"2nd Gear" Position Skips 1st!

I need some help on this one folks:

I recently was pulling my boat out of the lake, and put my gearshifter a little too far over and it ended up in 2nd gear. No problem I figured, since I'm not going very fast up the boatramp. To my frustration, my truck just sat there and wouldn't move, regardless of how hard I pushed on the gas pedal!!

To my surprise, when I moved the gearshift to "D", it pulled the boat out no problem in 1st gear. I did a little more research after I unhooked the boat, and found out when the gearshift is in "2" position, the truck never starts in 1st gear from a stopped position (i.e. it starts in 2nd gear). I know this can't be normal, since "3" position goes through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears just like "D" goes through 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. What's weird is I have never had any transmission issues, and the truck seems to operate normal as long as you use "D".

Can anyone check their Av to see if "2nd" gear position starts out in 1st gear like it shoud, before I go to the Chevy dealer for mine? Thanks!

I just tried it, and mine does the same thing. If I start out in 1st, it works great. If I start out in 2nd, it feels very sluggish with no power. If I start out in 3rd, it appears to work fine. I am testing it on a driveway with a slight incline.

Strange problem.

Well, once again, I should have read the owners manual. It appears it is acting normally (although I can't think of a reason to use it).


SECOND (2): This position gives you more power but
lower fuel economy. You can use SECOND (2) on hills.
It can help control your speed as you go down steep
mountain roads, but then you would also want to use
your brakes off and on.
If you manually select SECOND (2) the transmission will
drive in second gear. You may use this feature for reducing
the speed of the rear wheels when you are trying to start
your vehicle from a stop on slippery road surfaces.
This could overheat and damage the transmission.

That is considered a "Feature" not a "Bug" - very nice in snow and such.

We see snow here maybe twice per year. I'll try an remember to try it then.

Like gandolphxx said, it is a feature. I noticed it on my last few trucks and yukon. Did the same thing. Found out the same way at take off it would not get out of its own way when i had it in 2cnd...... Normal though.......................
zeeya

Yeah, I totally don't get the 'start in second = less slippage' thing....

If/when the tires let loose, it's harder to regain traction because they're spinning like mad...

Maybe this truck (w/more power) will be different, but so far I've hated/never used that on any of my S10's.

marc_w said:

Yeah, I totally don't get the 'start in second = less slippage' thing....

If/when the tires let loose, it's harder to regain traction because they're spinning like mad...

Maybe this truck (w/more power) will be different, but so far I've hated/never used that on any of my S10's.

Click to expand...

This is all about snow and ice. On a 4WD Avalanche this makes a little less sense than a 2WD one, but the thinking is on slippery surfaces the second gear start helps prevent wheel spin. I had this "feature" on my 2WD Montana van and I loved it when I lived in South
Dakota. I could get a start without wheel spin (or kicking off the traction control) even in the steep hills of Sioux City, Iowa (and yes Sioux City has some steep hills).

It's as designed folks...

A 2nd gear start makes less torque, and on slippery surfaces this reduces the likelyhood of breaking the wheels loose. ?I've used this trick lots of time with a manual tranny - start in second on ice - nice and smooth; try it in first, and you'll likely slide the rear end off the road (rear wheel drive obviously)!

Yep . . . it's a feature (haven't used it in the Av yet though)

With my Blazer, it was abosolutely easier to start in first, rather than second...

Second strained the motor/tranny/torque converter to get going.. You had to put your foot into it or else you'd be come a road block. When it did get going, it was hard to modulate any slippage because the wheels woudld take off spinning before you had a change to react....

In first, it was nice and low, and you could easily just feed on a little bit of power to get moving. If it spun, it was easier to regain traction because there wasn't such a tall gear there running away on you...

The Blazer had a 4L60E, with 3.73's...

The Av though, I have to admit it's much more 'touchy' at light, light throttle in first. Second may very well be better for this truck, especially with the 4.10's...

I can't say that I /can't wait 'til it snows!/ - but when it does, I'll be out putting the truck through it's paces.

It's a standard feature of the auto trans. Yes for less torque off the line in snow and ice.

Also I have heard, but never tried, that the truck can be push-started in second gear, much like a manual trans in case the batery dies. Any other info on this.