I also have a 2009 5.3L Silverado Crew Cab w/11k miles on it and I'm experiencing really rough shifting from gears 1-2 and downshifting 2-1. It was very noticable in stop and go traffic around 10-15 mph. I also hear a clunking sound around the 2-3 upshift. Sometimes when I'm coming to a stop, it feels as if someone ran into the back of the truck and it lunges forward. Actually, just the other day I was making a left turn (@10-15mph??) and as the trans downshifted, you could feel the truck lunge forward during the turn. Other times the transmission seems altogether lost, or hunting for the correct gear. Just merging with traffic can be challenging with this transmission....it seems as if it won't downshift at all when you need it to and you have to punch the accelerator just to force any type of downshift at all. This is my first Chevy truck and what a disappointment it's been so far. I've been apprehensive about taking this to the dealer...only because I'm expecting to hear the line " it's normal operation". If it's gonna die, I hope it dies within the 5yr/100K warranty.

 

Just a thought, try cleaning the Mass Air Sensor with the cleaner from a parts store. If they get dirty then the transmission will shift weird.

 

My 08 1500 4 spd OD (not the same tranny obviously) has the exact same issues you guys are talking about. It will hold first too long at relatively low RPM then pound into second, and once in a while it will short shift second and right on into third. It also gets confused alot like it doesn't really know what gear it should be in. I'm thinking that our issues with different GM tranny's with similar problems may have something to do with a common sender or control module, maybe even computer related. OR maybe I'm out to lunch and this is all 'as engineered'..

 

Thomas78,
How long have you been experiencing this concern? If you would like to talk about your concerns further, please e-mail me at socialmedia@gm.com. Please address the e-mail attention Christina. Thank you.
Christina
GM Customer Service

 

You are not alone. I waited 6yrs after my 2004 silverado to try again with a 2010. I loved my new silverado the first 10,000 miles. Now at 10,400 miles the tranny wants to upshift way to fast, downshift way to slow and when turning into parking spots it wants to lurch foward. Gonna call my dealership and ask about this, but I remember with my 2004 the answer was always"characteristics of the vehicle". I really hoped that this truck was gonna be different.

 

That really sounds like a faulty Throttle Position Sensor.

 

Thanks, I actually mentioned to the dealer when I set up the appt that it could be something in the fuel management system

 

I was having the same issues as well as other issues with my '10 Chevy 5.3 6-speed. The truck hits second hard but also won't up-shift sometimes when cresting a hill and will continue to rev at 3000-4000 rpm without my foot even on the throttle. The first dealership I went to said that the problem could not be duplicated so went to a second dealership. The second dealership had me drive the truck while a technician rode along with the scanner. The truck didn't act up at all the whole time the scanner was plugged into the truck and the technician thought I was crazy. I had him unplug the scanner and sure enough the truck immediately started driving like ****. The truck wouldn't upshift when cresting a hill without my foot even on the throttle. The truck also wouldn't downshift until my foot was almost on the floor, eventually it will drop 2 or 3 gears and scream to get up to speed.

The dealership has since replaced the ECU in the truck as well as cleaning every ground connection. When neither of those things helped out they took my truck for 2 weeks where they took apart the transmission and replaced various valves and other parts. The truck is still having issues and don't even dream of trying to haul a trailer. This truck has the VVT and cylinder deactivation, yet I get approx 15 mpg on average. I had the exact same truck but it was a 2007 with the 4-speed which gave me at least 20 mpg most days. I'm a big fan of Chevy/GMC but this truck was meant for the junkyard since day 1.

 

I'm own a 09 Chevy Silverado crew cab 1500 with a 5.3 and 6-speed transmission. Im glad to see other truck owners are experiencing the same shifting problems. I bought my 09 Chevy Truck used back in October 2011, I didnt notice anything unusual with the shifting. The only thing I upgraded was the exhaust which I installed shortly after I bought it. I started to notice the unusual shifting problems when I engaged/disengaged the towing fuction. Even sence I notice when I'm cruising in traffic around 15-20 mph, I really need to give it a lot thottle to get it to go, feals like its bogging. It did down shift eventullay but the truck lunges.
The fuel miledge is around 14-15 which I thought it should be a lot higher.
I took the truck to the dealer and spoke with the service manger. He plugged in th GM scanner and took it for a test drive. When he came back he said there where no problems with the engien or transmission. He went on his comuter and downloaded a sevice bulletin. (Doucment ID 2716749) Clearly states what I'm experiencing. The tranmisson is programmed with what they call a "Shift Stabilization" Here is what paragraph states:
"Some customers may comment that the upshifts are delayed or not available when in fact the transmission is operating normally with a feature known as "shift stablilization." This may contribute to "cannot duplicate/no trouble found." It is Important that the customer be educated about this feature if this occurs"........
I have a eletctonic copy of the service bulletin so if anyone wants it just email me (jmann24@charter.net)
I really want to take this to a different Chevy dealership and see what they say. This cant be normal!!!!! Truck is hard to drive at low speeds.

I feal your pain on getting the run-a-round............
Jim

 

There is a factory bulletin about a hard shift from 2nd to 1st as well as from 3rd to 2nd, it is not a recall but if you still have drive train warranty they will fix it.