The upcoming 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 is set to receive the second-generation Hydra-Matic 8L80 eight-speed automatic transmission in conjunction with one of its engine choices, GM Authority has learned.
The revised Hydra-Matic 8L80 eight-speed (RPO code MFC) will be paired with the turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B gasoline engine, one of the four engines available for the 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500.
The Hydra-Matic 8L80 transmission is also equipped in the all-new 2023 Chevy Colorado. GM chose to use the 8L80 eight-speed transmission rather than its 10-speed automatic transmission because the L3B engine generates strong torque, making the two additional gear ratios unnecessary. In other words, the ratios of the Hydra-Matic eight-speed are well-matched to the performance of the turbocharged 2.7L engine. In the case of the 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500, the three other available powerplants will continue be paired with the GM 10-speed automatic transmission rather than the 8L80 eight-speed.
The 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 gets the revised Hydra-Matic 8L80 in place of the previous eight-speed transmission build (RPO Code M5T), which was used in 2019 through 2023 Chevy Silverado 1500 units. Over the years, GM’s eight-speed prompted several lawsuits against the automaker, alleging that vehicles with this transmission are subject to jerking, hesitation, surging and lurching while the vehicle is driving. Furthermore, lawsuits have claimed GM knew about the problems since 2013 based on the 60+ technical service bulletins and service updates released.
GM Authority Executive Editor Alex Luft took a truck equipped with the new Hydra-Matic 8L80 eight-speed transmission for a test drive in February 2023. He reported the transmission is “very good,” shifting well and mostly functioning as expected. However, in his experience, it still surged jarringly during rapid acceleration from very low speeds and sometimes held shifts longer than needed at higher speeds.
As a reminder, the 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 powerplant lineup includes four engines. The turbocharged 2.7L I4 L3B gasoline engine that will now be paired with the Hydra-Matic 8L80 eight-speed transmission is rated at 310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. It will be referred to as the TurboMax engine starting with the 2024 model year.
The other 2024 Silverado engines include the naturally aspirated 5.3L V8 L84 gasoline engine developing 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 L87 gasoline engine with output rated at 420 horses and 460 pound-feet, and finally, the 3.0L I6 LZ0 turbodiesel Duramax engine producing 305 horsepower and 495 pound-feet of torque.
Under the body panels, the Chevy Silverado 1500 rides on the GM T1 platform. GM Authority has learned 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 production is set to kick off on July 17th of the 2023 calendar year and will once again take place at the GM Fort Wayne plant in Indiana, the GM Oshawa plant in Canada, and the GM Silao plant in Mexico. Dealers will be able to order new units of the 2024 Chevy Silverado 1500 starting in June.
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Comments
“Revised”
As in we didn’t change any hardware and we are slapping a new part number on it to reduce stigma.
So far, all journalist, test drive, and new owner reviews for the 2023 Colorado and Canyon have been pretty positive over how the new 8 speed drives. Hope it stays that way. GM can’t mess this one up again.
It hasn’t been very good. Every one of them I saw said after a short drive they experienced odd shifts or clunks but it seems a little better than it was. If it launched on day 1 how it is now it wouldn’t be labeled as hot trash but would be expected to improve. It’s 8 years old now.
Tells us you don’t know what you’re talking about with out actually telling us…
So you work inside GM at the transmission department? They can’t say next generation with mostly new and revised parts and not change a thing, the next person to open one up (which many will) can tell right away. So sit down and only speak when you have some actual information.
My response to that is can they list what they actually changed? I have seen no mention on any revised part.
Info is out there:
“To address these issues, GM updated the eight-speed automatic with new mechanical components, rather than just a fluid change”
They aren’t going to list all the part number changes, if someone is that concerned, they can easily find them out. And as stated, they can’t lie about it, that will be easily uncovered down the road when the first one is gone through internally or anyone checks out the parts list/diagram.
People are jumping on the “oh it still has 8 speeds it is the same” bandwagon, well that has zero truth and people need to pay a little more attention before making blanket statements that mislead other blind followers. GM has a reputation, they won’t announce a new revised product if it wasn’t revised, especially if there was noise around the previous version. They want to address that, it does them no good to leave it.
Great news!. I am loving that 2.7. I have no doubt the new transmission will be a big win.
Been waiting, waiting, and waiting for the 10-speed to become standard across the Silverado lineup and propagate down to the Colorado and… the exact opposite happens. The 8-speed is being kept for the Colorado lineup, supposedly revised for next gen, and now being propagated up to the Silverado lineup.
I just have no good thoughts on this.
