# 6 spd auto shifting



## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

Has anyone contacted their dealer or GM about the Cruze shifting harshly or slowly? I have found a number of articles about the gasoline powered Cruze with the auto having harsh shifts under heavy accelaration and cold temperatures. I have been experiencing this with mine, but thought it was just having so few miles on it. Now I am not so sure.

Here is an article from Australia declaring there is a fix back in July of 2009

I plan to talk with my service manager about this next week. Just wondering if others have heard anything or approached anyone about this.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...I've noticed "less-than-silky-smooth" shifts but attributed it to the "fuzzy-logic" learning-process the car computers go through as they track & learn how the owner drives.

...similar things occurred with our 2009 Pontiac (nee Toyota) Vibe.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

I am hoping that the software is just learning, but I fear for the durability of the transmission with it shifting so eratically. How long did it take for your Vibe to 'learn' to shift smoothly?

When the car is cold my 1-2 upshifts are very abrupt and my 2-3 upshifts are so slow that the car slows down before 3rd gear is picked up. Once warm it shifts reasonably well. I've had two cars with GM's 4 spd hydras. This 6 spd is disappointing if it can't shift like a ten year old 4 spd.


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## ChevyMgr (Oct 27, 2010)

The update for the thermostat also updates the TCM for shift quality. This may fix you up.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

ChevyMgr said:


> The update for the thermostat also updates the TCM for shift quality. This may fix you up.


Thank you! I will pass the TSB # on to my service manager when I get my strut noise attended to as well.

Is this compatible with my car as it appears the thermostat update is for 1.4T cars and I have the n/a 1.8?


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## ChevyMgr (Oct 27, 2010)

gunner22 said:


> Thank you! I will pass the TSB # on to my service manager when I get my strut noise attended to as well.
> 
> Is this compatible with my car as it appears the thermostat update is for 1.4T cars and I have the n/a 1.8?


Give the last 8 of your VIN and I can tell you.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

ChevyMgr said:


> Give the last 8 of your VIN and I can tell you.


PM sent...


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## ChevyMgr (Oct 27, 2010)

gunner22 said:


> PM sent...


Yours does not have the thermostat update, but if you tell them what is happening they can look and see if there is a stand alone update for TCM to enhance transmission shifting.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

Excellent. I have to bring my HHR in for regular service next week. I plan to talk with the service manager and schedule a day they can just work on all the TSB's at once.

Thanks again for the help.


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## ChevyMgr (Oct 27, 2010)

New TSB issued on transmission shifting complaints. See post #16

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-s...-tsb-technical-service-bulletin-thread-2.html


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## bpipe95 (Nov 1, 2010)

Good stuff, I wonder what kind of improvement this will actually offer.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

Thanks ChevyMGR. This is exactly what I was hoping to see come through. Talked to my service manager and he said to get him the information from GM and he can take care of these at my first oil change. Do I need to just get him the pi#### in the title of each relevant TSB or is there a specific site that I can print out the TSB for him?

Very excited to get these little things addressed!


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

Just explain the situation, they can look up the TSBs on their own. If you have no faith in them at all, you can print the TSB's from the forum here and give them to the service advisor


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## ChevyMgr (Oct 27, 2010)

shawn672 said:


> Just explain the situation, they can look up the TSBs on their own. If you have no faith in them at all, you can print the TSB's from the forum here and give them to the service advisor


 
Correct! All he has to do is type in 2011 Cruze and transmission. There are only a couple of documents that will pull up. But if you give him the PI number, he will find it for sure.


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## 2011lt1 (Dec 13, 2010)

just took mine in for this fix tonight. at first i thought it was the infamous learning curve , but after 1500 miles i came to the conclusion something isn't right. the tranny always seems confused like it doesn't know what gear to be in at low speeds then it shifts abruptly looking for a gear. the service manager said he was aware of it and would see it gets the new tcm program. hope it works well.


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

Mine goes in tomorrow for the suspension noise and this issue, both of which are greatly pronounced in cold weather.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

racer114 said:


> Mine goes in tomorrow for the suspension noise and this issue, both of which are greatly pronounced in cold weather.


