M6 2nd gear issue

retmil · 01-04-2019, 04:56 PM

A few months ago I opened a thread on the issue I have with going into 2nd gear - hard to get trans into gear. All other gears are fine and down-shifting presents no problem. I swapped fluid to Royal Purple and no real improvement. I have been told that the synchros are harder/cut different for lower gears. I really hate to tear into the trans as car only has 2677 miles on it. Any suggestions? I am open to all input. Thanks!

red6.2 · 01-04-2019, 07:14 PM

to be honest this is the car that i ever had trouble with on 2nd gear. first i drive 1 to 4 for like ten minutes. people behind me HATE me. not my fault, its what my car desires and likes. then after i realize the transmission when getting into 1 gear is easy, i shift at 3k on 1st gear to 2nd gear and so forth. it grind sometimes and clunk. what i been told is that 2nd gear synchros are problematic. i have been driving my car harder now like a 18 year old with his first 6 speed and i am enjoying the car even more then when i first bought it. IT WILL SHIFT SMOOTH. i work hard to pay for my Camaro and i have took it to dealer twice for this problem. they can't find a ISSUE with it. I don't want to abuse it since I'm paying for the car with my own hard earned money but I'm not (not going enjoy it because the car likes (has) to be driven hard to work well. hope everything goes well with your car but since the dealer knows you swapped the transmission fluid your screwed on that part. enjoy it while you own it

gotroost · 01-04-2019, 07:51 PM

Possibly the skip shift BS. Mine is kinda flaky. Will sometimes shift into 2nd even when the 1-4 warning is displayed and sometimes doesn't like 2nd without the warning. Keep the RPM up a little higher in 1st and all is happy.

2SSAustin · 01-04-2019, 11:51 PM

As mentioned above. If I drive it really nice it seems to be tougher to get into seconds gear. But if I go to 3000+ Rpm and shift it will be smooth. Also check what your trans temps are with the display screen if you can. I notice when its cold it is more problematic.

retmil · 01-06-2019, 01:51 PM

Thanks for the replies. I have the skip-shift eliminator installed so the issue is not related. Also, temps do noy appear to affect shifting too much either. Today I went out and did try shifting at around 4K and problem almost gone but I really don't want to have to shift at that point in everyday traffic. I guess I will just have to live with the problem.

red6.2 · 01-06-2019, 02:56 PM

Sorry buddy but I told you. Lol the car likes to be driven hard! Now everyone and their grandma is going to think you are racing them.

retmil · 01-08-2019, 04:01 PM

Thanks again. I will just start driving it like I stole it.

mrgoodbytes · 01-18-2019, 06:34 AM

Do you have active rev-match enabled?

In my experience, the gearbox can be a little clonky going from 1st into 2nd gear, when active rev-match is enabled at slow speeds. I think it is because it tries to match revs when up-shifting.

Another thing. When depressing the clutch pedal are you sure that it is fully depressed? Try if you can depress it just a little further and see if that helps.

These two things have helped for me. I was also very frustrated with this at first, but have come to love the gearbox.

Deakins · 01-18-2019, 07:04 AM

When you say "down-shifting presents no problem" does that mean you can downshift into 2nd gear without the issue?

retmil · 01-21-2019, 02:46 PM

Sorry for the delay in answering - there is no issue when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd.

Whocares05050 · 01-21-2019, 02:48 PM

Which royal purple fluid did you swap in? There are 2 different ones and 1 works better than the other.

Calcanuck · 01-21-2019, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whocares05050

Which royal purple fluid did you swap in? There are 2 different ones and 1 works better than the other.

Which one works better? I am do for a change and want to use the right stuff

waterman · 01-21-2019, 11:47 PM

Your installed skip shift eliminator could be the issue.

If you always accelerate in first gear to 18-20 MPH (less than 2400 RPM), skip shift is eliminated automatically by the ECU. Your LT1/4 would rather rev than lug.

IMHO, constantly utilizing skip shift during break-in, may ultimately prove be detrimental to long term gear/synchro performance.

Who would have thought to even consider to shift from 1st to 4th to save a little fuel, before the EPA mandates?

geaux_tigerss · 01-22-2019, 06:30 AM

My first (and sometimes second) 1-2 shift of the day is always pretty notchy. If I'm not careful, I won't fully engage second and it will pop out of gear and make a bad "grind" noise. It's only when the transmission is cold (sat all night cold), and only on the first one or two 1-2 shifts. This is been the same on each of my gen 6 cars.

01-04-2019, 04:56 PM	#1
retmil Drives: 2022 Wild Cherry SS Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Germantown, Md Posts: 316	M6 2nd gear issue A few months ago I opened a thread on the issue I have with going into 2nd gear - hard to get trans into gear. All other gears are fine and down-shifting presents no problem. I swapped fluid to Royal Purple and no real improvement. I have been told that the synchros are harder/cut different for lower gears. I really hate to tear into the trans as car only has 2677 miles on it. Any suggestions? I am open to all input. Thanks!

