The transmission downshifts violently from 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st. It's somewhat intermittent but can definitely be felt. Service technicians tell me it's not the transmission shifting hard. They say what I'm feeling is the play in the rear differential and it's supposed to do that; it needs that amount of play or it will self destruct. I'm thinking this is BS (Bad Service for you censors). I know the difference between a downshift and some tinkling noise from the differential. The service techs go on to say that all the cars with this differential do that. OK. I said if all those other car owners are experiencing what I'm feeling then it won't be very long before there's a recall prompted by all of us rioting at the dealerships.

That was the first time I took the car to the dealer for the shifting problem. I'll add more to this story later but let me share with you what I've learned:

* Service technicians tend to rely too heavily on technical service bulletins and disregard customer complaints.

* Don't take any BS from the dealership if you know your car is not working properly - File, File, File a lemon law suit as soon as legally possible. I recommend that if you take your car to the dealer a second time for the same problem consult an attorney and Always, Always, Always keep records: dates, times, who said what. It doesn't have to be adversarial. It's just business and you're protecting your interests.

* General Motors warranties are not worth the paper they're printed on.

* This epiphany would have been a lot handier if I'd had it in 2008.