NSC5

The A8 in my 2016 Z06 (March build and museum delivery) has also been flawless. On the initial morning start I always let it idle for a few seconds until it drops to base idle and I have never had any rough or abrupt initial shifts. I shift in manual mode the majority of the time and my only minor complaint is I can't stay in the throttle very long without hitting ridiculously high speeds

Always Red Dave

Nice to hear some nice comments on the A8 and when I trade in my 2014 Z51 vert A6 it will be for a 2016 or newer A8.

Scruff Vette

OP, Could not agree more about the A8. At 6,500 trouble free miles it puts a huge smile on my face everytime I drive. Full throttle shifts in Sport mode with the A8 in Drive are unbelievable.

Jeff Eikenberry

While my issues occur even when the car is warm, too, my guess is we're dealing with a software issue. At least I believe that's the case, considering the car's new glitch of not smoothly downshifting when the exhaust setting is Track mode and suspension in Tour.

I share your sentiment of getting up in ridiculously high mph's way too quickly. Everyone should have that issue. .

L8ter

Jeff, you know you can use the downshift paddle while in auto to drop a couple of gears if you want.

Jeff Eikenberry

Thanks very much. Yes, I do know about this "workaround", and have used it. However, when I'm on the freeway, and in Track mode for exhaust, (which isn't often) I'm not usually interested in using the paddles.

The tranny used to seek the perfect gear to drop into, so I was spoiled. Odd that it's only in Track mode for the exhaust where I encounter the problem. Will see what the dealer says when I take it back. Thanks again, Jeff

Rebel Yell

My A8 is right at 6000 miles, and with the exception of a few hic-ups while new the thing has been a joy to drive.

The cars a beauty for sure Jed. I wasn't much on silver Corvettes until the C7 It won me over, and have found it is a very fast color.

joebean

I must say that I am one of the many that have had the TC and Trans problems with my 16 vette A8 with 6500 miles. I must say that my local service rep is really taking good care of me. They replaced my trans, stater, and TC all brand new from the factory. The factory wanted my old trans so that they could go through it and try and find out why it was performing so erratic. When I got my car back it was having the hard shift issue so they found out that there was a plug that was not fully seated and they ran some more updates checks and put the car in the learn mode. I picked it up Fri and will be driving it in the learn mode for about 1000 miles until it has learned my shift patterns or driving style is what the tech told me. It took them about 3 weeks to get to this point but at least they are making me feel that they are trying very hard to please me. If I had to do it all over again I would still buy a 2016 Z51 A8 because I love everything about this car and with my disabilities I can no longer drive a Manuel but for only short periods of time.

ATC

Just turned 10k with my first automatic Corvette, and the 8 speed has been great. a couple of strange shifts when new, but seems good now.

I'd get the 8 speed again, and silver also!

wbrands

After a long relationship with my first Corvette, an '87 coupe with a slushbox A4 starting about 25 years ago, I didn't think I would ever own another automatic Corvette unless or until they came out with a DCT that could shift as quick as a F1 car. Then came shoulder surgery and slight pain in the 4-5 shift in my M6 C5 and finally the inability to resist finally buying a brand new Corvette. However, I had a big struggle with the decision on the transmission to get.

Glad I decided on the A8! It is worlds apart from that '87 slushbox. Shifts are quick, it seems to anticipate what gear I want, and any time my heart desires (and it is often) I can use the paddles to decisively choose a gear. Love running in auto and downshifting manually for curves so the car doesn't downshift on exit when accelerating, then upshifting until I'm ready to hold the paddle and go right back to auto operation.

Really enjoying this transmission even though all the problems reported here keep me watching it closely. Mine is a 9/15 build with about 8500 miles to date and the only issues I have noticed are a delay in first engagement of the day and a slight (50 rpm or so) variation in rpm at speed in V4 mode. I had the dealer reflash the TCM at about 3500 miles which improved the rpm variation which before was as much as 200 rpm.

CaliforniaJed

Ugh, Joe, sorry to hear of those troubles. Out of curiosity, do you know your build date?

