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Slight jerking motion when downshifting

5745 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  MilTownSHO
My car is a 2014 Cruze Diesel with 24,500 kilometers. I got it in August of 2014 and this issue presented itself as the weather became colder that following winter. When shifting from 6th gear to 5th gear, it will give a light jerking feedback as if the RPMs were too high and you throw it into a low gear too quickly. It is the north american model so it is an automatic. I'm not using the manual shifting mode when this happens (although I have tried it and the issue presents itself in both situations, whether the RPMs are low enough for a proper shift or not.) I called the dealer and they weren't too sure and said to drop by any time when it happens. I've caught it happening a few times since then but nothing consistent enough for me to be able to go to the dealer and have them notice it. I figured I'd post here and see if anyone else experiences this and if it's normal for this type of transmission or if I should have them look at something specific. I am aware this transmission does shift a little rough sometimes especially in cold weather. This issue presents itself even after the vehicle has fully warmed up in cold weather. The issue also was present before I started running with the Trifecta tune. The tune has not made the issue better or worse.
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Low ATF?
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The last oil change I had was bundled with a full inspection that my dealer did as part of the new car purchase incentive. That was done at 15,000 km. They have never found anything wrong. I've never seen anything dripping from the engine. I'll be able to check this later today. Should the engine be fully warmed up for this to be checked or cold?
With this many miles on the OD you are just short of the seviceable lifespan of that transmission flueds longevity ...

You might consider changing the initial fill placed into the Aisin transmission ealier than specified ...Go with specified or greater than recommended by GM ...

You do not want a Flush ..you want an exchange of the fluid ..........
With this many miles on the OD you are just short of the seviceable lifespan of that transmission flueds longevity ...

You might consider changing the initial fill placed into the Aisin transmission ealier than specified ...Go with specified or greater than recommended by GM ...

You do not want a Flush ..you want an exchange of the fluid ..........
Just double checking, I posted that 24,500 in kilometers. That's 15,223 miles. Should I really be changing the factory fill that soon?
From my experience with ATF , NO ...the initial fill could quite possible be underfilled ..
You need the transmission temp at or above operating temp to get the best measurement as ATF Expands with increased Temps !
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you will find as you pile the miles on it the little quirts will disappear , mine was the same way. did not like the trans at all in the beginning. also amsoil fluid change helped as well.
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Mine has always has the occasional rough jerky shift here and there, even after the Amsoil fluid change (but it was a bit smoother after the change). 151K miles now and still shifts perfectly fine.
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Mine was 'jerky' from 3rd->2nd->1. It has 75K km, so I though it's time to replace the trans fluid anyways. Had them use AMSoil sync. turns out the trans fluid connectors (a crimped metal pipe connection to pvc connection was slowly 'weeping' (leaking, and it was very slow. This is located under the body shield, I suspect it drops on the shield and burns off or evaporates, NO tell tail driveway pool of fluid) I can't believe the difference. I am not sure if the lines (trans body to the cooler) are covered under warranty, but it will need to be addressed.
In my experience so far I've noticed the same jerking motion when the car is regenerating. Has done it since new, very annoying in traffic. I'll try and pay more attention this week, but I don't think it's trans fluid, otherwise it would be consistent, at least I would think.
It is not covered under warranty... mine has the same issue. Not willing to shell out the money for the repair at this point.
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