Nice Accelerator But Lazy Shifting - 2015 Chevrolet Colorado Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Nice Accelerator But Lazy Shifting - 2015 Chevrolet Colorado Long-Term Road Test

We like the accelerator pedal tuning and feel on our long-term 2015 Chevrolet Colorado, but our feeling for the transmission is a different story.

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adamb1

Jumpy off the line is not a new problem. My '03 Ram 1500 HEMI has the same issue. It's programmed to impress in the first 50' of the test drive. This means resorting to brake/throttle overlap for precision in tight spaces. Reverse is a different animal. The program changes to nothing...nothing...nothing...GO! This makes connecting a trailer a fun proposition. There's more than one trailer-hitch ding in the back bumper.

ahightower

I'm sure it's better in person, but the interior looks so Playskool in that photo. And that seat design is just weird.

metalmania

My wife used to have a Subaru Forester with the over-aggressive throttle tip in, and that was a model year 2000 car. I hated it (the throttle calibration, not the car), you had to treat it like there was an egg between your foot and the pedal not to rear-end someone in front of you when pulling away from a stop. Then, when flooring the accelerator to pass on the highway there wasn't much left - though it wasn't much of a powerhouse anyway. I much prefer a linear throttle, acceleration with "surprises" isn't a good idea.

I doubt it will change, but it would be great if GM released a transmission reflash to be more responsive. Actually, most manufacturers seem to be programming their transmissions to be lethargic like this. In the quest for every last mpg, they're making vehicles annoying to drive in the process. You'd think if it just responded when you want it to, the required acceleration would be accomplished sooner and it could get back into fuel-saving mode faster.

s197gt

after market tuners do that as well and they make it even worse! makes it very difficult to shift smoothly. barely touch the throttle and the rpms go crazy... problem is it kind of makes the second half of the throttle less exciting.

love, love, love the old-school linear throttle of our Z3.

oachalon

I know GM transmissions have "fuzzy logic" that learn the owners driving style. Maybe the person before just putted along. Someone at edmunds go beat the crap out of the truck and see if it will be more eager to upshift.

metalmania

Sounds crazy to say a pickup could use a "sport mode" for the transmission, but kind of sounds like it wouldn't be a bad idea. Would tow/haul mode help, or just make it hold gears longer?

emajor

I don't know if it started here, but I first noticed the jumpy throttle trend on the B-segment cars with little 1.5L engines. Makes them feel real peppy until they fall into the hole of second gear and you realize how little 100hp actually does. The current Kia Optima has this as well, and it's annoying.

These sluggish autos are obnoxious. Some manufacturers can get EPA fuel economy in the real world without resorting to transmissions programmed to cling to high gear like a &*$^%^#. I'm curious how the Tacoma's new powertrain will compare to the Chevy in this regard.

allthingshonda

In Chevy trucks if you engage tow/haul mode the transmission forgets fuel economy and it's all about power. It will hold gears and snap off downshifts without hesitation, and provide engine braking.

cranesteve

my truck dosent have a tow/ haul mode, it only the 4 cyl, but it still seems to try to engine brake going down a hill near my house, thats not even very big. PS i DO understand engine braking, i have been a tractor trailer driver off and on for years

cranesteve

also, i do agree on the smooth accelerator pedal, and like it alot.

racerex5

I'd like to echo Mike Monticello, Senior Road Test Editor post. He explained this almost to a "T" with a few exceptions. I have 2015 Canyon with around 14K miles and I've brought this to my dealer’s attention but I described it as the accelerator issue; they said there's no adjustment. I didn't know this was as wide of an issue as I'm finding out (read 4 forums is enough); GM & Chevy engineers need to get on the ball with a fix. The transmission in too high of a make perfect sense. My 2001 GMC Sonoma I could gradually press the accelerator and get a proportional response but with this truck I get little or no response until I go from say, pressing the pedal 1/8"/sec (slow press) to 1/2"/sec (aggressive press) to get a response but by then when the tranny finally responds the accelerator which is now in a position of high accelerator and it drops a couple of gears and the engine revs. Sometimes it even sputters like it’s not getting enough fuel; not smooth at all. This happens a lot trying to keep up with traffic or on small inclines. Either I suffer with GM’s lackluster transmission performance or Toyota’s lack interior comfort. Both are great trucks but I wanted a nice comfortable interior for long trips that could get the job done or a known great performing truck that falls short on interior.