# First diesel drive today.



## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

Your experience of the CTD suggests to me that you simply don't like automatic cars and would find fault with the auto in a Rolls Royce if ever you got a chance to drive one. My son is a bit like that and has to have a manual car, however when he took my CTD for a drive he admitted that he could live with it if he had to. After 2 years and coming from a 5 speed manual 3.8 commodore I am quite happy with the way my 6T45 transmission works in my Cruze Diesel. No matter how much you want a manual the simple fact is that about 90% of buyers will opt for the automatic and until GM decides that a small number of manual diesels is cost effective it won't happen.


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## tracepk (Aug 20, 2013)

I do prefer a manual car but that doesn't excuse GM trying to pass off this junk as a quality transmission. My very first car was a 97 ford taurus that had that terrible 1-2/2-1 shift issue where you were looking at 2-5 seconds to shift and would clunk into gear suddenly, and it felt better than the cruze automatics.


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## tracepk (Aug 20, 2013)

Should also mention I don't believe the US cruze market uses the same tranny as the australian counterpart. So yours might be far less of a slushbox than what I drove this morning.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

tracepk said:


> Should also mention I don't believe the US cruze market uses the same tranny as the australian counterpart. So yours might be far less of a slushbox than what I drove this morning.


You are right, that is why I mentioned the 6T45 transmission, The 1.8 uses the 6T30, 1.4T uses the 6T40, so the Aussie diesel uses a beefed up version of the 1.4T auto. The Asiian transmission is claimed to be more durable than the regular transmission, although from what I have read on this forum it doesn't sound as smooth and seamless as mine is.


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## MilTownSHO (Oct 9, 2013)

I have never driven a gas Cruze automatic so I can't compare it to a Diesel.

I will say I hate automatics and the diesel has one of the roughest shifting transmissions I have ever driven.

It's not like it slips or misses shifts, it just feels like they threw a truck transmission in it.

No idea why they were built that way, seems like an oversight or they got lazy at the end because the rest of the car is great.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

MilTownSHO said:


> I have never driven a gas Cruze automatic so I can't compare it to a Diesel.
> 
> I will say I hate automatics and the diesel has one of the roughest shifting transmissions I have ever driven.
> 
> ...


Just think about the amount of torque this engine puts out and the desire to make it last and a solid transmission would be reasonable, although why it is rough changing is a mystery to me as mine is so smooth that after 3 gear I need to push the selector into manual mode to know what gear the car is in.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I have no complaints with mine. Mine shifts smooth as silk once it's warmed up. Half the time I don't even know it shifted. I will say the 6F35 in the new fords definitely does shift smoother though. 


Sent from the sexy electrician


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

money_man said:


> I have no complaints with mine. Mine shifts smooth as silk once it's warmed up. Half the time I don't even know it shifted. I will say the 6F35 in the new fords definitely does shift smoother though.
> 
> 
> Sent from the sexy electrician


Aisin transmissions always shift weird when cold - they hang on to revs and are a bit clunky til the fluid warms up. Just how they are. 

Fords is a little slow to shift gears, with a bit of a pause in between, but it is very smooth and the programming is excellent - there are very few on the market that I like, and that's one of them. 

Coincidentally, I kinda liked the 6t40 in the last gen Malibu - it was programmed well - but it sucks in the Cruze.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Amsoil should fix those cold rough shifts!



Sent from the sexy electrician


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

money_man said:


> Amsoil should fix those cold rough shifts!
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from the sexy electrician


Doubt it.


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## nascarnate326 (Jun 9, 2014)

Our Diesel is very clunky and rough when cold but as soon as its warmed up its a joy. Love that thing. I also have a '14 1.4 so I know both transmissions pretty well.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

nascarnate326 said:


> Our Diesel is very clunky and rough when cold but as soon as its warmed up its a joy. Love that thing. I also have a '14 1.4 so I know both transmissions pretty well.


Which transmission do you like more?


Sent from the sexy electrician


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