Hello everyone! I just wanted to come on this thread to say that I have been having the transmission shudder issue pretty much the entire time I have had my BS. For reference, I have a '21 BB with about 83,000 miles. I bought it used from a private seller so have never had a warranty on it. I searched for solutions to the shudder all over the internet but as most people that have these cars are under warranty, there wasn't much information on how to DIY this problem. I found this thread a couple days ago and figured "what the heck, I'll give it a shot."
I picked up a tube of the LubeGard Instant Shudder Fixx at O'Riellys and I have to admit, I was skeptical. The packaging it comes in looks like some sort of snake oil remedy that auto shops sell to people that don't know any better. Yesterday I got around to putting it in my transmission. It was a little difficult to get to the fill port but I managed to do it without taking out my air box. Small hands benefited me in this case. I would recommend taking the airbox out if you are able but it was about 15 degrees F outside so the rubber grommets holding it in were stiff and I didn't want to break anything so I managed to squeeze my hand in without removing anything. I also see that it was recommended to change transmission fluid when you use the LubeGard but I wanted answers and wasn't due for a transmission fluid change so I did it without. I just took off the fill cap, squeezed the tube in (took a little while to empty the full tube and I had to start my car once to cycle the fluid so I could fill it the rest of the way), warmed up my car for a while, and took it for a drive to see if I had fixed the issue, or completely ruined my car.
I cannot emphasize enough how impressed I am that this worked. Instantly the shudder was gone. I guess they call it Instant Shudder Fixx for a reason. I drove around for about 25 minuets, or at least long enough to get the car up to temp for 10 minutes. It did not shudder a single time. At first it was shifting a little sharply, nothing concerning but definitely harder than my wife's car. After about 15 minutes that went away too and it was shifting gears smoothly; basically brand new.
I have been dealing with the shudder for over a year now and I wish I had found this thread sooner. I had mostly grown to live with it and ignore it. I found ways to get around the shudder by managing my throttle, hammering it going up hills, and letting off before it shifts on straightaways. The part that bothered me was how embarrassing it was when other people were in my car. I felt like I needed to apologize anytime I had a passenger and it shuddered hard. My previous car was a sporty manual so I was used to hard shifts, but hard shifts that felt intentional and purposeful. These were hard shifts that felt like the BS was falling apart. I live in a very hilly place and going low speeds up those hills was torturous. As of last night, I fear the hills no longer.
My biggest worry was how was I going to sell this car eventually if the transmission feels like it's broken. I'm not planning to sell soon, but because I still owe a few thousand on this car I liked to have a backup plan in case anything goes wrong with the car so I don't get screwed financially. Luckily I have some savings but, paying $6-12k for a new transmission just to sell a car you owe money on is never a good situation. I took my car to my local dealer this summer after they called offering to overpay for BS because they had no used inventory. I live in a very active outdoorsy community so BS are a popular option. I had some free time so I went just to see what they would offer. As I expected, they offered below any prices I would consider but they also said I would need a "full transmission overhaul" before they would buy it from me. I knew it wasn't fully true because they didn't look at any of the parts, just noticed the shudder on a test drive. Regardless that brought fear in the back of my mind knowing that I was never going to be able to sell this car while it still shudders. Now that I used the LubeGard, I have no doubt that they wouldn't say a word about needing a new transmission, alleviating my fears of eventually selling it.
If anyone is reading this and questioning if they should try out the LubeGard solution, please give it a try. I'll even post some pictures of how to use it if anyone wants that. There's a couple videos online I found but a few more pictures couldn't hurt. I would still recommend using it after a transmission fluid change but it works without doing that apparently. Per OP I will also be adding fresh LubeGard ever 12-15k miles depending on shudder levels, and making sure my transmission fluid is changed regularly. HopefullyI will be back on this thread to post updates.
thomasm23, God bless you for posting this. Your guidance and responsiveness to this thread have helped me so much. I seriously owe you a few beers.
