Edmunds: Long-term Silverado (busts tranny)
10-26-08, 04:57 PM
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Edmunds: Long-term Silverado (busts tranny)
Last edited by bitkahuna; 10-27-08 at 10:31 AM.
10-26-08, 10:21 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
wow what a surprise that GM trash would fall apart in a long term test. I read a long term test of the chrysler srt8 where the car had a major engine failure and the motor had to be rebuilt. The big three deserve what they are getting right now. They have been exsposed for what they are
10-26-08, 10:32 PM
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don't think any of the edmunds.com links work on CL.
Inside Line spent the past 20 months with the volume seller of GM's truck line, the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. This full-size pickup represents the latest generation of the Silverado, and its combination of comfort, convenience and function found a fan base among us, even though we've developed a bias for the Toyota Tundra in this category. But even the die-hard supporters of the Chevy truck were left questioning their loyalty when the Silverado's transmission gave out.
Why We Bought It
Our decision to add a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado to the long-term fleet was an obvious one. Though it looks only slightly different, this hardware has been comprehensively revised, a newsworthy event in its own right. We bought a half-ton example for a few reasons. First, the Silverado 1500 is the most popular version of Chevy's truck line, the model that most Americans can relate to. And frankly, this truck is plenty capable for our needs; we're not the kind of people who need an atomic reactor to microwave some popcorn.
We had already completed a full test of the 2007 Silverado and conducted a comparison of the Chevy with its new-for-2007 peers, the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan. The logical next step was a long-term test.
The impending arrival of the all-new 2007 Toyota Tundra in our long-term fleet provided further incentive for the addition of a Silverado. The presence of both trucks side-by-side in our fleet would offer an opportunity for an endless array of comparisons between the two pickups.
It also turns out that grandma still needed her old furniture moved to storage (there's always someone in every extended family that has a weekend chore only a pickup can accomplish). So with these things in mind, we bought a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the long-term test began.
Durability
We quickly confirmed that the Silverado's 367-horsepower, 6.0-liter Vortec Max V8 offered plenty of power. But this truck didn't seem to have the proper hardware to get power to the ground. Though we knew GM was on the verge of integrating a six-speed automatic into its line of trucks, the Silverado was available only with a four-speed automatic. So we ordered up the four-speed, having no idea the price we would pay for this choice.
One cost was power delivery. Karl Brauer, editor in chief of Edmunds.com, wrote on the long-term blog pages, "There are two elements here. First is the sluggish response of the cylinder deactivation that inhibits throttle response. Jump on the throttle and there's a brief but annoying delay as the engine switches from fuel-miser mode to power mode. Then you combine that with an unimpressive four-speed automatic and you find the V8 is no longer as rewarding as the horsepower specs suggest. We wish the six-speed auto was available."
We opted for the crew cab half-ton version of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado, which didn't so much affect how this truck drove down the road as it did the functional versatility of the package. Lead Senior Editor Ed Hellwig noted when asked to help a friend move, "No problem, I assured him, although I didn't really know whether or not the short 5.5-foot bed would handle the mattress set... .Everything fit fine as long as we kept the tailgate down, which of course required plenty of straps and tie-downs to make sure the mattress didn't slide out on the highway. Made me question the whole crew cab choice, as the 5.5-footer is the longest bed you can get with the 1500 four-door."
Inside the Silverado's cabin, Chevrolet gets it right on the whole. We were able to overlook the annoying choice of specifying buttons rather than dials for the air-conditioning controls. And we overlooked the tendency for its comfortable cloth seats to collect lint like a wool sweater.
This truck's interior is built with functionality in mind, as a truck should be. The rear seats fold up to expose a flat, unobstructed load floor. This leaves a sizable amount of interior cargo space when there are no rear occupants. Seems simple, but the Tundra gets it wrong by comparison. Lift the rear seats in our long-term Toyota and the floor is cluttered with a floor jack and an optional subwoofer. It's little details like this that go a long way in a vehicle that is built for function.
A full test of the 2007 GMC Sierra with the six-speed transmission showed us that GM knows how to build a strong transmission for this truck. But when the aforementioned four-speed in our Silverado fell on its own sword in the middle of traffic that Sunday morning, we lost all confidence in the Chevy.