Please let us know if these fixes worked for your cruze. I am scheduled to have mine looked at this coming Monday.


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## 2011lt1 (Dec 13, 2010)

gunner22 said:


> Please let us know if these fixes worked for your cruze. I am scheduled to have mine looked at this coming Monday.




so i got her back today. tranny is like butter, everything is better, shifts smoother, doesn't feel like it wants to keep going when i let off the throttle. shift arent as abrupt and its not confused anymore. if you fall before the vin # get the new tcm flash, its great. the suspension was just greased and no more noise.


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

I'm a little concerned. My Cruze is still at the dealer. The only issue left is the tranny issue (all others were fixed quickly) and they don't know about at TSB for the tranny they said. It gets looked at for the tranny tomorrow. Let's hope for the best.


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

Okay, I got the Cruze back. The transmission was updated and seems to shift much more smoothly, except when coming to a stop. It kind of downshifts hard sometimes compared to before. Overall though, it is performing better. Before, it seemed to get "hung" in certain gears sometimes. It does not do that now. All the other Service bulletins were performed also. Everything seems fine so far.


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## 2011lt1 (Dec 13, 2010)

racer114 said:


> Okay, I got the Cruze back. The transmission was updated and seems to shift much more smoothly, except when coming to a stop. It kind of downshifts hard sometimes compared to before. Overall though, it is performing better. Before, it seemed to get "hung" in certain gears sometimes. It does not do that now. All the other Service bulletins were performed also. Everything seems fine so far.




mine was really slowing down off throttle after the program. but after a day already i believe its relearning my driving style and getting even better.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

That's what I was hoping to hear. I dropped off a printout of my observations and the TSB's associated with them this morning. My car goes in Monday for this, oil change, and splash guards. Can't wait to see and feel the results.

Now I need to figure out how to get all the road slop off my car from the 20+ inches of snow last week...


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## booradley (Dec 20, 2010)

*Shifting Issues Fixed*

Just had my TSB ref Transmission Reprogram completed at the dealer. The owner of the dealership told me to wait 500 miles for by that time the car will learn my driving habits and will settle down and shift smoothly and not suffer from hanging shifts, abrupt shifts and bump shifts. I told him I wanted it done now and not at 500 miles. They did it and its is a totally different car, well worth the service appointment. Getting 25 MPG with less than 500 miles on the clock.


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## gunner22 (Nov 20, 2010)

I got the reflash done Monday. Last night was the first time the roads were clear of snow to feel the difference. When cold I still get a couple lazy shifts, but it is much better overall. All shifts are faster now and deccelaration is smoother as well. It will actually coast now instead of feeling like it's engine braking constantly. Hard accelaration shifting is much improved as well. I have only put about 150 miles on since the reflash so I don't have any MPG calc's yet.


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## Disbeliever (Dec 31, 2010)

ChevyMgr said:


> New TSB issued on transmission shifting complaints. See post #16
> 
> http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-s...-tsb-technical-service-bulletin-thread-2.html


 I have been running a 150 bhp auto diesel Cruze for the past 10 months and have found the autobox to be excellent


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## booradley (Dec 20, 2010)

OK I may be too picky or impatient, but I think when these transmissions are cold, like our morning temps have been around 20 degrees without wind chill, the first few shifts are brutal. My other car, an Acura TL is a lot smoother cold. There are abrupt shifts, bump, surge. Really noticeable. I had the re flash (How would I know the dealer actually did the re flash?) MPG still very low? Anyone out there with the same symptoms? After it warms up it shifts OK.


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## shawn672 (Oct 31, 2010)

booradley said:


> OK I may be too picky or impatient, but I think when these transmissions are cold, like our morning temps have been around 20 degrees without wind chill, the first few shifts are brutal. My other car, an Acura TL is a lot smoother cold. There are abrupt shifts, bump, surge. Really noticeable. I had the re flash (How would I know the dealer actually did the re flash?) MPG still very low? Anyone out there with the same symptoms? After it warms up it shifts OK.


 
harsher shifts when its cold seems to be the norm. all of my cobalts and my 05 equinox was this way too. just let it warm up a minute longer? not sure what to recommend


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

booradley said:


> OK I may be too picky or impatient, but I think when these transmissions are cold, like our morning temps have been around 20 degrees without wind chill, the first few shifts are brutal. My other car, an Acura TL is a lot smoother cold. There are abrupt shifts, bump, surge. Really noticeable. I had the re flash (How would I know the dealer actually did the re flash?) MPG still very low? Anyone out there with the same symptoms? After it warms up it shifts OK.


