While driving vehicle at highway speeds the vehicle lost power and then slammed into gear which caused loss of speed and control. Transmission failed more precisely was the wave plate in the transmission.

- Lake Tapps, WA, USA

9/20/2010 - mileage - 77,245 - engine was straining; requested checkout by dealership, however, dealership could not duplicate the issue; dealership indicated a bulletin for hesitation in transmission, so they reprogrammed the transmission control module (tcm); repaired under owner's extended warranty. 06/02/2011 - mileage - 86,232 -- check engine light came on; transmission was not shifting gears properly; vehicle towed to dealership. Dealership indicated code P0776 was detected. Dealership found fluid was burnt and contaminated with metal; removed transmission and tear down; found 3/5/R wave plate broke and damaged several hard parts. Replaced reaction sun shell ad end cover. 3/5/R wave plate clutch housing; removed debris and replaced filter. Reassembled with new parts, reset taps, set toe flushed cooler lines; vehicle was repaired under owner's extended warranty. Dealer indicated repair would have been around $4,000 if costs were out-of-pocket. 09/04/2013 - mileage - 134,349 - check engine light came on; when taking off from stop light onto main road, engine jolted; transmission was not shifting properly into appropriate gears. Scheduled vehicle for appointment and had vehicle towed to dealership. Dealership indicated codes P0989, P0877, P0752, and P0700 were set on vehicle. In short, transmission control module issues. Cost of repair $1,250. GM provided assistance of $450. Cost to owner is $800 for repair. Vehicle is currently at dealership being repaired as of 09/11/2013. Vehicle has lost power while driving causing vehicle to be unsafe. There are too many transmission issues on this vehicle for a recall not to have occurred. It is not "just" for the consumer to come out of pocket every two years to band-aid a faulty transmission design.

- Middletown, DE, USA

I bought the vehicle and one week later had a transmission failure. I was pulling out onto a road and the transmission quit working. The rpms would rev, but there was no power. Since then this has become a regular occurrence, and GM is not willing to help at all. I've spent thousands of dollars having parts replaced and I'm not comfortable driving my children in this car anymore.

- Hendersonville , NC, USA

We had just left clear springs recreation area in Mississippi and were heading West on hwy 84 as we slowed down to get ready to turn onto South hwy 33 the car suddenly jerked, downshifted and then the engine RPM's spiked. So drastic was our decrease in speed that cars behind us making the same turn were swerving to avoid us and each other. As we made the turn slowly as we didn't know at first what was going everything seemed to go back to normal, however as we began to accelerate the car would not shift out of 3rd and we could not above 35 mph without risking the engine due to high rpms. We then made a very slow drive home. After reading up on various forums I discovered that this is a known issue with the GM lambda models and forums and they have had a fix out for it for some time. The forums are littered with stories very similar to ours. GM needs to recall this and get it fixed before something terrible happens to an unsuspecting family like ours.

- Zachary, LA, USA

We purchased this 2007 Outlook back in April of this year. The dealership gave us a sheet that purported to indicate that the vehicle had gone through a full inspection and was clean. We live in North Florida and have had a lot of rain lately. Every time it rains, water gets into the doors and into the vehicle itself - we can hear it sloshing around in the doors and in the dash of the vehicle - and there will be water, as much as half an inch, on the floorboards of the vehicle. This is wreaking havoc with the electrical system, and sometimes there will be the smell of something burning. The fans, particularly in the back of the vehicle, are running intermittently; there is a crackling noise that comes through the radio speakers even when the radio system is turned off, and there is so much moisture in the vehicle that the windows fog, making it impossible to see, and the fog is difficult to clear even with the defrost system because it's not being caused by cool temperatures but rather by the moisture in the vehicle. Yesterday, I drove it to walmart and then home after work with no problems, parked it in our driveway, and didn't leave the house the rest of the day; this morning, we went outside, and when my husband put the key in the ignition to start the car, it wouldn't start at all, and then he couldn't get his key out of the ignition; we had to lock the doors manually and leave it there with the keys in it. Back in June, one of our local news stations reported on a recall of 194,000 GM SUVS for similar issues with water leaking into the doors and that GM would be contacting owners of affected models to bring their vehicles in for repairs, but we have not received any kind of notification from GM, and ours is obviously one of the vehicles affected.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

Transmission issue. Erratic shifting, bucking, surging, down shifting to lower gear, hesitation, high engine sounds because tranny totally disengaged itself, no reverse, will not shift back up to higher or normal gear. I had bought the car used and two months later tranny issues began. I researched this issue for three hours the night my tranny broke down. I was absolutely amazed at how many other people experienced the exact same issues I had. ( thousands ). I researched the GM site, edmonds site just googled it and I could spend days proving that GM has a defective transmission and they are defrauding the public to cover their own ass. That and this only proves that GM has a major problem with this type of transmission and they are ignoring it. What is it going to take, an accident where someone or someone's child was hurt or killed. When my car started bucking and hesitating, the first placed I looked was in my rearview mirror to make sure no one was going to slam into the rear. Sure enough there was and it was a close call. Then when she passed me, she waved her hands in the air and gave me the finger. I`M not kidding. I`M only glad this was on a slower street than a highway cause it may have turned into something worse. This is a GM part that is being proven by numerous owners of the Outlook, acadia, enclave and traverse to be defective in design and quality. My research has proven to me also that between 35000 and 80000 miles, these trannys will breakdown. Hopefully, if and when the breakdown occurs, no one will get hurt. In closing, I am on a mission now to get GM to recall and have them correct this problem with their transmission, accept their responsibility and to stop ripping off the public.

