# Problem with my daughters 2012 cruze ltz I think? Please help



## Jsg1518 (Sep 17, 2012)

I pulled it in the driveway and was in drive with my foot on the brake and the car felt like I got bumped in the rear. I thought nothing of it but today she told me that it happens to her at a stop light a lot.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

It could be the transmission disengaging into N automatically when it comes to a stop. The automatics do that as a fuel-saving measure. If it happens at every stop light, that's likely it. It's normal. 

Now if it's ever really violent, like "car shaking apart" violent, get it looked at. 

Hope that helps!


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## 2013Cruze (Aug 4, 2012)

sciphi said:


> It could be the transmission disengaging into N automatically when it comes to a stop. The automatics do that as a fuel-saving measure. If it happens at every stop light, that's likely it. It's normal.
> 
> Now if it's ever really violent, like "car shaking apart" violent, get it looked at.
> 
> Hope that helps!


That could be it but could you describe it a little better?


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## lilmrsyeti (Mar 3, 2012)

Mine is almost like a Manual Transmission when you are like say, stopped at a stop light. I have an Automatic Trans...but when stopped at a light, it will almost "roll" backwards like a Manual would do when you release the brake. This is normal...but are you saying that your foot will be on the brake and you can feel the car jerk?


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

my first cruze did it alot more drasticly then my second one does but yes, it is normal. as said it goes into n when you come to a stop. if you lightly take your foot off the brake it can jerk pretty good when going back into d. i just learned to take my foot fully off brake to creep up and it wont jerk at all. hope this helps.


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

sciphi said:


> It could be the transmission disengaging into N automatically when it comes to a stop. The automatics do that as a fuel-saving measure. If it happens at every stop light, that's likely it. It's normal.
> 
> Now if it's ever really violent, like "car shaking apart" violent, get it looked at.
> 
> Hope that helps!


I don't think it's "normal" to feel like you've been bumped in the rear!


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## upstater (Feb 22, 2011)

fastdriver said:


> I don't think it's "normal" to feel like you've been bumped in the rear!


That's not what Biff & Skippy were saying


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

upstater said:


> That's not what Biff & Skippy were saying


Not sure who "Biff & Skippy" are, but I was referring to the comment that JSG1518 made about his daughter's car and sciphi's comment that it was normal. To be *stopped* with your foot on the brake and feel like you have been bumped from behind is not normal.


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## Jsg1518 (Sep 17, 2012)

I think I had my foot lightly on the brake like the other poster stated. I'll have to try it again and get back to you.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

fastdriver said:


> Not sure who "Biff & Skippy" are, but I was referring to the comment that JSG1518 made about his daughter's car and sciphi's comment that it was normal. To be *stopped* with your foot on the brake and feel like you have been bumped from behind is not normal.


Stopped and feeling like it got bumped from behind isn't normal at all. Feeling a slight bump when the car does some fuel-saving thing while slowing down is normal. 

An example of the latter is the engine entering or coming out of deceleration fuel cut. That can be a pronounced bump when the engine goes from 43* of timing advance to -11* of timing advance at certain engine speeds when lifting off the throttle to slow down. There's also a bump when the fuel injectors re-engage and the engine timing goes from -7* advance to its usual low-RPM timing of 10* timing advance. Sometimes it's a noticeable bump.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

Neutral Idle is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It is not normal for a car to roll backwards when you take your foot off the brake unless you're on a steep hill going upwards and have to come to a light than go again.
This really threw me when I had a Cruze as a loaner, especially having had vertigo.
If this can't be disabled and the Cruze still has this idiotic, moronic, dangerous feature next year I will not be purchasing one.

Come on, GM. Don't spend money to add something that makes driving uncomfortable just to save .0002 MPG. Get rid of this NOW


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

This is the automatic transmission working as designed. Since you said you were on the brake & turning into a driveway I would suspect you are feeling the trans grab 1st or 2nd gear somewhat hard(cars is downshifting). Those particular gears are very low geared & when they grab sometimes feels like it is downshifting a bit too soon (also feels like someone dropped the boat anchor). Doesn't happen all the time but have felt the same thing, perfectly normal. 

If you are on the gas lightly & you hit the speed at which the trans downshifts you will barely feel anything. I am not sure on exact speeds, but driving though a 10mph park I had more than one instance of the trans grabbing like you describe. you will get a similar feeling at 40mph when it downshifts from 6th to 5th, and at 27MPH from 5th to 4th(though much lighter at those speeds). 

The issue others are describing(neutral at intersections) is different but similar feeling. you will let off the brake to get moving again & give it some gas & will feel like you hit a slight bump & start moving. This is the trans reengaging the gear & feels like a low RPM neutral drop. This feels like it would be bad on trans but since GM engineered it this way I just drive it & could care less.

