# That Cursed Shift Light



## AkotaHsky (Feb 11, 2012)

It took me a few days to realize it even had one. I hardly look at the dash, I just go by the sound of the engine. There may be a way to kill it though. Id contact one of the tune designers.

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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

About the only time I see mine is when I've completed accelerating and know that I'm about to start up a hill that is steeper than the next gear will handle at my current speed. This is even in rush hour traffic.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

So, short of a tune, is there some way to eliminate it? I'd be happy to pay the dealer, or maybe somebody with HP Tuner to kill it.

The tune will not eliminate the shift light it will just give you more power. Short of taking the dash apart and removing the bulb, you cannot do anythin about it. It is designed for people that do not know when to shift. What is the big deal just ignore it. I always do.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

The dealer can deactivate it with a tool. Just ask about it next time you have it in for service.

Yeah, it's freaking annoying. Wants me to be in 6th at 33 mph. Just...no. 6th gear is at 40. Shut up, car.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I had one of these in my Fiero GT. I found it useful when driving on Peterson AFB because if I was in 3rd gear the light would come on at 2 MPH over the base's posted speed limit. Kept me from getting speeding tickets on base.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> The dealer can deactivate it with a tool. Just ask about it next time you have it in for service.
> 
> Yeah, it's freaking annoying. Wants me to be in 6th at 33 mph. Just...no. 6th gear is at 40. Shut up, car.


That would put my ECO MT RPMs below engine idle. At idle, if I'm in 6th gear I'm tooling along at 34-35. If your shift light is triggering below 1800 RPM something's wrong.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> That would put my ECO MT RPMs below engine idle. At idle, if I'm in 6th gear I'm tooling along at 34-35. If your shift light is triggering below 1800 RPM something's wrong.


It's probably right at 17-1800, but it still feels terrible if you upshift that low into 6th gear and drop it to below 1400 RPM on anything but a downhill. Keep in mind the ratios/final drive on the the LT are different.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Is your shift light sensitive to throttle or cruze control virtual throttle pressure? Mine is, so if I'm accelerating or going uphill it won't come on. It only comes on if I'm on flat ground at steady speed. It doesn't come on if I'm changing speed.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> Is your shift light sensitive to throttle or cruze control virtual throttle pressure? Mine is, so if I'm accelerating or going uphill it won't come on. It only comes on if I'm on flat ground at steady speed. It doesn't come on if I'm changing speed.


Yep. It's fine in every other gear for the most part but 5th. 

It's still annoying. I don't need the car to try to tell me how to shift. If I'd wanted the car to do what it thinks is best, I would have bought an automatic. So I had my light turned off.


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## Clump (Oct 22, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Yep. It's fine in every other gear for the most part but 5th.
> 
> It's still annoying. I don't need the car to try to tell me how to shift. If I'd wanted the car to do what it thinks is best, I would have bought an automatic. So I had my light turned off.


Just to confirm - the dealer turned it off for you?

Mine has not been back since I drove off the lot. I have a free 1st service that I plan to do at 5k. If they can turn it off for me that would be awesome!

I know it doesn't bother a lot of people and more power to them. It annoys the crap out of me.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> Just to confirm - the dealer turned it off for you?


Yes sir.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> It's still annoying. I don't need the car to try to tell me how to shift. If I'd wanted the car to do what it thinks is best, I would have bought an automatic. So I had my light turned off.


100% agree and why I purchased a stick. Even the best automatics don't have the ability to look ahead to shift early.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Not only ignore that shift lamp, but the entire analog speedometer as well, steering wheel also does a good job on blanking it out. Digital speedometer is nice, but doesn't turn red like my GPS does. Cops are all over the place, and my speed judgment is not that great where I can tell the difference between driving 25 or 26 mph. 26 mph is breaking the law!

If the engine lugs, down shift, if it has plenty of pep, upshift. One thing that shift lamp doesn't think about is driving up a hill. Maybe the guy that designed it lives in Iowa.