I can't remember where I posted my concerns about the shifting issues and the poor gas mileage that some people are experiencing AFTER the tranny reprogram. It might have been in the Cruze section of FaceBook. At any rate, I was concerned that so many people seem to be having these issues when this car has been in other countries for a while now. In addition, GM boldly states that the car has been tested for FOUR MILLION miles?

Someone wrote and said that the engine and tranny are DIFFERENT than the Cruzes that are in other countries? True? My Malibu LTZ lease is up soon and I want a car with better mileage, but NOT one that I will be at the dealer with all the time. I know that NO car is perfect, but any GM car I've had has been very satisfactory for the most part although my Malibu engine did die at 16,016 miles several months ago. I don't have 17,000 miles on the car yet, but this engine seems ok. NO clue as to what happened? It just started with NO power. When I stepped on the gas, it would make a clattering noise. Anyway, it's fine now and GM gets it back soon.

If the Cruze is having these issues, GM should STOP shipping them UNTIL the problem(s) are resolved instead of making the customers take time to bring the car to the dealer to have this work done. People are going to get fed up with GM AGAIN and shop elsewhere if they don't act quickly. Certainly SOME GM executive has driven a Cruze in the cold weather to see these problems- no? OR are they all driving Cadillacs?


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

fastdriver said:


> I can't remember where I posted my concerns about the shifting issues and the poor gas mileage that some people are experiencing AFTER the tranny reprogram. It might have been in the Cruze section of FaceBook. At any rate, I was concerned that so many people seem to be having these issues when this car has been in other countries for a while now. In addition, GM boldly states that the car has been tested for FOUR MILLION miles?
> 
> Someone wrote and said that the engine and tranny are DIFFERENT than the Cruzes that are in other countries? True? My Malibu LTZ lease is up soon and I want a car with better mileage, but NOT one that I will be at the dealer with all the time. I know that NO car is perfect, but any GM car I've had has been very satisfactory for the most part although my Malibu engine did die at 16,016 miles several months ago. I don't have 17,000 miles on the car yet, but this engine seems ok. NO clue as to what happened? It just started with NO power. When I stepped on the gas, it would make a clattering noise. Anyway, it's fine now and GM gets it back soon.
> 
> If the Cruze is having these issues, GM should STOP shipping them UNTIL the problem(s) are resolved instead of making the customers take time to bring the car to the dealer to have this work done. People are going to get fed up with GM AGAIN and shop elsewhere if they don't act quickly. Certainly SOME GM executive has driven a Cruze in the cold weather to see these problems- no? OR are they all driving *Cadillacs*?


...or maybe Mercedes-Benz's?


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## cerbomark (Dec 13, 2010)

Mine is a bit slow to shift in extreme cold for a few mins, doesn t seem like a problem to me. My MB holds gears longer when cold too.This is engineered in MB to help the trans warm up sooner. Not sure what the cruise is doing but I m not considering it an issue.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

cerbomark said:


> My MB holds gears longer when cold too.This is engineered in MB to help the trans warm up sooner. Not sure what the cruise is doing but I m not considering it an issue.


...the samething occurs with our two Pontiac Vibes with Toyota engines & automatics, for the same reasons, as stated in the Owners Manuals.


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## SilverCruzer (Nov 30, 2010)

70AARCUDA said:


> ...the samething occurs with our two Pontiac Vibes with Toyota engines & automatics, for the same reasons, as stated in the Owners Manuals.


 I agree. Every "modern" auto I have owned does this. Its been cold where I live, and the Cruze does hold on to the gears a little longer for the first few miles in the morning, then its fine.


