A great idea to poll. Is tere anyway to poll on other specifics about the clunking, like all gears, low and high rpms?
I had mine in last week for first service, and clunking was among the items that they reviewed. In addition to the clunking, there was only 1 other item that I was concerned about - grinding noise at low speeds, in gear while turning. They fixed the latter, but I still have clunking. The solution to grinding was changing gear oil in differential (several steps here, but that's the short story). Service, by the way was excellent. I am frustrated though over this issue.
Just a quick note from the Hilton Head Island gathering with the Solstice Team: They believe the clunking is related to LSD and that you can actually make it happen (so it is somewhat related to how you drive a manual). They also said it's not a performance or long-term maintenance issue at all, but because customers are concerned about it, they are looking at it to see if it can minimized or even eliminated.
__________________ 506 - acquired 3 YEARS AGO Sept. 23rd!!! Vanity: SUNSTED (Old Eng. for Solstice) Mods: Stubby ant. w/blk rings; lil' chromies; ctr cap red logos; sport pedals Extras: CA Car Cvr; splash guards; GM bra; KappaShield Oops: front bmpr (road debris) 4/28/06; Blown rear diff @ 14,797 mi on 9/29/06, fixed 10/05/06; new cat @ 29,550 on 9/26/07
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Drove a black solstice at the Auto Show in Motion in Orlando yesterday and heard the clucking sound-----If I had not read it on the forum I porbably would have to realized what it was----
Just a quick note from the Hilton Head Island gathering with the Solstice Team: They believe the clunking is related to LSD and that you can actually make it happen (so it is somewhat related to how you drive a manual). They also said it's not a performance or long-term maintenance issue at all, but because customers are concerned about it, they are looking at it to see if it can minimized or even eliminated.
For my own sanity I've driven another Sol that exhibits the clunk very infrequently - not nearly as noticeable or through all the gears as mine. Same driver, different cars - one clunks, the other does not. I am not convinced that this is a driver-induced (non)-problem.
Just a quick note from the Hilton Head Island gathering with the Solstice Team: They believe the clunking is related to LSD and that you can actually make it happen (so it is somewhat related to how you drive a manual). They also said it's not a performance or long-term maintenance issue at all, but because customers are concerned about it, they are looking at it to see if it can minimized or even eliminated.
I would love to have one of these engineers or any others out there who claim it is "driver error" to drive my car. It will clunk no matter who drives it or how. I agree that there are ways to minimize the clunking between shifting 1st to 2nd, but what about from neutral to 1st? or 1st to reverse? or any gear to neutral? The drive line just has a ton of play in it, and because it is mounted so close to the driver, without much isolation, the driver hears every slap of the gears.
Here is the Solstice clunk challange. First go out to a Solstice with the engine off and put the car in first gear. Then take off the parking brake and get out and grab onto a rear wheel. Now rotate the rear wheel back and forth and you will hear the exact clunk we are talking about in all it's glory. Now try the exact same test with any other car or truck with a manual transmission and you will no doubt hear a similar clunk. However, I bet you that the Solstice is much louder. I have only heard a driveline clunking this loud before on old trucks with hundreds of thousands of miles on them.
It very well could be just my car, I've never really had a chance to compare to other Solstices, but considering there is a poll on a forum about it, I'd have to say it's not just me. It doesn't really bother me, and I don't worry about it, but when the lame "it's your driving technique" argument comes up I do get irked. Do they have discussions about clunking while shifting on the Honda and Mazda sites? I doubt it. Come on GM, own up to the problem and don't try to pass it off on operator error.
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Thanks again Bob, for building my car! Envious/Ebony VIN #0051
I would love to have one of these engineers or any others out there who claim it is "driver error" to drive my car. It will clunk no matter who drives it or how. I agree that there are ways to minimize the clunking between shifting 1st to 2nd, but what about from neutral to 1st? or 1st to reverse? or any gear to neutral? The drive line just has a ton of play in it, and because it is mounted so close to the driver, without much isolation, the driver hears every slap of the gears.
Here is the Solstice clunk challange. First go out to a Solstice with the engine off and put the car in first gear. Then take off the parking brake and get out and grab onto a rear wheel. Now rotate the rear wheel back and forth and you will hear the exact clunk we are talking about in all it's glory. Now try the exact same test with any other car or truck with a manual transmission and you will no doubt hear a similar clunk. However, I bet you that the Solstice is much louder. I have only heard a driveline clunking this loud before on old trucks with hundreds of thousands of miles on them.
It very well could be just my car, I've never really had a chance to compare to other Solstices, but considering there is a poll on a forum about it, I'd have to say it's not just me. It doesn't really bother me, and I don't worry about it, but when the lame "it's your driving technique" argument comes up I do get irked. Do they have discussions about clunking while shifting on the Honda and Mazda sites? I doubt it. Come on GM, own up to the problem and don't try to pass it off on operator error.
Did you see the word "somewhat" in my statement? They are definitely NOT trying to pass this off as operator error - I'm sorry that I didn't make that more clear. It's just a part of this situation, which they acknowledge has different characteristics in the cars in which it is happening, and, again, something they want to resolve because it's annoying to the customers.
__________________ 506 - acquired 3 YEARS AGO Sept. 23rd!!! Vanity: SUNSTED (Old Eng. for Solstice) Mods: Stubby ant. w/blk rings; lil' chromies; ctr cap red logos; sport pedals Extras: CA Car Cvr; splash guards; GM bra; KappaShield Oops: front bmpr (road debris) 4/28/06; Blown rear diff @ 14,797 mi on 9/29/06, fixed 10/05/06; new cat @ 29,550 on 9/26/07
-> Celebrating over FOUR+ YEARS on this Forum!
-> NASSOA Founder #44
-> CURRENT MI: 39,204
No "clunk" has ever been present when I'm tooling around driving LITHA.I did get a Document ID#1700396 about the "clunk" when I picked'er up 09/29/2005 .It's titled Information on Driveline Clunk Noise When Shifting Gears at Low Speeds #05-07-29-005-(Aug30,2005).Didn't everyone get this informative bulletin??
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Who would have thought a car hopped up on LSD would behave erratically?
Yeah, I think they'd better change that name. I don't know if it functions exactly the same way, but in the 60's they called it positraction. Seems like it would have been called LSD in the 60's!
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