# Transmission issue?



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

It appears you're in Saudi Arabia, so I believe you're not covered under warranty for this one. From what I've heard, American car companies in Saudi offer very short warranties. 

I'd change the transmission fluid again so it's not pitch black and give it 100-200 km to see if it improves. You also might want to consider a transmission fluid cooler, since black transmission fluid means it's cooked. 

What fluid did you put in? Was it compatible with Dexron-VI? I know it might be a pretty penny, but visiting a GM dealer for some genuine AC Delco Dexron-VI instead of some no-name fluid may help.


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

well i didnt personally change it but i am taking the car in for servicing this weekend, gonna ask em to change that
yup, the warranty was out on 50k, around 14,000 km ago.. ._.
they're making me pay around 1000$ for opening my transmission *thats just the labor cost*
kinda made me wonder if black oil means filter clogged and needs replacement or not.. plus, is the filter inside the transmission itself or somewhere external so i can avoid the 1k ._.
im sure the transmission isn't that bad coz the jerking got reduced alot after the oil change and it's probably the filter at most..
also, cruze 2010 has the same transmission software updates like 11/12 models? mine is a LS if it matters..


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Black ATF means change the old ATF out a little bit at a time and see if it gets better. There's no need to remove the transmission to drain the fluid. 

IIRC these transmissions have an internal filter. I would not change the filter yet since it's such a pain to get to. Change the ATF again with Dexron-VI, since changing the ATF once will only get out 50% of the ATF in the transmission. There's still a lot of old, nasty ATF in that transmission.


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

is changing twice going to be enough?
also, the transmission software updates, are they for all cruzes? or jus specifically 2011/2012 models?
i've got a '10 LS..
thing is, i live in a really ignorant country.. even the GM's showroom/service station wont bother with it or answer coz apparently everyone else is a retard and the normal ones are treated the same..
also, how can i find out current version number?


----------



## Jaycruze (Jul 11, 2011)

My 2011 LS does the same thing, I wish this car had a dip stick for the A/T

I have even brought that up with the dealer as well "i heard these can sometimes come with too much fluid in the A/T"

He wasn't able to do anything about it because he couldn't find a work order or whatever you call it.

These transmissions are supposed to be sealed for life aren't they?


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

If nothing changed internally in the transmission between your 2010 and the 2011/2012, then a newer reflash than what's currently on the transmission computer should work. Unfortunately, the only way to know is to connect up a GM scanner to the car and read the transmission computer. 

I'd change the fluid 3 times in all, or twice more, and call it good. That'll get out ~88% of the old fluid. 

For the last point, "lifetime filled" or "sealed for life" means lifetime of the warranty. Here, that's 5 years/100k miles. If you want your car to last longer, it's advised to change the ATF well before that. Every 40-50k miles should be okay with Dexron-VI, sooner if you're in a warm climate.


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

since im gonna go to a mechanic anyway, is there a way that i can flush the full oil? like 100%? without opening the transmission?
sorry, im a car noob..


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

In cases like yours where the transmission fluid is black, changing it slowly is better than changing it all at once. Changing the ATF a little at a time, such as draining out 5 quarts, refilling with 5 new quarts, and then repeating a few weeks later until the fluid in the transmission is red, generally works better than changing all the ATF at once. This problem took a while to develop, is likely fluid-related, and needs a while along with several fluid changes to go away. There are no "quick fixes" to a dirty transmission.


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

one last question
about the shifting
somehow it shifts to 3rd gear and shifts back to 2nd at full rev and stays there till i let go of the accelerator *which is 3/4 or full down*
i checked this by switching to manual when revs are full and then back to D.. and its not always reproducible.. more like a 50/50 chance of this happening..
can someone gimme an idea on what can cause this? TCM? fluids? engine? filter?
they're charging me 250$ for transmission oil change
wtf?
seriously?


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

sciphi - can the "high transmission fluid pressure" be related to needing to change the fluid or could it be there is too much transmission fluid in the car?


----------



## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

fahadj2003 said:


> is changing twice going to be enough?
> also, the transmission software updates, are they for all cruzes? or jus specifically 2011/2012 models?
> i've got a '10 LS..
> thing is, i live in a really ignorant country.. even the GM's showroom/service station wont bother with it or answer coz apparently everyone else is a retard and the normal ones are treated the same..
> also, how can i find out current version number?




fahadj2003,
I would recommend that you contact customer care in your area. You can contact them at 800 75 25 252. Please feel free to keep me posted.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

called em, useless
weekend i guess
its just to book appointments, which i already did for saturday *weekend here is thursday/friday*
good thing, oil change, acdelco dexron vi
gonna change it again after the servicing
also that the oil was still kinda blackish, not as dark as before, but pretty dark..
and it was changed a week ago, anyone got diagnosis?


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

If it's still blackish after a single change, I'd try changing it again. Leaving cooked fluid in the transmission is a bad idea. 

High line pressure, at least in my experience, is a clogged/failed pressure solenoid trying to keep operating. Those solenoids hate dirty ATF, so using cooked/blackened ATF makes the problem worse. 

I hope the fluid changes are making the transmission better. I'm so used to doing everything myself that I forget some folks can't/don't do it themselves.


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

i can but i don't have the equipment
it is slowly getting better.. the jerks are better, but still present..
haven't been on a highway to test the 2nd gear shifting problem..

also, does the nut at the bottom of the car remove ALL the oil?
how much remains back in the transmission? in %?


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

fahadj2003 said:


> i can but i don't have the equipment
> it is slowly getting better.. the jerks are better, but still present..
> haven't been on a highway to test the 2nd gear shifting problem..
> 
> ...


No. The torque converter holds roughly half the fluid that won't drain when you dump the contents of the sump with the plug.

The best way to change the fluid in a transmission is through the cooler lines. Find the output line from the transmission, and hook a hose to it. Start the car in park, let it pump out the fluid on its own, and shut the motor off. Refill the transmission, and repeat until the fluid looks clean.

Someone mentioned that if your fluid is black, it is best to change only a small bit at a time. This is 100% correct. Wait a week or two, go back, and dump the sump ONLY again. Repeat this process every week or two until the fluid is clean.


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

the jerks in the shifting are gone with thr fluid change.. but anotyer thing came up..
ok so on 2nd gear and now 6th too, it keeps shifting
like goes neutral and shifts back.. or doesnt shift on time..
and engine keeps revving till i let the acceleration go..
and on 6th, im sure its neutral coz the car starts slowing down..
not constant speed or something..
so can someone gimme an idea on what could be causing this?
thing is, unlike other countries, saudi is dominated by toyota
and other cars, especially automatic and chevy cars cost alot..
and the usual mechanics dunno **** about nnew cars and the
offical gm/chevy showroom charges alot.. i wanna know what this could be about to assess if i can last a couple weeks till my dad comes back from vacations, otherwise know whats going on..


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

another question,os the torque converter ouside the tranny? or a ppart of it?
i know thats a noob question but whatever.. hoping not to pay 1000$ for jus labor costs of opening the tranny. _.


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Torque converter is inside the transmission case, attached to the engine. 

I'd try another fluid change before dropping $1000 on transmission removal. Since the fluid was absolutely disgusting and was changed once, there's still a lot of gross fluid in the transmission. Get it out of there and see where your car is.


----------



## fahadj2003 (Feb 25, 2013)

can you pinpoint what the prob could be?
ive changed the oil alot as of now..
what causes weird random shifting back and forth?


----------

