2017 Regal Turbo (transmission) shudders under acceleration

[nlacomb]

Car is at the dealership now and I'm home with a loaner. The service manager took it for a ride and agreed there was an issue. Plan is for them to connect the laptop to it and drive it to monitor the torque converter and shifts. Go to know they're gonna do much more than look for codes.

Huge thanks to MelsRegal for posting a link on my HVAC post for TSB's. I found one that is related to my trans and the dealer was happy that I had it for them. They hadn't seen many 6sp autos with issues.

The link from MelsRegal is 2017 BUICK REGAL 4 DR FWD

Ill let y'all know what happens. Thanks again for all the tips and comments!

Do you have another link? This one doesn’t seem to link to a specific bulletin
.

 

[jonjon69691]

New to the forum

I have a 2017 Regal turbo premium 6speed auto with 55k on the odometer. For the last few weeks I started noticing some light shuddering or vibration when lightly accelerating.

At first it was at low speeds (about 15-20 mph), more noticeable going uphill. It seemed almost like it was in too high a gear for the low speed (it was in 3rd, when I put it in manual and downshifted to 2nd the vibe went away). This issue has been intermittent and didn't happen everyday. Temperature has not been an issue, happens when car is cold or after 30 minutes of driving.

I've been waiting for it to get worse before taking it in for powertrain warranty. As of yesterday it got much worse. Now the shudder happens at any speed between 15-60 mph and lasts as long as 30 seconds. Shifting to manual doesn't make a difference. It's happening 3 to 4 times during each 30 minute commute to work.

A week ago I checked the fluid (with engine off on level ground) and it was a little dirty. I know level wasn't accurate due to engine off but it wasn't way off at all.

The engine runs smooth, turbo works perfect, and I've had no check engine lights on. I use premium fuel and top tier gas as recommended by GM.

Anyone else have this issue? I'm an aircraft mechanic and am quite mechanically inclined. I hate dealing with dealer techs because their trouble shooting skills are horrible.

I do have an appointment made for next Tuesday, but I'm expecting them to tell me they can't find a problem. Any advice, TSB info, or similar experience would be helpful from y'all.

Thanks for reading my long post and thanks in advance for any help!

If your vehicle has AFM (Active Fuel Management) whereas it shuts off a couple of cylinders when cruising or at low speeds to conserve fuel economy, this may be the issue. I am guessing it happens at roughly 1500rpms no matter what speed you are going? Seems that on GM vehicles the rpms fluctuate a lot. I say this because there are other people out there that have mentioned this about their GM vehicles on youtube. Look into this. You may be surprised at what you hear and/or learn.

 

[LKN Regal]

If your vehicle has AFM (Active Fuel Management) whereas it shuts off a couple of cylinders when cruising or at low speeds to conserve fuel economy, this may be the issue. I am guessing it happens at roughly 1500rpms no matter what speed you are going? Seems that on GM vehicles the rpms fluctuate a lot. I say this because there are other people out there that have mentioned this about their GM vehicles on youtube. Look into this. You may be surprised at what you hear and/or learn.

AFM is only on V8 engines, the Regal is a 4 cylinder.

 

[G-407553]

AFM is only on V8 engines, the Regal is a 4 cylinder.

I just learned something new. TY

 

[oldassz]

I have a 16 GS..cooler lines leaked and lost all fluid. trans needed a rebuild under warranty. Torque converter required replacement. Check those trans cooler lines folks!

 

[LKN Regal]

I have a 16 GS..cooler lines leaked and lost all fluid. trans needed a rebuild under warranty. Torque converter required replacement. Check those trans cooler lines folks!

Wow. How many miles were on it? I had a 2007 Monte Carlo that had a tranny line leak at the attach clip but I found it early enough to prevent any major fluid losses.

 

[oldassz]

Wow. How many miles were on it? I had a 2007 Monte Carlo that had a tranny line leak at the attach clip but I found it early enough to prevent any major fluid losses.

I had 80,000kms. not many miles. I've had a multitude of issues with this car but I have faith it will be a great daily unit. It seems like it's been in the shop alot but I absolutely love the car. It's also a learning experience and it's great helping our community here with some insight whenever possible.

 

[TheDrumm]

This all sounds too real. I’ve had the same issues as you all in my 16’ AWD 6 speed. I had the transmission valve body replace and still have issues.

Same here. My 2015 GS FWD has 20,100 miles on it and is doing the same thing. Looks like I am off to the dealer. Good times.

 

[jonjon69691]

Well, since I had this thread pop up in my email, I'd like to put in my 2 cents.
I had a similar situation with my 2012 Buick LaCrosse. While going uphill on cruise control, or on local roads doing 40-35mph, and my speed drops down 1-5mph, I would get this "fluctuation" and felt in my gas pedal [as if the car wanted to down-shift at that speed]. After much ado, and almost having my transmission replaced, well, believe it or not, I changed out my...