Over a period of several weeks we had noticed a hard 1-2 shift while the transmission was cold. Once it warmed up, the shift action smoothed out. There were no signs of impending doom, so when we took the Silverado to Santa Monica Chevrolet-Buick for routine service, we asked the service personnel to look over the transmission.
After two days we called for an update. We were told the 3-4 clutch was losing hydraulic pressure and the piston was replaced under warranty. The technicians also reconditioned the transmission. When we reminded our trusty service advisor that the problem was with the 1-2 shift and off-neutral gear engagement, he assured us this was the proper fix. We picked up the truck and two miles later a hard 1-2 shift served as proof that the original issue remained.
We brought it back a few days later and were told by Santa Monica Chevrolet-Buick, "There is no problem. That is just how the truck shifts." Days later the problem came to a head with Senior Photographer Scott Jacobs at the wheel. Jacobs' voice was shaky on the phone. "The Silverado is parked at the office. The transmission locked up on me during a 2-3 shift. It screeched and lurched to a stop on Wilshire Boulevard. Drive doesn't work. Third doesn't work. Second doesn't work. First and reverse sort of work. The office was only a couple of blocks away so I was able to limp it back. An hour later and I'd have been on the Interstate 5 freeway headed to the Dodgers game. That was lucky."
GM Roadside Assistance came to our rescue, towing the Silverado from the office to the local Santa Monica dealership. We called to confirm the status of the vehicle later that afternoon. The advisor was surprisingly frank with his diagnosis. "We've had a rash of these lately...with the input housing busting as the mileage gets up there. It should be ready by end of day tomorrow." The forward sprag was replaced, the transmission again reconditioned and keys to the Silverado were back in our hands the next day.
Good news was that all gears worked again. The bad news was that the transmission didn't shift any smoother after this repair than before. We later learned there was an open technical service bulletin from Chevrolet about this issue. It made us wonder, if the dealer had already noted a "rash" of these transmission failures, why hadn't the sprag been replaced to begin with?
Meanwhile, body damage was kept to a minimum during the Silverado's year-and-a-half of service in our fleet. A caved-in quarter panel was repaired for about $400 and took two days. A large crack in the windshield led to a new windshield for another $230.
Dealer service for routine maintenance ranged from $35 for a basic oil change to $70 for the additional tire rotation and assortment of inspections. These prices remained surprisingly consistent regardless of dealership location.
Total Body Repair Costs: $409.08
Total Routine Maintenance Costs (over 20 months): $226.03
Additional Maintenance Costs: $234.90, windshield replacement
Warranty Repairs: All transmission work
Non-Warranty Repairs: None
Scheduled Dealer Visits: 4
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: 2 for transmission repairs
Days Out of Service: 7
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: 1 unforgettable breakdown
Performance and Fuel Economy
Agility is not what the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado is about. Trucks are built for towing, hauling and general versatility. Nonetheless, we sent this Chevy through our usual battery of speed tests.
Acceleration from zero to 60 mph required 7.2 seconds and the quarter-mile fell in 15.5 seconds at 88.1 mph. By comparison, our long-term Tundra posted a 0-60-mph time of 6.9 seconds and a quarter-mile of 15.1 seconds at 93 mph. In this test, the Silverado's V8 and four-speed automatic was significantly outmatched by the Toyota's 5.7-liter V8 and six-speed.
When it came time to stop from 60 mph, the Silverado needed 139 feet. This was exactly 1 foot shorter than our long-term Tundra. Chief Road Test Editor Chris Walton commented, "The ABS is refined with little kickback once activated. But there does not appear to be a brake-assist program, as one 95 percent application of the brakes did not activate ABS fully."
The 0.71g of lateral force generated by the Silverado is nearly identical to that achieved by the Tundra, while the Silverado's 57-mph speed through the slalom is slightly slower than the Toyota's 58.2 mph.
Best Fuel Economy: 17.7 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 6.8 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 13.2 mpg
Retained Value
We sold the Silverado during the fuel-price hysteria of summer 2008, so our first approaches to Chevy dealers for a trade-in were turned down flat, because nobody wanted a truck. The only takers resided at the nearby Carmax outlet, which offered us $15,000, which included some money off the top for a touch-up of some minor cosmetic issues on each quarter panel. But circumstance required us to take this paltry offer and get the truck off our corporate books.
