Hard Transmission Downshift Feels Like Getting Rearended

rangerdanger

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I don’t know what’s causing it, but on at least 3 occasions I will be going from a complete stop to 30 mph when the transmission downshifts hard and I feel like I was just rear ended.

The conditions it has happened before:
  • Possibly going uphill?
  • Aggressive throttle/high rpms
  • Starting from a complete stop
  • Between 25-30 mph
  • Engine & transmission warmed up (not a cold start)
  • Engine & transmission still in break in period
Since there is no gear display I don’t know what current gear I’m in when it happens. It scared me enough that I’m no longer quick on the throttle (probably good advice anyway).

Anyone else experience this?
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earsmccoy

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Out of curiosity, why no gear display? Perhaps you just have a bad tranny.
 

Doc

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I don’t know what’s causing it, but on at least 3 occasions I will be going from a complete stop to 30 mph when the transmission downshifts hard and I feel like I was just rear ended.

The conditions it has happened before:
  • Possibly going uphill?
  • Aggressive throttle/high rpms
  • Starting from a complete stop
  • Between 25-30 mph
  • Engine & transmission warmed up (not a cold start)
  • Engine & transmission still in break in period
Since there is no gear display I don’t know what current gear I’m in when it happens. It scared me enough that I’m no longer quick on the throttle (probably good advice anyway).

Anyone else experience this?
Aggressive throttle shouldn’t cause a down shift from a dead stop unless you are feathering the pedal and the truck feels like it needs to accelerate but it also depends on what gear you are in when you push the throttle..sounds like it needs to be remapped.
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Doc
 

uthunter

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Since there is no gear display I don’t know what current gear I’m in when it happens.
Do you have a Lariat? If I hit the + button on the shifter it shows the gears on the center display.
 

earsmccoy

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Do you have a Lariat? If I hit the + button on the shifter it shows the gears on the center display.
This is also true for us XLT owners, hit the "+" button on the shifter to show the gear tree.
 


Floyd

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I don't get why the gear isn't displayed all the time, it would be nice as part of the tach display.
 

kep

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just out of curiosity are you left foot braking?
 

Anthony

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Same happened to me this morning. Accelerating from a stop and BAM.
 

kep

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Just checking, I use both feet depending on what I'm doing. The problem I had with a hard down shift into low was when I was using my left foot my right foot was touching the gas. I stopped to that and the problem went away.
 

HighFivenWhiteGuy

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Same thing happens to me occasionally. It can also happen when I am coasting down a hill then accelerate again. Feels like the transmission is trying to "catch up" to the wheels and clunks when the gears mesh.

As far as the downshift goes this really annoys me. With 10 speeds there is no excuse for rough shifting, up or down. What I have found that works best is that the truck doesn't like surprises. Just like smooth driving requires anticipating traffic I have found smooth shifts require anticipating the incline and speed of the road ahead. That being said it still manages to slam into a lower gear when it needs to downshift under load.

Is this related to the other thread that was posted about the vibrating engine/transmission when going up hills in too tall of a gear? My impression is that my Ranger REALLY doesn't like downshifting among lower gears, ESPECIALLY while under load. It either shakes because it won't downshift or when it does it makes the shift in a disturbingly rough way. This isn't all the time though, just usually when I am not paying attention and being really light on the throttle.
 
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rangerdanger

rangerdanger

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Same thing happens to me occasionally. It can also happen when I am coasting down a hill then accelerate again. Feels like the transmission is trying to "catch up" to the wheels and clunks when the gears mesh.

As far as the downshift goes this really annoys me. With 10 speeds there is no excuse for rough shifting, up or down. What I have found that works best is that the truck doesn't like surprises. Just like smooth driving requires anticipating traffic I have found smooth shifts require anticipating the incline and speed of the road ahead. That being said it still manages to slam into a lower gear when it needs to downshift under load.

Is this related to the other thread that was posted about the vibrating engine/transmission when going up hills in too tall of a gear? My impression is that my Ranger REALLY doesn't like downshifting among lower gears, ESPECIALLY while under load. It either shakes because it won't downshift or when it does it makes the shift in a disturbingly rough way. This isn't all the time though, just usually when I am not paying attention and being really light on the throttle.
As long as nothing is getting damaged in the transmission when it downshifts hard, I can live with it trying to "catch up" to my throttle actions. I also haven't hit 3K miles yet so the 10-speed is still learning my driving style.

Ultimately I would like Ford to reprogram this transmission behavior however.
 
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HighFivenWhiteGuy

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As long as nothing is getting damaged in the transmission when it downshifts hard, I can live with it trying to "catch up" to my throttle actions. I also haven't hit 3K miles yet so the 10-speed is still learning my driving style.

Ultimately I would like Ford to reprogram this transmission behavior however.
Agreed, seems too eager to shift in some scenarios and too hesitant in others. Staying in lower gears a bit longer would be nice too, keep the RPMs up.
 
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rangerdanger

rangerdanger

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Agreed, seems too eager to shift in some scenarios and too hesitant in others. Staying in lower gears a bit longer would be nice too, keep the RPMs up.
Have you tried "Sport mode" yet? Drive mode is more for normal driving and fuel economy, perhaps we need to be in Sport mode to really take advantage of the 10-speed.
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