1, the 8 speed is lighter
2, the 8 speed shifts quicker
3, the 8 speed has less points of failure
Ford took the 8 speed and added their “triple clutch system” which makes the first gearset pretty heavy, so it doesn’t shift as fast with the extra inertia. They also added the variable oil control system which was deleted in the Allison version because it has had problems. I personally wanted the 8l90 in the Silverado HD with the 6.6 gas engine, but it got a bad reputation from the oil issue. It’s 60% lighter than the Allison, shifts quicker and has ample strength. Besides that the 8 in most regards is the better transmission as the negative affects of adding 2 more gears with almost no increase in spread doesn’t weight out.
The 8 speed is unproven and has had too many problems, I wouldn’t own one. 9th and 10th are both overdrives, I will take that every day even if it weighs a bit more.
I have a 21 Sierra Denali and the only thing I hate about it is the 10 speed transmission. I replaced a 2016 SLT with the Denali and the only difference between the two power train wise is my previous truck had the 6 speed in place of my new one’s 10 speed.
I tow a trailer and the 10 speed always seems to be hunting for the right gear. Tow mode lessons it some, but instead it will hold a lower gear longer then needed, turning 2500 or 3000 rpm when it should be shifting up a gear. The old truck returned 11-12 mph towing the same trailer the Denali struggles to get 9 mph when towing.
The 10 speed’s highway mileage is also 2 to 3 mph worse then the 6 speed’s. The only place the 2021’s mileage is better is daily driving at 17.5 verse 16.5 for the 2016. The drop in highway mileage isn’t worth the slight increase in daily mileage to me. This truck is more then broken in with 43000 miles on it and is in proper tune, and the curb weight between the two trucks is very close and both have cylinder deactivation. The only other difference between the trucks was the 2016 came with Goodyear Eagle LS’ (later replaced by BFG Advantage TA LT’s), while the Denali rides on crappy Goodyear Wrangler Trail Runner AT’s. The Goodyear’s are shot and will be replaced by BFG Advantage TA’s in hope that they highway mileage improves a little.
I know other owners who have similar complaints about the 10 speed trucks.
You kinda forgot the 2021 is the new model which is a bit larger than the old K2XX trucks, that’s going to affect frontal area and drag down high speed efficiency like-for-like. Hopefully the new tires improve things for you, it’s crazy how easily a tire change can affect things
It’s interesting to note that the 2016 uses the older supposedly less efficient cylinder deactivation compared to the newer Dynamic system which was supposed to improve mileage on the highway compared to the old system. Also Denali trucks have std 20″ tires with many being made with the optional 22″ whereas SLT’s come with 18″ std with 20 optional so you didn’t mention what size tires are on both trucks. I also assume this is with the 6.2 engine?
Is this the “Allison transmission” that was designed and manufactured by GM, but was “qualified” by Allison? Never understood why Allison signed up for that great idea. Obviously $ involved.
Yup, no real Allison’s in GM HD’s since 2020. Sad.
It was designed by Allison. They sent the 10 speed over to Allison and Allison beefed it up to handle the torque. We’re you exspecting a clean sheet design from Allison? The valve body and logic needed no changes, but the clutch packs and shafts did, as well as the casing.
Honest question. Did Ford literally take GM’s 8 speed and add to it? Is there any literature about this? I like to learn more.
The short answer is yes. Look at the clutch layout, pump and valve bodies. The clutches on the 10 match the 8 with the exception of the new “triple clutch assembly. After that it’s the 8 the rest the way back. The gear ratios were tweaked and ford added a variable oil system to the deeper pan. Also the casing is larger in diameter to pack the extra clutch pack. The oil pumps are almost identical, but not interchangeable.
Serious question – Then why can’t GM get the 8 speed right? Do they need Ford to fix it? The 10 speed had quirks when launched like every new transmission and the issues were mostly software and addressed right away and now it’s great. 8 speed has been out twice as long and seen bigger changes and still not very good.
The quantity of gears isn’t the issue. The 10 speed is basically a 9 speed anyways as 9 and 10 are almost identical.
The article is specifically about the half ton trucks with the 2.7L Turbomax. All other engines in the half ton trucks are paired with the 10 speed.
What’s significant here The Turbomax has a revised version of the 8 speed that had some pretty serious issues for several years that GM blamed on transmission fluid quality. Yet GM felt the need to make a revision to the design – presumably to resolve a hardware issue that they they insist didn’t exist.
IMO there was a flaw in the 8 speed’s design, and GM is correcting it without explicitly admitting that they screwed up the older transmission. Reviews for the new Colorado and Canyon, which have the updated/corrected 8 speed, have been overwhelmingly positive. Hopefully they prove to be at least as good as the old 6 speed autos.
I think GM was blaming the shuddering to bad fluid, which if left that way long enough led to a bad torque converter. And the harsh first shift of the day to a design flaw of the clutch fill time. So two separate issues.
