Holden Commodore Gearbox & Transmission Problems

Given that the warranty is going to expire in the coming year I would press your dealer to fix the problems that are causing you concern. They appear to have fixed the leaking radiator, but the air-conditioning and gearbox issues should be fixed. If the dealer cannot, or is unwilling to fix them escalate the problem by talking directly to Holden's customer service.

You certainly haven’t had a good run with it. I have heard of transmissions being replaced, but not many, and I haven’t heard of widespread trouble with the other issues you have had.

Yes, it can be rebuilt or replaced and an automatic transmission specialist would be able to do that for you. Cost for the job would be around $2000 to rebuild or replace the transmission on a changeover basis.

There were a number of owners reporting problems with the torque convertor shuddering back in 2012 and requiring the convertor to be changed.

It all depends on what engine is fitted to your car, Karen, as Holden used a range of gearboxes in this series of Commodores. If your car is the base-model version (the Omega) it will be fitted with a four-speed automatic (code-named the 4L60E). If your car is an SV6, it will have either a five-speed automatic (5L40E) or a six-speed manual (the Aisin D173/AY6 unit). If your car is a V8 Commodore, it will have either the six-speed automatic (6L80) or a six-speed manual (Tremec T56) fitted.

Of all those transmission options, the five-speed automatic was the odd one out as it was only used from the launch of the VE until the first facelift in 2008 when it was replaced by a six-speed automatic.

The demand for manual gearboxes is so low today that it’s not worth car companies doing all the compliance work needed when they know they would only sell a handful of cars. You might have to loo at something like a Holden Commodore.

If you're towing on the flat and not overloading the transmission you might get away without upgrading to the cooling package, but if your short distances include hills you should upgrade it. If you don't you're putting the transmission at risk of overheating and being damaged.

I can’t see why not, Peter. The 1996 and 1999 are more or less identical cars so there should be a high degree of interchangeability. While manual versions of the Commodore Ute form this era did, indeed, change gearbox types as the years progressed, the automatic version stuck with the same unit, so the gearbox and all its ancillary bits and pieces should be a straight swap.

And how good is a ute with a bench seat for three and a column-shift? Car makers should revisit this layout as it makes so much sense.

The standard differential on this vehicle was a non-LSD (non-limited-slip) unit with a final-drive ratio of 3.08:1. Some owners changed the gears in the diff for more acceleration, although this was more commonly done in V8 models where owners were chasing performance at the expense of a little fuel economy.

If you’re in doubt, you can put the car on a hoist, mark a spot on the driveshaft and then turn the rear wheel a full revolution. By counting the number of times the driveshaft rotates during that process, you’ll know the ratio. In this case, one full rotation of the rear wheel should equal 3.08 rotations of the driveshaft.

There was a problem with the torque converters in some 2012 Commodores that led to shuddering. It is possible that your car is affected. It is a pity you didn't act on it earlier when you first observed the shuddering, but it's not too late to do it now. Go back to the Holden dealer and ask him to make a request to Holden to fix it. If you get no satisfaction with the dealer go directly to Holden and make the request yourself.