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It's called "get an automatic" and quit fretting over it.
I don't want to start a range war, but we stick guys and slush guys ought to not forget to support each other! If the A6 has glitches, (persish the thought!), I would hate to see the MN6 guys chortle....
i have not owned a stick shift car since i had a new X-11 citation in 1981 and you can see by my sig that i have owned a few sticks and i always parked them in reverse because that was the lowest ratio gear in the trans and if the parking brake let loose the car would not roll away. i guess a lot of new corvette owners never had stick shift.
It has nothing to do with "new corvette owners"...the point Hoonose is trying to make is that not everybody has the same procedure for shutting down their manual trannys. Everyone I know who has an auto ALWAYS puts it in park on shut down. However not everyone shuts down their manual by putting it in reverse. Some choose first gear and some (idiots) don't even put it any gear at all. There lies the problem...
It has nothing to do with "new corvette owners"...the point Hoonose is trying to make is that not everybody has the same procedure for shutting down their manual trannys. Everyone I know who has an auto ALWAYS puts it in park on shut down. However not everyone shuts down their manual by putting it in reverse. Some choose first gear and some (idiots) don't even put it any gear at all. There lies the problem...
I wouldn't doubt the intelligence of a manual trans driver, typically they are more in tuned with the car and surroundings, hence wanting the ability to shift themselves.
I'm not sure what GM was thinking with this, three of my F-bodies were 6 speeds, as was my Viper, and GTO. None of them had to be shut down in reverse.
If someone builds it(defeat module/thing), they will come!
From: Fayetteville Arkansas recently moved from Oakland Ca
St. Jude Donor '06
I have a hard time understanding this complaint. You've gotta put it someplace, so what's wrong with reverse?? That's better than puting it where the sun don't shine !!!
Chevrolet has been doing this since at least 1985. My 85 beater pickup ...
Maybe for pickups , but my 2000 Camaro with a 5-speed tranny can be shut down correctly in any gear or neutral.
Originally Posted by xlr8rvette
You've gotta put it someplace, so what's wrong with reverse?? That's better than puting it where the sun don't shine !!!
Assuming you ment the sun don't shine in neutral , that's exactly where I have been leaving my manual trannys when shutting off my car for years. I live in a rather flat area and all the places I park are level enough to leave the tranny in neutral without the parking brake without the car rolling. I do however use the parking brake and am in the habit of applying it firmly. If I lived in a more hilly area I would get in the habit of always leaving it in gear. Not everyone is in an area that has to be concerned with their car rolling away when parked. They did name that thing a parking brake, go figure.
I believe this problem has nothing to do with putting in reverse or not. The DIC and horn worns you very sell that you did not shut down properly. Each time my battery went dead ( 3 times now) it was in reverse and no other accessories were on. I charged the battery again yesterday and I am looking forward to checking it out this morning to see if I still have a charge. I think we have some devise or computer turning on when it shouldn't causing the drain. I am not happy with this situation, so if anyone has any ideas I can share with my dealership, let me know.
It has nothing to do with "new corvette owners"...the point Hoonose is trying to make is that not everybody has the same procedure for shutting down their manual trannys. Everyone I know who has an auto ALWAYS puts it in park on shut down. However not everyone shuts down their manual by putting it in reverse. Some choose first gear and some (idiots) don't even put it any gear at all. There lies the problem...
I have a hard time understanding this complaint. You've gotta put it someplace, so what's wrong with reverse?? That's better than puting it where the sun don't shine !!!
More or less just repeating what some others have already said, but the MAIN problem is not the fact that we have to put it in reverse. No, the MAIN problem is that even when it is in reverse that the battery still dies! Some of us know without a doubt that it is in reverse by pulling in a little too far and then backing up a little just to make sure we got the right gear and it still dies. This thread really didn't start off by saying that "why do we have to put it in reverse". It started off by saying "why put it in reverse, when it doesn't appear to shut anything down". And so we are wanting GM to work on the shutdown process, not the having to put it in reverse. If putting it into reverse worked 100% of the time for 100% of the people, then this wouldn't even be an issue. Right?
[QUOTE=tetsuo166]More or less just repeating what some others have already said, but the MAIN problem is not the fact that we have to put it in reverse. No, the MAIN problem is that even when it is in reverse that the battery still dies! QUOTE]
My car in the shop for second time now do to this. Five and a half days now and counting. for this trip, Only 4 hrs the first time.
Hope they found out something this time
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Originally Posted by tetsuo166
More or less just repeating what some others have already said, but the MAIN problem is not the fact that we have to put it in reverse. No, the MAIN problem is that even when it is in reverse that the battery still dies! Some of us know without a doubt that it is in reverse by pulling in a little too far and then backing up a little just to make sure we got the right gear and it still dies. This thread really didn't start off by saying that "why do we have to put it in reverse". It started off by saying "why put it in reverse, when it doesn't appear to shut anything down". And so we are wanting GM to work on the shutdown process, not the having to put it in reverse. If putting it into reverse worked 100% of the time for 100% of the people, then this wouldn't even be an issue. Right?
