When my 2001 LeSabre is nose down on my steep driveway (35 to 40 degrees incline), and I back it uphill to get to the road, it makes a loud noise like it's straining or groaning.

Not sure if this is the transmission. The tranny shifts smooth and doesn't slip, and has clean fluid.

One thought is it might be vibration from a bad motor-mount.

The car was giving a bad detonation code due to burned coil contacts, and also the LIM was leaking. I should get the car back from Carmax today with these repairs complete. Maybe the the noise was due to the engine not having the power it should? Carmax said they couldn't reproduce the noise.
If it still does it, I'll let AAMCO take a look, and then maybe get my Buick dealer to look at it, too. I want Carmax to fix the cause while still under their 30 day warranty.

What do y'all think it could be?

Thanks,

Phil

Good luck with the “Car-Max 30-day warranty”! If you have nothing else to do the next 30 days, give your full time and attention to pursue this. If you do, you may get some satisfaction. If you do not, I would say it is a wasted cause. Be prepared to here many tales of how “they couldn't reproduce the noise” and many delays on service. Just remember, after 30 days, the repairs are yours, to keep.

Now with all that said, I would continue to get second and third opinions from reputable independent shops on what the problem may be. Also, be sure to get a written diagnoses and estimate of cost to make repairs from the independent shops. Confront Car-Max with the other opinions and see how far you can get! The name of the game on the 30-day warranty, is to delay all major repairs until the 30-days has expired. They make money on the sale of the car, not on subsequent repairs!

Finally, the “groaning noise” while backing up a hill, is not sufficient information to make an intelligent diagnoses over the internet. Try to give us some more details on how long before you discovered the UIM leak, and what all the vital signs of the car are. I.E. oil pressure, engine temperature after running, transmission & AC function, etc. Basically, tell us everything you know or suspect about the car. The clock is running on that “30-day warranty”!:grinyes:

Hello HotZ28, I hear you there! :-)

Oil pressure, engine temp have always been normal since I've had the car (two weeks). AC blows ice cold. Transmission shifts smooth and seems fine, except when backing up a steep hill, though not positive it's the trans.

When I first got the car I suspected something was going on, since it didn't seem to have the power it should have had when taking off from a full stop.
I don't floor it, but expect it to get going without being sluggish.

Also, the oil smelled strong of gas.

The groaning on backing up a hill was there from day one.

Got the car back from Carmax today. It still makes the noise.

I now suspect vibration from one or more bad motor mounts.

I noticed the engine seems to move a lot when put in gear (was watching it while the hood was up with someone in the car changing the gears).

Anyone know what the specs are for engine movement? At times it seems to move as much as 20-25 degrees.

Is there a more objective test to see if the motor mount is out of spec?

Thanks,

Phil

Good luck with the “Car-Max 30-day warranty”! If you have nothing else to do the next 30 days, give your full time and attention to pursue this. If you do, you may get some satisfaction. If you do not, I would say it is a wasted cause. Be prepared to here many tales of how “they couldn't reproduce the noise” and many delays on service. Just remember, after 30 days, the repairs are yours, to keep.

Now with all that said, I would continue to get second and third opinions from reputable independent shops on what the problem may be. Also, be sure to get a written diagnoses and estimate of cost to make repairs from the independent shops. Confront Car-Max with the other opinions and see how far you can get! The name of the game on the 30-day warranty, is to delay all major repairs until the 30-days has expired. They make money on the sale of the car, not on subsequent repairs!

Finally, the “groaning noise” while backing up a hill, is not sufficient information to make an intelligent diagnoses over the internet. Try to give us some more details on how long before you discovered the UIM leak, and what all the vital signs of the car are. I.E. oil pressure, engine temperature after running, transmission & AC function, etc. Basically, tell us everything you know or suspect about the car. The clock is running on that “30-day warranty”!:grinyes:

You can put the car in gear with the brake on and accelerate up to 1500 rpm while watching the engine mounts for separation. If a mount is broken, the engine will raise up and show you where the mount is broken. Usually the one that fails, is the drivers side front transmission mount.:crying: