2002 Oldsmobile Bravada: jerking or lurching

Filed Mar 10, 2008 · Transmission · 74,103 miles · MI

Transmission and all-wheel drive problem when beginning to move, the car jerks 3 or 4 times and there is a metal clinking noise under the front. The all-wheel drive fails to engage. There is also a problem when turning the wheel sharply at reduced speeds. The car will jerk and there is a weird noise. I just took my car in and this repair is going to cost between $2000 - $4000 dollars.

Filed Oct 15, 2007 · Transmission · 108,000 miles · OH

The differential and now the cam bearings are going. The vehicle has 108,000. We did regular oil changes and maintenance on the vehicle. We even bought the extended warranty but that ran out at 100,000. Driving down the road the vehicle started to lurch then would not go over 35 MPH. Front differential had a whole the size of a baseball blown out. The dealer had never seen anything like it. It was in such a place that you would not have hit anything to make this happen. Now that that is repaired we are loosing oil pressure and have been told the best way to repair this with a motor with this many miles is pull it and put a crate motor in it at $4-5,000. The vehicle itself looks like new. Now is $36,000 pile of junk! And we still owe on it!

Filed Dec 15, 2003 · Transmission · 22,500 miles · MN · crash

The 2002 bravada awd system has serious safety problems.prior to the incident I was commenting to my wife that the vehicle was not handling well in snowy conditions. The all wheel drive engages only after a significant amount of rear tire spin followed by a lurch as the front tires kick in. The awd lurches (engaging and dis-engaging many times as I tired to get under way at a stop light). The vehicle would easily fish tail without any erratic or provoked actions by the driver. When the accident happened I was turning right onto a 4 lane divided main street that was icy/snow packed  I was tip toeing around the corner when back tires spun which engaged the awd with a lurch. This caused the vehicle to fish tail to the left, to the right and back to the left as the driver tried to save the vehicle from disaster. I reached a top speed of 17 MPH (barely above idle). Each time the vehicle fish tailed it was made worse by the awd system that lurched (again and again) upsetting the vehicle in its already precarious state. The vehicle slowed to 6 MPH before impact into a light pole.I now have major safety concerns about drivability of this vehicle in slippery conditions. Given the lurching and tail happy nature of this awd system I would rather not drive this vehicle in winter (snow/icy) conditions (which is one of the main reasons that I got this vehicle). I also feel that I cannot sell or trade this vehicle in for fear that the next owners will experience the same lurching and fish tailing conditions with the awd but have more damaging/dangerous consequences. To have gm say that this vehicle is working within specifications is just plain insulting and is the biggest lie Ive ever heard. If anyone else has experienced these drivability problems please open a the federal safety agency case so we can get gm to fix or recall the vehicle.

Filed Mar 20, 2003 · Transmission · 29,504 miles · CT

I reported to the dealer a problem with my '02 bravada in which vehicle shuddering occurred while starting a turn from a stop. I was told the problem was in the all wheel drive (all wheel drive) transfer case and that oldsmobile (gm) was attempting to solve the problem but had not yet (as of 9/17). In 12/02 all wheel drive was inoperative and a faulty transfer case shift control module was replaced on 12/09/02 restoring all wheel drive. On 12/18/02, the transfer case encoder motor position sensor was replaced. Calibration changes were also made to increase to delay in which front wheel engagement occurs and to disengage immediately. Problem: the calibration changes have LED to a very unsafe condition when driving in wet and snow conditions particularly, driving the vehicle in these conditions is very treacherous and risky because significant rear wheel spin occurs (due to the increased delay) until the all wheel drive engages with a lurch. In slow traffic situations this leads to a series of convulsive, spasmodic lurches, with rear end fish tailing, as the all wheel drive engages and disengages uncontrollably. At more moderate speeds, approximately 20 MPH, the fish tailing becomes exaggerated and leads to a spin out (fortunately, there was no other traffic). I have driven 4 wheel drive vehicles for 15 years, all wheel drive for 6 years and have never experienced anything like this. This is truly the most dangerous vehicle I have ever driven in snow, including 2 wheel drive. It cannot be driven safely in even the lightest snow condition. What is the point in owning an SUV if it cannot be safely driven under conditions in which you need it. Dealer service, oldsmobile customer service, and tech service advisor all say the system is performing according to manufacturer specifications. I find that statement to be outrageous.

Filed Feb 13, 2003 · Transmission · MN

The vehicle jerked, then slid and became stuck in the snow.