# Car jumping while in drive and stopped



## Lightz39 (May 14, 2012)

So this has only happened twice and not for a while but I'm kind of curious. Twice now I've been in drive with the brakes on and my car will start to jump like a manual is about to stall. (Automatic) To fix the problem I throw it into park and back into drive. Any ideas on what it could be and if its serious?


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

What year and model is it? Have you had it in for any software refreshes?


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## Higgs Boson (Mar 7, 2012)

How fast are you going when you apply the brakes? How hard are you applying the brakes? What is the road surface when you apply the brakes?

Or are you stopped, like at a stop light/sign and the car begins to idle rough? What do you mean jumping? To me, that indicates the car is leaving the ground repeatedly. Is that the case?


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## yabayb (Nov 23, 2011)

I'm having the same issue on my 2012 LT. It happenes when I'm stopped or just rolling (no gas), runs rough as if it's about to stall. Dropping it off tonight at the dealership and I'm back in a rental... AGAIN!

Just had the struts replaced in March, alignment fixed and rotors machined in May, not even @12,000 kms! Really?!?!?!

I've had too many problems on this BUY BACK!!


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## Lightz39 (May 14, 2012)

Higgs Boson said:


> How fast are you going when you apply the brakes? How hard are you applying the brakes? What is the road surface when you apply the brakes?
> 
> Or are you stopped, like at a stop light/sign and the car begins to idle rough? What do you mean jumping? To me, that indicates the car is leaving the ground repeatedly. Is that the case?


Guess I could have put more details. I'm talking like stopped at a light. It just starts rocking similar to how a standard feels when its about to stall.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Lightz39 said:


> So this has only happened twice and not for a while but I'm kind of curious. Twice now I've been in drive with the brakes on and my car will start to jump like a manual is about to stall. (Automatic) To fix the problem I throw it into park and back into drive. Any ideas on what it could be and if its serious?




Lightz39,
I would suggest that you contact your local dealership and have them look into this for you. If you would like me to contact your dealer and set up an appointment for you please send me a PM with your name, phone number, VIN, dealer and the days and times that you are available. Either way, please keep me posted. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## Higgs Boson (Mar 7, 2012)

Does it do it with the AC on and off or just on? May people have noticed the AC compressor "vibrates" sometimes when it cycles on for a while. My car does it too. Of course, I can't say for sure what yours is doing. My keyboard can only check spark timing, not driveability concerns.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

If it does it with the AC on, there is a sensor that increases the idle when the AC is turned on so the engine does not stall under the added load of the AC compressor. It is possible there is a problem with the sensor that adjusts the idle when the AC kicks on. On old carburated cars
the sensor advanced the throttle a little more. 


Higgs Boson said:


> Does it do it with the AC on and off or just on? May people have noticed the AC compressor "vibrates" sometimes when it cycles on for a while. My car does it too. Of course, I can't say for sure what yours is doing. My keyboard can only check spark timing, not driveability concerns.


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## Bohdan (Apr 28, 2012)

Sounds like the torque converter may be binding.


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## Higgs Boson (Mar 7, 2012)

Patman said:


> If it does it with the AC on, there is a sensor that increases the idle when the AC is turned on so the engine does not stall under the added load of the AC compressor. It is possible there is a problem with the sensor that adjusts the idle when the AC kicks on. On old carburated cars
> the sensor advanced the throttle a little more.


well, these days, that sensor is the ECU itself, and all it does it open the throttle blade a bit more to add a few grams of airflow. ;-)


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## zr1000a1 (Jan 25, 2012)

I think Bohdan is aiming in the right direction. Sounds like torque converter drag, not fully disengaging. Like Jim Frye said, have you had the latest software re-flashes? It could possibly be the torque converter solenoid or too high line pressure at idle. Intermittent wiring problems, grounding, shorting, and connections might also cause it. Some software re-flashes to fix one problem, affects something else negatively. Also like mentioned, as load from A/C and other accessories kick on, sometimes there will be a slight delay or noticeable feel before idle advance kicks in.
Seems like I read somewhere that sometimes you need to re-flash a re-flash, even if it is the same version. Even if everything seemed okay at first and the ecu/ecm,/pcm/tcm accepted the first re-flash. Otherwise there are hiccups and intermittent problems that could result in early component failure, especially things like solenoids, clutch packs, and torque converters. Do not know if it is because of old code fragments left over or what the deal is.

I could be totally wrong. I am not a mechanic, just play one on forums, the side of the road on a cold rainy night, and in my garage.


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## samantha_jackson (Apr 23, 2012)

Hello,

I have a 2010 Cruze LT, RS. Mine does the same thing. (the best way I can describe it is that it feeling like the transmition is jumping) It happens at stop lights but I find it worse when i'm coasting down a hill.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

samantha_jackson said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have a 2010 Cruze LT, RS. Mine does the same thing. (the best way I can describe it is that it feeling like the transmition is jumping) It happens at stop lights but I find it worse when i'm coasting down a hill.



samantha_jackson,
Have you taken your Cruze into the dealership for this concern? If you have not, I would suggest that you do take it in. Please keep me posted on this issue. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## John Sett (Oct 25, 2019)

My Cruze is a LT 1.4 Turbo 2013 - When stopped at a light or at a stop sign. The Locks UNLOCK then LOCK at the same time the transmission jerks once. It drives fine after. It is just somewhat scary. Any ideas as to what causes this and what the fix may be?


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## Gzuz4132 (Jul 13, 2021)

Lightz39 said:


> So this has only happened twice and not for a while but I'm kind of curious. Twice now I've been in drive with the brakes on and my car will start to jump like a manual is about to stall. (Automatic) To fix the problem I throw it into park and back into drive. Any ideas on what it could be and if its serious?





samantha_jackson said:


> Hello,
> 
> I have a 2010 Cruze LT, RS. Mine does the same thing. (the best way I can describe it is that it feeling like the transmition is jumping) It happens at stop lights but I find it worse when i'm coasting down a hill.


I am aware that the OP is from a decade ago  but since it was dug up and still relevant...

My 2013 1.8 has done this since I bought it in 2015 with ~30k miles on it. It's been at the dealership half a dozen times and "no faults found" every single time. I stopped asking them to look at it. The way I describe it is, it almost feels like you're tapping and releasing the brakes so the car is lurching or rocking forward and back. I've been searching for a solution for 7 years and haven't found anything concrete. It's now 7 years and 75k miles later, it still does it but it's noticeably worse.

It only happens while stopped with the transmission in drive. Shifting to neutral always made it stop immediately. I found a few vague articles or posts years ago that seemed to indicate that it's a problem in the transmission as part of the fuel economy features of the car. The transmission automagically shifts itself into neutral while stopped in drive and shifts back into drive once the brakes are released. It seems that the transmission is quickly shifting from neutral to drive repeatedly which causes the rocking/jerking motion felt by the driver and occupants.

Over the years it seems to have gotten worse (happens more often) and is noticeably worse when the car is warm. My only thought so far is to see what changes after a transmission fluid and filter change which I plan to do this spring.


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