Transmission Issues

[PNW_Ranger87]

I'm about 89% happy with the performance of the transmission. I think our engine and the weight of the truck would be perfect for an 8-speed. We don't have a narrow power band like a diesel. I feel like I would like the 10 speed more if the TCM would keep the transmission in 1 lower gear than it does when cruising. It's frustrating coming up to a slight incline on the road and it lugs down for almost a few seconds until it realizes it should downshift. I only have 2k miles on my truck so I'm still getting used to the auto (been daily driving manual vehicles for 15+ years). I think a trans tune might be on order someday.

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[Floyd]

Mine shifts all by itself,and there's pedal missing!
That's pretty weird to me after 45 years of manual transmissions.

 

[Black Knight]

I had a 2003 Ranger 3.0 Edge, had adaptive transmission learning (same system as the new Ranger just not as refined). Sometimes, if I had the throttle just right, it would shift HARD from second to third, had the battery replaced about 5 times since purchase, which reset the learning, and would still slam into third gear under partial throttle. My solution was to drive it like I stole it, which I did for the 17 years I owned it. Never had a problem with the transmission, just sometimes had the annoying third gear shift.
Fast Forward to last week, new 2019 Ranger, pulled up to a light and the car in front of me moved forward about ten feet, I wasn't quite stopped so I moved forward, all of the sudden it felt like the car behind me hit me, it was that jarring, obviously he/she didn't. In 4000 miles, that was the first time I felt like the transmission had a blonde moment, has never happened since.
All in, I like the way the transmission shifts, although it does seem to prefer a gear higher than I think it should be in.
As a side note, the 2003 had the same issue with the transmission wanting to get to the highest gear as fast as possible.

 

[Texasota]

Does sport mode prevent the problem with early up-shifting?

 

[DavidR]

Does sport mode prevent the problem with early up-shifting?

Yes, overall, sport mode moves the shift points to higher RPMs. I personally don't mind the early up-shifts of normal mode in the flats, since I'd rather get the better fuel economy, but sport mode is a lot nicer heading up mountain passes where it tends to keep the RPMs in a range where the turbo can spin up much more quickly when needed.

 

[PNW_Ranger87]

Yes, overall, sport mode moves the shift points to higher RPMs. I personally don't mind the early up-shifts of normal mode in the flats, since I'd rather get the better fuel economy, but sport mode is a lot nicer heading up mountain passes where it tends to keep the RPMs in a range where the turbo can spin up much more quickly when needed.

Exactly. Honestly, the 10 speed would probably be fine with me if Drive mode was just tuned somewhere near the middle between it and Sport mode. Maybe on the Drive mode side of the middle.

 

[MTB-BRUH]

Exactly. Honestly, the 10 speed would probably be fine with me if Drive mode was just tuned somewhere near the middle between it and Sport mode. Maybe on the Drive mode side of the middle.

Agreed, this is why I tend to lock out gears in the mountains, if it’s a long downhill I’ll let it coast in 10th but for the most part I only let it shift to 8th or 9th

 

[Rene Michaels]

I dont know about the chatter but mine shifted hard at times and held gears to long for the first say 500 miles !now over 6 k and its one of the best shifting vehicles I have driven .!!ps congrats on the new truck!!

Same here!

 

[newmantjn]

General Adaptive procedure:
Heat the transmission to something over 70c.
Perform minimum throttle upshifts to at least 8th gear
Coast down with minimal braking
Perform N-D 8 times. Release brake between events
Perform N - R 8 times. Release brake between events.

 

[Floyd]

General Adaptive procedure:
Heat the transmission to something over 70c.
Perform minimum throttle upshifts to at least 8th gear
Coast down with minimal braking
Perform N-D 8 times. Release brake between events
Perform N - R 8 times. Release brake between events.

And then what happens?

 

[rdgallo]

General Adaptive procedure:
Heat the transmission to something over 70c.
Perform minimum throttle upshifts to at least 8th gear
Coast down with minimal braking
Perform N-D 8 times. Release brake between events
Perform N - R 8 times. Release brake between events.

Thanks for the information. When you say release brake between events, is that like "with brake on shift from N to D and then release the brake. Reapply the brake and do this again for a total of 8 times? Also, will this procedure work even if the truck has already been driven for 400 miles?

 

[newmantjn]

Thanks for the information. When you say release brake between events, is that like "with brake on shift from N to D and then release the brake. Reapply the brake and do this again for a total of 8 times? Also, will this procedure work even if the truck has already been driven for 400 miles?

It is just better to not do back to back to back engagements/garage shifts without ever releasing the brake. The suspension can get loaded up and the results may not be as clean. The way you stated it should be fine.

You need to keep in mind that you have software reacting to what it sees. It can only see something after you do it (generally- minimal extrapolation can be employed). So, if you have already met the input conditions several times over the last 400 miles, you may not notice much, if anything. On the other hand if your driving style is such that you didn't do these events, you may notice a larger difference. If your transmission does not require much adaption for whatever reason, you may not notice much, but if it does and you are not there yet, you may notice a bigger difference. Regardless, you sure can't hurt anything.

 

[rdgallo]

It is just better to not do back to back to back engagements/garage shifts without ever releasing the brake. The suspension can get loaded up and the results may not be as clean. The way you stated it should be fine.

You need to keep in mind that you have software reacting to what it sees. It can only see something after you do it (generally- minimal extrapolation can be employed). So, if you have already met the input conditions several times over the last 400 miles, you may not notice much, if anything. On the other hand if your driving style is such that you didn't do these events, you may notice a larger difference. If your transmission does not require much adaption for whatever reason, you may not notice much, but if it does and you are not there yet, you may notice a bigger difference. Regardless, you sure can't hurt anything.

Thanks again for the info. My biggest problems with my transmission are occasional rough shifts (like the tranny gets caught between ranges and doesn't know what to do) and vibration/chatter when shifting from 1st range to 2nd/3rd range under more rapid acceleration. If I accelerate slowly, I do not feel the chatter. I will try the calibration/adaptation method to see if it helps. I only have 265 miles on the truck right now.

 

[VAMike]

Thanks again for the info. My biggest problems with my transmission are occasional rough shifts (like the tranny gets caught between ranges and doesn't know what to do) and vibration/chatter when shifting from 1st range to 2nd/3rd range under more rapid acceleration. If I accelerate slowly, I do not feel the chatter. I will try the calibration/adaptation method to see if it helps. I only have 265 miles on the truck right now.

at 265 miles it's still futzing around. don't even waste brain cycles thinking about it until you're over 1000.

 

[kieefer]

I’m happier and so is my tranny if I let warmup for a few minutes then start off in sport mode until the temp needle moves up.

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