I agree. Every time I had the DBS I was backed into the garage in reverse. I'm an old Corvette guy and have been driving 4 and 6 speeds for 34 years. If it truly would shut down the computer every time in reverse this would be a non issue. I have discovered that LOCKING THE STEERING COLUMN AND LOCKING THE CAR WITH THE FOB seems to have stopped my problem (In addition to pulling relay 46). This seems to "put the car to bed". I shouldn't have to be this methodical to prevent battery discharge.
The rationale behind this whole shutdown in reverse is tied to the keyless ignition. They were afraid that while driving in any forward gear you could bump the ignition switch inadvertently and shut the car down and lock the steering column while driving. The only gear you can lock the column in is reverse. That avoids what GM felt was a potential safety problem.
More or less just repeating what some others have already said, but the MAIN problem is not the fact that we have to put it in reverse. No, the MAIN problem is that even when it is in reverse that the battery still dies! QUOTE]
My car in the shop for second time now do to this. Five and a half days now and counting. for this trip, Only 4 hrs the first time.
Hope they found out something this time
you guys with 6 speeds have to be doing something wrong because it seem that the higher % of battery problems is the owners of 6 speeds. my C-6 set for 4 weeks when we went to FL. and when i came back it still had 11+ volts showing on the DIC
you guys with 6 speeds have to be doing something wrong because it seem that the higher % of battery problems is the owners of 6 speeds. my C-6 set for 4 weeks when we went to FL. and when i came back it still had 11+ volts showing on the DIC
Clem!
Surely we all screw up once in a while. But, we shifters are just not screwing up this often.
Something else, probably buried deep in the electronics of this car, is draining our batteries.
It's been proven to be way more common to drain a battery with a shifter, but the solution is not as simple as just leaving it in reverse gear.
I've had 3 episodes of dead batteries and each time I was in reverse.
you guys with 6 speeds have to be doing something wrong because it seem that the higher % of battery problems is the owners of 6 speeds. my C-6 set for 4 weeks when we went to FL. and when i came back it still had 11+ volts showing on the DIC
Also, just to add to the mystery, I don't check to see if my wheel is locked, I don't shut the car manually with my fob, and I've never pulled relay #46. Yet my battery is fine, has lived through three months of subzero temperatures in an unheated garage, and continues to crank strongly whenever I start the car. Most manual cars do not have a battery problem....just like the automatics. Why some MN6 cars have recurring problems, while most do not, is the real mystery here. While some cases can certainly be attributed to user error, the vast majority are happening even when the car is shut down porperly. My guess is that some relay or sensor in the car is intermittently not seeing the proper shutdown signal from the MN6 and is leaving some circuit open.
There is nothing else the driver can do to prevent this from happening.
I agree. Every time I had the DBS I was backed into the garage in reverse. I'm an old Corvette guy and have been driving 4 and 6 speeds for 34 years. If it truly would shut down the computer every time in reverse this would be a non issue. I have discovered that LOCKING THE STEERING COLUMN AND LOCKING THE CAR WITH THE FOB seems to have stopped my problem (In addition to pulling relay 46). This seems to "put the car to bed". I shouldn't have to be this methodical to prevent battery discharge.
The rationale behind this whole shutdown in reverse is tied to the keyless ignition. They were afraid that while driving in any forward gear you could bump the ignition switch inadvertently and shut the car down and lock the steering column while driving. The only gear you can lock the column in is reverse. That avoids what GM felt was a potential safety problem.
Bingo!
Give this person the cigar! Yes, without a key/switch how do you handle the column lock! The good thing is rumor has it the Column Lock goes away for the 06, which also explains why the 06 loses the reverse hibernate as well.
To answer the original question, there are two reverse switches located on the transmission that are activated by a mechanical paw-like lever once the shift lever is moved to reverse. The combination of switches coupled with the ignition switch position tells the car to allow the column to lock and allow the computer systems to go into hibernate mode. If the column lock malfunctions, the car will not be allowed to start.. etc etc In any case, jumping the reverse switches should allow everything to work as if the reverse switches had been triggered, but what's the point as you are right back where you started.
Last edited by AutoCutter; Aug 15, 2005 at 03:42 PM.
"Why the F'" shouldn't it be an issue? Even if it was only happening to 2 or 3 people then I would think it is fair for them to post it and get HELPFUL responses. Just like the A/C problem, or the stereo problem, or the fuel sending problem, etc. These are not problems that I have had at this time, but I don't jump on the thread and wonder why "If it's not happening to me, then why should it be a problem." For those of use who have DBS more than once (quite a few people) this is an issue. We are all certain that we are following the shutdown process according to the manual and even extremes beyond that. That is why this is an issue.
Without loosing my temper< I will answer this! As a long time car guy and Vette owner it would be nice to just jump in the car and start it up.
That is after doing a pilot to copilot shut down the ride before!!!!!
Example pulling car in garage, then engaging reverse. Then backing up a bit to double check then pulling on e brake then hitting the off button then listening to hear column lock then trying to move steering wheel. Taking cell phone and garage door remote out of car shutting door and waiting to see start light and other lights fade out. Then checking to see if red blinker light comes on
Then if I’m lucky the car will start next time, if not get out jumper cables and drive to dealer
Then posting all sorts of information, and reading everything I can to try to figure outs what wrong with my $60,000 car
The worst is then getting on line to answer a stupid question like “Why the F' is this an issue? ”