As someone who currently y drives an 8 speed in my 2018 Colorado ZR2, the 8speed shutter was “mostly” fixed with the trans fluid change. It still has a couple quirks here and there but it is vastly improved. It shifts pretty well now and most people probably wouldn’t even notice.
Revised, for the 3rd or 4th time. I’m tired of the “but now it’s good [enough]”. In 2-3 years there will either be another “revised” 8 speed or it will be dropped all together.
Most manufacturers would cut their losses and use the already available and superior OTHER transmission in their portfolio that works, fits, fewer issues but costs maybe $50 more. Not GM. Determined to save that $50 and save face, all the while spending more on repairs and looking worse and worse.
Ah yes. The engine makes so much torque that 10 gears isn’t needed. That’s why our premium diesel engine with gobs more torque gets the 10 speed. True GM brilliant marketing BS but I wasn’t born yesterday.
Obviously you were born yesterday if you think it is just the amount of torque. Those two engines are completely different in power delivery. They have a set of parameters they want to meet and the 8 speed is better aligned in this situation than the 10 speed. It costs GM more to thoroughly revised the 8 speed than to just use the 10 speed. There is a reason they went that route, just because you were born yesterday doesn’t mean you know more than GM and the team of engineers working and designing this. So sit down, and take your talking to.
Hey “I lack” (I assume that’s your first name).
You don’t know it costs more to thoroughly revise the 8 speed.
You don’t even know how “thoroughly” revised it is.
You don’t know the cost for them to change out all the tooling, manufacturing, parts, contracts (including union contracts) on those parts and build.
You don’t know how long they would be short on transmission production while updating the 8 speed plant/lines to go to a 10 speed.
You don’t know how much cheaper the 8 speed is to know the savings over the estimated number of vehicles with 8 speeds.
You don’t know the estimated revenue would be lost by not trying to push people into a 1/2 ton with a 10 speed.
You also underestimate GM’s stubbornness.
You don’t know….much.
I own a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with the 6.2 and the 8 speed, all I can say is that transmission completely handicapps the capability of that engine, my 1980 C10 shifts smoother and handles acceleration better.
GM’s 8L45 and 8L90 are junk, you will regret having this tranny. I had a CTS and ATS both with the 8L45, both shifted and performed poorly, traded in for a CT5 with the 10 speed, amazing difference, do not feel even one shift.
Do you have the 2.0T CT5? I’ve had loaners of all the 2.0T Alpha cars, but while the CT5 shifted smoother I kinda hated the shifting and torque converter strategy. It seemed like it would do different things when power was requested – sometimes same gear but unlocked TC for higher revs and no boost, sometimes lower revs and boost, sometimes downshift for revs. Made is hard to predict what it would do at low transient speeds. Didn’t help it was still in the break-in period, so power at high revs were limited. I actually thought the 2.0T CTS was the best for throttle calibration out of all those cars, and obviously as loaner I never had to deal with issues cropping up with them haha.
I have the 3.0TT, matches well with the 10-speed
Ed right on, I have a new 2022 Colorado, transmission its junk. I hope someone can replace this transmission with a different model when it craps out, which I know will happen. I don’t want a rebuild. Maybe someone can figure out how to put the 10 sp or even the 6 sp in. I have 2 Chevy 9spd I love. Gm needs to drop this crappie transmission, should have happened yrs ago. Shame on u gm!!
I’d like the see the accounting that GM uses to justify the continuation of this tranny. Ford went all in on the 10 speed, but GM thinks it makes sense to have two RWD trannys, one of which was widely criticized and people intentionally avoid. They must have some production equipment they need to depreciate a bit more.
Why not just buy a tuner and change the line pressure and shift points? It worked on the 6L80.
Our ’24 Colorado Turbomax 8 SPD has been virtually flawless since we got it a month or so ago, finally!
Granted, only 1k miles on it so far that’s mostly been City stop and go. I will say that this is the smoothest shifting automatic transmission vehicle we ever owned bar none. In normal driving all I feel is the 1-2 and very lightly the 2-3 shift. The rest you hear the engine note change but don’t feel it.
One other point, we love! the 2.7 Turbomax….
Can someone comment on the 8-speed tranny in the new 2025 Equinox ICE (AWD model)? Is it something to avoid? The other option is a CVT – first time in the Nox. I am leery of both at this time…
The 8spd definitely acts worse in the winter. Transmission definitely shifts better at full operating temperature. I have 2 , 8 spds now along with a 9 spd nox and the 8spds don’t compare with the smoothness of the 9. I hope I can get 100,000 out of them but I doubt it living in the northeast. It’s a shame as I love my vehicles.