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

It is really cold here in Texas, by are standards anyway. I had the wonderful experience of spending a LOT of time with my Cruze this morning waiting for several wrecks to clear. The tranny is absolute crap when cold. But, after a 30 minute warm up, it seemed to get better. But, it was a crawl to the office. Tonight on the way home, it was 31 degrees and the tranny was fine, after letting the car warm up for 15 minutes. Now I know it is a heck of a lot colder in Europe than it is here in Texas. Why wasn't this car made to withstand "mildly" cold weather?


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## cerbomark (Dec 13, 2010)

racer114 said:


> It is really cold here in Texas, by are standards anyway. I had the wonderful experience of spending a LOT of time with my Cruze this morning waiting for several wrecks to clear. The tranny is absolute crap when cold. But, after a 30 minute warm up, it seemed to get better. But, it was a crawl to the office. Tonight on the way home, it was 31 degrees and the tranny was fine, after letting the car warm up for 15 minutes. Now I know it is a heck of a lot colder in Europe than it is here in Texas. Why wasn't this car made to withstand "mildly" cold weather?


I m in below zero weather and it doesn t take more than three or four mins to smooth out for me.


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## SilverCruzer (Nov 30, 2010)

racer114 said:


> It is really cold here in Texas, by are standards anyway. I had the wonderful experience of spending a LOT of time with my Cruze this morning waiting for several wrecks to clear. The tranny is absolute crap when cold. But, after a 30 minute warm up, it seemed to get better. But, it was a crawl to the office. Tonight on the way home, it was 31 degrees and the tranny was fine, after letting the car warm up for 15 minutes. Now I know it is a heck of a lot colder in Europe than it is here in Texas. Why wasn't this car made to withstand "mildly" cold weather?


 racer - before I think I mentioned the fix was not done correctly on your car because of your poor mileage results, I would say the same now about your transmission being fixed. I live in Michigan, and we have had many less-than 20 degree mornings (some single digits) this past month. The transmission will do "the cold weather thing" for about 2 miles until I get to the interstate, then its done.


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

*Tranny shifting*

As I read these posts about the poor shifting, I still can't believe that as of today, people are still unhappy with their Cruze shifting. I stick by my original post that this car has been around for some time in OTHER countries. As such, there should NOT be these problems so soon if this car was truly tested for FOUR MILLION miles as GM states. I don't fall for this idea that the engine/tranny whatever is DIFFERENT than the Cruze in other countries or that the assembly line here has to run for a while with this "new" car to work out the kinks. These problems should NOT exist. I have had MANY first year cars, that were NOT previously running in other countries, that have NOT had problems just because they were a first year car.

That said, MAYBE the tranny is like the tranny on my 2004 Chevy Aveo. The car does NOT shift into 4th gear UNTIL it warms up within a few miles. This is noted in the owner's manual. I forget the reasoning for this- pollution control? Could this be the Cruze problem? My other shifts are smooth however- no bumps, lagging, holding etc. when it's cold


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...the Cruze's *6T40* 6-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission (RPO: *MH8*) has been in use _since_ 2008 in the Malibu and _other_ GM cars, so it's "teething" period should be well over.

...there's also a slightly beefier version of this unit called the *6T45*, which is used in larger 4- and V6-engined vehicles.

...the Federal 'window sticker' for our Cruze LTZ states:

• For this vehicle: Final Assembl Point: Lordstown, OH U.S.A.
• Country of Orgin: Engine: Austria, *Transmission: Mexico*


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## RS LTZ (Jan 5, 2011)

I don't know if what I'm experiencing is along the same lines as what other people might feel, but when I'm at a light and I let off the brake (I know the tranny shifts into neutral at a stop), it kind of lunges forward. It's not a whole lot by any means, but it's just kind of weird. It is probably just the tranny shifting back into gear, but I wanted other peoples opinions. 

I've already checked the TSB's, and all of them were applied at the factory.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...we (wife & I) sometimes feel a _slight_ forward "movement" as the tranny re-engauges at a stoplight, but I wouldn't call it a "lunge."

...this issue (?) sounds like an excellent candidate as a POLL QUESTION (see new posting).


