That Cursed Shift Light

[sciphi]

In Australia this weird gear lock doesn't exist on the Monaro or any manual car regardless of the engine in it. I remember reading a road test of the GTO by an Aussie jurno and he thought there was something wrong with the car the first time he drove one. The auto doesn't do this so why cripple the manual????

Only in 'Murica with its "light truck loophole" (make a "truck" big enough and we don't care what mileage it gets) CAFE regulations does such a silly design exist. It's for our Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards so we can be "efficient". The shift light is along those same lines, since it is designing to the lowest common denominator. It's assuming that we're busy posting to Facebook on our phones while stuffing a McDeath into our faces and giving the New York/New Jersey state bird to other drivers, so we forget to shift to save fuel. Make sense? It doesn't to me either.

[obermd]

Don't even get me started on the CAFE standards and their uneven application to consumer vehicles. If a vehicle is advertised for sale to the general public, it should fall under the same standard - period.

[NBrehm]

I'll search around with my tech 2, might be a way to at least adjusted it to come on with some ridiculous parameters (like 100mph in 1 st gear at 500RPM) or just turn it off.

[Sunline Fan]

Our Jeep Wrangler has one of these annoying shift lights too. The steering wheel/seat height isn't adjustable, but I'm just the right height where the steering wheel blocks the light from normal view. Even with the 4.0L, that thing is such a dog, the light should be the other way around- to remind you to downshift to maintain speed!

[jblackburn]

Our Jeep Wrangler has one of these annoying shift lights too. The steering wheel/seat height isn't adjustable, but I'm just the right height where the steering wheel blocks the light from normal view. Even with the 4.0L, that thing is such a dog, the light should be the other way around- to remind you to downshift to maintain speed!

I had a girlfriend in high school that had a Cherokee with the 2.5 4 cylinder and a 5 speed. Flat out, foot to the floor in 5th, it would do 65-70, and took about 20 seconds to get there. Hills could be pulled in 4th or 3rd at 55 mph. Made my 98-HP Honda Accord look like a race car. I had a lot of fun in that thing though - usedta take it down to the shore and drive out on the beach.


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[Sunline Fan]

I had a girlfriend in high school that had a Cherokee with the 2.5 4 cylinder and a 5 speed. Flat out, foot to the floor in 5th, it would do 65-70, and took about 20 seconds to get there. Hills could be pulled in 4th or 3rd at 55 mph. Made my 98-HP Honda Accord look like a race car. I had a lot of fun in that thing though - usedta take it down to the shore and drive out on the beach.

Geez, just when I thought it couldn't be worse on the highway- that sounds awful! I know the Wrangler was available with that same powerplant standard. The inline 6 will do 70-75, but if you hit any incline, it has to be shifted down to 4th to maintain it. Besides the fuel economy standpoint, it's also screaming doing it, making the already loud ride even louder.

Unfortunately, it's the only manual I've ever really driven and the reason why I steered away from a 6M Cruze. I didn't want to shift all the time just to maintain my speed. But seeing how much pep this thing has with the turbo, I think it wouldn't be a problem to maintain speed on the highway in 6th gear, just like I do now in M6.

[jblackburn]

Nope! The only hills I have to downshift for are under 55 mph. At 65-75 with a non-Eco transmission, it'll Cruze right along happily up any hill you throw at it.

I used to live in the mountains of VA, and took the Cruze back to my old college stomping grounds. It didn't even flinch at the hills the 2.3L 240 hp Volvo would downshift for. I was impressed. Torque FTW!

[Clump]

Just got back from my 1st service. The dealer tells me there is no way it can be turned off. I explained that others have had it turned off, but they would not budge.

@jblackburn - Please let me know the dealer that did yours for you. NOVA is close enough and the light's annoying enough to go there to get it done. OTOH it may be a change in the '13, similar to now needing a dealer to enable fog lights.

[jblackburn]

Just got back from my 1st service. The dealer tells me there is no way it can be turned off. I explained that others have had it turned off, but they would not budge.

@jblackburn - Please let me know the dealer that did yours for you. NOVA is close enough and the light's annoying enough to go there to get it done. OTOH it may be a change in the '13, similar to now needing a dealer to enable fog lights.

Pohanka Chevrolet in Chantilly.

I talked to a technician that actually owned a Cruze. That might make all the difference. Wish I remembered his name.

[Clump]

Pohanka Chevrolet in Chantilly.

I talked to a technician that actually owned a Cruze. That might make all the difference. Wish I remembered his name.

Thanks! I'll give them a call.