EDIT: Thought I should Clarify those MPH speeds are for 2012 automatics, the 2011 gear changes are at much much different speeds because of the lower final drive ratio.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

steve333 said:


> Neutral Idle is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It is not normal for a car to roll backwards when you take your foot off the brake unless you're on a steep hill going upwards and have to come to a light than go again.
> This really threw me when I had a Cruze as a loaner, especially having had vertigo.
> If this can't be disabled and the Cruze still has this idiotic, moronic, dangerous feature next year I will not be purchasing one.
> 
> Come on, GM. Don't spend money to add something that makes driving uncomfortable just to save .0002 MPG. Get rid of this NOW


I live in a very hilly town & never experienced any rollback at intersections for the first few thousand miles. I always drive up a 150ft hill right when I leave my house. never once did I roll backwards at the stop sign at the top.

In a city a hour form my house on a very slight grade I did feel the car roll back, but only 3inches before the gas took over. I realized I never felt this before in my own hilly town because the car was always cold & on high idle. 

Sure enough testing it out if I drove the same hill by my house with a fully warmed up car it does roll back, though very slightly. 


The Sonic says it has hill hold assist on both manual & automatic cars, if that's true why not implement this on the cruze too? Read that on the sonic it has to be over a certain hill grade for this to kick in, there are still times it will roll.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

Hill hold should be standard on every car, I'm shocked that it isn't. Instead they give us touchscreens nobody needs, rear park assist, lane whatever and every other tech goody known to man to increase the price of a car that should cost $16,000 not $20,000 but not something that's actually useful.
Neutral idle is ludicrous. The only way it could work at all is if it disengages the second the brake pedal starts to rise as you take your foot off the brake. In any case it's something that shouldn't exist at all, IMO


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## Big Grouch (Apr 16, 2012)

This alarmed me the first day I had my Cruze. I got used to it by the second day. Since the OP said this is his daughters car I'm assuming he doesn't drive it often. The rest of you complaining about it sound like people who complained about tubeless tires when they came out.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I don't understand why the rolling backwards a few inches is a big deal. My dad's Jeep and my girlfriend's old Toyota both rolled backwards on hills before you hit the gas. Manual cars do it too.

Some auto transmissions lock the torque converter at idle to hold on hills; some don't. _*GET OVER IT*_ and stop whining on every post on this board that's got something to do with a transmission issue.

To the OP, a large "thunk" does sound problematic, though. I would take her car in and have it looked at. It sounds like a line pressure problem or a flukey solenoid causing a harsh engagement - and these problems usually only get worse with mileage/age. If they say that "it's fine", you'll have a record on-hand when the transmission does actually fail, so should have a valid warranty claim. GM doesn't have the best history with automatic transmissions in recent years.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Every car has built in hill hold. It's called hand-eye-foot coordination.


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## jdubb11 (Mar 14, 2012)

my cruze has never rolled backwards before. i guess i hit the gas after taking my foot off the brake right away and not 10 seconds later


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> I don't understand why the rolling backwards a few inches is a big deal. My dad's Jeep and my girlfriend's old Toyota both rolled backwards on hills before you hit the gas. Manual cars do it too.
> 
> Some auto transmissions lock the torque converter at idle to hold on hills; some don't. _*GET OVER IT*_ and stop whining on every post on this board that's got something to do with a transmission issue.
> 
> To the OP, a large "thunk" does sound problematic, though. I would take her car in and have it looked at. It sounds like a line pressure problem or a flukey solenoid causing a harsh engagement - and these problems usually only get worse with mileage/age. If they say that "it's fine", you'll have a record on-hand when the transmission does actually fail, so should have a valid warranty claim. GM doesn't have the best history with automatic transmissions in recent years.


Rolling backwards on a hill is normal, you just need to step on the gas quickly, sometimes I don't take my foot off the gas pedal and rev it if it's a steep hill. 
However when I had a Cruze loaner I was not expecting it to roll backwards on a regular street, if anything when you take your foot off the brake a car will roll forward a little.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Jsg1518 said:


> I pulled it in the driveway and was in drive with my foot on the brake and the car felt like I got bumped in the rear. I thought nothing of it but today she told me that it happens to her at a stop light a lot.



Jsg1518,
If you feel there is an issue with your daughters Cruze, I would suggest that you have the dealer look into it for you. They are in the best position to determine the cause of this. I would also like you to keep me posted on this concern and if you have any other questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Aeroscout977 said:


> Every car has built in hill hold. It's called hand-eye-foot coordination.


Unfortunately some days my hill hold doesn't work real well without caffeine.