01-04-2019, 07:51 PM	#3
gotroost Drives: 2021 Crush ZL1 1LE Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sierra Vista, AZ Posts: 1,119 View My Garage	Possibly the skip shift BS. Mine is kinda flaky. Will sometimes shift into 2nd even when the 1-4 warning is displayed and sometimes doesn't like 2nd without the warning. Keep the RPM up a little higher in 1st and all is happy. __________________ 2021 Crush ZL1 1LE

01-21-2019, 11:47 PM	#13
waterman Drives: Grandad's C2 L89 Join Date: May 2017 Location: 2051.50N 15629.60W Posts: 1,711	Your installed skip shift eliminator could be the issue. If you always accelerate in first gear to 18-20 MPH (less than 2400 RPM), skip shift is eliminated automatically by the ECU. Your LT1/4 would rather rev than lug. IMHO, constantly utilizing skip shift during break-in, may ultimately prove be detrimental to long term gear/synchro performance. Who would have thought to even consider to shift from 1st to 4th to save a little fuel, before the EPA mandates? __________________ 2018 ZL1 1LE sw/PDR

01-22-2019, 06:30 AM	#14
geaux_tigerss Drives: 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Orange, TX Posts: 740	My first (and sometimes second) 1-2 shift of the day is always pretty notchy. If I'm not careful, I won't fully engage second and it will pop out of gear and make a bad "grind" noise. It's only when the transmission is cold (sat all night cold), and only on the first one or two 1-2 shifts. This is been the same on each of my gen 6 cars. __________________ 2019 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 Summit White 6" Lift, 37x13.50R24's

01-04-2019, 07:14 PM	#2
red6.2 Drives: 2010 camaro Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 208	to be honest this is the car that i ever had trouble with on 2nd gear. first i drive 1 to 4 for like ten minutes. people behind me HATE me. not my fault, its what my car desires and likes. then after i realize the transmission when getting into 1 gear is easy, i shift at 3k on 1st gear to 2nd gear and so forth. it grind sometimes and clunk. what i been told is that 2nd gear synchros are problematic. i have been driving my car harder now like a 18 year old with his first 6 speed and i am enjoying the car even more then when i first bought it. IT WILL SHIFT SMOOTH. i work hard to pay for my Camaro and i have took it to dealer twice for this problem. they can't find a ISSUE with it. I don't want to abuse it since I'm paying for the car with my own hard earned money but I'm not (not going enjoy it because the car likes (has) to be driven hard to work well. hope everything goes well with your car but since the dealer knows you swapped the transmission fluid your screwed on that part. enjoy it while you own it

01-04-2019, 11:51 PM	#4
2SSAustin Drives: 1LE 2SS Camaro Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Canada SK Posts: 55	As mentioned above. If I drive it really nice it seems to be tougher to get into seconds gear. But if I go to 3000+ Rpm and shift it will be smooth. Also check what your trans temps are with the display screen if you can. I notice when its cold it is more problematic.

01-06-2019, 01:51 PM	#5
retmil Drives: 2022 Wild Cherry SS Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Germantown, Md Posts: 316	Thanks for the replies. I have the skip-shift eliminator installed so the issue is not related. Also, temps do noy appear to affect shifting too much either. Today I went out and did try shifting at around 4K and problem almost gone but I really don't want to have to shift at that point in everyday traffic. I guess I will just have to live with the problem.

01-06-2019, 02:56 PM	#6
red6.2 Drives: 2010 camaro Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 208	Sorry buddy but I told you. Lol the car likes to be driven hard! Now everyone and their grandma is going to think you are racing them.

01-08-2019, 04:01 PM	#7
retmil Drives: 2022 Wild Cherry SS Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Germantown, Md Posts: 316	Thanks again. I will just start driving it like I stole it.

01-18-2019, 06:34 AM	#8
mrgoodbytes Drives: '18 2SS/EU (+Recaros) M6 Red Hot Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Sweden Posts: 260	Do you have active rev-match enabled? In my experience, the gearbox can be a little clonky going from 1st into 2nd gear, when active rev-match is enabled at slow speeds. I think it is because it tries to match revs when up-shifting. Another thing. When depressing the clutch pedal are you sure that it is fully depressed? Try if you can depress it just a little further and see if that helps. These two things have helped for me. I was also very frustrated with this at first, but have come to love the gearbox.

01-18-2019, 07:04 AM	#9
Deakins Drives: 2017 2ss, m6 Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Iowa Posts: 231	When you say "down-shifting presents no problem" does that mean you can downshift into 2nd gear without the issue?

01-21-2019, 02:46 PM	#10
retmil Drives: 2022 Wild Cherry SS Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Germantown, Md Posts: 316	Sorry for the delay in answering - there is no issue when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd.

01-21-2019, 02:48 PM	#11
Whocares05050 Drives: 2018 Camaro SS 1LE Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Treasure Coast, FL Posts: 384	Which royal purple fluid did you swap in? There are 2 different ones and 1 works better than the other.

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