The fact that GM has a service bulletin out to addresses the clunking drivetrain issue suggests to me that more than just a few people are having problems with their drivetrains. So in the case of the drivetrain problems (clunks, whines, leaking differentials) I think it's a safe bet that these are real issues for a lot of Solstice owners.
First you need to sort out the allegibly normal "clunk"from the diff. problems, you just confuse the issue.
Pontiac has built approx. 20 thousand Solstices, most of which have manual trannies. There are approx 6 thousand members here with far less than 2 hundred reporting differential problems. If you do the math, this very fixable problem is miniscule, percentage wise. Don't get me wrong, there are some real issues with this first year launch (such as the normalcy of the "clunk") but since many problems are reported here, I think it gives us the impression that there are many more problems than normal and I really don't think it's the case.
We are still awaiting reports from enough owners of automatics to rule out any carryover of "clunk" to teh automatics. If the clunk is from the tailshaft of tranny back then it should be duplicatable in an automatic by starting in 1 and standing on it, then manually shifting to 2. No reports yet. There is no difference in rear ends between the two. The car that started this thread, although it may have problems, certainly dose not fall into the "lemon" category.
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When more than one friend wants to ride shotgun
No, I do not work for GM or any subsidiary or supplier.
We are still awaiting reports from enough owners of automatics to rule out any carryover of "clunk" to teh automatics. If the clunk is from the tailshaft of tranny back then it should be duplicatable in an automatic by starting in 1 and standing on it, then manually shifting to 2. No reports yet. There is no difference in rear ends between the two. The car that started this thread, although it may have problems, certainly dose not fall into the "lemon" category.
I'm assuming you have tried without the clunk. I, too, have an auto and will try it when I can.
I'm assuming you have tried without the clunk. I, too, have an auto and will try it when I can.
No, cause if you remember I arrived 6/24 in a fwd GP. It is just an assumption of mine. Of course there are tons of manuals without "clunk" so not being able to achieve clunk with auto does not entirely prove or disprove my theory.
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When more than one friend wants to ride shotgun
No, I do not work for GM or any subsidiary or supplier.
Hehe yes, I must be getting another cup of coffee now because I notice Lightning McQueen every time but missed the big GXP in caps AND forgot that you arrived 6/24 in that GP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by achieftain
No, cause if you remember I arrived 6/24 in a fwd GP. It is just an assumption of mine. Of course there are tons of manuals without "clunk" so not being able to achieve clunk with auto does not entirely prove or disprove my theory.
I bought a Loaded 2006 Solstice, took delivery Tuesday evening, June 27th at 5:00p.m. The next morning, as I left for work, I noticed the car was transitioning very hard between gears and the indicator lights next to the shift knob were no longer illuminated. By the time I drove the 3 miles to my local Pontiac dealer, the check engine light was on and it was making all kinds of noise. After taking a day to diagnose, I was told there was a bad switch that was a computer controlled item. The switch was not in any dealers parts inventory or GM's. They had to expedite one from the transmission vendor. When pulling what needed to be pulled to replace it, they found a wiring harness and bearing sleeve that needed replacement, two more days. Monday the 3rd, they had it most of the way together but closed for the 4th. Wednesday the 5th, it's almost ready, Thursday for sure, Phone call just came THURSDAY 11:00A.M., "Car needs a new transmission, water in the fluid". I sent the dealership an e-mail copied from this site last Wednesday THE 28TH, after I dropped the car, suggesting they check for exactly this. They told me the car was not in the VIN range of affected vehicles. You can imagine the conversation I had with the service Manager when he gave me this new diagnosis. Beautiful car without a doubt, garbage transmission for sure!
Beautiful car without a doubt, garbage transmission for sure!
Again, careful. That's *YOUR* transmission and not a blanket statement. I have almost 3000 miles on my auto and no problems, which is being echoed by other auto owners here on the site.
For those of you not driving this AWESOME car yet, don't let the problem ones scare you away. I've yet to see anything in life that's 100% perfect all the time, and that includes any make of any vehicle. I'm sure Consumer Reports would faint over the problems my friend had with her new Camry!