Had we been able to wait out the oil drama a few more months, the value of the our 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD Crew Cab would have climbed back to its current Edmunds TMV® price of $23,291. This would represent a loss of $19,806 from our original purchase price of $43,097, equal to a depreciation of roughly 46 percent. In comparison, our 2007 Toyota Tundra lost 38 percent of its value after nearly 26,000 miles because of the same fuel-conscious anti-truck market.
True Market Value at service end: $23,291
What it sold for: $15,000
Depreciation: $19,806 or 46 percent of original paid price
Final Odometer Reading: 32,080
Summing Up
Chevrolet does not disappoint when it comes to the new-generation Silverado 1500 pickup. When it comes to pure function, this Chevy is a strong contender in the half-ton pickup segment, and sales figures support its success with consumers. We had loaded ours up with all the trimmings, including a powerful 6.0-liter V8, four-wheel drive with a locking rear differential, a 4.10:1 final-drive ratio and heavy-duty tow package worthy of a 10,500-pound rating. The Silverado handled everything we could throw its way without breaking a sweat. It's clear that this truck had been created to slay the mighty Tundra.
But rather than earn the praise it deserved from its functional excellence and day-to-day comfort and convenience, the Silverado left the ranks of our long-term fleet in shame. The question mark of reliability raised by the failure of its four-speed transmission ended its chances of winning any popularity contest with us. There comes a point when all warranties expire, and we didn't want to be stuck with the Silverado's keys in our pocket when it did.
Still want a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado? Get the six-speed automatic. We can't speak to its longevity since we only tested one for two weeks. But we can speak to the unreliability of the four-speed.
Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Why We Bought It
Our decision to add a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado to the long-term fleet was an obvious one. Though it looks only slightly different, this hardware has been comprehensively revised, a newsworthy event in its own right. We bought a half-ton example for a few reasons. First, the Silverado 1500 is the most popular version of Chevy's truck line, the model that most Americans can relate to. And frankly, this truck is plenty capable for our needs; we're not the kind of people who need an atomic reactor to microwave some popcorn.
We had already completed a full test of the 2007 Silverado and conducted a comparison of the Chevy with its new-for-2007 peers, the Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan. The logical next step was a long-term test.
The impending arrival of the all-new 2007 Toyota Tundra in our long-term fleet provided further incentive for the addition of a Silverado. The presence of both trucks side-by-side in our fleet would offer an opportunity for an endless array of comparisons between the two pickups.
It also turns out that grandma still needed her old furniture moved to storage (there's always someone in every extended family that has a weekend chore only a pickup can accomplish). So with these things in mind, we bought a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the long-term test began.
Durability
We quickly confirmed that the Silverado's 367-horsepower, 6.0-liter Vortec Max V8 offered plenty of power. But this truck didn't seem to have the proper hardware to get power to the ground. Though we knew GM was on the verge of integrating a six-speed automatic into its line of trucks, the Silverado was available only with a four-speed automatic. So we ordered up the four-speed, having no idea the price we would pay for this choice.
One cost was power delivery. Karl Brauer, editor in chief of Edmunds.com, wrote on the long-term blog pages, "There are two elements here. First is the sluggish response of the cylinder deactivation that inhibits throttle response. Jump on the throttle and there's a brief but annoying delay as the engine switches from fuel-miser mode to power mode. Then you combine that with an unimpressive four-speed automatic and you find the V8 is no longer as rewarding as the horsepower specs suggest. We wish the six-speed auto was available."
We opted for the crew cab half-ton version of the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado, which didn't so much affect how this truck drove down the road as it did the functional versatility of the package. Lead Senior Editor Ed Hellwig noted when asked to help a friend move, "No problem, I assured him, although I didn't really know whether or not the short 5.5-foot bed would handle the mattress set... .Everything fit fine as long as we kept the tailgate down, which of course required plenty of straps and tie-downs to make sure the mattress didn't slide out on the highway. Made me question the whole crew cab choice, as the 5.5-footer is the longest bed you can get with the 1500 four-door."
