BREAKING: Early Camaro SS manual transmission failures reported, factory hold issued
by Sam Abuelsamid on Jul 13th 2009 at 7:26PM 
2010 Chevrolet Camaro - Click above for a high-res image gallery
Sporadic reports have begun popping up in the Camaro5 forums about issues with V8-powered SS models equipped with the manual transmission. It seems that doing a hard launch or using the launch control system occasionally results in a broken output shaft, a serious failure that will most likely leave the car immobile and in need of repair. We spoke with General Motors spokesman Adam Dennison about the problem and, as this is being written, a factory hold has been put on deliveries of manual transmission V8 Camaros while Chevrolet engineering teams investigate the problem.
Based on the reports, the transmission issues may not be related to the launch control system as the failures seem to happen whether or not launch control is engaged. The Camaro SS uses the Tremec 6060 six-speed gearbox – the same transmission fitted to the Dodge Viper, Mustang GT500, Corvette Z06 and other performance cars – so this is likely a manufacturing issue with a batch of gearboxes.
Dennison told Autoblog that an engineering meeting is being held this evening to identify the cause and establish a timing for the fix – and a recall seems likely. In the meantime, if you have a manual model Camaro SS, you might want to go easy on the launches for now – and if you have one ordered, you'll have to wait a bit longer. Thanks to Bailey and Derrick for the tips!
[Source: Camaro5.com]
Photos Copyright ©2009 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
Kaveh 7:32PM (7/13/2009)
Wow, first burnout for anyone is going to be really costly
Reply
KeatMP 8:24PM (7/13/2009)
I'm sure it would be covered under warranty. It's not a GT-R.
Eddy Alvarez 9:11PM (7/13/2009)
don't know if this has been mentioned, but this isn't all that common. I have an 08 z06 and the tr6060 has a known issue usually with an early warning of gear grinding. Its rare but exists. The fix has been a headache for Z owners with the fault as the gears are supposedly on back order.
Lemon 10:40PM (7/13/2009)
LOL KeatMP
Mike 2:33AM (7/14/2009)
Sure is a good thing GM filed chapter 11 and is scott free of these warranty issues huh?
Nozferat 4:03AM (7/14/2009)
KeatMP...
At least the GT-R sets standards in performance. What does this car exactly do other than look like a rehashed version of a 60's POS due to lack of creativity from GM?
jason 8:56AM (7/14/2009)
Eddy - Actually I don't think this problem is very rare on Z06's either. A friend's had this same thing happen and is in a big fight with GM because they are refusing to fix it under warranty. They claim his driving habits caused the tranny to fail. Umm, hello, this is a Z06. People are going to drive it hard. Pretty unbelievable watching the whole ordeal.
lern2read fgt 9:30AM (7/14/2009)
LOL, the GT-R set standards? What standards were those? Nissan pissed away so much money to set the record at the 'Ring, and then Chevy AND Dodge come in and annihilated the record. Now Nissan is desperately trying to cut time. Sorry, but the GTR is an epic failure and about 28 steps backwards.
xmdfmk7x 1:04PM (7/14/2009)
@Eddy Alvarez
Grinding gears has nothing to do with a broken output shaft. Some synchronizers are more reliable than others, but take it from someone who has been inside at least a dozen TR6060/T56's, most of those problems are because of the driver.
Nozferat 4:16PM (7/14/2009)
Please...spare us the annihilation BS. The GT-R is a better engineered car in every aspect you can imagine.
And it doesn't need to look like 60's been there done that retro crap while doing it either. Put the cars on any real road with less than glass smooth surfaces and then I'll ask how you're doing in your Z06 as you dive off the cliff.
jg 7:36PM (7/13/2009)
Finally saw one on the road this weekend. Holy bighugecar Batman! It's sweet looking but I had no idea it was so large.
It's a new car so maybe the failures have something to do with enthusiasm? As in too much of. What people say happened may be a bit different than what actually happened. And what actually happened possibly involved a large open parking lot and teenagers.
I wouldn't be so quick to blame the equipment. It's tried and tested and shown to work in other cars.
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John 5:29AM (7/14/2009)
This transmission is indeed tried and tested in other performance cars, but are any of them as heavy as the Camaro, which also has room for another 1000lbs of people? That's a lot of mass to move suddenly.
Brad 8:32AM (7/14/2009)
@jg,
I said the same thing when I met one for the first time coming down the opposite side of the road.
But then again I said the same thing for the first Challenger I met also.
rooster 1:28PM (7/18/2009)
The other thing that can play a role is drive shaft angle. Haven't seen one on a lift, so I don't know if the driveshaft is relatively short or angled. Anyone had a peek under the car?
pmalloy4391 7:36PM (7/13/2009)
wow... who would have thought that launching a car could cause parts to break!
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zamafir 12:06AM (7/14/2009)
I use launch control and haven't had issues with my car. If we're making excuses, how do we blame the customer for the battery snafu as well>?
Phil 7:38PM (7/13/2009)
"breaking"? get it? ahahahahahhahahahaha
Reply
KeatMP 8:26PM (7/13/2009)
I read your comment...then re-read the title and laughed out loud hahah.
thomas 8:41PM (7/13/2009)
lolz
CaramelZappa 12:48AM (7/14/2009)
I was about to post the same thing but you beat me to it.