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## TBN27 (Oct 1, 2012)

It happens to me once in a while also. It is normal. However some people had their transmission "re-flashed" to quit the harsh shifting. But i feel that the transmission in this car is the only thing unrefined about it. The clunky shifting from time to time is a bit weird. Heard that the 2013 Cruze Has a next gen transmissions that is devoid of the clunky shifting.


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## The_Madcat (Oct 6, 2012)

steve333 said:


> Hill hold should be standard on every car, I'm shocked that it isn't. Instead they give us touchscreens nobody needs, rear park assist, lane whatever and every other tech goody known to man to increase the price of a car that should cost $16,000 not $20,000 but not something that's actually useful.
> Neutral idle is ludicrous. The only way it could work at all is if it disengages the second the brake pedal starts to rise as you take your foot off the brake. In any case it's something that shouldn't exist at all, IMO


Personally, I would rather have the Touchscreens and Jazz than a redundant feature. That bigger pedal, next to the loud one keeps you stopped pretty good if you put your foot on it and press....


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

The_Madcat said:


> Personally, I would rather have the Touchscreens and Jazz than a redundant feature. That bigger pedal, next to the loud one keeps you stopped pretty good if you put your foot on it and press....


When a $15k Sonic comes with that, but a $23k Cruze doesn't, something's the issue. 

And, some of us don't have 3 feet to operate a clutch, brake pedal, and gas pedal at once. If it comes to that, though, a properly adjusted e-brake works okay for a manual hill-hold feature. Or, get used to the car rolling back a foot or so on every big hill before the transmission catches it.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

sciphi said:


> When a $15k Sonic comes with that, but a $23k Cruze doesn't, something's the issue.
> 
> And, some of us don't have 3 feet to operate a clutch, brake pedal, and gas pedal at once. If it comes to that, though, a properly adjusted e-brake works okay for a manual hill-hold feature. Or, get used to the car rolling back a foot or so on every big hill before the transmission catches it.


Why do you need 3 feet? Just move em quick! Only car I ever had a problem on hills in was in a Bug. It just didn't have much power.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

sciphi said:


> When a $15k Sonic comes with that, but a $23k Cruze doesn't, something's the issue.
> 
> And, some of us don't have 3 feet to operate a clutch, brake pedal, and gas pedal at once. If it comes to that, though, a properly adjusted e-brake works okay for a manual hill-hold feature. Or, get used to the car rolling back a foot or so on every big hill before the transmission catches it.


You mean you don't qualify to drive like you're in Rome. 3 feet and 4 hands. Feet are obvious - one on each pedal (clutch, brake, gas). Hands are as follows - one on the steering wheel; one on the horn; one on the shift knob, and one out the window in a fist. 

Rolling back a foot on a hill before the clutch engages means you need a lot more practice on hills. Even on the steepest hills my rollback is only a couple of inches. Yes, I use the hand brake if the hill is steep enough.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

When I'm on a hill in my Cobalt I sometimes just keep revving my engine if someone behind me is too close (got an automatic) and then just take off when I can.
With the Neutral Idle on the Cruze this would be a must but the sucker rolls backwards even on a regular street which means you have to be ready to hit the gas right away or backwards you go. Sorry, but this is just asinine.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

I have to deal with being stopped on a hill twice every day on the way home from work. 

If you let off the brake pedal slowly, you can feel the transmission engage well before the brakes let the car roll. 

You want to talk about asinine, well complaints about this feature are exactly that when it's so friggin easy to work around.


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## cruzey13 (May 14, 2012)

It's the car going into neutral.. Mine did it today, might be because its cold outside to, tranny needs to warm up


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

mcg75 said:


> I have to deal with being stopped on a hill twice every day on the way home from work.
> 
> If you let off the brake pedal slowly, you can feel the transmission engage well before the brakes let the car roll.
> 
> You want to talk about asinine, well complaints about this feature are exactly that when it's so friggin easy to work around.


It shouldn't have to be worked around. It shouldn't exist.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

steve333 said:


> It shouldn't have to be worked around. It shouldn't exist.


And tell me now Steve, why should this not exist? 

This feature eliminates stress on the transmission when the car is in gear and stopped. If you take two seconds to learn how easy it is to slowly release the brake and let the trans engage, there are no negative aspects to this at all. 

Unless of course someone needs something to complain about.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

mcg75 said:


> And tell me now Steve, why should this not exist?
> 
> This feature eliminates stress on the transmission when the car is in gear and stopped. If you take two seconds to learn how easy it is to slowly release the brake and let the trans engage, there are no negative aspects to this at all.
> 
> Unless of course someone needs something to complain about.