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Aggressive, Ebony. Premium Package, Power Package, Convenience Package. AC, Monsoon, XM, Floor Mats, HeadLiner, Polished Wheels, LTD Slip, AUTOMATIC. vin #115831 Found in Tenn on 5/30/06, Delivered home to NC 6/1/06!
Location: Under an invisibility cloak, somewhere in the Northeast
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joemama (edited by Small Dealer for length, content and focus)
Beautiful car without a doubt, garbage transmission for sure!
How does the introduction of a "toxin" to the transmission's system make it garbage? Are we to therefore believe that if water was introduced to other manufacturer's automatic transmissions, that they would not meet a similar fate?
If Quickrete was introduced to a hot tub and it turned to stone, does that make the hot tub garbage?
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INFORMATION POSTED ON SITE
Any GM Solstice Service Manual and Service Bulletin information found here on site, or Sales and Product information should be thought of as correct and accurate as of the date posted. After that any information or procedure should be confirmed as still correct with your dealership.
Last edited by Small Dealer : 07-06-2006 at 11:16 AM.
Reason: To remove any doubt that by the tone of the post, it implied that the water was introduced on purpose, which it wasn't
Again, careful. That's *YOUR* transmission and not a blanket statement. I have almost 3000 miles on my auto and no problems, which is being echoed by other auto owners here on the site.
For those of you not driving this AWESOME car yet, don't let the problem ones scare you away. I've yet to see anything in life that's 100% perfect all the time, and that includes any make of any vehicle. I'm sure Consumer Reports would faint over the problems my friend had with her new Camry!
Not to be difficult arwredhead1, 3000 miles on a car these days in absolutely nothing. Heck, it ain't even broken in yet. I have 13782 miles right now on my 5 speed manual PHATSOL. And, I do have the clunk, but no major tranny or drivetrain issues. But, if at 30000 miles I have problems with the tranny, differential, engine or any of the drivetrain, I will be highly upset. that is because current automobile industry standards suggest drivetrains that can make it easily to 200000 miles or longer, provided they are maintained properly and not abused. I do not abuse my cars, but I have an old classic BMW E31 850CI and I have 120000 clicks on its odometer, change the oil every 3 months no matter how many miles I put on it, and I change the tranny fluid every other year. No major drivetrain issues in that mileage frame.
3000 is really nothing. It ain't really getting started yet.
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Solstice GXP picked up 10/13/2006. Triple black Mysterious, Darkside, Ebony leather with red stitching. All Options, but no spoiler. 5 speed chrome wheels, XM, OnStar, sport metallic pedals everything but the blonde salesgirl...
My car was not in a dealers inventory or in the VIN range that was supposed to be affected, yet it needs a new transmission after 50 miles of driving due to water in the transmission. I LOVE THE CAR! That is not my point. My point is that several earlier threads in this discussion include people with a feeling of relief that their car did not fall into the affected category. My dealer did not even check for this when I presented the copy of the thread in this discussion because the VIN was "not in range". I hope to someday drive my Cool/ebony/chrome/Monsoon sound/XM/loaded car. I've had it 15 hours, the dealer will have had it at least two weeks by the time I hope to see it again.
I bought a Loaded 2006 Solstice, took delivery Tuesday evening, June 27th at 5:00p.m. The next morning, as I left for work, I noticed the car was transitioning very hard between gears and the indicator lights next to the shift knob were no longer illuminated. By the time I drove the 3 miles to my local Pontiac dealer, the check engine light was on and it was making all kinds of noise. After taking a day to diagnose, I was told there was a bad switch that was a computer controlled item. The switch was not in any dealers parts inventory or GM's. They had to expedite one from the transmission vendor. When pulling what needed to be pulled to replace it, they found a wiring harness and bearing sleeve that needed replacement, two more days. Monday the 3rd, they had it most of the way together but closed for the 4th. Wednesday the 5th, it's almost ready, Thursday for sure, Phone call just came THURSDAY 11:00A.M., "Car needs a new transmission, water in the fluid". I sent the dealership an e-mail copied from this site last Wednesday THE 28TH, after I dropped the car, suggesting they check for exactly this. They told me the car was not in the VIN range of affected vehicles. You can imagine the conversation I had with the service Manager when he gave me this new diagnosis. Beautiful car without a doubt, garbage transmission for sure!
