GMC Yukon XL Denali - Another Transmission Ruined by a Defective Intercooler

GMC Yukon XL Denali - Another Transmission Ruined by a Defective Intercooler

GMC Yukon XL Denali - Another Transmission Ruined by a Defective Intercooler

Similar to Joe B's failure... 2002 Yukon XL Denali 62,000 miles. Took my wife & two kids on a road trip from OKC to Orlando over Thankgiving to see family. While maintaining interstate speeds, 70-75 mph, began having a strong vibration / shudder. Nothing while accelerating or decelerating. Problem was mild at first, but became worse as we neared Orlando. No visible leaks / drips, no temperature spikes, never towed or abused. We made it to Orlando on Sunday, so I took it to AAMCO first thing Monday morning as it is out of warranty. Rented a car til Friday. The transmission intercooler failed, and pushed enough fluid into the radiator cooling system to cause the transmission to fail. No indications for this type of failure, leaks from one system to the other, not to the ground. Got no temperature spikes or fluid or system warnings, you find out only after the damage has been done. Strange, no moving parts in the radiator, just trany fluid on one side, Dex cool on the other, not good when they mix! Due to the age, condition and maintenance history, the internal failure can only be due to a manufacturing defect. Service writer at Hudiburg GMC in OKC agreed, and said he had only seen "a few failures like this". I asked, but he said there were no recalls or TSBs for this. So I'm out $3500.00 for a Trany & Radiator, hopefully no damage to the cooling system was done. I'll have to watch the water pump & heater core components, but Jay at AAMCO said they flushed the cooling system well prior to installing the new radiator. I'm pretty bummed, really like the Denali & paid well for it. But this type of failure, with no recourse or remedy via GM has me thinking about staying away from GM products. Dallas S

Dallas S

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