[duayned]

Good day, ladies and gents:

My next question, concerns press reviews and a smattering of messages on this board about how the Traverse is "reluctant to downshift."
I understand why -- the 6-spd auto is tuned for economy, etc.

But here's my two questions, actually:

1. Does anyone find this a serious problem when trying to merge into fast-moving traffice? (Here in the NYC area, the on-ramps are notoriously short. You gotta get your car's butt outta there at speed a lot faster than say in Kansas City (no knock on KC -- I grew up there).

2. I also read the shifter has some form of manual override? (My current car is a stick -- which is all I've ever owned, so am not familiar with automatic/manual combo.)
But how come reviewers and posters don't say, "well, just hit the downshift manually to compensate/accelerate" when the lag occurs?
What am I overlooking here?

Thanks

 

[Narg]

I've noticed that the Traverse has a slight lag in accelleration push and transmittion response. That's probably the reason for the downshift comments.

I've driven a few "manumatics", and the Traverse is not to different from how they all seem to work. There is basically only a slight difference between the modes. It does cause the transmittion to "stick" into the gear you select. But the shift up or down to that selected gear still follows the standard automatic methods of getting there, which can be slow. I'd consider it more of an assistance feature than a performance feature. I've used it in hilly situations to keep the transmittion from shifting constantly, which worked fantastically.

 

[Spade]

I would have to say the shifting in this car is my biggest dislike. It really bothers me at times.

 

[duayned]

Re: Downshifting issues

Spade,
Can you be a bit more specific about what's happening?
Under what conditions and what does the car do that you don't like?
What have you tried, if anything, as a remedy or workaround? (Not saying there is anything much that you can do, just askin').

 

[Boatwrench]

Duayned,

There is definitely a lag when getting on it. It does not have the acceleration of my MPI Jeep Cherokee. The feel is like in the old carb days when you would put your foot into and the accelerator pump in the carb was bad. The front feels like it actually dips. What I do now is start in 'L' and then use the button on the side of the shift handle to 'upshift' like a manual trans without having to depress a clutch. When I get on the interstate I then push the shifter into 'D' and cruise on along. We have 371 miles on it. Three 100 mile round trips and some local stuff.

 

[Spade]

I maybe a bit picky because it is a "family" vehicle and not a sport sedan.

My complaint is the shifting seems to be very inconsistant. For example, pulling out from the same redlight the car seems to hold a gear alot longer than other times. Outside of that the upshifts are fine. BTW, in both cases the car is warmed up so that not an issue. It doesn't down shift as many gears as I would like when passing or coming off an on ramp. I feel if it would make that extra down shift the car would perform alot better. I also think with a tad more sensitive downshift in the high gears the car may get better gas mileage. I've noticed in farm country where the roads roll and are windy the car stays in a higher gears where it could use the downshift. I find myself pressing the gass pedal more to mantain a speed or hitting the gas really quick (passenger doesnt feel it) to make the car downshift.

Some of you may think I'm stone but these are just my thoughts. :cheers:

 

[duayned]

Boatwrench, Spade --

Thanks for both those postings. Quite relevant and helpful!
Boat, your "workaround" using the button-pushed manual override is exactly what I was thinking about in my original post that started this topic.
I mean, what good is having that available if it doesn't help at least a little bit in those very situations where the car underperforms as you two mentioned?[/color]

 

[traverse40]

Mine has some serious problems in this area. The dealership calls it "characteristic". My family and neighbors that drive it call it "unacceptable". My mechanic says there is a problem, but he is not doing the warranty work at the dealership. If it does not get better, I will have to sell the car. It is very annoying.
When you step on the gas the RPM"s go but the car does not speed up.
It ran great for 1,600 miles than started this weird shifting pattern.
Most of my problems happen between 30-50 mph. It is mostly when you step on the gas "semi hard" , let up, then quickly step on the gas again. One time the car seemed to be stuck in low and would not go above 40 mph although the car was in drive.

 

[t4me]

Can folks who are having this downshifting issue corrected with the flash reply back and tell us your build dates (or should we all try and put them in our profile description the way some do on the other forums)? This way the rest of us can consider where in the build process we might be. Wife happy with the few miles being driven so far on the brand new ride. Also, it might help us all to record when the problem became most noticable (ie, driving it home from the dealer or well after 500 mil break-in?). I know for example GM has (according to the dealer) corrected the few traverse recall concerns on the factory line for my Traverse and thus I am in better recall shape than others. Maybe the flash need applies in the same way?

