Driveability issues (A must read)

kenny-1907 · #1 08-29-2005, 01:44 PM

I have had my silverado for about 2.5 years now and never did like the way the auto trans shifted and at speeds between 60 and 80 km/h it did not like down shifting. I would step on it and no downshift, so i would step on it a bit further....further still no downshift, then it finally would. Then i had it happen twice for sure where it would start out in 2nd gear on me and between the two problems, that was the most bothersome to me. So i broke down and made an appt to get it into the dealership cause i remember either reading or hearing about a TSB for this issue. Took it in and of course no condition was found and the tech told me that he knows EXACTALLY what i am talking about, but there is not a fix for my year of truck and that if it was an 03 or newer there was an update for the pcm for this issue. I even asked twice and got the same response , "no update for the pcm on this issue for my year of truck". He did say that there was some general driveability updates for the pcm but not something that addressed my specific problem even though the problem exists. So i figured for $60 versus a $2000 trans rebuild that i would get the updates and i am amazed as to how much it seemed to wake the truck up. It now drives like a totally different vehicle, now when i step on it a bit , it actually downshifts right away and all around just seems to shift better now. And this whole time i just thought that it was the shitty programming and the torque management for the trans causing this. For anyone expierencing the same kind of problems with downshifting i'd say for the roughly $60 , it is worth it. It sure made a big difference in mine.

BlenderWizard · #2 08-29-2005, 02:50 PM

yeah, when I got a Nelson tune, those were some of the issues I addressed with Allen. He, of course, took care of them for me. Decreased the down shift delay, firmed up the shifts (felt too mushy for me; I'm used to driving a stick), and I think he played with my shift points a little.

kenny-1907 · #3 08-29-2005, 05:10 PM

I just thought that i would bring this issue to light since i thought that it was operating the way it was supposed to, no matter how crappy it seemd and that the only way to improve it was to get a tune. I may not be the only person out there that felt that way, and a tune sometimes is not within reach just yet.

jethro_3 · #4 08-29-2005, 08:40 PM

Allen makes sure you get all the updates and verifies if you have seen any SES lights. So if all you want is the tranny to act better than get the updates. If you are in it for say... performance or mpg than get a tune.

spackelman · #5 09-01-2005, 02:23 PM

You got the updates from the dealer

jethro_3 · #6 09-01-2005, 07:45 PM

Spackleman,

Is that "..can get.." or is that a question??????

spackelman · #7 09-01-2005, 08:38 PM

A question-

I'm confused about where the "updates" came from.

The Dealer or what?

Never heard of updates from the dealer.

Just a question..

kenny-1907 · #8 09-01-2005, 10:54 PM

Yup i got the updates at the dealership. There is all kinds of different updates you can get for different problems. The programming for the pcm's can be buggy just like any software and that can cause problems such as not wanting to downshift soon enough or starting in second gear once in a while, or seeming like it is in neutral starting out from a light. Just like your pc and windows updates fixes little problems with your pc , these updates can fix little problems with your truck as well,....well maybe some of them are not little.

Sonny01 · #9 09-04-2005, 09:18 AM

My truck drives very different after I used a SuperChips programer on it. It's much improved in both the way the engine and transmission respond.

GMMerlin · #10 09-04-2005, 10:48 AM

During the model year when issues that can be resolved by calibration updates have been discovered by GM, the dealers receive those updates.
Some updates are adressed thru a TSB while others are just updated thru the calibrations offered by TIS.
One of the things I would do for my customers would be to update their PCMs with the latest calibrations (as long as the calibration did not have adverse effects...some calibrations that address certain issues will cause other concerns with vehicles that don't exibit the same concern).
If you don't want to spend $300 for a programmer, an $80 calibration update from the dealer isn't a bad idea.

BlenderWizard · #11 09-04-2005, 11:04 AM

I think the updates from the dealer should have to be done free of charge. I mean, we've already paid for the product, and I don't think we should have to pay again because GM found something they didn't get right the first time. Anyone here ever have to pay microsoft for sending you updates for Windows? Anyone have to pay for Service Pack 2 for Windows? Nope. It's the same thing; GM is updating the "operating system" for the vehicle either because something wasn't working right or they figured out how to make somethng work better. Now if a DVD ROM on your computer or an alternator on your truck crap out, you have to buy a new one and maybe pay someone to install it, but software updates on my computer are free and have always been free, and I think the same should be true for my truck. I do realize, however, that when Microsoft release its new "model year" of Windows (95 to 98, 98 to Me, Me to XP or 2000, etc.) you have to pay to get a new one. Well, that's buying the new product like buying a new vehicle would be. But updates to the product you have already paid for have always been free. Bottom line: if i've got to pay to get my PCM updated, I'd rather send my money to a tuner and get a bunch of other stuff done, than to send money to GM for something I shouldn't be paying for in the first place.

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