Inside the Silverado's cabin, Chevrolet gets it right on the whole. We were able to overlook the annoying choice of specifying buttons rather than dials for the air-conditioning controls. And we overlooked the tendency for its comfortable cloth seats to collect lint like a wool sweater.
This truck's interior is built with functionality in mind, as a truck should be. The rear seats fold up to expose a flat, unobstructed load floor. This leaves a sizable amount of interior cargo space when there are no rear occupants. Seems simple, but the Tundra gets it wrong by comparison. Lift the rear seats in our long-term Toyota and the floor is cluttered with a floor jack and an optional subwoofer. It's little details like this that go a long way in a vehicle that is built for function.
A full test of the 2007 GMC Sierra with the six-speed transmission showed us that GM knows how to build a strong transmission for this truck. But when the aforementioned four-speed in our Silverado fell on its own sword in the middle of traffic that Sunday morning, we lost all confidence in the Chevy.
Over a period of several weeks we had noticed a hard 1-2 shift while the transmission was cold. Once it warmed up, the shift action smoothed out. There were no signs of impending doom, so when we took the Silverado to Santa Monica Chevrolet-Buick for routine service, we asked the service personnel to look over the transmission.
After two days we called for an update. We were told the 3-4 clutch was losing hydraulic pressure and the piston was replaced under warranty. The technicians also reconditioned the transmission. When we reminded our trusty service advisor that the problem was with the 1-2 shift and off-neutral gear engagement, he assured us this was the proper fix. We picked up the truck and two miles later a hard 1-2 shift served as proof that the original issue remained.
We brought it back a few days later and were told by Santa Monica Chevrolet-Buick, "There is no problem. That is just how the truck shifts." Days later the problem came to a head with Senior Photographer Scott Jacobs at the wheel. Jacobs' voice was shaky on the phone. "The Silverado is parked at the office. The transmission locked up on me during a 2-3 shift. It screeched and lurched to a stop on Wilshire Boulevard. Drive doesn't work. Third doesn't work. Second doesn't work. First and reverse sort of work. The office was only a couple of blocks away so I was able to limp it back. An hour later and I'd have been on the Interstate 5 freeway headed to the Dodgers game. That was lucky."
GM Roadside Assistance came to our rescue, towing the Silverado from the office to the local Santa Monica dealership. We called to confirm the status of the vehicle later that afternoon. The advisor was surprisingly frank with his diagnosis. "We've had a rash of these lately...with the input housing busting as the mileage gets up there. It should be ready by end of day tomorrow." The forward sprag was replaced, the transmission again reconditioned and keys to the Silverado were back in our hands the next day.
Good news was that all gears worked again. The bad news was that the transmission didn't shift any smoother after this repair than before. We later learned there was an open technical service bulletin from Chevrolet about this issue. It made us wonder, if the dealer had already noted a "rash" of these transmission failures, why hadn't the sprag been replaced to begin with?
Meanwhile, body damage was kept to a minimum during the Silverado's year-and-a-half of service in our fleet. A caved-in quarter panel was repaired for about $400 and took two days. A large crack in the windshield led to a new windshield for another $230.
Dealer service for routine maintenance ranged from $35 for a basic oil change to $70 for the additional tire rotation and assortment of inspections. These prices remained surprisingly consistent regardless of dealership location.
Total Body Repair Costs: $409.08
Total Routine Maintenance Costs (over 20 months): $226.03
Additional Maintenance Costs: $234.90, windshield replacement
Warranty Repairs: All transmission work
Non-Warranty Repairs: None
Scheduled Dealer Visits: 4
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: 2 for transmission repairs
Days Out of Service: 7
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: 1 unforgettable breakdown
Performance and Fuel Economy
Agility is not what the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado is about. Trucks are built for towing, hauling and general versatility. Nonetheless, we sent this Chevy through our usual battery of speed tests.
Acceleration from zero to 60 mph required 7.2 seconds and the quarter-mile fell in 15.5 seconds at 88.1 mph. By comparison, our long-term Tundra posted a 0-60-mph time of 6.9 seconds and a quarter-mile of 15.1 seconds at 93 mph. In this test, the Silverado's V8 and four-speed automatic was significantly outmatched by the Toyota's 5.7-liter V8 and six-speed.
