Second gear grinding & remedy

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

I bought my wife a 2014 ECO 6m last August. It's at 17k miles now, and the shifter has always been very smooth, no issues. I've driven her car the last 3 weeks, then drove my 2013 RS 6m... The trans is terrible 1st-2nd, and 2nd to 3rd is marginally better. 4-5-6 all good. I have been running Amsoil transmission fluid for the last 15k miles (I just hit 41k miles on the car).

I took my car back to the Chevy dealership to have the transmission looked at. "Technician could not reproduce the problem" was what I got back. So yesterday I returned to get my car, and had a QC guy go with me as I demonstrated the issues with shifting into 2nd from 1st gear. There's a physical bind of some sort where you feel the engagement of "something" then with more pressure you are finally into 2nd gear. If accelerating quickly, and not doing a semi quick, but not aggressive shift, you'll feel like it's in gear, but it's not-- and you get the grind. They put in a ticket with GM to see what the resolution is, and until then I am driving my car as is... and I double clutch to get through 2nd and 3rd gear.

Anyone have GM step up and replace a transmission that does this? I want what my wife's Cruze has. A transmission that shifts properly, smoothly.

Hey NR552,

We're glad to hear you're taking the proper steps with your dealership to resolve this matter. Having them ride along with you on a test drive and making the GM Technical Assistance team aware is generally the best course of action. We understand this is upsetting and fully recognize your desire to resolve this issue with your wife's Sonic. Please keep us in the loop and if there's anything we could do to possibly assist we're here to help.

Amber N.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[SmoothSonic]

My 2nd gear grinds slightly only when the transmission is cold.

 

[Toadz]

I've got a 2014 6-spd and it grinds horribly in 2nd if I'm not extremely careful but even when I am careful (light throttle, low RPM) many times it has a light grind or resistance. The more miles I put on it I'm starting to feel more resistance in other gears as well which is making me nervous having only 12k miles on it. I've owned and driven many manuals and this car was literally the first time I've EVER ground a gear.

I just ordered up some Amsoil 75w90 gear oil and I'll see if the dealer will change it for me just to keep it under warranty. This is my first time buying a brand new car and I plan on keeping it until it rusts and falls apart...which if it's anything like my GMC's will probably be in a couple years..so warranty is of utmost importance to me. I'm impressed with almost every other aspect of the car but the quality of the transmission is a huge negative.

 

[mit]

I've officially had my sonic for one year.
At only 6,500 miles the 2nd gear grind hasn't changed much at all since mile 1.
Recently when shifting from first to second I will apply a light amount of pressure to the stick shift, in the direction I'm going to shift, before engaging the clutch. For me, this has helped reduce the grind significantly!

Is there anything wrong with this method? The Sonic is my first MT car, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, bad idea, something I should be doing on all shifts? Any one else use this method?

 

[Toadz]

I've officially had my sonic for one year.
At only 6,500 miles the 2nd gear grind hasn't changed much at all since mile 1.
Recently when shifting from first to second I will apply a light amount of pressure to the stick shift, in the direction I'm going to shift, before engaging the clutch. For me, this has helped reduce the grind significantly!

Is there anything wrong with this method? The Sonic is my first MT car, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, bad idea, something I should be doing on all shifts? Any one else use this method?

I'll have to give that a try and see if it makes a difference...I don't see that causing any issues as long as you are letting off the throttle when you are applying the pressure to the shifter. It's no different than shifting without using the clutch which can be done by matching transmission speed with engine speed...kinda like how truck drivers do it. I've had a few manual vehicles that I could easily shift without using the clutch...haven't tried it in the Sonic yet though but it should be easy given the extremely heavy flywheel.

 

[Papasonic]

Due to our Sonic's throttle being operated by the "throttle by wire" system, and the throttle not directly connected to your foot via a linkage; there is a lag from when you let off the go pedal, and when the engine rpm actually drops.
This being said; I've found that by letting off of the throttle just prior to clutching for an upshift, the resistance to shift, and the resulting grind goes away. The problem is coordinating the action to provide a smooth shift. What makes this hard to do is; all of us experienced manual transmission drivers have always let off the throttle while simultaneously clutching and making the shift.
If we do this on our Sonic's, the throttle is still being applied when we are attempting an upshift, thus resistance and the grind. I've even noticed an rpm flare/increase after letting off of the throttle, and depressing the clutch. I believe this is the root cause of our 1-2 shift problems, and all gear changes, especially at higher rpm shifts.
If we can break our old habits, and concentrate on releasing the throttle momentarily, prior to depressing the clutch for an upshift, I believe a lot of the complaints would diminish.