- Chalfont , PA, USA

I just purchased the vehicle. I went out of town with this vehicle and had to stop at some place I didn't know. They hooked the vehicle and found out it was a cylinder misfire. Within the first 2 weeks of purchasing the vehicle the check engine light came on. When found it out was a cylinder misfire I tried calling the dealership and letting them know what happened with the car. The place that checked cleared the service light. Less than two weeks later went to dealership and was informed that they would not check it because the light wasn't on. In July, a few months of having the vehicle than I had the stability track come on as well as the brake light. Went to dealership and they checked and told me they couldn't find anything wrong with it but the brake fluid was half empty. They put some brake fluid in vehicle and told me to go to GM. GM told me that it was the master booster cylinder without looking at the vehicle and told me it would be like almost $700 to fix it. So less than two weeks go by and I drove the vehicle and it was having a hard time before this with the car getting some gas. Beginning of Aug, I start driving it to church and the check engine light came on and the car was barely moving. It was in rpms of 4-5 and I was only going 60 mph, trying too. I had my niece and nephew in the car and they new something was wrong with the car. The car would barely go in reverse at this time. Now the car will not go in reverse at all. The car has only 55,654 miles on it. This is a safety issue and needs to be fixed and recalled.

- Vale , NC, USA

Was getting on I 80 in South bend in.,when transmission failed, on my way home from South Dakota, I live in pa, almost got hit by a tractor trailer, ,did some research and discovered this is a very common problem with this GM model,7 months out of warranty, had the hole family with, what a nightmare.

- Palmerton , PA, USA

My wife and children were driving on the highway when the vehicle starting shuttering during acceleration. The rpms would increase without vehicle accelerations and sometimes the vehicle would jerk with acceleration. The vehicle continued to operate and my wife was able to complete the trip. The problem was obviously related to the transmission. When I delivered the vehicle to the transmission clinic (Colorado springs) the transmission guy told me what the symptoms were and the problem. I didn't have to say anything. He even quoted me an accurate estimate of the repair without looking at anything yet. It cost me $3200 for a vehicle with 84,000 miles on it. That doesn't include the letters and services for the windshield washer heater, the air bag sensors and the timing chain issue.

- Colorado Springs , CO, USA

Right after pulling on to the interstate, I noticed the car would not get up to speed. When I pressed on the gas, it would make a grinding noise. I immediately slowed down. I then realized that the highest speed I could go was about 50. But soon I could only go about 15-25 mph, and I was stuck on the interstate at that speed. I inched along until I got to an exit. I immediately pulled over to check the fluids, oil, water, etc. My first thought was the transmission, by the way it was acting. I finally did get it home by driving only 20 mph at best. This happened Friday. My wife followed me on Monday and we dropped it off at the mechanics. I did do some research over the weekend and found that the wave plate on the 2007 Outlooks was a huge problem. Sure enough when the mechanic hooked it up to the machine, that's what code came up. Now its going to cost me a nice $4000 to fix.

- Moss Point, MS, USA

Vehicle shifted hard and shuddered. The wave plate and planetary gears had failed after only 95K miles needing a new transmission. While it thankfully didn't cause an accident, it had the potential to. It definitely felt unsafe and shouldn't have failed this soon.

- Springboro, OH, USA

My wife was driving down the highway when all of sudden when she hit the gas pedal there was no response, just a jerk and no engine response. She had to coast off the side of the road and let the car come to a resting stop. When she did that she tried to push the gas pedal again and the car had little to no response and the gear grind-ed. She put the car in reverse and the car wouldn't go in reverse at all. Tried putting the care in drive again and the car wouldn't respond or move forward, she ended up stuck on the side of the road and had to call for a toe. After doing a quick research online it seems this problem is very common with the Outlook, traverse, acadia and other models just like it. Hopefully this will end up becoming a recall problem as loosing your ability to drive and steer when going down the road is very dangerous, I'm just glad my wife wasn't on a major highway driving at a higher speed. Hopefully it won't take a major crash of fatality before this becomes recognized as a safety hazard.