When it came time to stop from 60 mph, the Silverado needed 139 feet. This was exactly 1 foot shorter than our long-term Tundra. Chief Road Test Editor Chris Walton commented, "The ABS is refined with little kickback once activated. But there does not appear to be a brake-assist program, as one 95 percent application of the brakes did not activate ABS fully."
The 0.71g of lateral force generated by the Silverado is nearly identical to that achieved by the Tundra, while the Silverado's 57-mph speed through the slalom is slightly slower than the Toyota's 58.2 mph.
Best Fuel Economy: 17.7 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 6.8 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 13.2 mpg
Retained Value
We sold the Silverado during the fuel-price hysteria of summer 2008, so our first approaches to Chevy dealers for a trade-in were turned down flat, because nobody wanted a truck. The only takers resided at the nearby Carmax outlet, which offered us $15,000, which included some money off the top for a touch-up of some minor cosmetic issues on each quarter panel. But circumstance required us to take this paltry offer and get the truck off our corporate books.
Had we been able to wait out the oil drama a few more months, the value of the our 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD Crew Cab would have climbed back to its current Edmunds TMV® price of $23,291. This would represent a loss of $19,806 from our original purchase price of $43,097, equal to a depreciation of roughly 46 percent. In comparison, our 2007 Toyota Tundra lost 38 percent of its value after nearly 26,000 miles because of the same fuel-conscious anti-truck market.
True Market Value at service end: $23,291
What it sold for: $15,000
Depreciation: $19,806 or 46 percent of original paid price
Final Odometer Reading: 32,080
Summing Up
Chevrolet does not disappoint when it comes to the new-generation Silverado 1500 pickup. When it comes to pure function, this Chevy is a strong contender in the half-ton pickup segment, and sales figures support its success with consumers. We had loaded ours up with all the trimmings, including a powerful 6.0-liter V8, four-wheel drive with a locking rear differential, a 4.10:1 final-drive ratio and heavy-duty tow package worthy of a 10,500-pound rating. The Silverado handled everything we could throw its way without breaking a sweat. It's clear that this truck had been created to slay the mighty Tundra.
But rather than earn the praise it deserved from its functional excellence and day-to-day comfort and convenience, the Silverado left the ranks of our long-term fleet in shame. The question mark of reliability raised by the failure of its four-speed transmission ended its chances of winning any popularity contest with us. There comes a point when all warranties expire, and we didn't want to be stuck with the Silverado's keys in our pocket when it did.
Still want a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado? Get the six-speed automatic. We can't speak to its longevity since we only tested one for two weeks. But we can speak to the unreliability of the four-speed.
Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
10-26-08, 10:38 PM
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Gm's large truck line is one of the last markets toyota is trying to steal away. The more stories we see like this the easier it will be to get that to happen for toyota.
10-27-08, 09:04 AM
#7
Edmunds IL had both the Tundra and Silvy in their long term fleet for the last year and half. If one had been following their long term blogs regularly one could see that the staffs favored the Tundra more than Silvy.
Kudos to Toyota for beating GM in its own game (not sales-wise though)!
Kudos to Toyota for beating GM in its own game (not sales-wise though)!
Trending Topics
10-27-08, 10:32 AM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
10-27-08, 10:34 AM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
From the article page:
Yeah I'm sure the average consumer drives a big loaded truck on 3 race tracks. 
Our Silverado completed the California trifecta, seeing track time at the Auto Club Speedway, Infineon Raceway and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
10-27-08, 11:45 AM
#10
Lexus Champion
GM trucks are actually pretty reliable vehicles considering the kind of abuse they tend to take day in and day out. They also tend to make good transmissions. Though the 4L80E and related transmissions have definitely been toward the greater end of their acceptable torque input for years now... the 6-speeds have been anticipated and necessary for years now IMO. The new GM 6-speeds are actually very good. BMW uses them on the 328i, 528i, and maybe others.
A single incident like this with Edmunds, while definitely worth noting, could have just as easily happened with another make.
