[davidtranlds]

Hi guys

So, recently purchased Holden Cruze 2012 SRi-V JH Series II, 1.4L turbo petrol, second hand - last thread, hopefully (for now)

1 - During in automatic mode, I noticed when the car shifts gears, it's a little rough, like I feel a small jerk, like someone shifting in a manual poorly.
It's not smooth, essentially.

2 - Also, I noticed the gears generally shift around the 2500 rpm range or so?
But 2nd to 3rd gear happens around the 2000 rpm range - it's shifting early (compared to the others)
This is with normal conservative driving, not aggressive or anything.

3 - When I come to a complete stop, there's a little rumble in the car.
Something I noticed is when I come to a stop, say my instantaneous fuel usage is around 1.1L/100km, and one it's stopped completely, there's a little rumble in the car before that fuel usage drops to 0.8L/100km, for example.

Every time I come to a complete stop, a little rumble - sometimes it's quite evident there's a rumble.
I can change the gear to Neutral, or flick to the manual side, then go back to Drive, and it'll rumble again.
Creep forward a tiny bit and brake, and it'll rumble again.
Just weird - not normal is it?



Will changing the transmission fluid help smooth out the shifts?

Is it programmed to shift gears around those ranges?

What controls this stuff, can it be reset/altered?

Sorry for all the questions - just trying to get my car into tip top shape - as much as possible.

Thanks

 

[bibu16v]

You didn't mention your mileage though...
Do you have some gearbox maintenance history? If never done an oil change it'll be a good idea to do it, it's possible to improve things.

 

[davidtranlds]

Ah forgot about that

162529 km

Regarding the RPMs, if I accelerate a little heavier, then they tend to shift around the 2800 rpm range
Have to check again for gear 4 onwards though

In saying that, shifts are all over the place, depending how heavy my foot is...

One thing I forgot to mention though, shifting into reverse, there's a moment of no power, even if i put the foot down on the acceleration, no power, does nothing, takes a moment for it to click and release I'm trying to reverse, then it finally moves...

Car almost rolled into a wall because it wouldn't reverse, had to slam breaks and give it a moment, then reverse worked...

Is this normal?
Am I hitting acceleration too quickly after shifting to reverse?

 

[bibu16v]

Reverse thing is not normal. Looks like your gearbox has some problems...unfortunately.
As I said previously your only cheap way is oil changing and hoping for the best. Otherwise worst case scenario you'll need a gearbox.

 

[davidtranlds]

Ok bibu

Will give it a shot soon (since service is almost due, will get mechanic to do it all)

 

[jblackburn]

Just to set expectations: they are NOT a smooth transmission.

Reverse can be quite slow to engage. In the manner of like ~1-2 seconds before it actually engages.

Rumble in Drive, but not in manual or neutral:
These cars are supposed to put themselves in "neutral" with foot on the brake. Once you let go, they'll re-engage the gearset quickly, sometimes with a little bit of a noticeable thump.

That said, it sounds like this car is in desperate need of a fluid change. Should smooth out shifts and improve shift time a bit.

 

[davidtranlds]

Thanks for the info jblackburn - very interesting.

I did forgot to mention, first time going into reverse, slow to engage. Subsequent times, quicker. But if I don't reverse for a long period again, slow to engage again (which is when I nearly rolled into a wall)

So the rumble when idle being normal is quite interesting, and annoying... But maybe the fluid change may help smooth it out, and the gear shifts.

Well, aside from the gear shifts, it drives smooth, very quiet, at times it feels like I'm driving an electric. lol

 

[bibu16v]

It looks like an oil change would worth it...

 

[jblackburn]

Thanks for the info jblackburn - very interesting.

I did forgot to mention, first time going into reverse, slow to engage. Subsequent times, quicker. But if I don't reverse for a long period again, slow to engage again (which is when I nearly rolled into a wall)

So the rumble when idle being normal is quite interesting, and annoying... But maybe the fluid change may help smooth it out, and the gear shifts.

Well, aside from the gear shifts, it drives smooth, very quiet, at times it feels like I'm driving an electric. lol

It’s possible you have a collapsed engine/trans mount or two as well causing the rumble when in gear.

 

[Johnny B]

Will changing the transmission fluid help smooth out the shifts?

Before I changed my ATF, I had to use a calendar to time my shifts. I researched what fluid to use on BITOG, and hit gold with Valvoline Maxlife. It has improved the shifting by 200%.

 

[davidtranlds]

Before I changed my ATF, I had to use a calendar to time my shifts. I researched what fluid to use on BITOG, and hit gold with Valvoline Maxlife. It has improved the shifting by 200%.

How do you use a calendar to time your shifts?

 

[Johnny B]

How do you use a calendar to time your shifts?

I look at the date, correlate that to the sun's position. Compare that to the shadow lines of any near structures. After the shift was completed, compare a near shadow line to the original. Take the difference in the two angles, using dew south as a reference. Take that number, and multiply it by the number of seconds of daylight for that day. And bang, Bob is your uncle.

 

[davidtranlds]

Lol that just went right over my head