6-speed MT dropped out of gear and won't shift back

[SmoothSonic]

I was driving down the highway today and suddenly my manual transmission dropped into neutral. I tried to shift back into gear and it wouldn't. I managed to drift into the shoulder on the highway. I thought the engine shut off, but it didn't. I tried turning the engine off and back on. It still wouldn't go into gear. The clutch pedal was pressed all the way in. When I turned off the car, I could shift into gear. But when the engine was on, I couldn't.

I contacted Chevy roadside assistance and they helped to get the car towed off the highway and to the nearest dealership.

I have just over 16,000 miles and I was driving through snow conditions when it happened. So, my traveling speed was about 25 MPH.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Does anyone in here have an idea of what happened?

 

[Swordsmith]

Clutch is dead.

Rereading, I am not as certain of that as I was. When my clutch died, I happened to be shifting, so I did not have the "dropped out of gear" experience that you are reporting. I can't tell from your description whether you could get the car to start while it was in gear, which would mean the clutch was working and something wrong with the transmission instead.

I also had, on a previous transmission, an experience where the car would drop out of third and would not hold third. All other gears worked fine that time, though.

(edit to add) I blew through TWO aftermarket clutches, actually, never had any problem with the OEM one, nor the replacement one I put in after the second aftermarket one went, despite running as much as 216 ftlbs torque. SO I'm not suggesting the OEM clutch is likely to go bad, just that the symptom you describe sounded sort of like when my non-OEM ones went

 

[Natesriv]

do you think this has anything to do with the clutch "popping" or "clicking" sound we sometimes see posts on? I notice when I release the clutch, if I tap it with my foot to the right a little I'll hear a little "pop/click"... knowing that the clutch needs 100% engagement when in use is that possibly a sign it's not??

I've got no problems at 25K, but I don't like that sound...

Did you ever notice a click or pop upon releasing the clutch?

 

[SmoothSonic]

there were no sounds. it was as quiet as could be. I was driving along and then suddenly there was nothing. Shifting was normal up until that point... so no warning sounds of any kind. When shifting while the engine was off, the shifting was smooth without sounds. But when the engine was on, the gear shift did nothing but stay in neutral. The clutch pedal had it's normal resistance and sprung back into place. There were no noises coming from that as well.

No check engine light either.

There was one other symptom that later appeared after the car was towed. The ABS light came on and didn't turn off while the engine was running.

 

[Natesriv]

so it's a bad clutch for sure (has dealership contacted you yet?)

 

[SmoothSonic]

No. I called this morning and the mechanic will take a look at it this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

 

[Natesriv]

Loaner?

 

[Dirkdaddy]

Isn't this car like most a hydraulic system for clutch? I'd bet on a catastrophic leak on either end of the system, or possibly the line, not anything with the drivetrain.

 

[mitdr774]

What exactly did it do? Did the shifter kick into neutral? Did you loose power delivery even though the shifter itself is in gear?

 

[SmoothSonic]

What exactly did it do? Did the shifter kick into neutral? Did you loose power delivery even though the shifter itself is in gear?

It kicked into neutral automatically and then I could not shift it into any of the gears while the car was rolling forward. The engine did not shut off. There was no power delivery to the axle, because of the neutral position.

 

[SmoothSonic]

Isn't this car like most a hydraulic system for clutch? I'd bet on a catastrophic leak on either end of the system, or possibly the line, not anything with the drivetrain.

Yes, from what I understand it's a hydraulic system. One of my brothers is thinking the same thought... although he said, wait for the mechanic to make a determination. So, at the moment, I'm at the mercy of the Chevrolet dealership. I heard from a local that they work very sloooowly.

And then my brother was hoping that another mouse didn't eat through a wire. That was last year's problem with my oxygen sensor.

 

[SmoothSonic]

Loaner?

No, I'm borrowing my dad's Chevy because the service guy hadn't looked at my car yet to see if it's a problem that's under warranty.

 

[mitdr774]

If the shifter was kicked into the neutral position while going down the road it is not the clutch. That is usually an internal issue like synchro failure, however loosing every gear would suggest something more like the shift shaft mechanism crapping out.

 

[SmoothSonic]

If the shift shaft crapped out, would that prevent the stick from shifting into gear when the engine is off?

 

[SmoothSonic]

I decided to drive 45 miles to the dealership today to ask about my car. Of course I could call but I needed to get some stuff out of my car. They have a big operation going on there which goes to show why they're probably slow. Well, the guy said that the tech hasn't looked at it yet to know whether it's a warranty repair or not. Also, I don't think this service person knew anything about manual transmissions, because he didn't think of other possible problems other than the word "clutch". So I said to him that the stick shift dropped into neutral automatically and there were no warning noises leading up to this and he said that there doesn't need to be a noise when the clutch goes bad. So I said, but it could be a synchro. Suddenly the guy had a serious look on his face as though I knew what I was talking about and proceeded to take down my other phone number. He was typing something else on the screen as well. I asked when it will be looked at. He said tomorrow. I said that they keep telling me this and he explained that the tech has a lot of transmissions to look at ahead of mine.

I think at this point I should keep calling every day, although it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I call or not.

 

[Natesriv]

You need a loaner...period. It's under warranty and they have it... I'd not leave until I had a loaner in my possession... You get a loaner for them keeping your car, not just them actually working on it.

I had a loaner Ford Taurus when they had my Contour for a month!

 

[SmoothSonic]

I spoke to a service guy over there on the phone. He said that they only give out loaners after they look at the car, not prior. And then he said that I'll have to take up this issue with GM by calling to get a loaner while the car waits to be looked at. I haven't called yet because I don't know if it's BS or not.

 

[MikeM]

You need a loaner...period. It's under warranty and they have it... I'd not leave until I had a loaner in my possession... You get a loaner for them keeping your car, not just them actually working on it.

I had a loaner Ford Taurus when they had my Contour for a month!

I think a loaner car is a dealership to dealership basis(what ive been told). Ive dropped my car off for warranty work for 1-2 days no loaner. Now its in for Transmission/Bearing (they dont know) and i have a loaner for a few weeks now.

 

[Natesriv]

I spoke to a service guy over there on the phone. He said that they only give out loaners after they look at the car, not prior. And then he said that I'll have to take up this issue with GM by calling to get a loaner while the car waits to be looked at. I haven't called yet because I don't know if it's BS or not.

HORSE ****!!!!

I'd ask to speak to the service manager and ask if they can make an exception. IF not, the moment they tell you it needs something which will take more than 2 days... LOANER!

 

[Z71]

If you have a hydraulic clutch release mechanism, failure of the clutch to release could be because of air trapped in the hydraulic system, or low fluid level in the clutch master cylinder reservoir (if the car has one). Some cars have clutch master cylinders without fluid reservoirs and use the fluid from the brake master cylinder.

If the above is the problem, the fix is easy. Adding the fluid and/or bleeding the system to eliminate the air pockets.

There is another possibility. Some clutch master or slave cylinders develop internal seal leakage due to faulty seals or improper assembly of components. In this case you will not notice any leaks, but the clutch will not release fully bcuase pressurized brake fluid will flow past the defective seal and not enough pressure will develop in the system to fully release the clutch.

Get someone to watch the clutch slave cylinder while you push in the clutch pedal. If the system is working properly, you should see the clutch slave cylinder piston move in.