General Motors’ 10-speed transmissions were the subject of a now-completed lawsuit investigation involving issues reported in the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and other GM vehicles.
The investigation claimed these transmission issues led to harsh or erratic shifting, loss of power, jerking between gears, hesitation, clunking or whining noises, and difficulty shifting into DRIVE or REVERSE.1
GM worked with Ford on the development of certain 10-speed transmission designs.2 Ford now faces its own 10-speed class action lawsuit, which alleges that 2017–present Ford F-150 trucks experience whiplash, harsh and erratic shifting, jerking, lunging and hesitation. General Motors initially offered these 10-speed transmissions as optional features in many models before making them standard in newer models.
What GM Vehicles Have A 10-Speed Transmission?
General Motors installed its 10-speed transmissions in Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, Camaro, and Silverado vehicles, as well as GMC Sierra, Yukon Denali, Cadillac Escalade, CT4, CT5 and CT6 vehicles.
GM’s 10-speed transmission is an optional transmission in the following vehicles:
- 2017–Present Chevrolet Camaro
- 2018–2020 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2019–2022 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2019–2020 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2019–Present GMC Sierra
- 2018–2019 GMC Yukon Denali
- 2020–2022 Cadillac CT4
GM established the 10-speed transmission as the standard in these vehicles:
- 2018–2025 Cadillac Escalade
- 2019–2025 Cadillac CT6
- 2020–2022 Cadillac CT5
- 2021–2025 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2021–2025 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2020–2025 GMC Yukon Denali
What’s Wrong With GM’s 10-Speed Transmission?
Vehicle owners and lessees are reporting GM 10-speed transmission issues including harsh shifting, shuddering, hesitation, gear shifting issues and power loss. Many of these complaints—often from owners of the Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra—have been submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Car starts but will not go into drive or reverse. Upon restarting the car, it may or may not work. When it does work, the car will not shift into a higher gear.”
– 2020 Cadillac Escalade, NHTSA ID 11321030
“The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the transmission independently moved into Park (P) and the gear shifter would not move after several attempts. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who informed the contact that they could not repair the vehicle because they did not have the adequate tool to unlock the transmission. Upon receiving the tool days later, the dealer diagnosed that water had leaked into the fuel tank, which led to the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that they would follow up. The contact was still awaiting a call back from the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000.”
– 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe, NHTSA ID 11489085
“You cannot put the vehicle into Neutral unless the engine is running. This is a huge safety issue as my Tahoe broke down in the middle of a very busy intersection at nighttime, and it took 3 hours for a tow truck to show up. If I had been able to get the vehicle into Neutral, I could have pushed it out of the intersection into a safe location.”
– 2021 Cadillac Tahoe, NHTSA ID 11452747
“The lifter rods failed on my vehicle that has approximately 8,000 miles on it. The dealer said that this is a known issue and that there is a service bulletin out for it.”
– 2021 Cadillac Suburban, NHTSA ID 11431340
My GM Has A Faulty 10-Speed Transmission. What Do I Do?
If multiple repair attempts have been made and your GM transmission problems still aren’t resolved, your vehicle may be considered “defective” under the California Lemon Law. In these cases, the owner of a “lemon” may be eligible to have the vehicle replaced or repurchased by the auto manufacturer.
However, if that owner is included in a class action lawsuit related to the same model and/or defect, they may need to opt out of the class action before the deadline to retain the right to sue under the California Lemon Law.
If you’re wondering whether your vehicle might be defective or are still dealing with ongoing mechanical issues, Lemon Law Help offers free consultations to California residents who suspect their vehicles to be defective.
Experiencing GM 10-speed transmission problems or similar issues that just won’t go away? Get a free consultation from a Chevy lemon attorney, a GMC lemon lawyer or a Cadillac lemon law attorney by calling us at 833-208-8181 or completing our consultation form below.
References
- (2024, July 25). Lawsuit Investigation into Chevy, GMC 10-Speed Transmission Problems. ClassAction.org. https://www.classaction.org/silverado-tahoe-sierra-transmission-lawsuit
- (2013, April 13). Ford and GM finally consummate 9- and 10-speed joint development. Society of Automotive Engineers International. https://web.archive.org/web/20180325045257/http://articles.sae.org/12015/
Lemon Law Help by Knight Law Group is an automotive lemon law firm that exclusively practices in California, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and Orange County. If you are a California resident who purchased or leased a defective vehicle from a licensed dealership in California, we may be able to help you get rid of your potential lemon and recover significant cash compensation. Model year restrictions apply: 2020–Present vehicle models only.
However, we cannot help those who reside outside of California or purchased their vehicle outside of California unless they are active duty members of the Armed Forces, nor will we be able to refer them to a lemon law firm in their states.
To learn more about the California Lemon Law and your legal rights, visit our guide on the California Lemon Law for more information.