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## silverls (Nov 12, 2011)

I follow mine almost perfectly in my 12 eco mt. And yes I'm in 6th by 33-35 MPH. But my drive is almost completely flat. So it isn't a problem. Piece of black electrical tape fixes this problem

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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

If I am not mistaken my 2011 ECO shift light comes on at about 1500 rpm under light load. Let's be greatful that this is just a shift light. On my 2004 GTO the shift light works with a gear lock out which forces a 1st gear to 4th gear shift, not allowing you to go into 2nd or 3rd (implemented for better fuel mileage). There are bypasses/fixes for this though, and can be turned off.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

You could always do what the wife of a guy I worked with did when the CEL came on her Camaro. She put a piece of black electrical tape over the light. Problem solved!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

blk88verde said:


> If I am not mistaken my 2011 ECO shift light comes on at about 1500 rpm under light load. Let's be greatful that this is just a shift light. On my 2004 GTO the shift light works with a gear lock out which forces a 1st gear to 4th gear shift, not allowing you to go into 2nd or 3rd (implemented for better fuel mileage). There are bypasses/fixes for this though, and can be turned off.


That would REALLY piss me off. I'd probably not buy the car entirely because of a stupid feature like that. The whole point of having a manual is telling the car what to do.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Jim Frye said:


> You could always do what the wife of a guy I worked with did when the CEL came on her Camaro. She put a piece of black electrical tape over the light. Problem solved!


The Homer Simpson method!


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## Clump (Oct 22, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Yes sir.


Thanks! We'll see in a few weeks.


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## Clump (Oct 22, 2012)

blk88verde said:


> If I am not mistaken my 2011 ECO shift light comes on at about 1500 rpm under light load. Let's be greatful that this is just a shift light. On my 2004 GTO the shift light works with a gear lock out which forces a 1st gear to 4th gear shift, not allowing you to go into 2nd or 3rd (implemented for better fuel mileage). There are bypasses/fixes for this though, and can be turned off.


I had a 1995 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk with that "feature". The cure was to keep the right foot in it, but it really sucked when it caught me. I did a chip (Jet? Can't remember for sure) that eliminated it along with some other improvements.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

It would be quite a bit of work, but you could pull the cluster out and remove the bulb. My dad did that to his CEL despite my begging not to.


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## Clump (Oct 22, 2012)

Sunline Fan said:


> It would be quite a bit of work, but you could pull the cluster out and remove the bulb. My dad did that to his CEL despite my begging not to.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com Free App


IIRC somebody on this forum was going that way and discovered that it's an LED. I'll definitely inquire with the dealer at my first service.


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## The_Madcat (Oct 6, 2012)

It is very, very, very non-functional. If I drive through town at 35 mph in 4th @ 1800 or so rpm it will tell me to shift to 5th. Which, if I do then I am at 1550/1600 rpm and it will immediately tell me to shift to 6th.... Really? I was kinda hoping this would help my wife out with getting familiar with shifting but I have to tell her to ignore it completely. I too will be asking the dealer at our first oil change to disable that @#[email protected]#ing light.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Sounds like the light in the Eco is programmed fairly well, and the light in the LT's is programmed poorly. Mine comes on sometimes, and mostly I ignore it. There are some very slight inclines where better fuel economy is in 5th gear at 1500 RPM than 6th at ~1200 RPM. No, shift light, you're wrong!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

sciphi said:


> Sounds like the light in the Eco is programmed fairly well, and the light in the LT's is programmed poorly. Mine comes on sometimes, and mostly I ignore it. There are some very slight inclines where better fuel economy is in 5th gear at 1500 RPM than 6th at ~1200 RPM. No, shift light, you're wrong!


I think it's programmed at the same RPMs and throttle pressures...if anything, I think it would be a bit low where the Eco's gears are farther apart. I just can't stand to be in too high a gear as soon as I press on the gas again, and that seems what it constantly wants to do.


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## silverls (Nov 12, 2011)

Sunline Fan said:


> It would be quite a bit of work, but you could pull the cluster out and remove the bulb. My dad did that to his CEL despite my begging not to.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com Free App


I have done this before as well. Check engine lights are, for the most part, useless anyway.b

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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The_Madcat said:


> It is very, very, very non-functional. If I drive through town at 35 mph in 4th @ 1800 or so rpm it will tell me to shift to 5th. Which, if I do then I am at 1550/1600 rpm and it will immediately tell me to shift to 6th.... Really? I was kinda hoping this would help my wife out with getting familiar with shifting but I have to tell her to ignore it completely. I too will be asking the dealer at our first oil change to disable that @#[email protected]#ing light.


