20,000 Mile Owner Impressions - 2LT/RS - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Draak · 02-13-2011, 12:58 AM

After having our 2010 Camaro for about a year and twenty thousand miles, there are a few things we noticed about it that others whom have not bought a 5th -Gen Camaro yet might wish to know.

First, a little history before the report...

This is not the first new car we have purchased, and we tend to special-order our new cars, rather than buy one off the lot at a dealership. This is though, the first brand-new Chevy we have bought.

The Chevy ordering process and order constraints system was interesting to navigate, and the tracking process through camarotracking.com was simply amazing. Since we ordered our car out of state, we were able to plan the trip to the dealership because we watched the car going through the build process, get loaded on the train, track the rail car, see that it arrived at the trucking agency and then when it was heading to the dealership, we flew up to take delivery and drive it back home.

OVERALL BODY STYLING - We really like the body lines of the car and it's low, muscular appearance. The 20-inch wheels are good, but the "Midnight Silver" aspect was lost on us. It looks like the wheels have been plated with not-so-shiney silver, but we would never use the word MIDNIGHT to describe the color. When we special ordered the car with the RS package, the description of Midnight Silver had us thinking that the wheels were something like a dark tinted clearcoat over a silver base, but that was just our opinion. We tend to like the trim to be more of a black-out format, so that would have suited us well. Instead, they were a not-chromed silver, with no hint of a 'midnight' aspect to them at all.

The 'gills' on the rear fenders look a bit vestigal. Kind of there, but not there. We found a graphic that is in the shape of the metal gill-plates used on the '69' and they fit into the details of the indentations perfectly, making the gills stand out more but not like a strip of metal would. In our opinion, the rear spoiler should be on the trunk of all 2010+ Camaros because without it, the trunk looks a bit mishapen and dish-shaped when viewed from behind.

The black plastic trim below the back bumper is cheesy-looking and it really should be painted body-colored. I remember when Daihatsu came out with their Charade model and you could tell the base model from the upscale model by the fact that the plastic bumpers were unpainted black. It told you that this was a cost-cutting, cheaper model. That impression should never be associated with the 5th-Gen Camaro.

The hood is beautifully shaped and the view from inside the cockpit provides you with a high, swoopy aerodynamic look at the outside world. With the sides of the front fenders projecting up, it helps to gauge the distance to the front-end while parking. The one question about the hood we have though is, why only one lift-strut?

The trunk opens quite vertically and that makes for a nice, big opening. Unfortunately, the result is a sharp enough closing angle that shifts the clear plastic abrasion guards that are touching the rubber stops when it closes, until the clear plastic pieces fall off. I have had to replace them twice now.

Now, let's go inside the car...

INTERIOR - We are relatively short in stature, so the entrance and egress of the cockpit seating is not much of a problem for us. Unfortunately though, when one of our friends whom is taller than about 5-10 tries it, the job is a bit tougher for them. It can be hard to get into the car without some level of twisting, especially when in a parking space and you can't open the door fully. The seats are very comfortable and have been satisfactory on long drives of 500+ miles. The only thing we might ask for is an adjustable lumbar bolster for the lower back, but it isn't all that necessary. And the back seat? Well, we have packed up our teenager and her boyfriend back there for a trip or two, but it really wasn't a great idea...

The analog gauge package is quite retro and we really like the digital information display nestled between the speedo and the tach. We find that we prefer to use the digital display for speed rather than the analog gauge. As for the console gauges they provide some neat information, but to be honest, they are not as well watched as the ones on the dash.

The TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) is one of the sore spots for us, as we have found it to be problematic and if the warning trips, it doesn't reset easily. We would recommend some type of reset like the oil life indicator that you reset after changing the oil. If the tire pressures are returned to their proper levels, you should be able to reset the little flat-tire warning indicator without bleeding pressure until the horn honks for each tire, or take it in to the dealership.