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

While driving with my 3 children in the vehicle with me, I stopped at a stoplight. Upon the light turning green I found my vehicle seemed to lack the power to go and the check engine light illuminated. I inched my way through the intersection and off to the side of the highway. Thankfully, no one collided with my vehicle during this long scary process. Onstar informed me of codes relating to the transmission. Once I got the vehicle to the dealership, I was informed this was very common for this vehicle. It turned out to be the wave plate had busted causing multiple other transmission damages. Even though my vehicle was under the 100,000 mile powertrain warranty provided by GM, I was over by a few months time wise. Now it is June 2013 and I am at just a few miles under the 12,000 mile warranty on the repair work done last October and I encountered a very similar incident. I inched my way down the rest of the very windy and dangerous highway to my home as it was Saturday and the dealership had closed 20 minutes earlier. Onstar again gave me the same diagnostic codes as before too. On Monday, I contacted the dealership service manager who sent a tow truck to pick my Outlook up. After not hearing from them, I called this afternoon (Tuesday) to see what was going on. I was informed this time it was different parts of the transmission and they would not be covering the repairs. She also stated there would be a charge for the towing! these are all issues common to all Outlook, acadia, and traverse owners. I am very thankful neither my family nor anyone else was hurt during these incidents, but is that what it is going to take for GM to be forced to recall these transmissions?

- Hillsboro, MO, USA

It jerks really hard around 50-60mph about 10 times a week. About every other day, within the first quarter mile from my beginning destination, and before reaching a speed of 30mph, my 07 Outlook jerks really hard, the check engine light comes on, and it will not shift down.

- Norman, OK, USA

Transmission failed to keep in gear while traveling on freeway at freeway speeds. Would not re-engage. Limped to side of road. Towed to dealership and mechanic noted internal transmission failure due to faulty wave plate. Vehicle has less than 100K miles, howver 6 years old.

- Monterey, CA, USA

Was sitting at stop light and accelerated normally going through first gear when the tranny slipped and the rpms revved up. I stepped back off the gas and was able to get back home doing only 20-25 mph;when I got into the garage, I found I had no reverse and the engine would only go up in rpms with no movement. I entered a ticket w/ GM cs the next morning and called around, learning the repair job would be $4K-5K because of course, I was out of warranty due to time. It appears this has happened to many, many Saturn owners and GM is doing nothing to help the american consumer when it's clearly obvious there is a mass failure of the wave plate. I finally got a callback from GM 3 days after I filed the complaint and they 'offered' to pay for roughly 25% of the cost of the repair with me footing the rest. Too late. I traded it in yesterday and was not happy with the trade-in value but didn't have much choice. I plan on joining any lawsuit that comes along against GM if one hits my mailbox.

- Dover, DE, USA

As I was pulling away from a stop light, the car would not shift out of second gear. Made it home at a speed of 25-30 mph. My check engine came on. After taking it to the dealership, I was told that the transmission needed to be torn down and repaired for possible broken 3-5-R wave plate. Car is 5 years 10 months in service with roughly 65,000 miles on it. The cost of the repair or transmission replacement will be $3000-$4000. Timing chains were just replaced in March of 2013. I found a service bulletin dated 1/12/2010 that stated new plate should be installed when transmission is disassembled for any reason. GM knows it's a problem and isn't doing anything about it.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

Driving on hwy 377 and the car started to go in and out of gear. The engine was running fine but the transmission would not engage and we ended up pulling over in traffic as to not cause an accident. We had to have it towed to the dealership in grandbury tx where they said the transmission had to be rebuilt. The issue is the wave plate and it is quite often documented when you search Saturn issues on the internet. The car has 78,000 miles on it and is outside of the 5 year warranty from GM. The dealer said this repair is incredibly common on this make of GM care, ie. Outlook, acadia, traverse, encore. Looking up on the various forums on-line this same incident has happened to 1000's of people. I feel that GM knows about this unsafe mechanical issue and should be held responsible for it since it is effecting 1000's of people and could cause major accidents let alone expense to their customers who have purchased these models.

- Southlake, TX, USA

When I was picking my son up from school, I tried to accelerate, but the car wouldn't go much faster then what I was already doing, but the rpms were going high. It was as if the transmission wasn't shifting gears properly. If seemed like it was in second or third gear when it should be in fourth or fifth. I have been reading online and everyone seems to be talking about a wave plate"???" it seems to me that it will become very dangerous when driving on main roads (I was on a back road to his school). We just bought this car, it doesn't have a warranty and I can't afford to fix this problem!!! how does this go on without having a recall if sooooo many people have the same complaints?

- Ocala, FL, USA

While driving my 2007 Saturn Outlook down the highway, my engine light came on and my RPM's went up. I pulled to the side of the road, turned the vehicle off and waited a couple of minutes to see if the computer system needed to reset. I have had a few issues with this car and that seems to be the suggested answer in the manual. I started to car and couldn't go faster than 40mph. I tried reverse and found that I did not have any reverse at all.

- Livonia , MI, USA