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## 2011lt1 (Dec 13, 2010)

this tranny/engine combo is new. yea they have been using 6 speeds in other models but that's with different engines . this is the first time for the new 1.4t. and from i understand this 6 speed is new and different from the others. mine was awful before the tcm program. after the program and 1500 miles i am really starting to enjoy driving the car. i think other then that first 2-3 miles when its cold they have completely rectified the trans problem. and this is coming from a guy who has driven 5speed hondas most of his life. so to enjoy a big car, little engine with a auto tranny they have to have gotten something right with the new tcm program


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

RS LTZ said:


> I don't know if what I'm experiencing is along the same lines as what other people might feel, but when I'm at a light and I let off the brake (I know the tranny shifts into neutral at a stop), it kind of lunges forward. It's not a whole lot by any means, but it's just kind of weird. It is probably just the tranny shifting back into gear, but I wanted other peoples opinions.
> 
> I've already checked the TSB's, and all of them were applied at the factory.


The tranny shifts into neutral when you stop? I never heard anyone mention that before. This sounds like it could lead to a lot of wear and tear?


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

My 2004 cavalier 4speed auto runs much higher RPM before the car is warmed up(when cold outside). If I had to guess its either A. not locking/unlocking torque converter or B. not shifting into 4th gear. 
Once the car is fully up to operating temp(195degrees my car) it drops to the proper RPM. On really cold days(below zero) it may take 15-20 minutes to fully warm up. 
I believe this is part of the reason why I loose 8mpg in the winter, lots of short trips with the car not warmed up fully. 

As stated earlier in this thread its designed that way to get the motor/trans up to operating temperature quicker, once warmed up the car uses much less fuel & has less emissions/pollution out the tail pipe.


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## RS LTZ (Jan 5, 2011)

The emissions part is right, not for the sake of the engine being warm, but the Catalytic Converter is virtually useless unless its hot. The metals they use in it don't react with the emissions until it reaches a certain temperature. That goes for all vehicles, so they probably don't let it shift into the high gear to keep kicking out exhaust to get the CC to operating temperature quicker


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## booradley (Dec 20, 2010)

Here I am beating a "dead horse". I drive for a Ford Dealership, do all their "new car swaps" which means I drive all Ford products from 30 minutes to 3-4-5 hours in some instances. I must say from the Focus, which is really a roller skate compared to the Cruze, to the Fusion and on and on, their transmissions shift much smoother when cold and warming up. When I am up in the higher highway speeds and move the shift lever to manual, it reads "5" and not "6". When does "6" happen??? July??? I am just saying, it seems odd. I like the Cruze for the money, and the Fusion 4 cylinder is slower and not as peppy as my Cruze, but the MPG is better. Thanks for again allowing my 2 cents.


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

booradly,

I own several new Fords and I've driven them all. The tranny in my 2010 F-150(s, yes, I had two) was/were horrific. The tranny in my 2011 Flex is flawless, as is the 6spd manual in my Mustang GT 5.0. The Focus I drove for a week while my F-150 was in the shop was a joke, in all aspects. It was right there with the Corolls I got for my second week my F-150 was in the shop. My 2010 Chrysler 300C with the 5 spd auto was bad too. 

The bottom line is that i thinkg these OEMs need to get these 6spd trannys figured out before they put them out there. I don't think they've researched them enough. 

B


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

My AUDI A8L 4.2 has rough shifts with a cold transmission (< 20 degrees F).
Run for 2 minutes, works fine.

Should the Cruze be better?

RGM


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

montgom626 said:


> My AUDI A8L 4.2 has rough shifts with a cold transmission (< 20 degrees F).
> Run for 2 minutes, works fine.
> 
> Should the Cruze be better?
> ...


...well, one would HOPE so, especially in light of GM's _"...over 4-million miles testing, in Artic and Deserts..."_ advertising hype.

...since the global Cruze has been on the market since 2009, one would HOPE that by now (2011) 99.9% of the "bugs" would've been worked-out already.

...but, alas, that's seeming not so.


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## racer114 (Nov 7, 2010)

well, one would HOPE so, especially in light of GM's _"...over 4-million miles testing, in Artic and Deserts..."_ advertising hype.

_...since the global Cruze has been on the market since 2009, one would HOPE that by now (2011) 99.9% of the "bugs" would've been worked-out already.

...but, alas, that's seeming not so. _
__________________
Exactly.


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