r/Cadillac 2d ago

How has GM not fixed the 10-speed?

I genuinely don’t understand how this transmission is so bad? I had the dreaded valve body issue, and instead of waiting on a list 3500 deep, I got a full OEM transmission swap as I am still under warranty.

The new one still occasionally lurches when downshifting, and consistently hunts for gears.

How has GM stayed competitive when their transmissions are just….bad? Even my Ford with the same 10 speed is significantly better.

17 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

8

u/ads1031 2d ago

Out of curiosity, what all is wrong with the 10 speed? I'm more familiar with the eight speed, but it's somewhat likely that I may try to get a used car with the 10-speed in the future.

8

u/AbyssWalker240 2d ago

Imo the gear hunt is insane and it lurches on occasion (felt in a 2024 Escalade from the dealer)

Even the 9 speed feels clunky a lot of the time.

The 8 speed feels amazing though, but that is only in a few of the cars unfortunately

7

u/ads1031 2d ago

Imho, I actually disagree, I dislike my 8-speed. The first shift of the day results in a crazy flare - feels like its between 1st and 2nd for a few seconds. And a lot of shifts feel too grabby, quick, and clunky. Like someone letting go of the clutch too quickly too soon in a manual.

Now, the 6-speed that was in my STS.... ohhh... Shifted with confidence, every gear, all the time, felt soo good. I miss that car.

4

u/Extra-Wasabi-8639 2d ago

Thats word for word how the trasmission feels in my 2016 ct6. I was so worried about it but it sounds common

3

u/ads1031 2d ago

The best recommendation I can make is to change the transmission fluid. Give it a try.

1

u/Extra-Wasabi-8639 2d ago

The service records show it was changed 20k ago. How many miles do you have on yours?

1

u/ads1031 2d ago

I change my transmission fluid every 30,000 miles. Since I'm a DIY hobbyist, one "change" actually consists of changing the fluid twice, two weeks apart. I literally just did the first change, the 2nd one is this upcoming weekend.

The partial fluid change I just did did seem to make the transmission shift more slowly, more smoothly. Like engaging the clutch gradually in a manual. I used this fluid, which, despite not being licensed, seems to use the same additive package as the licensed stuff according to this thread. The change didn't seem to affect my 4-cylinder mode vibration (since I have the LGX v6).

1

u/Extra-Wasabi-8639 1d ago

Good to know. I was planning to change it often and just have to think of it as regular maintenance for these cars.

1

u/upperlowermanagement 1d ago

I had 8 spd rebuilt with the new fluid now it flares on the first shift of the day. Loging shows 18? Psi. I plan to get it tuned. It definitely needs more pressure and shift time decreased

2

u/AbyssWalker240 2d ago

My experience with the 9 speed has been with an xt6 and an xt4. My dad's ct4 has the 8 speed and it feels buttery in comparison. Maybe the ones I drove were bad years or something.

My ats with the 6 speed was by far the best for sure haha, miss it to this day.

5

u/Blocker_vee 2d ago

I have a 10 speed and a CT 5V Blackwing. Never had a problem with it.

3

u/Comfortable_Ad_8117 1d ago

I too have the 10 speed in my CT5-V (non-Blackwing) 30K miles and all good!

4

u/Practical-Crazy-8269 2d ago

Completely agree with this post, currently a 2021 Lincoln Navigator L owner that shares the same transmission; why GM and Ford collaborated on this absolute mess of a tranny, I will never understand. Erratic shifts, lurching, gear hunting, take your foot off the gas then hit the gas and the trans has no idea WTF to do and slams into a lower gear. On my third trans and I’m at a loss. Would love to dump the car for Escalade but clearly that will not answer my trans issue. Not sure how to proceed, perhaps the ESV/Navi L is off the table

4

u/BlockStunna 1d ago

You might be engaging "pass mode" when you take your foot off the gas and then press it down fast and far enough. The transmission will downshift and put you in peak rpm. It's great when you want that extra torque to accelerate quickly but when you do it on accident it feels like your car has a mind of it's own, revving high and in the wrong gear. This is how the owner's manual explains it for the 6-speed:

If you need more power for passing, and you are: . Going less than 55 km/h (35 mph), push the accelerator pedal about halfway down. . Going about 55 km/h (35 mph) or more, push the accelerator all the way down. The transmission will shift down to a lower gear and have more power.

