# 2011 Cruze 1LT RS transmission issues



## Nick_R_23 (Dec 5, 2018)

No input at all? I thought this was one of the most widely used transmissions currently out there. I’m surprised at how difficult it is to come by information on these.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

This transmission was used in Cruzes for only the 2011 model year; the 2012+ got a redesigned "2nd gen" 6T40.

We have a couple reports of 2011 transmissions around the forum just losing any operation whatsoever; most choose to just replace the whole auto box. That's slightly annoying because you can only use the same-year transmission in them...or potentially get a dealer to reprogram a later-year transmission to work with it.

It sounds like something's clogging the pump screen or a pressure solenoid is acting up. If you see anything on the early 6T30/40/45 or Ford 6F35 (same design, different programming) with similar behavior, it is likely a similar cause. These did not suffer from the wave plate failure that affected earlier the GM 6T series.


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## Nick_R_23 (Dec 5, 2018)

Thank you, that’s good to know on the wave plate. Has there been anyone who had successfully installed a later year transmission into a 2011 and had the software updated to work with it? There is a totaled 2014 Cruze locally with a good transmission in it still. 

I’m half inclined to just pull the TEHCM and check the pressure switches and solenoids and see what that does to help. I can’t find any solid info, but I keep reading references to them. I see Sonnax makes a rebuild kit for the pressure switches, are the solenoids available anywhere?


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## Nick_R_23 (Dec 5, 2018)

I got the car home tonight and noticed something a bit strange. We unloaded it off the slideback and it didn’t get dropped exactly where I wanted it, so I had a friend stop by to help me push it forward a few feet. Well, the car acts like it doesn’t want to roll easily by hand in Neutral, even though it rolled onto the slideback just fine. We decided to start the car and put it in gear just to see if it would help us out any. In drive, the engine wouldn’t rev up past about 1200 RPM, and acted like there was a huge drivetrain load. After a few pushes, it felt like something came unstuck and the car lurched forward. I tried Reverse, but still nothing. Drive stayed working but when I went out about an hour later to try again, it just stayed in Neutral, although it was able to rev up freely.


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## Jondaytona (Apr 26, 2018)

Nick_R_23 said:


> I got the car home tonight and noticed something a bit strange. We unloaded it off the slideback and it didn’t get dropped exactly where I wanted it, so I had a friend stop by to help me push it forward a few feet. Well, the car acts like it doesn’t want to roll easily by hand in Neutral, even though it rolled onto the slideback just fine. We decided to start the car and put it in gear just to see if it would help us out any. In drive, the engine wouldn’t rev up past about 1200 RPM, and acted like there was a huge drivetrain load. After a few pushes, it felt like something came unstuck and the car lurched forward. I tried Reverse, but still nothing. Drive stayed working but when I went out about an hour later to try again, it just stayed in Neutral, although it was able to rev up freely.


I am in the middle of a trans swap for a guy that had similar issues to what you explain. It's a 6F35 in a Mercury Mariner that barely moves out of it's own way, but can hold highway speeds fine once up there. You stomp on the gas and she barely moves, almost like holding the brakes on. If you hold out til second gear, sometimes it would neutral slam, as if it were slipping between shifts. While actually doing a brake torque, the engine felt powerless. While in park or neutral, the engine rev's up great. In this case, the transmission is definitely burnt up, but still moved, giving the customer false hopes. I checked the fluid and it's nasty, black and with a horrible burnt smell. So, here I am, installing a customer supplied junkyard trans. It's a gamble, but it's his third car and he don't want to spend too much money.

As Jblackburn said, the Ford 6F35 and 6T40 are basically same. I'm just an R&R guy, not a builder, but I do know things can "weld" themselves together or break in a certain way causing things like this to happen. Then the added stress burns up the clutches and everything needs to be replaced anyway.


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