2008 Chevrolet Uplander

I WAS DRIVING TO WORK AND THE SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM FLASHED ON THE SCREEN FOLLOWED BY A MESSAGE SAYING REDUCED ENGINE POWER. THEN THE ENGINE BOGGED DOWN. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND WAITED ABOUT 30 SECONDS. STARTED UP AND IT WAS FINE, MESSAGES AND ENGINE BACK TO NORMAL. HOWEVER, IT GIVES THAT MESSAGE AND THE ENGINE BOGS DOWN ALMOST EVERYTIME I DRIVE THE VEHICLE. MOST OF THE TIME TWICE EACH TRIP. SOMETIMES ITS SNOWY BUT SOMETIMES THE ROADS ARE COMPLETELY CLEAN AND DRY. *TR

I'VE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY 2008 CHEVROLET UPLANDER VAN WHICH IS EQUIPPED WITH THE CHEVROLET "DRIVE BY WIRE" THROTTLE. THE THROTTLE BODY WAS REPLACED IN JANUARY OF 2011 AND CONTINUES MALFUNCTION. (3-YEARS AFTER ORIGINAL OWNER PURCHASED) I HAVE BEEN TAKING THE VAN TO LOCAL AREA SERVICE STATIONS TO HAVE THE THROTTLE BODY FLUSHED EVERY SIX MONTHS BUT CONTINUE TO HAVE REDUCED POWER ISSUES. AFTER CALLING THE GM CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER (866-790-5700 X20305) AND EXPLAINING & HAVING A FILE OPENED, I WAS INFORMED THAT I WAS REQUIRED TO BRING MY VAN TO A LOCAL DEALER TO HAVE THE ISSUE DIAGNOSED. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED A FAULTY THROTTLE BODY AND THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGER INFORMED US THAT THERE IS NOTHING THE DEALER CAN DO TO COMPENSATE THIS OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW WHICH CAUSES REDUCED ENGINE POWER AND CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO OPERATE AT AN UNSAFE SPEED AND MANNER. I WROTE THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE CENTER (CAC) HOPING THAT THERE ARE OTHER PROCESSES THAT GM CORPORATE OFFICE HAS IN PLACE TO ADDRESS ISSUES SUCH AS THESE. MY NEXT STEP WAS TO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE TO DETERMINE ANY AVAILABLE RESOURCES. *TR

A SHORT TIME AFTER FILLING MY GASOLINE TANK I BEGAN TO DETECT THE STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE FUMES. I THOUGHT I HAD OVERFILLED THE TANK SO I RAN OUT SOME GAS FOR A FEW MILES, BUT THE ODOR OF RAW GASOLINE WOULD NOT GO AWAY. I LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY GASOLINE LEAKING AND SAW WHAT APPEARED TO BE GASOLINE RUNNING DOWN THE DRIVERS SIDE OF THE GASOLINE TANK. I COULD NOT DETECT THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK SO I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO A LOCAL AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOP. THE MECHANIC REMOVED THE GASOLINE TANK AND DISCOVERED THAT THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK WAS A CRACK IN THE PLASTIC GASOLINE RETURN LINE GOING INTO THE INTERNAL TANK MODULE. THIS LEAK CREATED A VERY HAZARDOUS SITUATION THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A SERIOUS FIRE IF THE RAW GASOLINE HAD COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE HOT EXHAUST TAIL PIPE OR CATALYTIC CONVERTER. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME HE HAD REPAIRED THIS TYPE OF LEAK. THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE THAT HE SAW THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE PLASTIC RETURN LINE TO LEAK. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS FLAW IN DESIGN OR MATERIAL AND SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF OTHER OWNERS OF A CHEVROLET UPLANDER MINI VAN. *TR

IN THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS I'VE NOTICED THAT MY DOOR LOCKS ARE NOT UNLOCKING WHEN PRESSING THE ALL DOOR LOCK RELEASE BUTTON. I WENT TO THE STORE ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2013 AND WAS LOCKED INSIDE THE CAR FOR 45 MINUTES. THERE IS ONLY ONE KEY ENTRY ON THE ENTIRE CAR, DRIVER DOOR. (MY REMOTE HAS NOT WORKED SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR USED IN MARCH 2012.) I HAD TO FLAG A PERSON DOWN IN THE PARKING LOT AND HAVE THEM USE THE KEY TO OPEN THE DOOR. BECAUSE THIS IS A FIRE/SAFETY HAZARD, AND I HAVE 3 SMALL CHILDREN, I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE ANYWHERE. *TR

I AM AT A STOP LIGHT AND PUT MY FOOT ON THE GAS TO GO WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED AND IT WOULDN'T GO. THE CAR WAS SPUTTERING , SHAKING REALLY HARD ...I WAS ABLE TO EVENTUALLY GET HOME. NOW I CAN'T EVEN DRIVE THE CAR MY UPLANDER AT ALL BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION IS OUT COMPLETELY. THE DEALER VERIFIED IT IS THE TRANSMISSION. THEY ARE TAKING IT APART TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT WENT WRONG INSIDE THE TRANSMISSION. MY POWERTRAIN WARRANTY JUST EXPIRED JULY 31ST OF THIS YEAR. I FEEL THAT AT 55K MILES , THIS IS A MANUFACTURERS ISSUE. THEY MUST HAVE PUT A BAD TRANSMISSION IN THE UPLANDER FROM THE BEGINNING. I FEEL THEY SHOULD TAKE OWNERSHIP AND MAKE IT RIGHT. I HAVE 4 KIDS AND NEED MY VAN TO PICK THEM UP AND SO I CAN GET TO WORK. I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY FOR A HUGE REPAIR WHEN I TRUSTED THAT CHEVROLET WAS A GOOD RELIABLE CAR MAKER. *TR

THE ABS LIGHT IS ON IN MY VAN, I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE AIRBAG COULD DEPLOY AT ANY TIME OR THAT IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH THAT IT WON'T DEPLOY AT ALL. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE USED BUT THIS PROBLEM STARTED IN 2009. THE LIGHT WILL GO OFF OCCASIONALLY, BUT ONLY FOR A FEW MILES. THIS SHOULD BE FIXED BY CHEVROLET, HOWEVER THE DEALER HAS STATED THAT IT IS AND WAS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRENTY.

MY TRANSMISSION IS STARTING TO STUTTER AT HIGH SPEEDS I WAS TOLD BY TWO DIFFERENT MECHANICS THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT! THAT CHEVY KNOWS ABOUT IT AND SHOULD FIX THE PROBLEM AS A RECALL! I OWE WAY TOO MUCH ON THE VAN TO PUT 3000 DOLLARS INTO A TRANSMISSION OVERHAUL BECAUSE OF A PROBLEM THAT THEY KNEW ABOUT A WHILE AGO BUT DID NOT RECALL IT! *TR

DROVE THE VAN HOME THAT SAME NIGHT,BEFORE WE PULLED IN THE DRIVE WAY , THE VAN OVER HEATED ,THE BRAKES HAD A SPONGY FEEL TO THEM AFTER 15 MINS OF DRIVING , TEMPERATURE GAUGE NEVER WENT PASS THE HALF WAY MAKE WHEN THE RED INDICATOR CAME ON THE VAN TOTALLY SHUT DOWN NO POWER , I ALMOST FLIP THE VAN OVER. I HAVE REPLACE THE BRAKE TWICE IN 3 WEEKS OF EACH OTHER.THEN LIGHT ON THE DASH CAME ON WHEN TEMPERATURE WERE COLD , RAINY, FOGGY, OUT SIDE , AND WHEN IT GOT HOT TEMPERATURE OUT SIDE THE DASH LIGHT AT NIGHT TIME STARTED TO FLICKER ON AND OFF ,THEN ABOUT 30 SECONDS LATER THE DASH LIGHTS STAYED OFF AND NEVER CAME BACK ON. ALSO THE VAN STARTED TO HAVE ENGINE NOT WANTED TO TURN OVER, AND WOULD ALSO LOSS ALL POWER TO VEHICLE LEAVING US STRANDED OUT IN HORRIBLE WEATHER CONDITIONS OUTSIDE WITH ARE CHILDREN. *TR

THE REAR DRIVER DOOR WILL NOT CLOSE. IT HAS BEEN TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES. THE FIRST TIME THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE. THE SECOND TIME WE WERE CHARGED $80 TO CLEAN THE CONTACTS. THE THIRD TIME THEY HAVE RECOMMENDED REPLACEMENT OF THE MOTOR DUE TO AN INTERNAL TIMING FAILURE AT A COST OF OVER $1000. THIS DOOR HAS BEEN USED VERY LITTLE SINCE WE HAVE OWNED THE VAN AND IT POSES A POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD SINCE IT CLOSES, THE ALARM SOUNDS AND THEN THE DOOR REOPENS ON ITS OWN. THE DEALER REPORTED THAT THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE AND THAT THERE IS NO WAY TO ADJUST THE TIMING ON THE MOTOR WITHOUT REPLACEMENT. *TR