3

u/perrymike15 2d ago

Could be the adaptations are bad

3

u/Particular_Apple_652 1d ago

Mine was giving me problems for months, though no codes or CEL so no one believed me and told me it was how I was driving the car lol….finally went to limp mode and CEL…got full transmission replacement by pressuring my dealer….new transmission feels slightly better maybe but not great

2

u/jhoke1017 1d ago

Same exact thing happened to me. Slightly better, but not great. Would love to test drive a 2025 to see if this is just how it is, or what. Needless to say I’ll be selling her once the powertrain warranty is up

1

u/Particular_Apple_652 1d ago

I actually had a loaner of a 2025 for 3 days when I first brought my car in months ago….felt like a different car from a different company…go test drive one and see

1

u/jhoke1017 19h ago

Was it a CT5?

1

u/Particular_Apple_652 18h ago

Yes I have a 23 and they gave me a 25 loaner…totally totally different

1

u/jhoke1017 18h ago

Interesting. I’ll have to give that a try. The loaners I got were both XT5s. The transmission was smoother, but not butter by any means

3

u/_k_b_k_ 1d ago

This is especially sad because it's not that difficult to make a good transmission. The ZF 8HP is brilliant, fast and more than enough gears.

1

u/jhoke1017 1d ago

As another poster said, it’s all in the name of saving a fraction of a gallon at the pump. Just an ass backwards way of doing things.

That’s before I even get into the fact that forced induction requires 93 octane which costs $1/gallon more around me, wiping out any “savings” that was saved over a NA motor.

5

u/pHpositive 2d ago

GM is a hedge fund disguised as a car company.

4

u/woodsongtulsa 2d ago

This is the answer. GM doesn't give a squat about the buyers of their cars.

2

u/OldheadBoomer 2d ago

Mine's acting up, 2023 CT4-V. A few days ago, I was driving under 40, let off the gas, and felt it hesitate like I touched the brakes. A few seconds later, it spit out a check engine light and "Reduced acceleration mode" and stayed in 5th gear.

I got home and parked; it was very clunky going into reverse. An hour later, I went out and started it, and took it for a test drive. The check engine light was still on, but it drove normally. I pulled the codes using an OBD II scanner and got a P0700 and P0747.

I have an appointment on the 17th. It's still doing okay, hopefully it will stay that way for a couple more weeks.

3

u/jhoke1017 1d ago

I had the same PO700 code and it was the valve body issue.

1

u/Full_Toe_4984 1d ago

I had this issue in my Malibu and it was the gas pedal accelerator that was the malfunction

2

u/MyEasyLemon 1d ago

Hunt-and-lurch plus P0747 almost always means a sticking pressure-control solenoid in the valve body; it’s the same root issue that killed the earlier units, so don’t let the dealer brush it off. Print GM TSB 22-NA-167 and 23-NA-043, drop the car off cold, and ask them to log clutch pressures-heat usually masks the fault. Make sure they pull the pan: if the fluid’s glittery or smells burnt, insist on a new valve body (or complete trans) and the latest TCM flash. Keep a phone video of every flare or slam and note mileage; it gives you leverage with GM Customer Care and, if you’ve got a CarShield policy, it speeds approval. If they still can’t nail it, Easy Lemon 310-361-8647 can start a lemon claim under the 2023 warranty. Stay on them until it shifts clean again.

1

u/Particular_Apple_652 1d ago

You seem knowledgeable so let me ask you this…I just got a full trans replacement…what did they replace it with? The same exact thing?

2

u/Particular_Apple_652 1d ago

It’s going to be the valve body and the wait is now approx 3500 customers last I heard so probably more now…gotta pressure the dealer to replace the whole transmission…it’s not still in limp mode?

1

u/OldheadBoomer 1d ago

it’s not still in limp mode?

Nope. I left it for an hour, started it up and it was back to normal, but with the check engine light illuminated. After a couple of drives, it went out.

1

u/badsapi4305 2d ago

We have a 2024 suburban RST with the affected 5.3 engine. Is this the same transmission? We’ve had ours for a year and a half and haven’t noticed any issues.

