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Honest Feedback Requested 6 Speed Manul

bruno747

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Okay all,

I'm looking for honest feedback from our 6 speed manual club now that some have had them for nearly 2 years. I have a 2017 JK 2 Door with the POS NSG370 with all of 22k miles on it. I have lost my patience with this thing grinding shifting into second, chipping into 3rd, bucking when shifted into reverse if not shifted into 4th first. I have a line on a 2018 JL with the new 6 speed for a reasonable price.

Has anyone had any issues with the new one? Grinding, not wanting to shift into gear, chipping as opposed to grinding, cable issues, clutch issues?

I don't want to turn this into a rant on the NSG370 but for God sake, I have driven manuals my whole driving life and this is the biggest POS I have ever shifted. My Dakota, Ram, Grain Truck, Tractors, Cars, YJ, all of them shift light years better than this pile of Garbarge.

I am taking in my JK this week again to have them look at it. If they don't replace the trans I am probably going to get rid of it and Id like to know if the new Aisin is really that much better.

Bonus points for those that have owned both the NSG370 and New Aisin.
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rustyshakelford

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We like ours. Only thing annoying is when slowing down for a stop light if you’re going very fast at all and try to get it in first in preparation for the green it might try and grind a bit. Come to nearly a stop and it goes in fine.

When we ordered my wife’s she wanted an auto

Brett
 

KeithM

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Experience from driving JLUR for about 5k:

Gearbox has been perfect - smooth as butter in and out always. Clutch is good. I sprayed a bit of silicone grease on the spring behind clutch pedal as it was creaking (felt like the spring was binding a bit) around 400 miles. Super smooth since.

Any quirkiness seem to be engine management related and I think it effects the autos as well. Low rpm surging is the best I can describe it. Below 1500 rpms under light throttle it seems like it jumps from 0 to 10% throttle, like on/off switch which can lead to some bucking. Easily managed. Every manual I’ve driven has some quirks and my JLUR has been has been better than I had hoped in this regard.

I wish reverse was a lower gear. Not really an issue but it would be if I had to back up a trailer, especially up hill.
 

Luvmejeeps

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I had a 2014 with the nsg370 before my manual jl and didnt have any of the issues you described. The new aisin is night and day difference. 2 totally different animals. Its almost like a sports car throws,and pressing in the pedal is way easier,n softer. The shift points are different though and it took a little getting used to from the jk,but all is good.

Go test drive it and find out for your self.
 

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GhostDivers

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@bruno747 Let me start with an honest statement: I’ve heard almost all positive reviews when it comes to the automatic.

With that said, I’ve not driven one because I wanted a manual. To your concerns on grinding, not wanting to shift into gear, chipping as opposed to grinding, cable issues, clutch issues

I don’t believe you’ll find any serious concerns with the JL.

Like all manuals, there is a “get use to the clutch peddle feel” period. That does not take long. All in all, it runs through the gears smoothly. I will tell you that it prefers easy to deliberate shifts, but racing through the gears doesn’t seem to be its happy place…it will do this, but it will also remind you it’s a Jeep.

1st gear feels a little short and 6th is for economy…think of it as a 5 speed with an extra overdrive on road. Off road, it’s nice…very nice.

I’ve had two issues in just over 11K miles. The first was a squeaky shifter that the dealer easily fixed. The second is a creaking noise when depressing the clutch (once fully warmed up). It’s actually in the shop right now being fixed (hopefully).

Neither of those impacted its performance.

There are times when I think…man...maybe the auto was the way to go. But it’s never when I’m driving the Jeep.;) I like the V6, but it would be nice if they offered the manual with other engines, specifically the diesel.

@DanW , can probably provide more context as he has a lot more miles and has wheeled his pretty darn hard.

I should probably note that I have 35’s currently with the stock 4:10’s on the Rubicon and while re-gearing might be worthwhile, the Jeep runs well with the setup. If I go to 37’s, I’d most likely look at re-gearing.

If I had to do it over, I'd order another with the manual. it makes every ride special! BTW, check out The Clutch Gang thread: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/the-clutch-gang.7373/
 

Az-jewel

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I had a ‘17 JKUR 6-speed and now I have a ‘18 JLUS 6-speed. Like others said, it’s a completely different stick...so much better! But very different. The gears are much taller...so strange driving 65 mph in 4th gear! I’m getting used to it...and am really glad I chose the 6-speed!
 

Mane

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Mine took a good 1000 miles to break in and get nice. Prior to that the clutch was super grabby and difficult to modulate, but it improves dramatically with a few miles.
 

SaharaDangler

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The manual transmission on the JLU is everything you would expect for a brand new vehicle. Very smooth. First gear is a bit short.

What you should consider is how NICE the 8 speed auto is. It is very responsive. I recommend test driving both.
 

kayakingt

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Mine is a 18' JLU with around 16,000 miles on it. Took me a day or so to get used to driving a manual again as it had been 20 years since I drove one. After that no issues. Mine is a daily driver. I'll agree with other statements on here. 1st gear is very quick. Almost immediate for me. 6th gear I've only used a few times in Indiana/Ohio where it's flat and I'm on the highway. Someone mentioned shifting into 1st when rolling to a stop sign, I have that issue as well. I have to come to a complete stop before shifting into 1st. I will also state that hill start is amazing!