That's not working right then. It should not be telling you to shift below 1800 RPM. Shifting up from 1800 puts most cars at 1300-1500 RPM depending on the shift. Below 1500 RPM your engine is pretty much idling with no torque available for even the slightest uphill.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

blk88verde said:


> If I am not mistaken my 2011 ECO shift light comes on at about 1500 rpm under light load. Let's be greatful that this is just a shift light. On my 2004 GTO the shift light works with a gear lock out which forces a 1st gear to 4th gear shift, not allowing you to go into 2nd or 3rd (implemented for better fuel mileage). There are bypasses/fixes for this though, and can be turned off.


In Australia this weird gear lock doesn't exist on the Monaro or any manual car regardless of the engine in it. I remember reading a road test of the GTO by an Aussie jurno and he thought there was something wrong with the car the first time he drove one. The auto doesn't do this so why cripple the manual????


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## The_Madcat (Oct 6, 2012)

obermd said:


> That's not working right then. It should not be telling you to shift below 1800 RPM. Shifting up from 1800 puts most cars at 1300-1500 RPM depending on the shift. Below 1500 RPM your engine is pretty much idling with no torque available for even the slightest uphill.



Indeed, pretty silly heh.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Aussie said:


> In Australia this weird gear lock doesn't exist on the Monaro or any manual car regardless of the engine in it. I remember reading a road test of the GTO by an Aussie jurno and he thought there was something wrong with the car the first time he drove one. The auto doesn't do this so why cripple the manual????


Only in 'Murica with its "light truck loophole" (make a "truck" big enough and we don't care what mileage it gets) CAFE regulations does such a silly design exist. It's for our Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards so we can be "efficient". The shift light is along those same lines, since it is designing to the lowest common denominator. It's assuming that we're busy posting to Facebook on our phones while stuffing a McDeath into our faces and giving the New York/New Jersey state bird to other drivers, so we forget to shift to save fuel. Make sense? It doesn't to me either.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Don't even get me started on the CAFE standards and their uneven application to consumer vehicles. If a vehicle is advertised for sale to the general public, it should fall under the same standard - period.


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## NBrehm (Jun 27, 2011)

I'll search around with my tech 2, might be a way to at least adjusted it to come on with some ridiculous parameters (like 100mph in 1 st gear at 500RPM) or just turn it off.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Our Jeep Wrangler has one of these annoying shift lights too. The steering wheel/seat height isn't adjustable, but I'm just the right height where the steering wheel blocks the light from normal view. Even with the 4.0L, that thing is such a dog, the light should be the other way around- to remind you to downshift to maintain speed!


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Sunline Fan said:


> Our Jeep Wrangler has one of these annoying shift lights too. The steering wheel/seat height isn't adjustable, but I'm just the right height where the steering wheel blocks the light from normal view. Even with the 4.0L, that thing is such a dog, the light should be the other way around- to remind you to downshift to maintain speed!


I had a girlfriend in high school that had a Cherokee with the 2.5 4 cylinder and a 5 speed. Flat out, foot to the floor in 5th, it would do 65-70, and took about 20 seconds to get there. Hills could be pulled in 4th or 3rd at 55 mph. Made my 98-HP Honda Accord look like a race car. I had a lot of fun in that thing though - usedta take it down to the shore and drive out on the beach. 


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> I had a girlfriend in high school that had a Cherokee with the 2.5 4 cylinder and a 5 speed. Flat out, foot to the floor in 5th, it would do 65-70, and took about 20 seconds to get there. Hills could be pulled in 4th or 3rd at 55 mph. Made my 98-HP Honda Accord look like a race car. I had a lot of fun in that thing though - usedta take it down to the shore and drive out on the beach.


Geez, just when I thought it couldn't be worse on the highway- that sounds awful! I know the Wrangler was available with that same powerplant standard. The inline 6 will do 70-75, but if you hit any incline, it has to be shifted down to 4th to maintain it. Besides the fuel economy standpoint, it's also screaming doing it, making the already loud ride even louder.