 

[Narg]

Maybe it's me, as I'm getting used to it. My Trav has just over 3,000 miles on it now, and the acceleration lag seems to be getting shorter, but not a lot. One person suggested to me that the lag and shifting may be due more to fuel savings programming more than anything else. It does make sense to keep stray pedal presses from sending gas when not needed. As far as shifting, I'm getting used to that too, but slowly. Still not sure 6 speeds is all it's cracked up to be.

But, it sounds to me as if there may be some real problems if the RPM goes up but not speed. Fortunately I've not seen that. Just for noting, my build date is 09/08

 

[traverse40]

"see my previous post"
I was thrilled today when the dealer called and told me about service bulletin #09-06-04-019" aimed at fixing:
Hesitation on light throttle tip-in or during launch from a standing start.
Hesitation during slow speed right turns.
Jerky or busy shifts on rolling hills at highway speeds with cruise on
Harsh or delayed shifts around 64 km/h (40 mph)
Delayed shifts after releasing accelerator.
Tachometer indicator bouncing during deceleration or coastdown.

The dealer reprogrammed my ECM and it did NOT help....
I am going to change dealers for service and give it one more shot before I get rid of the Traverse.......At this point my Traverse misses out terrible, sucks gas, and does not shift well at all. I am 4 "no trouble founds" away from a lemon law case. Every other Traverse owner I speak to is happy with theirs.

 

[admin]

traverse40 - have you tried test driving another Traverse or two off various dealer lots? I'd be interested in hearing if it's your personal preference that's causing the issue or your particular vehicle. In other words, is there something wrong with yours that's not wrong with other Traverses, or is your driving style such that all Traverses feel this way to you?

 

[guapo]

I have a diffrent post that is possible to what you at talking about, however it might be diffrent. This is my third new car that has the automatic manual option, the first was a mazda 3 w/the 2.3l, the second is my 07 Tundra double cab which I still have.
they both operatind diffrent the mazda when placed into the manual mode would go into the gear depending on vehicle speed my truck goes into 4 gear no matter what vehiclel speed. In both you could then manual shift them into what ever gear you want.

My question is can you go from drive into the manual mode at speed with out issues and if so when what gear would it default to or will it cause problems.

I know from past experience that the computer will learn how you drive and adjust shift points depending on your driving style. The downside of that is if you have two or more drivers (each person will drive if diffrent) and then it seems to get confused when "learning". Then each driver will have diffrent issues. I beleive that the dealer can re-flash the computer and clear the memory and then you start from scratch.

I have not noticed any major "shifting issues" but I don't drive it like a race car either. Maybe I need to drive it hard and see how if performes.

 

[traverse40]

I drove another Traverse. Day 1 and day 2, it drove fine. Day three, it started acting up. Recently, my Traverse drove "acceptable" for two days, then back to its old ways. It may be my driving style, BUT, two other people have drove my car and said "no way would I buy a Traverse or any other car that has this technology if this is "normal". My kids have labeled the Traverse "hunk of junk".
I found out that a VERY high up GM executive had the exact problems with his Acadia. I have not got them to find a solution yet, however, his new Acadia is running fine...

 

[09Enclave]

I have a diffrent post that is possible to what you at talking about, however it might be diffrent.  This is my third new car that has the automatic manual option, the first was a mazda 3 w/the 2.3l, the second is my 07 Tundra double cab which I still have. 
they both operatind diffrent the mazda when placed into the manual mode would go into the gear depending on vehicle speed my truck goes into 4 gear no matter what vehiclel speed. In both you could then manual shift them into what ever gear you want.

My question is can you go from drive into the manual mode at speed with out issues and if so when what gear would it default to or will it cause problems. 

I know from past experience that the computer will learn how you drive and adjust shift points depending on your driving style.  The downside of that is if you have two or more drivers (each person will drive if diffrent) and then it seems to get confused when "learning".  Then each driver will have diffrent issues.  I beleive that the dealer can re-flash the computer and clear the memory and then you start from scratch. 

I have not noticed any major "shifting issues" but I don't drive it like a race car either.  Maybe I need to drive it hard and see how if performes.