Monkey D. Luffy

I'm very happy with my A8 7000+ miles Zero problems

2016 Z06 A8

NiteriderFRC

The argument is more for the A8 being a bad performance automatic transmission. And there is no denying a good amount of owners are experiencing clunking downshifts FACT

OP What other autobox can you yourself compare it to?

LucaBrasiAZ

Reliability issues aside i always found it funny that the manual trans crowd always rips on the auto trans crowd. It similar to the z06 crowd ripping apart the GS owners for their "fake" Z06. Its a freaking corvette people, we are very lucky to own these vehicle in any configuration......I'm a manual guy at heart and my new ordered GS will be a manual, but i would have no problem owning the A8. Fantastic machines!

Casey VP26

Just turned 5000 miles and started to notice some slipping once in a while also some clunking. I am going to pay close attention to it. 2016 Z51 A8.

rmorin1249

Try this when you are in spirited driving mode. When wanting to downshift, hold the - paddle and the tranny will shift into the lowest possible gear for maximum acceleration. It is a hoot! My A8 is performing so well after my TC was replaced. Very happy.

CaliforniaJed

I don't think there is any doubt that there have been problems. Not disputing it. But (1) it sounds like we're past them, and (2) I do think on a forum like ours you get a skewed perspective on the number of A8s that have problems. That's really why I posted my positive experience. And if that changes at any point, I will definitely post that, too.

I am comparing to both 2015 DCT from a P car (which was better in manual but no better in auto IMHO, but take that with a grain of salt because I am no kinda racer), and also from my own 2015 Challenger SRT, which was also perfectly fine, again IMHO.

JonMN

This is a rush! Just wondering . . . from a technical standpoint, if you are passing do you hold the paddle and increase the throttle at the same time or downshift first then hit the throttle? Passing in Auto mode was quite a surprise---drops from 8th to 4th and then you GO. But liking Manual mode more and more as I find tweaks on how to best use it.

JonMN

Couple additional points regarding my experience with the A8 (which I really like, BTW)


Cold 1-2 shift went away on it's own. In my case it was driving related and I think I trained it.


Rough (clunk) downshift during full stop went away on it's own. For a while the gearbox was going 3-2-1 as I came to a stop, and then learned to just go 3-1.


How to get a clunk with either an A8 or a DCT (I had an Audi DCT for 5 years): Slow down as for a light or a turn and then, just as it's about to shift, change your mind or accelerate. Both clunk, and, in my opinion, the DCT clunk is way more harsh.


Liking Manual more and more, but it does change with how you drive it. My DCT was always fast, the A8 is a little more variable, but learning how to adjust. Personally, the only slow shift I ever really notice is the 1-2 shift from a stop. I was falling back a little on my manual days, by increasing revs first then shifting after pulling back on the throttle. Seems to me like the shift speed is dependent on throttle position, so if I initiate 1-2 while throttle is at a higher engagement, the shift can be much quicker. Of course WOT shifts are a hoot, but pretty fast you are WAY over the speed limit. Would like to see suggestions from other A8 owners . . .



PS: I have had enough years with Manuals (4,5 and 6 speeds) to remember my share of clunky manual shifts too. . . picking the wrong gear when downshifting is a special rush as you race to let out the clutch before over-reving the engine . . .

VooDooRob

2016 Z06/Z07 A8 and have not experienced any troubles with the trans.. There were a few weird up and down shifts when new, car has 1,200 miles on it. Nothing in awhile though, chalk it up to the car learning. We have a good benchmark to compare to, Porsche Panamera Turbo PDK with air ride and 20k miles currently on it. The Corvette's trans is a bit rough feeling compared to the Porsche, but definitely not archaic in performance nor does it have a feeling of not up to the task. It seems there are software issues people are reporting that need to be worked out on the Corvette. Don't feel this is a Corvette only problem and it should never happen to a sports car costing $x, our Panamera had a couple trans and many suspension programming issues for 3 years until they finally got it right and the car cost just under twice as much as $x.