Dude, Thank you for posting the beer of the day thread. Nice to see a thread on here that isn't depressing.
Lastly, God bless LubeGard and whatever mystical, magical goo they made that solved a years worth of headaches for me.
I picked up a tube of the LubeGard Instant Shudder Fixx at O'Riellys and I have to admit, I was skeptical. The packaging it comes in looks like some sort of snake oil remedy that auto shops sell to people that don't know any better. Yesterday I got around to putting it in my transmission. It was a little difficult to get to the fill port but I managed to do it without taking out my air box. Small hands benefited me in this case. I would recommend taking the airbox out if you are able but it was about 15 degrees F outside so the rubber grommets holding it in were stiff and I didn't want to break anything so I managed to squeeze my hand in without removing anything. I also see that it was recommended to change transmission fluid when you use the LubeGard but I wanted answers and wasn't due for a transmission fluid change so I did it without. I just took off the fill cap, squeezed the tube in (took a little while to empty the full tube and I had to start my car once to cycle the fluid so I could fill it the rest of the way), warmed up my car for a while, and took it for a drive to see if I had fixed the issue, or completely ruined my car.
I cannot emphasize enough how impressed I am that this worked. Instantly the shudder was gone. I guess they call it Instant Shudder Fixx for a reason. I drove around for about 25 minuets, or at least long enough to get the car up to temp for 10 minutes. It did not shudder a single time. At first it was shifting a little sharply, nothing concerning but definitely harder than my wife's car. After about 15 minutes that went away too and it was shifting gears smoothly; basically brand new.
I have been dealing with the shudder for over a year now and I wish I had found this thread sooner. I had mostly grown to live with it and ignore it. I found ways to get around the shudder by managing my throttle, hammering it going up hills, and letting off before it shifts on straightaways. The part that bothered me was how embarrassing it was when other people were in my car. I felt like I needed to apologize anytime I had a passenger and it shuddered hard. My previous car was a sporty manual so I was used to hard shifts, but hard shifts that felt intentional and purposeful. These were hard shifts that felt like the BS was falling apart. I live in a very hilly place and going low speeds up those hills was torturous. As of last night, I fear the hills no longer.
My biggest worry was how was I going to sell this car eventually if the transmission feels like it's broken. I'm not planning to sell soon, but because I still owe a few thousand on this car I liked to have a backup plan in case anything goes wrong with the car so I don't get screwed financially. Luckily I have some savings but, paying $6-12k for a new transmission just to sell a car you owe money on is never a good situation. I took my car to my local dealer this summer after they called offering to overpay for BS because they had no used inventory. I live in a very active outdoorsy community so BS are a popular option. I had some free time so I went just to see what they would offer. As I expected, they offered below any prices I would consider but they also said I would need a "full transmission overhaul" before they would buy it from me. I knew it wasn't fully true because they didn't look at any of the parts, just noticed the shudder on a test drive. Regardless that brought fear in the back of my mind knowing that I was never going to be able to sell this car while it still shudders. Now that I used the LubeGard, I have no doubt that they wouldn't say a word about needing a new transmission, alleviating my fears of eventually selling it.
If anyone is reading this and questioning if they should try out the LubeGard solution, please give it a try. I'll even post some pictures of how to use it if anyone wants that. There's a couple videos online I found but a few more pictures couldn't hurt. I would still recommend using it after a transmission fluid change but it works without doing that apparently. Per OP I will also be adding fresh LubeGard ever 12-15k miles depending on shudder levels, and making sure my transmission fluid is changed regularly. HopefullyI will be back on this thread to post updates.
thomasm23, God bless you for posting this. Your guidance and responsiveness to this thread have helped me so much. I seriously owe you a few beers.
Dude, Thank you for posting the beer of the day thread. Nice to see a thread on here that isn't depressing.
Lastly, God bless LubeGard and whatever mystical, magical goo they made that solved a years worth of headaches for me.
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