1

u/jhoke1017 1d ago

Yes, you have the 10-speed. It’s seem to have hit Silverado’s the worst but I am guessing by 2024 there has been some working out of the kinks

1

u/badsapi4305 1d ago

Ok. I’m glad they seemed to have worked out the kinks but sucks it was at your expense. Hope you get it sorted out. I was very nervous buying the 10 speed because I had heard some negative things. Unfortunately everything has 10 speed. Even the other manufactures so I just figured I’d get an extended warranty as well.

1

u/Particular_Apple_652 1d ago

How many miles in your truck?

1

u/bannedUncleCracker 1d ago

… bought a brand new 2018 Lexus 350RxL (stretch) and for the 3 years I kept it, the fucking Jatco 8 spd would annoyingly hunt for shifts. Had to run in Sports mode to get any relief from the hunt but the gas mileage crashed. A primary reason I could not wait to dump that overrated piece of crap and will not look at another Lexus.

1

u/Cumminpwr11 1d ago

Which vehicle do you have your 10spd in? I have the 10spd in our 2018 Escalade was, and it’s smooth and flawless. Only oddity I’ve noticed was twice trying to pass vehicles, it downshifted and then accelerated and then downshifted again to really rev the engine and then shifted back down as we were well over 100mph after that.

My thought logic was it should have downshifted to the correct gear first than shifting 3 times but it accomplished what I needed to pass a li e of semis on a back hwy in Idaho.

I am very pleased with my esv

2

u/Bitter-Ad3635 1d ago

Same car and same luck. Crossing fingers!

1

u/BrokenRaptor 1d ago

I’ve had the opposite problem. The one in my ford is a nightmare. Lurching and searching for gears constantly. The one in my Escalade is a lot smoother. Still would rather have a ZF 8 speed. Had 2 vehicles with the ZF and I never even thought about the transmission. It was always just doing its job perfectly.

1

u/Practical-Crazy-8269 1d ago

Thanks, if pass mode involves slamming into the lower gear to the point the car lurches, then the engineers need to head back to the drawing board.

1

u/upperlowermanagement 1d ago

Had the 10spd in my raptor it was utter trash. Driver returned on foot lol

1

u/Choice_Leader_8213 16h ago

Almost always problems with the crappy valve body in these 10 speed transmissions.

I proactively performed the Next Gen valve body upgrade in my 2024 GMC Yukon Denali at 8500 miles just because I drive a lot of distance on the highway and did not want to be left hundreds of miles from home on the weekend and have to wait weeks or months for the vehicle to be repaired. I did this upgrade on my own dime in the driveway and could not be happier.

Gone was the 2-3 and 3-4 upshift delay and flairs along with occasional rough lower gear downshifting. The transmission now shifts like it should have from the factory.

Replacement GM valve bodies and transmissions will have the same problems as what you may be driving now. Spend the money and perform the Next Gen valve body upgrade sooner than later, do not wait for problems to show up.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gmcsierra/comments/1jw3akp/next_gen_drivetrain_project_carbon_valve_body/

https://www.reddit.com/r/gmcsierra/comments/1mtpozl/10_speed_valve_body_upgrade_experience/

1

u/75w90 7h ago

They did. They fixed it long ago. Even came out with a new part number with quicker time frame.

You have a bad dealer.

-1

u/thenewlogic2 1d ago

This is a result of ridiculous gas mileage standards. A 6.2 V8 does not need 10 forward gears, but to squeeze fractions of an mpg to avoid billions in eco-religion fines, this is what you get- cheaply built, over complicated, error prone, junk. That said, the 10 is generally far better than the 8 regarding lurching, clunking, gear hunting, and premature failure. Hopefully the current US administration will be succesful in rolling back all the eco no sense and let automakers produce good stuff that consumers actually want again. The last 8-10 years will be seen as a dark spot in automotive history, similar to the late seventies through late 80s. Give us back our bulletproof smallblocks and 6 speeds!!!

1

u/YellowT-5R 2011 Esky ESV AWD / 2011 Esky / 2̷0̷2̷3̷ ̷C̷T̷5̷ ̷B̷W̷-SOLD 2d ago edited 2d ago

Honestly it's a software issue in my opinion. There are other trucks and performance cars that use the same exact trans that don't have the issues this has.

I'm sure a tuner somewhere will eventually look into it and fix it for them.

-1

u/Screamlngyeti 2d ago

10 gears? My caddy only has 1