Early Sign of the Dreaded Second Gear Grind During Test Drive? 2013 M6 2SS/RS

[SolomonSS]

First of all I love Camaro5, you guys rock. I test drove a standard M6 2013 2SS/RS with Dual Mode exhaust and Hurst short throw a couple days ago, really fun BTW. I read plenty of threads in the past about people experiencing grinding when shifting from first to second with the Tremec TR-6060. Usually their cars are fairly low in miles (a couple thousand or less on the odometer usually). They tell their story about going through a huge ordeal with the dealership to alleviate a problem and some people said the dealer installed new syncros.

I feel bad for the people that spent 35-40k on a car that can't shift to second without getting "The Grind" and the disappointment/stress of having to pursue a fix. But, I would like to enlist your help, please. I recorded two short clips of me while test driving where I go from a complete stop through the gears. I swear that I can hear a faint grind when I drop it in second. It doesn't sound as bad as other videos I have seen posted by people with the full-fledged, blatant grinding but I am wondering if what I experienced was the beginning stage of this known defect in the Camaro5 community.

Let me say that this was only the second time I drove the M6 Camaro and it a couple stop-and-gos before I felt moderately comfortable with it. It is possible that the clutch pedal was not fully engaged before shifting to second (Yea I know, rookie mistake)- I really hope it was just driver error because that car was unbelievable. Just a tip, headphones may help hear the alleged "grind" in the videos. Thank you for your time.



Clip 1


Clip 2

[WindyCityPilot]

I don't hear anything. On my '13 SS if the trans is not fully warmed up I shift 1-3. Car has more than enough power to do that. Once the tranny is nice and warm 2nd shifts like butter. When it's cold it can be a bit hard to get into 2nd...it will go eventually but I figure why fight it...1-3 when cold. Then

I also installed a separate clutch fluid reservoir when the car had about 100 miles on it. Seems a lot of people are saying the keeping the fluid clean will help the 2nd gear grinding.

Can't hurt....and only took about 30 minutes to install.

[SolomonSS]

The trans was plenty warm at the time both clips were taken. At this point, we were about 30 mins into the test drive. I'm still nervous about it. I could hear the grind in the first video better than the second one. Probably b/c the shift to second was done at higher RPMs than in the second video. Even still, I can faintly hear it.

I am going to tell the salesperson about my concern and ask him to take it for another spin. I would be so mad at myself if I paid $30k for something that already has issues.

Does anyone else have an opinion?

[Swacer]

My car has had a little grind issue since the beginning. It only seems to rear its head when the temperatures are <40F. So I will 1->3 a couple times, and once the tranny had a little heat in it (at the first dash, so ~110F), I'm good for regular shifting. But I wouldn't do a WOT pull into second until the tranny is closer to 180F.

[v6sonoma]

I can't really hear anything in the video that sounds like grind. Sounds normal to me.

[mikeyg36]

I wouldn't worry about it. Mine grinds 1-2 in the cold with a short throw. It has 12k miles on it, and when it warms up, it shifts fine.

[SolomonSS]

Thanks for your input Swacer. I do not recall what the temperature was but I will keep that in mind. Does yours grind a little when going to second?

v6sonoma, Skip to :22 seconds into the first video and see if you can hear

[06_warrior]

I never noticed anything as far as grinding or a notchy feeling when shifting when i bought it new or even a month or 2 after my purchase. Eventually i had a hard time with a "notchy" feeling shifting gears. My car never did grind but more of a notchy shifting.

I changed the trans fluid to synthetic fluid, put in a MGW shifter and an Ideal Garage modified clutch master cylinder and a Tick performance stainless braided clutch line and now my car shifts perfect.

When it's cold out it will give me a little trouble shifting from 1st to 2nd but i just go 1st to 3rd until it warms up and then it's fine.

Had i of known i had to go thru all of this when buying my car i probably wouldn't of bought it because a new car should do what i was experiencing.

[Swacer]

Originally Posted by SolomonSS

Thanks for your input Swacer. I do not recall what the temperature was but I will keep that in mind. Does yours grind a little when going to second?

v6sonoma, Skip to :22 seconds into the first video and see if you can hear

Yes, second gear is the only grind I have, and in cold weather is the only time I have it.

The first time it happened, it scared me $hitless, but after a couple times I started putting the two together and realizing it was all due to temp. So, just baby it at first (which is what you should be doing anyways) when its cold, and as it warms up, have fun with it.

Always keep an eye on those 4pack gauges. They are a good key indicator for everything on your car. Heck, watching my gauges helped me find a trickle leak in my coolant line once.

[christianchevell]

no grinding here what so ever.....and not a drop in my catch can with over 1000 miles on my 13......

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Originally Posted by Swacer

My car has had a little grind issue since the beginning. It only seems to rear its head when the temperatures are <40F. So I will 1->3 a couple times, and once the tranny had a little heat in it (at the first dash, so ~110F), I'm good for regular shifting. But I wouldn't do a WOT pull into second until the tranny is closer to 180F.

Hello all,

I would recommend going to a dealership if you feel like you are having a recurring issue. Please let us know how everything goes.

Brandon
Chevrolet Customer Service

[ToddB]

Dealer won't do anything. They will tell you your abusing it.

[Swacer]

Originally Posted by Chevrolet Customer Svc

Hello all,

I would recommend going to a dealership if you feel like you are having a recurring issue. Please let us know how everything goes.

Brandon
Chevrolet Customer Service

Thank you for the offer. Right now, the transmission has only grinded 3 times on me in 9 months of driving. Other than that, the car works well. If the issue gets worse, i do have an extended warranty I will utilize.

Thank you

[PsychoZL1]

Originally Posted by WindyCityPilot

On my '13 SS if the trans is not fully warmed up I shift 1-3. Once the tranny is nice and warm 2nd shifts like butter. When it's cold it can be a bit hard to get into 2nd.

I find it hard to shift from 1-2 and 2-3 when the tranny is cold (especially when the temperature is below 30* F) in my '11 SS, but after it's warmed up it's fine!