# 30K miles so far



## dundonrl (Jul 11, 2017)

Should have looked around a bit before you bought that and got a 6 speed manual. (love mine!)


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

dundonrl said:


> Should have looked around a bit before you bought that and got a 6 speed manual. (love mine!)


They were made in very, very low numbers and hard to find even if you wanted one. I was lucky to find and get one. That said, the family fleet also has two 9-speeds, and they do quite well, with a lower final drive ratio than the manual, and the benefit of no failure prone dual mass flywheel (DMF), and the known troublesome clutch hydraulics. My DMF failed at just over 12K miles, and it was warranty replaced, along with the clutch hydraulics, which is good since they were updated part numbers from the troublesome original clutch hydraulics. There has been few reported issues with the 9 sp auto, but it's also a low production item with only the diesel Cruze having it.. hopefully it will prove durable.


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## dundonrl (Jul 11, 2017)

MRO1791 said:


> They were made in very, very low numbers and hard to find even if you wanted one. I was lucky to find and get one. That said, the family fleet also has two 9-speeds, and they do quite well, with a lower final drive ratio than the manual, and the benefit of no failure prone dual mass flywheel (DMF), and the known troublesome clutch hydraulics. My DMF failed at just over 12K miles, and it was warranty replaced, along with the clutch hydraulics, which is good since they were updated part numbers from the troublesome original clutch hydraulics. There has been few reported issues with the 9 sp auto, but it's also a low production item with only the diesel Cruze having it.. hopefully it will prove durable.
> [/


Too bad no one (that I can find so far) makes an aftermarket clutch for our cars. I have a South Bend dual disk clutch in my 12 Ram 2500 and love it.


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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

I would guess the engine might get to 300K. But there isn't much made by Chevrolet that makes it to 300K. At least not without a good deal of expense.


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## CMStover (Feb 16, 2019)

dundonrl said:


> Should have looked around a bit before you bought that and got a 6 speed manual. (love mine!)


2019 did not offer a manual, and I wouldnt own a the garbage dmf that was used prior, no thank you. As for 300 k, yeah, the motor maybe. But the bowtie is a sign of early failure. Sorry chevy, I have all fords, this is my commuter car. Oh, I pulled the bowties off, replaced the back w an audi emblem just to confuse folks. And it does. So great.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> There has been few reported issues with the 9 sp auto, but it's also a low production item with only the diesel Cruze having it


The 9-speed is offered in many vehicles:

2017 Chevrolet Cruze diesel
2017 Chevrolet Malibu
2018 Buick Enclave
2019 Buick Envision
2018 Buick Regal
2018 Chevrolet Equinox
2018 Buick LaCrosse
2018 Chevrolet Traverse
2018 GMC Terrain


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## 6speedTi (May 18, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> They were made in very, very low numbers and hard to find even if you wanted one. I was lucky to find and get one. That said, the family fleet also has two 9-speeds, and they do quite well, with a lower final drive ratio than the manual, and the benefit of no failure prone dual mass flywheel (DMF), and the known troublesome clutch hydraulics. My DMF failed at just over 12K miles, and it was warranty replaced, along with the clutch hydraulics, which is good since they were updated part numbers from the troublesome original clutch hydraulics. There has been few reported issues with the 9 sp auto, but it's also a low production item with only the diesel Cruze having it.. hopefully it will prove durable.


Same here. 2018 diesel sedan manual. 15,000 miles. New clutch pack ,flywheel and slave cylinder under warranty. 
I hope the replacement parts were the newer improved ones. 🤞


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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

6speedTi said:


> Same here. 2018 diesel sedan manual. 15,000 miles. New clutch pack ,flywheel and slave cylinder under warranty.
> I hope the replacement parts were the newer improved ones. 🤞


I sure hope so. After a 15,000 mile failure.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

Barry Allen said:


> The 9-speed is offered in many vehicles:
> 
> 2017 Chevrolet Cruze diesel
> 2017 Chevrolet Malibu
> ...


Interesting.. are you sure? I was looking at the Equinox and Terrain, and BOTH did not have a 9sp auto option, GM stayed with the 6 sp for both cars, despite having the Diesel engine option in 2018. I also looked at Malibu's, didn't see the 9 sp option anywhere listed in the specifications. Perahaps in overseas markets? Not in the US from anything I could find. 

