Cadillac Transmission

[lark55]

I just talked to my daughter and the tranny went out on her 2007(?) Cadillac. It is not the high end model. The transmission shop quoted her $6000 to fix it. According to them, the radiator leaked water into the transmission thru the cooler in the radiator. Apparently it is a common problem. The quote included a rebuilt transmission($3500),a new radiator and the labor to replace both.Is this a common problem? It seems very high to me to fix it.

[Bo Markham]

I just talked to my daughter and the tranny went out on her 2007(?) Cadillac. It is not the high end model. The transmission shop quoted her $6000 to fix it. According to them, the radiator leaked water into the transmission thru the cooler in the radiator. Apparently it is a common problem. The quote included a rebuilt transmission($3500),a new radiator and the labor to replace both.Is this a common problem? It seems very high to me to fix it.

If the shop is AMOCO and the transmission has a life time warranty on it, then I'd say the price is about right? Figure about $600.00 for a new radiator and about 23 hrs. labor at around $65.00 to $85.00 per hour to remove and replace everything and warranty it. If it's your downtown garden variety shop with a one year warranty?????

Also, depends on the area your daughter lives in? Costs vary drastically from coast to coast.

[lark55]

She lives in southern New Mexico. It is a local shop. Talking to some of my hot rod buddies, there are not many shops in this area that can do reliable work. I always considered the Cadillac to be a reliable vehicle but my other daughter had one that was the same year and a problem with the fuel injection/engine management system costing her several thousand dollars to repair.

[t walgamuth]

If the shop is AMOCO and the transmission has a life time warranty on it, then I'd say the price is about right? Figure about $600.00 for a new radiator and about 23 hrs. labor at around $65.00 to $85.00 per hour to remove and replace everything and warranty it. If it's your downtown garden variety shop with a one year warranty?????

Also, depends on the area your daughter lives in? Costs vary drastically from coast to coast.

Do you really mean 23 hours?

If so, yikes!

[Swifster]

Model and auto v manual. What engine is in it? A good aftermarket radiator is $200 or less. I'd think you'd be able to get a new crate trans from GM for a lot less. If this is a common problem, have you seen if Cadillac would participate in the repairs? They very well might depending on the mileage.

[lark55]

My daughter is in the process of moving to another city and starting her new teaching job. I don't have the particulars on her car as far as engine size. Fortunately she has a second vehicle to use.

[hobiejack11]

As an old foggy who repaired automatic trannys for almost all of my adult life this thread really caught my interest. Six big ones sounded a bit on the high side to me so I asked some of the local guys I know who are still active and found out my instincts were right. The best person I know is the lead rebuilder and shop foreman at a very reputable shop here and he almost gagged when I told him how much your daughter was going to be charged. His next reaction was to ask me where this was because he wanted to move there and get rich. As he ran it down for me the total price here in the Detroit area would be about one half the six grand you stated. He felt that a new radiator would be $450, rebuilt trans $2400, r & r on both maybe 10 hrs at $75 for a total of $3500. He remarked that any mechanic that needed more than ten hrs to do that job sure as he** couldnt work in his shop. He also said that if your bought the car new she should contact G.M.s zone rep and they would most likely pick up some of the cost, maybe even supply a crate transmission. If she bought it used the chance of getting any help would depend on whether it could be shown to be a common fault with her model. It is worth a try before dropping that kind of money on an eight year old ride.

[studegary]

As an old foggy who repaired automatic trannys for almost all of my adult life this thread really caught my interest. Six big ones sounded a bit on the high side to me so I asked some of the local guys I know who are still active and found out my instincts were right. The best person I know is the lead rebuilder and shop foreman at a very reputable shop here and he almost gagged when I told him how much your daughter was going to be charged. His next reaction was to ask me where this was because he wanted to move there and get rich. As he ran it down for me the total price here in the Detroit area would be about one half the six grand you stated. He felt that a new radiator would be $450, rebuilt trans $2400, r & r on both maybe 10 hrs at $75 for a total of $3500. He remarked that any mechanic that needed more than ten hrs to do that job sure as he** couldnt work in his shop. He also said that if your bought the car new she should contact G.M.s zone rep and they would most likely pick up some of the cost, maybe even supply a crate transmission. If she bought it used the chance of getting any help would depend on whether it could be shown to be a common fault with her model. It is worth a try before dropping that kind of money on an eight year old ride.

