2000 Buick Century

TWO HUNDRED MILES AWAY FROM HOME I STARTED HAVING TANSMISSION PROBLEMS ON MY 2000 BUICK CENTURY, LIMITED EDITION, WITH 33,000 MILES ON IT. BROUGHT THE CAR BRAND NEW AND MAINTAINED IT RELIGIOUSLY. SHIFTING WAS EXTREMELY HARSH. DID OK GOING 55 - 65 MILES AN HOUR ON THE FREEWAY. NON FREEWAY DRIVING IT WENT BACK TO HARSH SHIFTING, WHINING ENGINE, SLOW ACCELERATION. TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALER NEXT AM. WAS TOLD MY CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, AND THAT PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED TO THE TUNE OF $750. AFTER TALKING WITH THE ASSISTANT SERVICE MANAGER, THEY AGREED TO A 50-50 SPLIT. HOWEVER, I FEEL GM IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE. THEY WERE AWARE OF THIS TWO YEARS AGO. FORTUNATELY, I WASN'T STRANDED IN THE DESERT IN 100 DEGREES TEMPERATURE WITH MY YOUNG GRAND CHILDREN. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT GM HAD ISSUED A BULLETIN REGARDING THIS DEFECTIVE PART. THE PCS SOLENOIDS WERE MADE OF A SOFTER METAL THAN THE HOLE THEY RIDE IN AFTER A WHILE THEY WEAR AND START HANGING UP. THE GM BULLETIN STATES, "SLIPS, HARSH SHIFT OR GRAGE SHIFTS, LAUNCH SHUDDERS, FLARES, ERRATIC SHIFTS AND INTERMITTENT CONCERNS, DTC P1811 OR PO748 SET (REPLACE PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE ASSEMBLY) #00-07-30-002B-(02/19/2002)." *AK

SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING A CLUNKING HESITATION WHEN ACCELERATING ANYWHERE FROM 10 TO 45 MPH. TOOK CAR TO DEALER ON 4/5/04 AND SERVICE MANAGER WENT FOR A TEST DRIVE WITH ME AND HE DEFINITELY FELT THE PROBLEM. WHEN TECH RAN COMPUTER CHECK HE SAID TWO CODES CAME BACK AND THAT THE FUEL SENSOR HAD TO BE REPLACED AND IT WAS NOT COVERED BY MY EXTENDED WARRANTY OR THE EMISSIONS WARRANTY. I HAD THE WORK DONE AND THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THAT MAY HAVE BEEN WHAT WAS CAUSING THE PROBLEM AND TO CALL IF IT DID NOT RESOLVE. I DROVE THE CAR THE NEXT DAY AND WAS STILL HAVING ORIGINAL PROBLEM. THEY SET UP APPT AGAIN TO HAVE A TECH GO WITH ME ON ANOTHER TEST DRIVE. THIS WAS ON 4/10/04. THE SERVICE MANAGER HAD THE SHOP FOREMAN GO WITH ME ON A TEST DRIVE AND HE ALSO FELT THE CLUNKING HESITATION AND SAID THEY WOULD RUN SOME MORE TESTS AND THAT IT MAY BE A SOLENOID RELATED TO THE TRANSMISSION. I PHONED THE DEALER ON MONDAY AFTERNOON 4/12/04 TO SEE IF THE DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM YET, AFTER BEING PUT ON HOLD AND THEN DISCONNECTED I CALLED BACK. THIS TIME I GOT SERVICE MANAGER'S VOICE MAIL AND LEFT A MESSAGE THAT I WAS STILL WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT MY CAR. NO ONE RETURNED MY CALL. ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON 4/13/04 I PHONED THE DEALER AGAIN AND THEN WAS CONNECTED TO SERVICE MANAGER WHO THEN PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT THEY FOUND A PROBLEM AND THAT THEY DROVE A FEW MORE BUICK CENTURY MODELS THAT THEY HAD ON THEIR LOT AND THAT THE CLUNKING NOISE WAS NORMAL FOR MY CAR BUT THAT IT WAS JUST MORE PRONOUNCED IN MY CAR. HE THEN WENT ON TO SAY THAT THEY FOUND A LEAKING MANIFOLD GASKET , BOTH UPPER ENGINE MOUNTS LOOSE AND THE PASSENGER SIDE LOWER ENGINE MOUNT LOOSE. MY 2000 BUCK CENTURY CUSTOM HAS ONLY 36,600 MILES. I PURCHASED THE CAR IN AUGUST OF 2003 FROM THE DEALER AND THE MILEAGE WAS JUST SLIGHTLY OVER 31,000 WHEN I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE.

THE ABS SENSOR LIGHT STAYS ON. CONSUMER IS CONCERNED THAT THE ABS WILL FAIL. THE DEALER STATES THE SENSOR NEEDS A NEW MODULE. *PH THE ABS SENSOR LIGHT WAS INTERMITTENT. THE MECHANIC FOUND A BAD GROUND WIRE WHICH WAS REPAIRED. THERE WAS A PULSATION WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AND THE FRONT ROTORS WERE OUT OF ROUND. *SC *JB

MY CAR WAS EXPERIENCING AN ERRATIC, AND HARSH UPSHIFT WHEN SHIFTING FROM FIRST, TO SECOND, AND THEN TO THIRD GEAR.THIS PROBLEM WAS DUE TO A FAULTY PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID VALVE ASSEMBLY. AFTER INVESTIGATING I FOUND OUT THAT 17 DIFFERENT VEHICLES HAVE THIS TRANSMISSION WITH THE SAME VALVE IN IT, THAT COULD HAVE THE SAME TROUBLE.GM HAS A FILE ON THIS PROBLEM, SHTML FILE=901351