I drove the car, the transmission did not engage while I released the brake, it only engaged when I stepped on the gas. When I released the brake the car rolled backwards on a level street. The normal automatic equipped car will roll slightly forward when the brake pedal is released since the transmission is in drive.
No matter how you spin it, no matter how much it bothers you to hear someone complain about it, it's abnormal for a car to behave this way, in fact GM has to give a warning about it in their manual.
Makes no sense.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

steve333 said:


> I drove the car, the transmission did not engage while I released the brake, it only engaged when I stepped on the gas. When I released the brake the car rolled backwards on a level street. The normal automatic equipped car will roll slightly forward when the brake pedal is released since the transmission is in drive.
> No matter how you spin it, no matter how much it bothers you to hear someone complain about it, it's abnormal for a car to behave this way, in fact GM has to give a warning about it in their manual.
> Makes no sense.


No spin here Steve just logic. GM didn't just decide one day "hey, let's **** with our customers by making the auto tranny go into neutral when the foot is on the brake." 

You don't own a Cruze, you test drove one. I drive mine every day and my experience is vastly different. I could sit here all day and listen to the poor souls have actual problems with their Cruze and have sympathy. Perhaps the fact that you go out of your way to bash the Cruze not only here but on GMI as well based on a *test drive* makes everyone take your opinion with a big grain of salt especially since you still have a hate on for GM based on your Cobalt front end "issues" that have been well documented on GMI as well. 

There is a TSB that applies to Cruze built before November 18, 2011 to have the neutral idle feature removed as well. Only applies to LUW engine though. 

Inside GM's Top Secret Extreme Vehicle Tests

So yeah, here's Steve at GMI with more Cruze bashing despite the Cruze not being part of the subject.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

So many useless trolls on this forum.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

mcg75 said:


> No spin here Steve just logic. GM didn't just decide one day "hey, let's **** with our customers by making the auto tranny go into neutral when the foot is on the brake."
> 
> You don't own a Cruze, you test drove one. I drive mine every day and my experience is vastly different. I could sit here all day and listen to the poor souls have actual problems with their Cruze and have sympathy. Perhaps the fact that you go out of your way to bash the Cruze not only here but on GMI as well based on a *test drive* makes everyone take your opinion with a big grain of salt especially since you still have a hate on for GM based on your Cobalt front end "issues" that have been well documented on GMI as well.
> 
> ...


Gotta make it personal, eh? I'm talking about a f'ing car not your mother. Don't get your panties in a bunch.
It was more than a test drive, I had one for the entire day as a loaner.
Why is there a TSB to remove neutral idle? I assume because it was bothering people and not working the way it was intended.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

One day isn't long enough to get used to a car. Kbye.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

steve333 said:


> Gotta make it personal, eh? I'm talking about a f'ing car not your mother. Don't get your panties in a bunch.


Stop right now with this "personal" BS Steve. What you do online in regards to a stupid car says nothing about you as a person. All I'm doing is qualifying your opinion to others and how your bad experience with GM may have tainted it. I could care less if you are an axe murderer or a priest in real life. I do NOT attack people personally. 



steve333 said:


> It was more than a test drive, I had one for the entire day as a loaner.


That's a decent test drive but still a test drive. I've had mine for 8 months. The only thing I can agree on with you is the engine needed more power right from the factory.



steve333 said:


> Why is there a TSB to remove neutral idle? I assume because it was bothering people and not working the way it was intended.


I don't know and I'm not to to make assumptions. The TSB only mentions 1.8 engines built before Nov 2011. All I can say is that my car engages the trans as your foot is coming off the brake on hills. I can literally let go of the brake and the car will sit still on an incline instead of rolling back.


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## steve333 (Oct 23, 2010)

jblackburn said:


> One day isn't long enough to get used to a car. Kbye.


Actually it is. I drove my route to work and back, over rough streets and then on the freeway to my mother's place and back, pretty much every place I usually go.



mcg75 said:


> Stop right now with this "personal" BS Steve. What you do online in regards to a stupid car says nothing about you as a person. All I'm doing is qualifying your opinion to others and how your bad experience with GM may have tainted it. I could care less if you are an axe murderer or a priest in real life. I do NOT attack people personally.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


When you bring up my past posts and stuff like that it is personal. I want to keep it to the topic at hand. While you may think my issues with my Cobalt and GM may be tainting my opinions its not true. I really wanted to buy a new car this Fall and was prepared to do it until I had the loaner and discovered too many flaws for me to buy one. I felt the same thing about the Focus I drove.

As for the TSB, if it's possible to turn it off than the problem for me would be solved. I would just have them turn it off!
Maybe the loaner I had had the same flaw. The loaner was a used Cruze. When I took my foot off the brake the transmission was still in neutral, it only went into drive when I pumped the gas pedal The car rolled back and it wasn't even on an incline.
Now, if neutral idle disengages as soon as the brake pedal starts to go up then there is no problem, although I would still have them turn it off. Personal preference.


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