Having said that, it is my understanding that it was intended for many models, but later not added when it had minimal MPG benefit for the additional cost. The kept it for the Cruze Diesel, which was produced specifically to be a very high MPG car, and basically give GM some bragging rights for the highes MPG non-hybrid car in the market, which that did attain.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

dundonrl said:


> Too bad no one (that I can find so far) makes an aftermarket clutch for our cars. I have a South Bend dual disk clutch in my 12 Ram 2500 and love it.


I think we are going to have to look for the EU market to find a non-DMF option for our cars. Many more of these manual/diesel cars were sold on the EU roads than in the US. 

Agree with you on the South Bend Clutch, have that also in my 2009 Dodge, works great and no more worries about a stupid DMF. 

It's not so much that GM picked a bad DMF for these cars, I have not found ANY good DMFs, it's a failure prone design, period.. which as a engineer got me to do some serious digging to find out why would the OEM put a MORE EXPENSIVE DMF on there in the first place... 

After much digging I came to the conclusion that it was done to make the vehicle quieter, and have less vibration, which is a major driving factor in new vehicle sales. So that justified the extra cost.. As to longevity.. well in most cases they expected these DMFs to last long enough to clear the warranty period, and beyond that the OEMs have little concern, in fact they have a financial incentive to support there dealership service departments with work, which this expensive repair would fit quite nicely indeed. 

I had concerns that the DMF had some important value to protect the transmission, but found nothing that specifically supported that as being a reason for the DMF. 

The single mass flywheel in my Dodge Cummins, the South Bend dual disc.. works great, but it does make quite a bit of noise, which is normal for that set up.. It also certainly lets more rotational vibration in the the transmission and that can be felt and heard as well, but I don't have to be concerned about a DMF failure, and it's a truck! If I wanted a smooth ride I'd be making a mistake buying a truck in the first place!


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

Barry Allen said:


> The 9-speed is offered in many vehicles:
> 
> 2017 Chevrolet Cruze diesel
> 2017 Chevrolet Malibu
> ...


Ahhh, figured it out, they didn't offer the 9sp in the Equinox/Terrain with the Diesel, that had the 6sp auto. The 9sp is paired with the 2.0L engine in those vehicles, and the Malibu. The standard 1.5L gets the 6sp.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

MRO1791 said:


> Ahhh, figured it out, they didn't offer the 9sp in the Equinox/Terrain with the Diesel, that had the 6sp auto. The 9sp is paired with the 2.0L engine in those vehicles, and the Malibu. The standard 1.5L gets the 6sp.


Weirdly they chose to use the 9 speed in the Terrain 1.5L, but still use the 6 speed in the 1.5 Equinox/everything else.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

jblackburn said:


> Weirdly they chose to use the 9 speed in the Terrain 1.5L, but still use the 6 speed in the 1.5 Equinox/everything else.


GMC is Professional Grade™


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> Interesting.. are you sure? I was looking at the Equinox and Terrain, and BOTH did not have a 9sp auto option, GM stayed with the 6 sp for both cars, despite having the Diesel engine option in 2018. I also looked at Malibu's, didn't see the 9 sp option anywhere listed in the specifications. Perahaps in overseas markets? Not in the US from anything I could find.
> 
> Having said that, it is my understanding that it was intended for many models, but later not added when it had minimal MPG benefit for the additional cost. The kept it for the Cruze Diesel, which was produced specifically to be a very high MPG car, and basically give GM some bragging rights for the highes MPG non-hybrid car in the market, which that did attain.


There was a weird powertrain development deal back in the 2000s where Ford was developing a 10-speed automatic for RWD/AWD vehicles and GM was developing a 9-speed automatic for FWD vehicles. The agreement was that both auto manufacturers would share the basic design and each could spec their own gear ratios, parts, etc. to build very similar transmissions in their own factories. A cross-licensing deal, if you will.

Ford takes the 9-speed and builds it as an 8-speed. I guess the extra gear is unnecessary and they spread out the other 8 gear ratios to make it just as efficient. Fewer parts and the transmission is lighter by leaving out the 9th gear. So if you see any FWD products with an 8-speed automatic, that's the GM transmission with one fewer gear.


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