I AM THE OWNER OF A 2002 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA AWD. THIS VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH A GENERAL MOTORS 4L60-E AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE USED WITH 58,000 MILES REGISTERING ON THE ODOMETER. ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2005, MY WIFE WAS TRAVELING TO WORK. SHE MADE A LEFT TURN ONTO A MAJOR U.S. 4 LANE HIGHWAY WHEN THE TRANSMISSION UNEXPECTEDLY FAILED. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO IMMEDIATELY LOOSE ACCELERATION AND FORWARD MOBILITY RESULTING IN HER BEING STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO ONCOMING LANES OF TRAFFIC TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEEDS. WHILE UNEXPECTED MECHANICAL FAILURES CAN HAPPEN TO ANY VEHICLE IN ANY CONDITION, I HAVE LEARNED THIS APPEARS TO BE A FREQUENT FAILURE COMPLAINT TO THIS PARTICULAR GM TRANSMISSION AND IT HAS LEFT MANY CONSUMERS IN THE SAME SITUATION. AFTER HAVING THE VEHICLE INSPECTED I WAS INFORMED BY A LOCAL TRANSMISSION REPAIR MECHANIC THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE GM 4L60-E TRANSMISSION. SPECIFICALLY THE TRANSMISSION PART KNOWN AS THE 'SUN SHELL SPLEEN'. REPAIR COST TOTALED $1,687. I CONTACTED TWO LOCAL GM DEALERS AND BOTH ADVISED THEIR COST WOULD BE IN EXCESS OF $2,300 FOR THE SAME SERVICE. I THEN BEGAN CONTACTING LOCAL GM DEALERSHIPS IN SURROUNDING COUNTIES - A TOTAL OF NINE. AS I DESCRIBED THE PROBLEM TO THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES OF THESE DEALERSHIPS, ALL IMMEDIATELY MENTIONED THE '...SPLEEN GEAR.' EACH CONFIRMED IT WAS COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE SUN SHELL SPLEEN GEAR. EACH OF THESE SERVICE PERSONNEL ADVISED ME THEIR DEALERSHIPS HAVE REPLACED THESE IN MORE THAN ONE GM 4L60-E TRANSMISSIONS. ON SEVERAL ACCOUNTS I LEARNED OF SAME VEHICLE-MULTIPLE REPLACEMENTS AND COMMON MODEL YEAR PROBLEMS OF 2001 TO CURRENT WITH MOST FAILURES OCCURRING WITH LESS THAN 50,000 MILES. ALL ADVISED ME NOT TO USE OEM PARTS WHEN REPLACING OR REPAIRING THE TRANSMISSION OF MY VEHICLE. IT IS MY REQUEST YOUR AGENCY DIRECT ATTENTION TOWARDS COMPLAINTS INVOLVING THE GM 4L60-E TRANSMISSION. *JB

COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 64500 MILES. *NM

DT: CALLER COMPLAINED ABOUT A TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE SHUTTERED, SURGED AND WOULD NOT SHIFT PROPERLY. THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM THEREFORE COULD NOT FIX IT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM. CALLER STATED THE PROBLEM HAPPENS AT ALL SPEEDS, AND EVEN WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED. *AK

ALL WHEEL DRIVE DOES NOT ENGAGE PROPERLY UNDER ICY ROAD CONDITIONS. VEHICLE SHIFTS IN AND OUT OF 4 WHEEL DRIVE, CAUSING VEHICLE TO FISHTAIL. THERE WOULD BE A GREAT RISK OF LOSS OF CONTROL AT HIGHER SPEEDS THAN 35 MPH, SUCH AS ON FREEWAYS, UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS.*AK

THE CONSUMER STATED THAT WHEN MAKING A RIGHT OR LEFT TURN, EXTREME VIBRATIONS OCCURRED IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE DEALER STATED THE PROBLEM OCCURRED DUE TO A MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE TRANSFER CASE. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS.*JB

2002 OLDS BRAVADA SUV. REAR DIFFERENTIAL FAILURE AT 41K MILES. DEALER AND GM UNWILLING TO COVER UNDER ANY TYPE OF WARRANTY. THIS COMPONENT WILL NORMALLY OUT LAST THE VEHICAL. ADDITIONALLY THE DEALER TRIED TO SELL ME A COMPLETE DIFFERENTIAL ASSEMBLY RATHER THAN REPAIRING THE UNIT FOR A COST OF $3200.00. THE UNIT WAS REPAIRED BY A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP FOR A COST OF $2016.00. *AK