One thing I cannot figure out is how to control my speed when going down mountains. I've shifted into 3rd gear to slow it down, then down to 2nd. It sounds like it's going to blow up in 2nd when I'm going down. This is probably a user error thing as when I grew up driving manuals it was flat so when I downshifted to slow down it was no problem. Anyone that can help me here would be greatly appreciated. :)

I realize that off-roading and daily driving is so much easier in an automatic but driving a manual is so much fun to me.
 

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bwright1818

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Mine shifts very, very smoothly. I don't like reverse being right next to first, though. If it hadn't been for the back up camera, I would have left a couple of stop lights going backwards. There is a collar that you have to lift up, to get over into reverse; but anybody with a normal size hand will wrap their hand right around the collar inadvertently, if they're not thinking about it. I try to shift with just my palm (which you CAN do, easily) but sometimes I forget. What I DON'T like is the bucking and surging mentioned by KeithM. I have this problem too and find it unbelievably annoying. With me, it happens between 35 and 45 mph, in third and fourth. It hasn't been too bad lately....I think the engine likes warmer weather....but when it's bad, it is the worst running vehicle I have ever owned. And there is no fix. Due to the poor low end torque of the 3.6, you have to be paying some extra attention to the clutch and throttle, because it is easier to stall than some vehicles. I have to say that, although it does shift easily, overall it is just not anywhere near as fun to drive as my manual TJ was; but this is because of the ENGINE, not the transmission. The transmission itself is fine. I would give a manual JL a LONG test drive, before deciding. Just my two cents.
 
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liquids

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I like it. I drove the JKU manual with the old 3.8L for ten years.

Here's what I don't like first:
- 1st gear is really short.
- The clutch pedal has a relatively small distance between not engaged and fully engaged. After a year I'm still jerking forward sometimes after lifting up too quickly. This also doesn't play nice with the relatively low torque the 3.6L has at < 1300 rpms. Sometimes I still stall trying to smooth my way into first without revving much. (That way easy on the JK/3.8L.)
- With the warm weather and the top town, I can hear a light clank as it goes into each gear (really minor thing).

Here's what I like:
- Super smooth switching gears.
- Great ratios and ratios between ratios. I love the tall high gears.
- I really don't hear it like I did the NSG. Very quiet (other than what I said above).
- Short throw. I never really had an issue with the NSG - I measured only 7-8 inches 3rd and 4th. But this one is even less.
- Light touch.

It's a different beast entirely.
 

OldGuyNewJeep

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Okay all,

I'm looking for honest feedback from our 6 speed manual club now that some have had them for nearly 2 years. I have a 2017 JK 2 Door with the POS NSG370 with all of 22k miles on it. I have lost my patience with this thing grinding shifting into second, chipping into 3rd, bucking when shifted into reverse if not shifted into 4th first. I have a line on a 2018 JL with the new 6 speed for a reasonable price.

Has anyone had any issues with the new one? Grinding, not wanting to shift into gear, chipping as opposed to grinding, cable issues, clutch issues?

I don't want to turn this into a rant on the NSG370 but for God sake, I have driven manuals my whole driving life and this is the biggest POS I have ever shifted. My Dakota, Ram, Grain Truck, Tractors, Cars, YJ, all of them shift light years better than this pile of Garbarge.

I am taking in my JK this week again to have them look at it. If they don't replace the trans I am probably going to get rid of it and Id like to know if the new Aisin is really that much better.

Bonus points for those that have owned both the NSG370 and New Aisin.
@DanW has both...

20k miles and one year on my JL 6sp. Zero issues. Shifts like butter. Taught my 16 year old on it and it handled all his abuse.

My $0.02 on comments about shifting to 1st while moving as well as bucking... both are down to bad technique, no offense intended. Even guys who have driven manuals of all kinds for 50yrs can develop bad habits or have bad technique. My point is that both of these “issues” can be avoided.
 
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Jeepjunkie

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13,000 on my 6 speed, I use it on and off road. I love it. I also have a TJ with the NSG370. I also have had 2 Mustang 5.0s (‘12 & ‘16) with manuals and TJs with AX-15s and NV3500’s.

This transmission is very smooth, much more like the Mustangs than the previous Wranglers. There is much reduced NVH compared with the direct shift transmissions of the past (the aisin box is a cable shifter). I’ve had zero issues with grinding and no popping out of gear (cough NSG370 cough).
The gears are tall, especially in the sport with the 3.45 rear end. I’m regrearing to 4.56s for 35s. I have 33s on the 3.45 rear end and it makes 6th almost worthless. Also the gaps between 2-3 and 3-4 are pretty wide, but I think the 3.45 rear end is to blame.
The clutch is SUPER light. Every time I get back into my NSG370 equipped TJ I think the clutch is broken it is so heavy.

The clutch does occasionally make a noise, but I don’t really hear it and while some have had slave cylinder noises, I think mine is the clutch spring.
The biggest drawback is the engine “hangs” at high RPM shifts at WOT. It’s not a huge issue, but that is the only issue that is a negative for me.
 

SuMeRiaN

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I float between 6spds on the TJ and JL everyday, I have never driven the JK but I was very impressed with JL.
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