Now, in regards to the gearshift position (6-speed automatic) as it relates to the console, is it me or is it too far forward? When you position yourself so your hands rest correctly on the steering wheel, then place your hand on the console, you need to reach forward by about 3-4 inches to put your hand on the gearshift. We have had several of our friends try this and their hand, when placed on the console, always seems to fall short of the gear shift.

DRIVELINE - Speaking of gear shift, the transmission is awesome, as long as you have it in Drive or Sport mode. The trans does take a bit to learn your driving habits, but I finally have it toe-shifting off the throttle position as I like it. As for the Manual mode, the Paddle-Shift mapping doesn't really act anything like a manual shifter and although you may select a gear (up or down), you may have to wait up to about 5 seconds before the trans will shift. The delays can get you into a situation where you thought the car was going to respond immediately and it doesn't. The best thing to do is to use the Sport Mode for your favorite aggressive driving actions and learn how to toe-shift an auto-trans. And by the way, if you do choose to use the paddles in Manual mode and want to go back to Sport mode, you have to grab the gearshift and switch it to Drive, then back down to Sport.

The 3.6 liter LLT V6 engine is very responsive, revs up quickly and willingly and has never left us wanting. It is definitely the little engine that could... We could have ordered the SS/RS V8 model, but since our daily driving is more like a road course rather than a straight-line blast down the interstate, we chose to get the V6 with the handling suspension package to navigate our way through the slaloms of daily rush hour traffic. It has been a good choice so far, and the suspension is firm, yet doesn't beat us to death in our daily commute.

The only disappointing part about the suspension is the rattling, clunking sound from the front end as we negotiate uneven road surfaces while driving. It is more than annoying in that you just know something isn't right. We say this because our 1995 Chevy G20 van with 135K miles on it and original suspension components doesn't go rattling down the road like this. This really needs to be addressed. There is nothing more embarassing than taking a friend of yours whom works at a Ford dealership out to lunch in your new Camaro one day and he says; "What the hell is that noise?" My muttering something about how GM says that "All 5th-Gen Camaros do it, so it must be ok" was not the right thing to tell this Ford-Fan. Now I'm catching hell whenever he stops by and he asks me about my "Rattle-Trap Camaro". Damn embarassing, is what that is...

To sum it up, we do like the car quite a bit, and we have never had a car where one day we were waiting at a traffic light and a 20-something girl made a heart shape with her hands and said she said just she loved our car. We have never had a response like that before, even with our classic cars and we hope that the steady improvements that are being made on this model of the Camaro will trickle down to us so we can have the perfect car of our dreams, even more perfect than when we first brought it home...

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

liquidsmoke · 02-13-2011, 01:18 AM

nice write up, im getting close to 20k myself and i would have to agree with you on all points except for two.

The rear diffuser isnt painted for astectic reasons, i dont believe they were just cutting corners. It looks better black and unpainted and i hope it stays that way.

i dont know if its just me, but my camaro doesnt make any noise in the front end. Ive read enough complaints about it to know that it is a real issue. I just havent seen it yet.
But chevys respons is definately not what you want to hear when you know its not supposed to be that way.

sauron · 02-13-2011, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draak

And by the way, if you do choose to use the paddles in Manual mode and want to go back to Sport mode, you have to grab the gearshift and switch it to Drive, then back down to Sport.

Is this something they changed in the 2011's? if i am in manual mode and want to switch back to sport...i pull the up-shift paddle and hold it for about 3 to 5 seconds and it goes back to sport.

Capthowdy · 02-13-2011, 01:33 AM

is that rattle problem only in the v6's? mine sure don't do it.....

daveagogo1 · 02-13-2011, 01:39 AM

I only have just under 2k miles on my 1SS but i will agree the shifter is a bit too far up. I'm 6ft by the way. This is definatly due to making room for 2 cupholders and the fact that you barely need to actually use it kind of makes it a non issue anyhow. As for suspension rattle. Mine does as well a little bit on rougher roads but, I can attest that my Cadillac CTS also did this AFTER i switched to 20" inch wheels with low pro tires. Has a lot to do with that.