Unfortunately, it's the only manual I've ever really driven and the reason why I steered away from a 6M Cruze. I didn't want to shift all the time just to maintain my speed. But seeing how much pep this thing has with the turbo, I think it wouldn't be a problem to maintain speed on the highway in 6th gear, just like I do now in M6.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Nope! The only hills I have to downshift for are under 55 mph. At 65-75 with a non-Eco transmission, it'll Cruze right along happily up any hill you throw at it.

I used to live in the mountains of VA, and took the Cruze back to my old college stomping grounds. It didn't even flinch at the hills the 2.3L 240 hp Volvo would downshift for. I was impressed. Torque FTW!


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## Clump (Oct 22, 2012)

Just got back from my 1st service. The dealer tells me there is no way it can be turned off. I explained that others have had it turned off, but they would not budge.

@jblackburn - Please let me know the dealer that did yours for you. NOVA is close enough and the light's annoying enough to go there to get it done. OTOH it may be a change in the '13, similar to now needing a dealer to enable fog lights.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Clump said:


> Just got back from my 1st service. The dealer tells me there is no way it can be turned off. I explained that others have had it turned off, but they would not budge.
> 
> @jblackburn - Please let me know the dealer that did yours for you. NOVA is close enough and the light's annoying enough to go there to get it done. OTOH it may be a change in the '13, similar to now needing a dealer to enable fog lights.


Pohanka Chevrolet in Chantilly.

I talked to a technician that actually owned a Cruze. That might make all the difference. Wish I remembered his name.


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## Clump (Oct 22, 2012)

jblackburn said:


> Pohanka Chevrolet in Chantilly.
> 
> I talked to a technician that actually owned a Cruze. That might make all the difference. Wish I remembered his name.


Thanks! I'll give them a call.


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## Clump (Oct 22, 2012)

I haven't checked with Pohanka yet. Got a call from the service department following up on my visit. I explained that I was dissatisfied that they did not kill the light. The guy promised to check into it. He called back a while later and said that he called Chevy Corporate and they told him that the light cannot be disabled and it's there to help you get the best fuel economy possible. He agreed with me that the light would be annoying and said they see quite a few in the shop with black tape covering it.:eusa_clap:


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## NYCruze2012 (Jan 16, 2012)

Clump said:


> I haven't checked with Pohanka yet. Got a call from the service department following up on my visit. I explained that I was dissatisfied that they did not kill the light. The guy promised to check into it. He called back a while later and said that he called Chevy Corporate and they told him that the light cannot be disabled and it's there to help you get the best fuel economy possible. He agreed with me that the light would be annoying and said they see quite a few in the shop with black tape covering it.:eusa_clap:


 Black tape. Now that's a good fix. Yeah right!

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## giantsnation (Oct 11, 2012)

Another free suggestion might be to go to Autozone or something similar and borrow a code reader. I did this on my wife's jeep to reset a check engine light and their tool actually allowed me to change quite a bit. Just a thought - can't hurt.


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## DrVette (Dec 6, 2011)

obermd said:


> About the only time I see mine is when I've completed accelerating and know that I'm about to start up a hill that is steeper than the next gear will handle at my current speed. This is even in rush hour traffic.


What he said.

Usually I shift @ 1600~ so I seldom.see mine.

BTW,. I do not lug my engine either.


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## firehawk618 (Feb 24, 2013)

Clump said:


> I had a 1995 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk with that "feature". The cure was to keep the right foot in it, but it really sucked when it caught me. I did a chip (Jet? Can't remember for sure) that eliminated it along with some other improvements.


Hey I had a 95 firehawk also! 315HP package. Loved the car.
Later on built a 2000 Trans am, 408ci supercharged beast!

On a side note, the story behind that "skip shift" gm's had was to make them meet MPG requirements back in the day to avoid the gas guzzler tax.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Light's back after a SW update...oh well


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

My recommendation: Let it light up, and learn to ignore it. It's not going to change. Might as well change what you can, ie, your perception of how annoying it is. I ignore it, since the ECU can't see the red light at the top of the hill that needs 4th instead of 5th to coast up to.


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