[Patman]

As most of you know the last 2 Cruzes I had 2011 LS and 2012 Eco were 6m. Now this 2014 LT is an auto. I am not sure if I am just having trouble with
getting used to how the car shifts or I need to do something, maybe it is just the hills where I live? Seems to bounce around a little on the hwy esp on hills. Would a tune help?

 

[jblackburn]

My 2016 holds gears til over 3k if you're going up or accelerating up a hill (even gradually). Likewise, braking applications downhill will cause it to drop a gear or two to engine brake.

Grade shifting like in trucks, but a tad bit excessive on the uphill portion if you ask me - there's plenty of torque in the engine to get up the hills in the next gear up. My experience with both 1.4Ts is that they'll stubbornly stay locked in 6th unless you confront it with a massive grade or boot the pedal yourself. Set on cruise control, I have never dropped out of 6th at over 60 mph to climb a hill, even through the mountains.

 

[Patman]

I guess I am still just not used to an auto yet and some of the on ramps around where I live are right on hills. I really can't get to cruising area until I get into KY or Indiana which is rare. All I can really say is that it gives good reason an Eco was not the best choice for my last car. Guess I still miss my stick shift LOL.

 

[jblackburn]

It doesn't take much throttle input for the autos to run out gears, and they also put down a lot less of your 138 HP to the ground. There is quite a noticeable difference in the 1st gen between AT and MT power output.

Move it over to manual mode or lighten up on your right foot if you feel it's running out gears too long.

 

[Eddy Cruze]

After 6 years with the CRUZE I would have thought you mastered the art of the driving the darn thing, no matter how its geared? Since the Rock incident and your recent strip mall accident I am staying clear of Cincinnati :dazed002:

 

[Dngrsone]

It's not you. The tranny on the '14 LT is fairly rough (and the accelerator is touchy, to boot).

 

[dhpnet]

The AT on my '14 LT is pretty good. I had never owned an AT before the Cruze, and it took some time to get used to it. I can definitely feel it shifting, but it's not any more noticeable than a manual transmission shifting.

When accelerating, it upshifts well, and faster than I can. But, the AT seems to always want to be in the highest gear possible, and that is not always the best gear for what I want to do. I know it can't read my mind, so I forgive it.

I use the manual mode a lot. For example, if I am driving through a school zone going uphill and plan to take off after the school zone, I manually downshift to get it ready. Otherwise it will bog down as it tries to figure out what I am doing, and I have to push the gas pedal down pretty far before it figures it out. Sometimes it is 2 gears lower than it should be for me to take off quickly, and it doesn't figure that out quickly.

Mine changes gears a lot when driving through the mountains on the freeway. But I figure that is because it always wants to be in the highest gear possible.

 

[Eddy Cruze]

It's not you. The tranny on the '14 LT is fairly rough (and the accelerator is touchy, to boot).

I don't think the A/T shifts rough at all? It might shift through all gears fairly quickly but it does so with precision. Perhaps because I only have 15K on a 3.5 year old car, our heat is bothering my CRUZE but shift wise no complaints!

 

[Dngrsone]

Dunno, mine's only 29K, but the shifting is noticeable and not nearly as smooth as on my previous ride, an '06 Kia Sedona with 120K... the overall ride in the Cruze is much smoother, though.

Mostly, I think, I just have to learn how to finesse the accelerator for a smoother start off the line (I'm not trying to win the race, but rather maximize the mileage... and not give my wife car-sickness).

 

[jblackburn]

You definitely feel the individual shifts on the GM 6 speeds way more than you do on a transmission that slurs shifts dramatically with a torque converter clutch. Especially some of the downshifts. It's normal, though.

My girlfriend doesn't care for the way my car or her brothers Fusion shift when compared to hers (because it's more noticeable).

 

[Patman]

I really have no problem with the shifting. It is just the one or 2 situations(esp over this weekend) where I end up feeling like I need more control over the shifting than I have Overall I am getting used to it and actually like it better than my old sticks.

 

[jblackburn]

I really have no problem with the shifting. It is just the one or 2 situations(esp over this weekend) where I end up feeling like I need more control over the shifting than I have Overall I am getting used to it and actually like it better than my old sticks.

Pop it over to manual mode and tell it what to do, problem solved!

 

[Dngrsone]

Man, I do miss my manual transmissions... these 'manual mode' automatics just aren't really doing it for me.

 

[chevrasaki]

All I can remember about the 1st gen Cruze LTZ rental I had a couple years ago with the AT is that every time I drove it, I just wanted my MT car instead.

 

[Dngrsone]

I was pretty impressed with the '17 Cruze Rental I drove last month. I was driving through the Appalachians between West Virginia and Pennsylvania and still managed to net 40mpg; and I wasn't going easy on the accelerator, either.

 

[Patman]

I really have no problem with the shifting. It is just the one or 2 situations(esp over this weekend) where I end up feeling like I need more control over the shifting than I have Overall I am getting used to it and actually like it better than my old sticks.

I hate to say if I use the advice I/we have told others so many times and use 93 octane instead of the 89 I have been using, I notice the increased power more than not. I was using 89 only bc I know the car is not tuned to 93 octane and really did not feel the need to
spend the extra $ Not it is getting warmer and more humid the 93 seems to be the better choice and I have been using the manual a little more this weekend. It all seems to be "coming together" for me now.