As for the black on the diffuser i love it. Colored would just look bad IMO. I have not had the problems with paddle shifting you have had though. Also midnight may not be a great description for the RS wheels but i gotta say i really love the color and they look really good when viewed up really close. Kinda smoky streaks mixed in with the silver. Also, they do have the old style 69 rear gill trim you can buy that looks almost identical to the original. I have it on my car you can view it here along with my review of it. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128615. Great car overall though IMO.

02-13-2011, 12:58 AM	#1
Draak Drives: 2010 RJT 2LT-RS Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 12	20,000 Mile Owner Impressions - 2LT/RS After having our 2010 Camaro for about a year and twenty thousand miles, there are a few things we noticed about it that others whom have not bought a 5th -Gen Camaro yet might wish to know. First, a little history before the report... This is not the first new car we have purchased, and we tend to special-order our new cars, rather than buy one off the lot at a dealership. This is though, the first brand-new Chevy we have bought. The Chevy ordering process and order constraints system was interesting to navigate, and the tracking process through camarotracking.com was simply amazing. Since we ordered our car out of state, we were able to plan the trip to the dealership because we watched the car going through the build process, get loaded on the train, track the rail car, see that it arrived at the trucking agency and then when it was heading to the dealership, we flew up to take delivery and drive it back home. OVERALL BODY STYLING - We really like the body lines of the car and it's low, muscular appearance. The 20-inch wheels are good, but the "Midnight Silver" aspect was lost on us. It looks like the wheels have been plated with not-so-shiney silver, but we would never use the word MIDNIGHT to describe the color. When we special ordered the car with the RS package, the description of Midnight Silver had us thinking that the wheels were something like a dark tinted clearcoat over a silver base, but that was just our opinion. We tend to like the trim to be more of a black-out format, so that would have suited us well. Instead, they were a not-chromed silver, with no hint of a 'midnight' aspect to them at all. The 'gills' on the rear fenders look a bit vestigal. Kind of there, but not there. We found a graphic that is in the shape of the metal gill-plates used on the '69' and they fit into the details of the indentations perfectly, making the gills stand out more but not like a strip of metal would. In our opinion, the rear spoiler should be on the trunk of all 2010+ Camaros because without it, the trunk looks a bit mishapen and dish-shaped when viewed from behind. The black plastic trim below the back bumper is cheesy-looking and it really should be painted body-colored. I remember when Daihatsu came out with their Charade model and you could tell the base model from the upscale model by the fact that the plastic bumpers were unpainted black. It told you that this was a cost-cutting, cheaper model. That impression should never be associated with the 5th-Gen Camaro. The hood is beautifully shaped and the view from inside the cockpit provides you with a high, swoopy aerodynamic look at the outside world. With the sides of the front fenders projecting up, it helps to gauge the distance to the front-end while parking. The one question about the hood we have though is, why only one lift-strut? The trunk opens quite vertically and that makes for a nice, big opening. Unfortunately, the result is a sharp enough closing angle that shifts the clear plastic abrasion guards that are touching the rubber stops when it closes, until the clear plastic pieces fall off. I have had to replace them twice now. Now, let's go inside the car... INTERIOR - We are relatively short in stature, so the entrance and egress of the cockpit seating is not much of a problem for us. Unfortunately though, when one of our friends whom is taller than about 5-10 tries it, the job is a bit tougher for them. It can be hard to get into the car without some level of twisting, especially when in a parking space and you can't open the door fully. The seats are very comfortable and have been satisfactory on long drives of 500+ miles. The only thing we might ask for is an adjustable lumbar bolster for the lower back, but it isn't all that necessary. And the back seat? Well, we have packed up our teenager and her boyfriend back there for a trip or two, but it really wasn't a great idea... The analog gauge package is quite retro and we really like the digital information display nestled between the speedo and the tach. We find that we prefer to use the digital display for speed rather than the analog gauge. As for the console gauges they provide