  Can you show me the source that explains that these transmissions "learn" driving style?  I believe I read that this transmission is in a Cadillac car (CTS?) and THAT learns driving style, but these do not.  Can someone shed some light on the truth?  I also seem to remember someone from GM transmissions calling me, because I had marked a box on a survey that I wasn't 100% satisfied with how the transmission in my Enclave performed, which I don't remember what that question was, and the guy couldn't tell me either.  Anyway, just wondering if someone could post the technical details for the transmissions, and point out where it says that they "learn" driving style.

 

[CarLady]

Apparently GM thinks it's a big enough issue to have two bulletins on the issue.

2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE [103100 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM)]
Bulletin Date: Uncertain > Added to NHTSA Database: 06/25/2010
Summary PONTIAC/SATURN/BUICK/GMC/CHEVROLET: TRANSMISSION CALIBRATION UPDATE. A SERVICE PROCEDURE TO REPROGRAM THE ECM AND TCM ON CERTAIN MODEL VEHICLES. THIS NEW CALIBRATION WILL IMPROVE TRANSMISSION SHIFT CHARACTERISTICS FOR DOWNSHIFT HESITATION
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2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE [103100 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM)]
Bulletin Date: Uncertain > Added to NHTSA Database: 03/24/2010
Summary BUICK/CHEVROLET/HUMMER/GMC/PONTIAC/CADILLAC/SATURN: TECHNICIANS MAY FIND DTCS P0601, P0603, P0604, P062F OR P1621 STORED IN THE TCM AS AN ACTIVE OR A HISTORY CODE. SOME OF THESE DTCS CAN ALSO BE SET IN THE ECM OR FPCM. MAKE SURE THAT YOU
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[bobg1951chevy]

I can say, from experience, my trans upshifted in a sluggish manner, downshifts were nor responsive enough to suit me.

i had my trans "reprogrammed, the upshifts are more 'crisp" .... the downshifts are just a touch away from the gas pedal..... very sensitive to my pedal pressure.

Both ends improved WITHOUT losing fuel economy, as stated by another poster here.

Bob

 

[cgim5804]

I have no issues upshifting or downshifting on my AWD Traverse under normal driving conditions but my only complaint is when I floor the gas pedal, say to merge into on coming traffic, which was a bit scary first time I tried it. RPM revved up to 6-7K before the truck started accelerating, never had this issue with any other cars. Usually a 1-2 sec. delay to down shift and then power surges to accelerate but on my Traverse the delay was definetly unexpected/scary. I tried using slightly less pressure another time and the RPM still surged but not as high as before and the truck picked up speed a bit sooner but did not really seem to be using all 281HP this thing can pump out.. I am thinking about taking it in to re-program/check. Mine is a 04/10 build date so not sure if they have already done the TSB/Reprograms that are out there but I guess I'll find out.

 

[quantum]

I believe that mine is like yours CGIM5804. I have a 03/10 build date. I'm used to it now. I only push the accelerater pedal about 3/4 of the way and that works well.

You can also shift to "L" and that will put in you into the next lower gear, except if you are in 6th, then it will put you in 4th. That works well when merging into traffic if you are going like 50MPH already.

 

[cgim5804]

OK, back to this topic for me. My wife just came home and said it seems the truck doesn't move when you step on the gas. As you can see a couple of posts up, I complained about this in July 2010. I mentioned it to the dealer and they said everything is up to date but the wife was scared when trying to merge into traffic. Mine is a 4/10 build date and I believe that is right around the time a TSB came out. Maybe it already has the new program since I do get crappy mpg 12-13 city 19-20 hwy, I do have the AWD.

I found this from another link:

2010 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE [103100 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM)]
Bulletin Date: Uncertain > Added to NHTSA Database: 06/25/2010
Summary PONTIAC/SATURN/BUICK/GMC/CHEVROLET: TRANSMISSION CALIBRATION UPDATE. A SERVICE PROCEDURE TO REPROGRAM THE ECM AND TCM ON CERTAIN MODEL VEHICLES. THIS NEW CALIBRATION WILL IMPROVE TRANSMISSION SHIFT CHARACTERISTICS FOR DOWNSHIFT HESITATION
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It was added to the NHTSA database in June, so after my build date however, that doesn't mean the TSB wasn't out months before, correct? Michelle, if I give you my VIN, can you verify if I would have the TSBs or should have them? I am taking my car in Friday to get my cooling lines fixed so I wanted to mention this to the dealer.

Thanks.