I know some on here have talked about the transmission shift not be so smooth. And I also have read that GM is going to make a software change. But do we know this is so, are is this just speculation. When I spoke to my dealer about it he acted he new nothing about it. Has GM put out any info even acknowledging this problem.
Transmission Shifting
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This guy "lzwhb" from the Acadia forum is THE GM engineer responsible for the transmission calibration improvements. His latest thread says that the ones being built after Aug 1st DO HAVE the improved transmission algorithms. Dealers will have the updates available "mid August" to apply to older lambdas built pre-August 1st.
http://www.acadiaforum.net/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=207;sa=showPosts
http://www.acadiaforum.net/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=207;sa=showPosts
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Did they say they don't service foriegn mades? ;Djtmorrill said:
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I'm posting on this thread -- we picked up our new Blue Gold Crystal/Ebony CXL on Thursday -- it was "fresh off the truck" having been delivered 6 days before. I checked the VIN directly with BUICK to find out the build date (I already had a copy of the dealer's invoice from the GM system) and found out our baby was born on 8/8. Hence, new shift programming.
I can honestly say (having driven the "old" version of both the Acadia and Enclave and thinking, gee, you really have to put your foot into it to get it to downshift, and even then it wasn't immediate) that this new programming is a VAST improvement over making this 5,000 lb vehicle actually feel pretty sporty. Since my Audi also has a 6 speed auto, I've been comparing it to the Audi's shifting. It's a bit more aggressive than the standard shift mode on the Audi (I'm sure meant to max gas mileage and feel super smooth) and sport shift mode, where the shift points occur at higher rpm's and hold onto gears longer. Bottom line is, very nice shift feel -- imperceptible moving from gear-to-gear and also very responsive when you give it a little throttle, it will downshift a gear to give you more oomph.
I say to GM's drivetrain Engineers: "well done!"
I can honestly say (having driven the "old" version of both the Acadia and Enclave and thinking, gee, you really have to put your foot into it to get it to downshift, and even then it wasn't immediate) that this new programming is a VAST improvement over making this 5,000 lb vehicle actually feel pretty sporty. Since my Audi also has a 6 speed auto, I've been comparing it to the Audi's shifting. It's a bit more aggressive than the standard shift mode on the Audi (I'm sure meant to max gas mileage and feel super smooth) and sport shift mode, where the shift points occur at higher rpm's and hold onto gears longer. Bottom line is, very nice shift feel -- imperceptible moving from gear-to-gear and also very responsive when you give it a little throttle, it will downshift a gear to give you more oomph.
I say to GM's drivetrain Engineers: "well done!"
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How true!antique said:
It was after reading here (actually another thread from the Acadia forum) that ALL vehicles built from August>forward would already have the new transmission programming -- and supposedly the dealers would have the ability to update vehicles by the end of this month.
I can tell you that the dealers, in general, know FAR less about the Enclave and all the specifics than do most of us here on this forum. I asked about the build date of mine before I agreed to buy and I was told they'd have to go to service to check and see if they could find out. I called the Buick CUSTOMER support line (NOT the marketing 18004ABUICK #) -- they gave me a case # and then I gave them the VIN. I was put on hold about 3 or 4 minutes and then the support guy came back on the line to tell me our build date was August 8 (a Wednesday). That was enough for me to seal the deal because getting the transmission re-flashed would be 1 less thing to worry about doing. BTW, the build date matched the date of the invoice as well!
Joe-Drum, I think by the end of next week, dealers should know about and be able to re-flash -- whether they will know is quite another thing.
Glad to hear you noticed the improvement. Any other comments you have would also be appreciated. I don't know how much time you spent driving the old calibration, but sounds like it was enough to notice the difference. Any complaints still? Some people doubted that much of an improvement could be made with a reprogram. What would you say to that?
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lzwhb2 -- 1st, let me say thank you for your efforts -- and let me also say thank you to GM and Buick for allowing you to participate on these Lambda forums. THIS is what makes customers life-long customers! When we can let you know about things we experience in our driving and you can take that and feed in back into improved product, then you really make the customer difference.lzwhb2 said:
I will be happy to post more as we drive our new Enclave. We've been having crappy weather here and don't want to take a chance of getting it damaged by some of the storms that have rolled through here. I drove both the Acadia and Enclave with the old programming once -- for about 30 minutes each. But I have driven enough vehicles of all manner to know what I like. I had (for almost 20 years) an 87 Corvette that arguably was the best automatic ever -- smooth when driving smooth, but would shift crisp when you wanted to drive that way. The Audi A4 I have now has a 6 speed auto and it's butter smooth when it shifts in the regular D mode -- when in the S (sport) mode, it still is smooth, but shift points/revs are definitely higher and the shifts are a little crisper and more perceptible.
