I bought my '04 GXP in May. Love it. I will post a picture soon. It is medium spiral gray metallic. Anyway. Had an AC leak and went to the dealer because it was GM certified. Replaced ac line. No big deal. I complained about a fibrating tone coming from the steering column when I turn the wheel when stopped. They said it was the rack and pinion unit. I am not convinced, but we will see when they replace it.

Anyway, the topic of the thread. I mentioned a clunking to the dealer when coming out of first to second under low RPM. They said they would listen to it, but a certain amount was normal. Anybody else have this? Sounds like it is coming from the axle shafts. I want to get all of the issues ironed out while under warranty.

Believe it or not, this dealer has been pretty good to deal with. Especially since buying it on the internet in FL and driving back to IN.

No clunking in normal in the GXP. It shifts very smoothly between all shift points. The most common cause for a clunk is the steering intermediate shaft. All will fail. When is hard to say. It totally depends on not just mileage but how you drive and how hard you turn the steering wheel in day to day operation. Some have failed under 10k miles. Mine started @ around 30k. It is covered by warranty, and some have gotten it fixed gratis even after warrantyl. A TSB on it is active, and a redesigned part available. It to fails but get it replaced while you still can free. The IM problem isnt just GXP specific, it occurs with alot of GM cars and common on their SUV'* as well. A real fix is not going to happen. It is a design flaw.

Well, the dealer told me 3 hours on the rack and pinion unit and they have now had it 10 hours. At their last phone call, I told them to fix anything they found under warrranty (not hard on a bumper to bumper 12mo 12k mile) because they can't "up-sell" the repairs under warranty - meaning I have to approve or request it. My guess is the found the intermediate shaft(*) as an issue, but I will update when I get it back.

Something also to think about if it clunks on a 1-2 shift is the high quality gm front motor mount, it is a known problem with Northstars. I also bought a certified car but it did not start this noise until after that was over and now only have powertrain coverage and of course it is not covered. take about 4-5 hours to replace and the part retails for 115 bucks, I really enjoy this car but some of the little thinks really get under your skin after a while. Bought this car about 20-months ago for aprox $19000 and the last trade in offer on a new G8GT was sickening, they offered me $9500. This car is a like new condition with 40,000 miles.

My guess would also be a motor mount.

Good call guys. Motor mount. Also, the rack and pinion was leaking internally and seeping externally. I never knew the GXP steering wheel turned so easily...................

This is a picture of my GXP in FL the first day I got it.

Looking sharp!
I resized the pic and copied it to our "First Photo" thread in "Your Ride" Section https://www.gmforum.com/t264283/

Thanks!

Nice looking Car.