Michael Accardi 
Have you ever thought the transmission in your car or truck would be just that much better if you could just connect the thing to the internet? Well, that’s exactly what General Motors is about to do with its latest batch of full-size SUV products equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions, equipping the gearboxes with OTA capability for on-the-fly updates to transmission tuning and calibration. In theory, it should save the GM SUV customer a trip to the dealership.
MC&T was able to verify the 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, and the 2022 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL equipped with either the 5.3L L84 V8 or the 6.2L L87 V8 will be equipped with a new variant of GM’s now-ubiquitous 10-speed automatic transmission. Additionally, the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV equipped with the 6.2L V8 as standard equipment will gain the new 10-speed variant as well.
The revised ten-speed automatic transmission carries RPO code MHS, compared to the older version tagged MQC. The older version of the 10-speed automatic isn’t disappearing altogether, as GM still plans to equip SUVs fitted with its Duramax turbo-diesel 3.0L I6 LM2 engine. Although keep in mind, the transmission’s planetary gear sets remain identical as far as we can tell, with the actual changes limited to the transmission’s internal control module.
Now before you think you’re just going to hot rod your full-size SUV, remember GM has transitioned its crop of big-boy SUVs to its networked Vehicle Intelligence Platform/Global B electronic architecture, which makes cracking into the actual logic of the vehicle nearly impossible. Just look at the electronic gymnastics required to get the C8 Corvette to cooperate with a supercharger or twin-turbo arrangements, with piggyback modules required just to keep the Corvette from shutting down its brain and rendering the car a gimp.
GM’s new 10-speed automatics are built in Toledo, Ohio at the company’s Toledo Powertrain plant before being shipped down to Arlington, Texas for installation in the large SUVs. It’s said Arlington Assembly is one of the most profitable assembly plants in the world as it produces every single version of GM’s high-margin full-size SUVs.