If you read Inside Line's long term test blogs on a weekly basis you'll see they have all sorts of problems with all sorts of vehicles. Granted a trans failure is pretty major, but they also had their GT-R's trans fail and I didn't see it make the headlines of the inside line website. Then again maybe it did.
A single incident like this with Edmunds, while definitely worth noting, could have just as easily happened with another make.
If you read Inside Line's long term test blogs on a weekly basis you'll see they have all sorts of problems with all sorts of vehicles. Granted a trans failure is pretty major, but they also had their GT-R's trans fail and I didn't see it make the headlines of the inside line website. Then again maybe it did.
10-27-08, 11:54 AM
#11
GM trucks are actually pretty reliable vehicles considering the kind of abuse they tend to take day in and day out. They also tend to make good transmissions. Though the 4L80E and related transmissions have definitely been toward the greater end of their acceptable torque input for years now... the 6-speeds have been anticipated and necessary for years now IMO. The new GM 6-speeds are actually very good. BMW uses them on the 328i, 528i, and maybe others.
A single incident like this with Edmunds, while definitely worth noting, could have just as easily happened with another make.
If you read Inside Line's long term test blogs on a weekly basis you'll see they have all sorts of problems with all sorts of vehicles. Granted a trans failure is pretty major, but they also had their GT-R's trans fail and I didn't see it make the headlines of the inside line website. Then again maybe it did.
A single incident like this with Edmunds, while definitely worth noting, could have just as easily happened with another make.
If you read Inside Line's long term test blogs on a weekly basis you'll see they have all sorts of problems with all sorts of vehicles. Granted a trans failure is pretty major, but they also had their GT-R's trans fail and I didn't see it make the headlines of the inside line website. Then again maybe it did.
I would imagine that it has been fixed by now though.
10-27-08, 11:57 AM
#12
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That's cause the transmission didn't fail. There was an issue with the fuel system. And edmunds just tested a ZR1 which had a couple issues.
Last edited by Mr. Jones; 10-27-08 at 12:02 PM.
10-27-08, 12:18 PM
#13
Lexus Champion
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2...nt-needed.html
What were they referring to?
Yes... sounds like the ZR1 had some problems. Bad tire pressure sensor, bad balance in one of the tires (possibly related?) and an oil leak at the manifold. Pretty disappointing, but then again who knows with a pre-production car that's been passed from one thrashing to the next... what to really expect.
10-27-08, 02:07 PM
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I assumed it did when they said "after the transmission swap" in this link:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2...nt-needed.html
What were they referring to?
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2...nt-needed.html
What were they referring to?
10-days ago I dropped our GTR off at Nissan of Santa Monica to let them deal with a fuel leak we experienced during some *ahem* spirited driving. Once at the dealer the problem, predictably, could not be repeated and nobody in the GTR program had heard of it. Unlike some other issues we've experienced that the dealer couldn't replicate, Nissan decided to act on our complaint immediately instead of waiting for it to happen again. But as the problem couldn't be duplicated and they have no pool of information on this car from which to draw, they weren't quite sure what they were going to do. After several calls to Nissan brass in the States and Japan a solution was decided upon: Replace everything involved in the fuel / evap system from the driver seat back and ship it back to HQ for analysis. The parts were already in the mail when he called me. The car, they said, would be available the following Wednesday, today.
Well this morning I got another call from our local Nissan shop with more news. When the corporate techs (flown in to diagnose a sick godzilla) were removing the transaxle (!) to replace the fuel tank they noticed some moisture on one of the seals. They wiped it off and road tested the car in an attempt to replicate that leak. No dice. Following precedent set with the fuel system problem, they called HQ and were told to remove the transaxle and ship it back for analysis.
The new gearbox is already en-route, we should have the GTR back on Tuesday unless they decide to replace the engine while they're at it.
Well this morning I got another call from our local Nissan shop with more news. When the corporate techs (flown in to diagnose a sick godzilla) were removing the transaxle (!) to replace the fuel tank they noticed some moisture on one of the seals. They wiped it off and road tested the car in an attempt to replicate that leak. No dice. Following precedent set with the fuel system problem, they called HQ and were told to remove the transaxle and ship it back for analysis.
The new gearbox is already en-route, we should have the GTR back on Tuesday unless they decide to replace the engine while they're at it.
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