Nothing but problems so far with this 2003 Blazer. Was driving it the other day, and it would not shift properly. The truck was bogging down when trying to accelerate. Even with the accelerator pedal almost to the floor, the truck wouldn't go over 50 on the highway. Even on back roads there was no power at all, even with the gas pedal floored. Get home, there is a p0756 code along with P0131. So I have the truck towed to the dealer, since it's still under the thirty day warranty. I just talked to the guy there, and he's saying that the cause of the problems is a plugged cat. I did notice a faint sulfur smell and there was a rattling coming from under the truck, so the cat is most likely shot. But would this also cause the P0756 code to set? There is nothing mentioned in the diagnostic charts for this code about a plugged catalytic converter. The repairs are covered by the warranty, but I want to make sure that the truck is fixed properly. A catalytic converter is more expensive than a shift solenoid, so it's not like they're taking the least costly route to "fix" it, but it just doesn't sit well with me. Your thoughts?

 

p0756 is what my blazer had when I got it. Replacing the solenoids was EASY, they are about $33/ea plus lost fluid. I did the pan gasket and filter too while I was in there. The solenoid controls the 1st and 4th gear shifts. Mine only had 2-3 and nothing else.

 

Nope, not related.

P0756 Explained

 

So these guy are pretty much incompetent. The only reason I'm not fixing these problems myself is because I just bought the thing and it's still (barely) covered under warranty. I started this thread: https://blazerforum.com/forum/2nd-ge...e-p0101-75640/ about a separate issue, and they didn't repair that properly either. This is an actual Chevy dealership, so it's not like they don't have experience with Blazers. Can these solenoids malfunction intermittently? If they don't touch anything to do with the transmission, I don't want to go there and have it run fine when I leave the shop and run like crap once I get it home. I'm going to have them test drive it with me in the truck before I take it home. What a mess.

 

Yes they can, mine had 1st/4th gear every once and a while. The wires on the solenoid on mine were broken and I'm guessing fluid moving around it may have allowed the occasional contact.

 

Make sure you have them write on the invoice that the truck was recieved by them on the date you brought it in with the P0756.

 

Thanks for the help/advice guys. Picking it up tomorrow, we'll see what happens.

 

What was the verdict?

 

Picked up the Blazer yesterday afternoon. I had the service advisor come with me for a test drive. Drove about five miles on the highway, and everything seemed to be functioning normally. Seemed to take a little bit longer for it to warm up enough to achieve TCC lockup, but other than that it was okay. The drive from the dealer to home is about thirty miles, and it was okay then too. So either the solenoid condition is intermittent, or replacing the cat fixed it? I can't decide if I should go ahead and try to replace the solenoid myself or just wait it out and see what happens. The guy said "his shop foreman with thirty years experience" said that it was repaired correctly. Given their track record of failing to fix the P0101 code I had earlier, I'm not really confident that they know what they're doing. So I guess it's going to be a wait and see thing. They did acknowledge on the invoice that there was a P0756 code, not sure if that will carry any weight if it throws the same code a few days from now when the thirty day warranty is up. If if does I'll probably just say screw it and spend the thirty bucks for the solenoid rather than take it back there again.

 

Update in case anyone else comes across this thread.

It's been over a month now and I have not had any issues so far. No SES lights or driveability issues. So either this is a very intermittent problem or the new cat solved the problem.