IMO, this is a good reply, stating much of what I would have said.

I do not know of any transmission, even a front wheel drive AT, taking more than a 24 hour turn-around, which means less than 8 hours of labor.

Whether she bought the car new or not, she should start by contacting Cadillac - GM and her local dealer. If this is a common problem, they will likely eat most of the cost, but only if the repair is done by Cadillac. Sometimes it is cheaper to go to the authorized dealership that deals in these particualr problems full time.

Start by Googling her year and model of Cadillac plus transmission to discover if this is a common problem and if GM has an unadvertised warantee covering the problem (when reported to a GM dealer).

[lark55]

As an old foggy who repaired automatic trannys for almost all of my adult life this thread really caught my interest. Six big ones sounded a bit on the high side to me so I asked some of the local guys I know who are still active and found out my instincts were right. The best person I know is the lead rebuilder and shop foreman at a very reputable shop here and he almost gagged when I told him how much your daughter was going to be charged. His next reaction was to ask me where this was because he wanted to move there and get rich. As he ran it down for me the total price here in the Detroit area would be about one half the six grand you stated. He felt that a new radiator would be $450, rebuilt trans $2400, r & r on both maybe 10 hrs at $75 for a total of $3500. He remarked that any mechanic that needed more than ten hrs to do that job sure as he** couldnt work in his shop. He also said that if your bought the car new she should contact G.M.s zone rep and they would most likely pick up some of the cost, maybe even supply a crate transmission. If she bought it used the chance of getting any help would depend on whether it could be shown to be a common fault with her model. It is worth a try before dropping that kind of money on an eight year old ride.

Thanks, hobiejack11. This the kind of info I was looking for. I did think that the price was outrageous. I will pass this on to her.

[hobiejack11]

No problemo Lark55, hope I was of some help. Tell your Daughter to be sure to check with Cadillac for a hidden warranty. As studegary said, Google the make and model and transmission to find out if this is indeed a common problem with her car. A little bit of knowledge will be a big help in dealing with Cadillac.

[SN-60]

I just talked to my daughter and the tranny went out on her 2007(?) Cadillac. It is not the high end model. The transmission shop quoted her $6000 to fix it. According to them, the radiator leaked water into the transmission thru the cooler in the radiator. Apparently it is a common problem. The quote included a rebuilt transmission($3500),a new radiator and the labor to replace both.Is this a common problem? It seems very high to me to fix it.

And I thought '56 Golden Hawk Twin Ultramatics were expensive to fix!

[53k]

No problemo Lark55, hope I was of some help. Tell your Daughter to be sure to check with Cadillac for a hidden warranty. As studegary said, Google the make and model and transmission to find out if this is indeed a common problem with her car. A little bit of knowledge will be a big help in dealing with Cadillac.

Some years ago the tranny failed in my '92 Chrysler New Yorker 30,000 miles after it had been installed under warranty. My wife was driving across country by herself. Fortunately there was a good Chrysler dealer in the town where the tranny failed. They worked on the car in to the night and had her back on the road the next day. The bill was roughly $1500. I mentioned the failure to the shop foreman at the Chrysler dealer where I had it regularly serviced. He gave me an 800 number to call at Chrysler. Chrysler responded by fully reimbursing me for the repair.

[larkregal62]

Paul, don't count on that happening with Chrysler now that Fiat owns them! It is hard enough to get recalls done due to parts not being supplied to the dealers in a satisfactory manner. I waited a year to have a faulty ignition switch replaced under recall.

[hobiejack11]

larkregal62, Your post seems to imply that Chrysler was responsible for you having to wait a year to have a faulty ignition switch replaced. I don't remember Chrysler having a recall for faulty ignition switches but I sure do remember the G.M. fiasco.You were lucky to get yours in a year, my oldest son waited 23 months for his Cobalt to be repaired. I just got a notice for the airbag on my Dodge Dakota and my dealer took care of it in less than a week. So far it seems like the service I am getting is better under Fiat than it was before.

[Bo Markham]

Do you really mean 23 hours?

If so, yikes!

Hey, don't kick me, I didn't make it up! It's not even my book!

It says you drop the engine/transmission pack out the bottom, rebuild the transmission, re-install engine/transmission pack. Est. time to complete task is 23 hours. Of course, if your just going to replace the transmission with another one, that should cut the time considerably.

That's AAMCO's book!