 

[Makusue]

the fix for the 2nd gear grinding for me was a new transmission from factory. fortunately covered under the extended warentee I bought. I'm normally against these extended warrentee scams. it payed off this time. the new transmission fixed it. then the dealer found that the #4 cylinder had debris in it which required the engine to be replaced too. covered under the same warrantee.

 

[Gabrielino98]

I am kind of a newbie when it comes to working on cars. Is it possible for someone here to create a video demonstrating how to align the shifter cable? It would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Hemplacrosse4]

I bought my wife a 2014 ECO 6m last August. It's at 17k miles now, and the shifter has always been very smooth, no issues. I've driven her car the last 3 weeks, then drove my 2013 RS 6m... The trans is terrible 1st-2nd, and 2nd to 3rd is marginally better. 4-5-6 all good. I have been running Amsoil transmission fluid for the last 15k miles (I just hit 41k miles on the car).

I took my car back to the Chevy dealership to have the transmission looked at. "Technician could not reproduce the problem" was what I got back. So yesterday I returned to get my car, and had a QC guy go with me as I demonstrated the issues with shifting into 2nd from 1st gear. There's a physical bind of some sort where you feel the engagement of "something" then with more pressure you are finally into 2nd gear. If accelerating quickly, and not doing a semi quick, but not aggressive shift, you'll feel like it's in gear, but it's not-- and you get the grind. They put in a ticket with GM to see what the resolution is, and until then I am driving my car as is... and I double clutch to get through 2nd and 3rd gear.

Anyone have GM step up and replace a transmission that does this? I want what my wife's Cruze has. A transmission that shifts properly, smoothly.

Thank god I'm not the only one. Ever since I bought my Sonic I feel like my transmission has been doing this since I got it. I thought it was me for the longest time because I had already taken it to the dealership and they also said "Technician could not reproduce the problem" after I brought it to them twice now. Obviously this sounds like a known issue. It's really a shame because this is really the only thing I highly highly dislike about the car. I had a Pontiac G5 manual and it did not shift like this at all. I do not know what else to do since I had already taken it to the dealership.

 

[cndctrdj]

My 15 sonic was giving me trouble all over the place. Brought it in. Ended up being the shifter assembly. It was so messed up they replaced it. Still grinds second gear but now it actually goes into all the gears

 

[Toadz]

Due to our Sonic's throttle being operated by the "throttle by wire" system, and the throttle not directly connected to your foot via a linkage; there is a lag from when you let off the go pedal, and when the engine rpm actually drops.
This being said; I've found that by letting off of the throttle just prior to clutching for an upshift, the resistance to shift, and the resulting grind goes away. The problem is coordinating the action to provide a smooth shift. What makes this hard to do is; all of us experienced manual transmission drivers have always let off the throttle while simultaneously clutching and making the shift.
If we do this on our Sonic's, the throttle is still being applied when we are attempting an upshift, thus resistance and the grind. I've even noticed an rpm flare/increase after letting off of the throttle, and depressing the clutch. I believe this is the root cause of our 1-2 shift problems, and all gear changes, especially at higher rpm shifts.
If we can break our old habits, and concentrate on releasing the throttle momentarily, prior to depressing the clutch for an upshift, I believe a lot of the complaints would diminish.

Definitely agree here...it's hard to break habits when literally every other manual I've ever driven has not had this issue. It's like trying to learn how to breathe differently, hard to do.

 

[Dustin]

Dropped my car off today suspecting a mount. Terrible clunk coming from trans side when starting, shifting, or putting any pressure on the pedal after cruising. Turns out I need my third trans.

 

[psquare75]

50 Pages...

Anyone with a 5 speed that does this?

Mine will do it 1 - 2, seemingly randomly, even when driving like I'm on a driver's ed exam... Probably 1 or 2x a week.. (I drive 350 miles a week, 90% highway)

Car has 21K on it, started a few weeks ago, I bought new. Thought it was "me" at first.

 

[Toadz]

DDMWorks

Put in the DDMWorks shifter bushings and it definitely helped with my second gear grind. I still get a very small amount of resistance occasionally while going into second gear but so far I haven't gotten the horrible grind that requires me to reattempt the shift, which is something that would occur almost daily. My next step is to do the shifter alignment (would've done it when I was doing the bushings but I was on a time crunch) and change the fluid. I've got 30k miles on the car and bought it new. 2nd gear has ground ever since new and hasn't gotten any better or worse until I replaced the bushings with the DDMWorks replacements.

