[bgjkim]

Hello,
First of all, I apologize if I posted in a wrong section, please let me know the appropriate location for this material.

I have 2015 Chevy Cruze LT, and owned for little over an year. My mom drove for about year, and then I just recently started to use it.

While driving this car, I realized there is a weird knocking-like (or maybe a slight braking?) moment when the car slows down.
I really have no idea what would be the proper word to explain the situation, but let me explain:

I was stepping acceleration pedal to exceed speed of about 45-70 mph, then step off the pedal (without stepping the brake pedal). The car slows down. Then the shift automatically goes down (I assume). As the downshifting occurs, I feel like I actually stepped a brake momentarily.

My mom told me she has been experiencing that problem since her first day with this car.

What I would like to know are whether this is normal and safe without maintenance work. How should I explain this to the Chevy Service Center if this must be fixed?

 

[jblackburn]

So you're feeling like the car is downshifting at 70? At 45? Do RPMs rise up significantly? If not, it's not downshifting.

At speed, the torque converter stays locked - as a result, these cars may not coast as well as cars you've had in the past. I had one car that would disengage the torque converter when you let off the gas below 55 mph so that it sometimes felt like you were coasting in neutral.

 

[CruzeDan]

You posted in the diesel forum, but anyway, sounds normal. As stated above, modern cars keep the torque converter locked up much more than previous transmissions. This provides more engine braking and downshifting.