 

[jonjon69691]

...
hub & bearing on all 4 wheels. Guess what? "The fluctuation has all gone away"! I have 276,500 miles on my vehicle as I use it for work [construction worker] so I travel every day sometimes up to 140 miles roundtrip, or further. So yeah, I put a lot of miles on my car every day. Highway though.
Anyway, there are magnetic rings on the inner side of the bearings that kinda make contact with the speed sensors and tells the computer and transmission what gear the car should be in at that particular speed, as it spins. If it doesn't match what RPM/Speed is programmed into the ECM/PCM, the transmission wants to downshift. Hence that fluctuation you feel. [maybe also do a reflash of the ECM/PCM?].
Now I am by far NOT a professional mechanic. I have performed my own repairs and make do with the results I get. I may not be describing this to the utmost but, if you get the general gist of it, "it makes sense". It worked for me, it may work for you. Bring it up to the dealer/mechanic. Maybe he/she will explain it to you better. I'm at 276,500 odometer reading. I must be doing something right.
Any thoughts? Good or bad. I can take it.

 

[fredrbeck]

It's an ignition coil and/or spark plug problem. Just paid $150 for the dealer to diagnose, then bought my own coils/plugs and problem went away. I thought it was a drivetrain issue.

 

[TheDrumm]

Well ... at the end of June I started the process in earnest at the dealership. Yes, 3 months of this. All the dealer wanted to do was blame the wheels and tires. So ... 3 sets of wheels and 10 new tires (yes 10), they finally have admitted they think it is the transmission. It went in Monday, so hopefully some more info later today.

 

[Baconnaise]

I'm having the first trans fluid change service (not flush) on my 2017 Regal w 20k miles...don't want to take any chances.

I changed my 2018 Enclave ATF around 40k. I do some light towing for trips and have the towing package (cooler included). I don't flush just drain and replace. My 2016 LaCrosse I've changed once already and plan to do so again once it gets up around 80-90k on the clock (70k atm). The LaCrosse besides the ATF I plan on doing a brake service so rotors pads and fluid change. All fluids will be drained and replaced like steering coolant etc. It's easy to do especially considering you can buy cheap helper kits from Harbor Freight to drain and replace remove air from these systems. People need to have these fluids changed more regularly IMO. It's much much cheaper to do this than take the risk of something more costly down the road.

 

[TheDrumm]

Update ...

The dealer said they wanted to look at the transmission solenoids, so I dropped it off. They ended up replacing the clutches. After I picked it up, it was a little better for a couple of days, and now is right back to hard shaking at low RPMs in first and second gears only.

So I called them and they said that the service manager had a 2 of these and they all do that. Really?! They said my only option is to have GM send out an engineer to look at it. I said "Send Him Out".

So now I wait for the call to bring my car back to the dealer for the engineer inspection. Good grief.

2015 GS auto 28,500 miles.

 

[G-412256]

Update ...

The dealer said they wanted to look at the transmission solenoids, so I dropped it off. They ended up replacing the clutches. After I picked it up, it was a little better for a couple of days, and now is right back to hard shaking at low RPMs in first and second gears only.

So I called them and they said that the service manager had a 2 of these and they all do that. Really?! They said my only option is to have GM send out an engineer to look at it. I said "Send Him Out".

So now I wait for the call to bring my car back to the dealer for the engineer inspection. Good grief.

2015 GS auto 28,500 miles.

Good. You know the car better than they do as you drive it.

 

[TheDrumm]

Well Mr. Engineer came out, and said "They all drive like this". After everything ZI have been through, they decided to extend my warranty on the transmission for another 24 months/24k miles. That's all they would do. It seems to be worse as the weather warms up. I hope it breaks before the warranty runs out, but it will probably happen the day after.

 

[G-393303]

The dealer will more than likely tell you the that trans computer needs to be reprogrammed. That is a typical response from the dealer due to lack of professional advice! Total replacement is the only option, which may not last any longer than the original trans before it happens again! If you have a warranty, insist on a total new trans replacement!

Coming from some one with half a brain are you certified to be giving advice? Doesn’t sound like it

 

[HotZ28]

Coming from some one with half a brain are you certified to be giving advice? Doesn’t sound like it

More so than a 10-yr old (Num-Nut Robot) who don't even know how to sign in with a user name!

 

[G-948036]

I have a 2016 AWD Turbo that gave me the same issues at around 39k. Dealer replaced torque converter and now it drives great again.

That is so crazy I am in the EXACT same boat lol 2016 with 39600 miles!!

 

[analogkid455]

The trans in my 2017 GS destroyed itself with 40k on the clock. The dealer put a new one in for free.