I feel for you. That is not the quality standard that GM says it is striving for. If that happened to me, I would be highly upset as well. Do you have the automatic or manual? Sounds like the auto, but I am not 100% certain from your description. It is troubling, and should be troubling for all Solstice owners, to hear of problems in the drivetrain of this vehicle. I commute 240 miles one way or a total of 480 miles every week driving the way I do to run a surgery center far from home. I drive the Solstice almost exclusively. If I have a failure, I will be livid...
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Solstice GXP picked up 10/13/2006. Triple black Mysterious, Darkside, Ebony leather with red stitching. All Options, but no spoiler. 5 speed chrome wheels, XM, OnStar, sport metallic pedals everything but the blonde salesgirl...
3000 is really nothing. It ain't really getting started yet.
True..all my cars I've driven way past 150,000..and that's before they were 5 years old! but some of the people on this post were saying the FIRST day they drove their AUTO they had problems and I'm saying..I haven't had problems with my AUTO at 3,000. I hope I don't anywhere down the line.....
I'm with whoever else said it, I think this posting is negative and needs to go. You have a warranty. Pursue it with your dealer. We came here to ENJOY our car with others (and for help). I had to hear some family members say, Your Solstice can't hold a candle to your cousin's infiniti. I may have to hear that on the outside, but on this board I want to hear...ohhhhhh yeah, great car!
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Aggressive, Ebony. Premium Package, Power Package, Convenience Package. AC, Monsoon, XM, Floor Mats, HeadLiner, Polished Wheels, LTD Slip, AUTOMATIC. vin #115831 Found in Tenn on 5/30/06, Delivered home to NC 6/1/06!
How does the introduction of a "toxin" to the transmission's system make it garbage? Are we to therefore believe that if we were to add water to other manufacturer's automatic transmissions, that they would not meet a similar fate?
If I added Quickrete to my hot tub and it turned to stone, does that make my hot tub garbage?
But Small Dealer, JoMama did not add water to his transmission. somehow, a defect in this particular tranny on this particular car allowed water to get where it should not. Suredly, you do not think that this is the buyers fault. He owned the car for all of 15 hours, as he states, and this happens. I would be highly upset if it were me, and I am sure you would too. 15 hours? Come on, show the guy some sympathy! I know this: mentions of auto tranny failures or differential failures or other issues like this can really really affect GMs bottom line, which really is in the tank already.
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Solstice GXP picked up 10/13/2006. Triple black Mysterious, Darkside, Ebony leather with red stitching. All Options, but no spoiler. 5 speed chrome wheels, XM, OnStar, sport metallic pedals everything but the blonde salesgirl...
[quote=arwredhead1]True..all my cars I've driven way past 150,000..and that's before they were 5 years old! but some of the people on this post were saying the FIRST day they drove their AUTO they had problems and I'm saying..I haven't had problems with my AUTO at 3,000. I hope I don't anywhere down the line.....
I'm with whoever else said it, I think this posting is negative and needs to go. You have a warranty. Pursue it with your dealer. We came here to ENJOY our car with others (and for help). I had to hear some family members say, Your Solstice can't hold a candle to your cousin's infiniti. I may have to hear that on the outside, but on this board I want to hear...ohhhhhh yeah, great car! "
See, arwredhead1, on this we disagree. I learn a lot of potentially good information from the problems that others incur with their vehicles. This information gets filed somewhere in my head for future reference if a problem occurs. Like the horn and airbag failure in my car, I have mentioned it here and to others in person in Albuquerque, 2 of whom had the problem too. It is important to share not only the positive, but the negative/problems/defects/deficiencies as well. This is the real world to me.
If your tranny fails, you might see things a bit differently. I hope neither you, I or anyone else has a problem majorly speaking with any component of this car. But the reality is, these are man made vehicles, man conceived vehicles, and are gonna have failures that will make you angry and upset at the manufacturer. The warranty is one thing. But, put yourself in JoMama's shoes, and you might see this from a different perspective. I do...
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Solstice GXP picked up 10/13/2006. Triple black Mysterious, Darkside, Ebony leather with red stitching. All Options, but no spoiler. 5 speed chrome wheels, XM, OnStar, sport metallic pedals everything but the blonde salesgirl...