 

[psquare75]

I had the bushings in my possession before I had the car and installed em almost immediately. I'll see if the shifter loosened up possibly.

 

[Boy-Dirt-Car]

Unless I haven't searched well enogh, can you re-post these 3 pictures please?

Thank You!

just had the oil changed to Redline MT90 75W-90 GL-4

let me tell you, this is a must mod. i did a NLS from 1st to 2nd @ 6000 rpm and it didn't grind a bit.

it took exactly 2 quarts and there was a drain plug on the bottom of the 6-speed (not sure if there is a drain plug on any other tranny offered).

dealer charged me .5hrs and that came to 32.06 after tax. $31.43 for the oil.

I had the dealer do it and since the redline exceeds GM's specifications its all under warranty still.

here's a picture of the quart size oil i used:

here's 2 pictures of the drain plug setup:

here's a picture of the drain plug. its on top of the transmission, almost directly under the brake master cylinder.
you'll need a long funnel.

 

[Boy-Dirt-Car]

I did this last Sunday. Eazy-Peasy... you do need a long thin funnel. I drained it while still warmed-up, let it drain for an hour and then flushed it some by running a 1/2 Qt through it with the drain plug still out. Let it drain another couple hours.

First Impression was not good, in fact I think it was worse but after ~20 miles or so the shifting ease was transformed. I think I gained ~1-2MPG also! I put in about 2.2 Qt. The difference is amazing, Highly Recommended!

 

[Rowdy_Sonic_RS]

Thank god I'm not the only one. Ever since I bought my Sonic I feel like my transmission has been doing this since I got it. I thought it was me for the longest time because I had already taken it to the dealership and they also said "Technician could not reproduce the problem" after I brought it to them twice now. Obviously this sounds like a known issue. It's really a shame because this is really the only thing I highly highly dislike about the car. I had a Pontiac G5 manual and it did not shift like this at all. I do not know what else to do since I had already taken it to the dealership.

Yeah, I've got the same problem and have put it into my service department 3 times for it and each time they laugh and say I can't drive a manual. I'm sorry but I drive Z06's, Camaro's, hell I've had IROC-Z28's that were manual and never grinder a gear so I know it's not me. It's a shame they can't/won't fix it. GM needs to do something about this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Natesriv]

JUST WONDERING.....

I had a problem from time to time getting a grind going into 2nd when I was running it...I'd not push the clutch in far enough and my timing would be off....

BUT, recently I lost my shifter all together... had to limp home in 1st gear...

Pulled up the shifter boot and if you use a flashlight and look in the center console towards the engine you can see the linkages from the shifter, they should be sitting in two cradles (there's a white one and a black one, the black on is on the right)... is that linkage fully sitting in the cradle (holder)?? I suspect mine may not have been. When I got home I noticed it totally out... so I put it back and I seem to feel that 2nd is easier to get into and I don't feel any binding going into 3rd...

Worth a look...just pop up the shifter boot, peer under there, see if both linkages are fully seated in their holders.....

worth a shot

 

[Toadz]

Yeah, I've got the same problem and have put it into my service department 3 times for it and each time they laugh and say I can't drive a manual. I'm sorry but I drive Z06's, Camaro's, hell I've had IROC-Z28's that were manual and never grinder a gear so I know it's not me. It's a shame they can't/won't fix it. GM needs to do something about this.

Driven manuals all my life and never once ground a gear, no matter how hard I was pushing a vehicle. With my Sonic I would grind 2nd gear EVERY day. Even when I would shift as slow as possible I could still feel some resistance. People would give me grief about it which is why I always make them drive it and the same thing happens to them.

JUST WONDERING.....

I had a problem from time to time getting a grind going into 2nd when I was running it...I'd not push the clutch in far enough and my timing would be off....

BUT, recently I lost my shifter all together... had to limp home in 1st gear...

Pulled up the shifter boot and if you use a flashlight and look in the center console towards the engine you can see the linkages from the shifter, they should be sitting in two cradles (there's a white one and a black one, the black on is on the right)... is that linkage fully sitting in the cradle (holder)?? I suspect mine may not have been. When I got home I noticed it totally out... so I put it back and I seem to feel that 2nd is easier to get into and I don't feel any binding going into 3rd...

Worth a look...just pop up the shifter boot, peer under there, see if both linkages are fully seated in their holders.....

worth a shot

Will definitely check this out and report back. Thanks!