I think you guys did a fantastic job (from what I've been able to tell so far) on the new programming. I have never once felt like the car bogged down (like the old pattern) -- and I had plenty of opportunity to see for myself because our ride home from Michigan was about 4 hours on Thursday, the last 90 min of which was rather harrowing -- some of the worst weather that rolled through the Chicago area in a while. I guess the best compliment to you and your team is that the Enclave always felt to me like it was in the right gear. When I wanted a little extra power, I could just barely tell that the car downshifted a gear, but it was very smooth and uneventful.
I guess my only comment so far -- and I don't know if this could be changed or not -- is I personally would like to see the readout of the gear in the DIC ALL THE TIME! I am used to this because on my Audi, this is how it is displayed. I know immediately if I look, what gear I'm in and I can tell not just by the seat of the pants but by the display that this has occured.
I do know that if you use the L funtion and the shift +- buttons on the shifter, it will show the gear. But that's not quite the same to me. I want to, most of the time, put the Enclave in D and then I'd like to see the gear numbers change in the DIC while I'm driving. I personally think this would be useful information.
Other than the above, nothing else comes to mind at the moment. I'll be happy to provide any input I can to help make this the best vehicle out there. And again, thank you so much for taking the time to help us out.
Thanks for the positive feedback. It's nice to get some of that for a change. That is really good to hear that you felt it was always in the correct gear while driving. That was a big part of the update. It still upshifts early to give you that fuel economy, but when you want response, it should be there now and should match what you're asking for with your foot.
I agree that showing the gear would be kind of nice. I drove a CX-9 a couple of weeks ago and it did this. I enjoyed that it showed me the gear, but I'm a transmission guy so I like seeing that anyway. Not sure how many other people would appreciate it.
Shifting to L does not show you the gear on the DIC. It shows the max range possible. If it says 4 for instance, you aren't necessarily in 4th gear, but you are limited to 4th gear. You can't get 5th or 6th, but you can get 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Hope that makes sense. I just wanted to clarify that. The Lambdas are a tap range and not a tap gear configuration.
Please keep the comments coming. It would be nice to hear more as you drive the vehicle under various driving conditions. I would say it's still not perfect, but I think a "VAST" improvement is a good way to describe it.
I agree that showing the gear would be kind of nice. I drove a CX-9 a couple of weeks ago and it did this. I enjoyed that it showed me the gear, but I'm a transmission guy so I like seeing that anyway. Not sure how many other people would appreciate it.
Shifting to L does not show you the gear on the DIC. It shows the max range possible. If it says 4 for instance, you aren't necessarily in 4th gear, but you are limited to 4th gear. You can't get 5th or 6th, but you can get 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Hope that makes sense. I just wanted to clarify that. The Lambdas are a tap range and not a tap gear configuration.
Please keep the comments coming. It would be nice to hear more as you drive the vehicle under various driving conditions. I would say it's still not perfect, but I think a "VAST" improvement is a good way to describe it.
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lzwhb2,lzwhb2 said:
Maybe ADMIN can set us up a POLL that will allow those of us with either a build date after 8/1 -- or the re-flash by the dealer give you feedback about showing the gear the Enclave is in at the moment? Personally, I think that would be really good information to be able to have while you're driving -- is there any way to "connect" those 2 things -- can you have the transmission feed the information to the DIC and display which gear for us? Seriously, THAT would really be nice. I never noticed this before I got my Audi in December, but I can tell you that I almost always take a glance to see what gear the car has chosen.
Also, thanks for the clarification on the L selector. I haven't tried it yet. All I knew about it was what I read.
And your comment about fuel economy seems right on -- if you saw my other post -- in spite of idling for 20 to 30 min and burning approx 3.5 gals of gas at the dealer before driving home from Michigan (to Chicago 'burbs) and then getting stuck in some weather-related traffic, our 1st fill-up gave us 19.6 mpg, which I thought was terrific for a "green" car that had only 30 miles on it. I would guess that a good part of that was your shift programming. As we drive our new Enclave more, I'll definitely post to let you know how things are going. But I'd sure love to have the gear displayed on the DIC!
I would like to echo desgnconcept's compliments and thanks to lzwhb. Just one more reason I am thrilled to be buying this car is the interest I see GM taking in what "we" the consumer want in the vehicle. From conception to production and "most importantly" even now, you guys are looking for any and every way possible to improve an already excellent and "class leading" vehicle. I didn't see this "follow through" from GM in the Montana we bought in 1999. I remember the year we bought it, Motor Trend named it as a "class leader" over Windstar, Caravan and Sienna but it faded fast after that. There seemed to be no interest in "continual product improvement" to keep it in the lead, and we know what happened after the Odyssey came out. It and the other GM minivans faded to the back of the pack and were forgotten. I want to help GM keep the lambdas FAR out front of the class for years to come. When we finally get ours, I will gladly share comments and "constructive" criticism on this board with pride in knowing that engineers like lzwhb ARE listening! THANKS GM! :thumb:
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