I'm not certain if your description of events lines up with normal operation.
The trans is designed to go into a 'partial' neutral when stopped, in drive, brake applied. Partial, in this case, means that if you reduce brake pedal pressure a bit, the car will 'creep' but still not be fully engaged.......if you fully release the brake pedal, you will feel full engagement occur in a second or less.
This is, to those unfamiliar with the design, referred to as a 'lurch'. It can be far more pronounced by drivers who 'two foot'.....a description of those that operate the car with left foot brake application.
When 'two footed' it is easy to begin to apply throttle before fully releasing the brake, resulting in a feeling the same as a 'neutral drop'.
A neutral drop is a teenager trick......rev the engine, flick into drive, the wheels will spin on engagement (or the trans comes apart).
I'm using this as a extreme example to help define what I'm describing here.
I will agree, the MY2011 versions were a bit harsh during the transition and it seemed as each new model came out Chevy had the re-engagement 'thud' smoothed out.
My 2012 Cruze was noticeable if I was paying attention.....my 2015 Trax (same engine/trans) is almost imperceptible.
Hope I'm not wasting your (or my) time with this response but it is an attempt at clarification to your concern.
Rob
The trans is designed to go into a 'partial' neutral when stopped, in drive, brake applied. Partial, in this case, means that if you reduce brake pedal pressure a bit, the car will 'creep' but still not be fully engaged.......if you fully release the brake pedal, you will feel full engagement occur in a second or less.
This is, to those unfamiliar with the design, referred to as a 'lurch'. It can be far more pronounced by drivers who 'two foot'.....a description of those that operate the car with left foot brake application.
When 'two footed' it is easy to begin to apply throttle before fully releasing the brake, resulting in a feeling the same as a 'neutral drop'.
A neutral drop is a teenager trick......rev the engine, flick into drive, the wheels will spin on engagement (or the trans comes apart).
I'm using this as a extreme example to help define what I'm describing here.
I will agree, the MY2011 versions were a bit harsh during the transition and it seemed as each new model came out Chevy had the re-engagement 'thud' smoothed out.
My 2012 Cruze was noticeable if I was paying attention.....my 2015 Trax (same engine/trans) is almost imperceptible.
Hope I'm not wasting your (or my) time with this response but it is an attempt at clarification to your concern.
Rob