some neat information, but to be honest, they are not as well watched as the ones on the dash. The TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) is one of the sore spots for us, as we have found it to be problematic and if the warning trips, it doesn't reset easily. We would recommend some type of reset like the oil life indicator that you reset after changing the oil. If the tire pressures are returned to their proper levels, you should be able to reset the little flat-tire warning indicator without bleeding pressure until the horn honks for each tire, or take it in to the dealership. Now, in regards to the gearshift position (6-speed automatic) as it relates to the console, is it me or is it too far forward? When you position yourself so your hands rest correctly on the steering wheel, then place your hand on the console, you need to reach forward by about 3-4 inches to put your hand on the gearshift. We have had several of our friends try this and their hand, when placed on the console, always seems to fall short of the gear shift. DRIVELINE - Speaking of gear shift, the transmission is awesome, as long as you have it in Drive or Sport mode. The trans does take a bit to learn your driving habits, but I finally have it toe-shifting off the throttle position as I like it. As for the Manual mode, the Paddle-Shift mapping doesn't really act anything like a manual shifter and although you may select a gear (up or down), you may have to wait up to about 5 seconds before the trans will shift. The delays can get you into a situation where you thought the car was going to respond immediately and it doesn't. The best thing to do is to use the Sport Mode for your favorite aggressive driving actions and learn how to toe-shift an auto-trans. And by the way, if you do choose to use the paddles in Manual mode and want to go back to Sport mode, you have to grab the gearshift and switch it to Drive, then back down to Sport. The 3.6 liter LLT V6 engine is very responsive, revs up quickly and willingly and has never left us wanting. It is definitely the little engine that could... We could have ordered the SS/RS V8 model, but since our daily driving is more like a road course rather than a straight-line blast down the interstate, we chose to get the V6 with the handling suspension package to navigate our way through the slaloms of daily rush hour traffic. It has been a good choice so far, and the suspension is firm, yet doesn't beat us to death in our daily commute. The only disappointing part about the suspension is the rattling, clunking sound from the front end as we negotiate uneven road surfaces while driving. It is more than annoying in that you just know something isn't right. We say this because our 1995 Chevy G20 van with 135K miles on it and original suspension components doesn't go rattling down the road like this. This really needs to be addressed. There is nothing more embarassing than taking a friend of yours whom works at a Ford dealership out to lunch in your new Camaro one day and he says; "What the hell is that noise?" My muttering something about how GM says that "All 5th-Gen Camaros do it, so it must be ok" was not the right thing to tell this Ford-Fan. Now I'm catching hell whenever he stops by and he asks me about my "Rattle-Trap Camaro". Damn embarassing, is what that is... To sum it up, we do like the car quite a bit, and we have never had a car where one day we were waiting at a traffic light and a 20-something girl made a heart shape with her hands and said she said just she loved our car. We have never had a response like that before, even with our classic cars and we hope that the steady improvements that are being made on this model of the Camaro will trickle down to us so we can have the perfect car of our dreams, even more perfect than when we first brought it home... Thanks for taking the time to read this.

02-13-2011, 01:18 AM	#2
liquidsmoke Two Miles An Hour Drives: SIM 2LT RS Join Date: May 2010 Location: chicago Posts: 1,209	nice write up, im getting close to 20k myself and i would have to agree with you on all points except for two. The rear diffuser isnt painted for astectic reasons, i dont believe they were just cutting corners. It looks better black and unpainted and i hope it stays that way. i dont know if its just me, but my camaro doesnt make any noise in the front end. Ive read enough complaints about it to know that it is a real issue. I just havent seen it yet. But chevys respons is definately not what you want to hear when you know its not supposed to be that way. __________________ expect nothing, but take everything

02-13-2011, 01:33 AM	#4
Capthowdy Drives: 2010 2SS RS IOM Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Fort Lauderdale Fl Posts: 1,048	is that rattle problem only in the v6's? mine sure don't do it..... __________________ THE "MENACE"

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