Well, Ill be damned... 10R80

[Apples]

If you want really firm upshifts, do the Ford Performance tune. My 2019 XLT easily lays rubber in the first three gears, and occasionally shifting into fourth. I really don't know the quickness of the shifts, but it sure isn't a "slush box"!

An edit due to Big Blue: I've noticed that the steering effort on my Ranger changes (stiffens) when in sports mode. I wonder if others have noticed this?

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[Wytchdctr]

I am not a slush box expert by any means but the tear down videos I've seen make it seem like our trans clutches are huge compared to others I've seen in person or on videos.

 

[AzScorpion]

I am not a slush box expert by any means but the tear down videos I've seen make it seem like our trans clutches are huge compared to others I've seen in person or on videos.

I posted this a while back but this seems like a good spot for it again. There's a lot that goes into these 10R80 transmissions.

 

[NotBudule]

I

A couple things. The OP said his smoothed out after 4000 miles, yours is hardly passed the break in period. Also if you are using tow mode or S mode it is learning and adjust shift table in thoseodes and not normal D mode. So, don't expect normal D mode to get better if you don’t use it.

I have a little over 22000 miles on mine. I use D 90% of the time except when I am towing. My shifts are smooth except the rare rough one on a cold morning if i don't warm up the truck. Mine does not lug in town. In fact it almost never goes over 7th gear (straight thru) unless I'm speeding. Only time I lock out gears is 9th and 10th when I'm towing.

IMHO, the 10R80 is the smoothest automatic I've driven, mainly because it has 10 close ratio gears. Remember those three speeds with that awful 1st to 2nd shift?

Maybe mine isn't quite right but its unusable to me in drive , unless I do the lock out , so I just hit tow... The lug is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me . Hard shifts or missed ones don't bother me at all , but even a little of that lug and im looking for buttons ... Easy fix with a tune I hear . Doesn't look big enough to hold 10 gears , idk how they did it but , yeah , they did it... ( IMO , the mpg gimp is the root of all this evil)

i got to take to dealer for state inspection next week , ill have them check fluid level , maybe i got one thats low from factory .

 

[remtv]

IMHO - It is a truck. It drives like a truck. That means it shifts like a truck.

So many people are conditioned to want to drive a car because it feels like every vehicle has been "dumbed down" to drive like a car. SUV's drive like cars now. Big sedans that used to have more in common with a truck (body on frame and usually the same engine and transmission) now drive like cars. There has been a push to be more "civil mannered."

GM was one of the first to start doing it. Their trucks were always a little more cushy-er, softer riding, and a steering wheel that spun like Pat Sajack's wheel of fortune. To me it felt like I was driving a glob of pudding. I always hated that. I like the feel of a truck under you. It's like having a good horse on a trail ride. Comfy enough but also rugged in all the right spots to get the job done.

So when people talk about how their truck fels and if it is shifting harsh or smooth and if the ride is bouncy or punishing or like floating on a cloud, I always wonder, what is their frame of reference? What was the past life experiences that lead you to that conclusion / observation? A guy that drives a dump truck in a rock quarry might think this truck rides like a Cadillac, but lady that is use to a Mercedes S-Class might be a bit offended at the handling. She'll probably be offended about the Filiberto's burrito I ate in the truck and subsequent "voc off gassing" but that's what trucks are for.

I agree with this 100 percent, I have only driven maybe 6 vehicles In my life, a couple of older trucks, an kia soul and old 4 cyl outback, and for me the ranger has been the smoothest driving vehicle I've had so far, now from someone who might be coming from some kind of luxury suv with a good engine they might think it is a pos.

Alot of reviews on the ranger bemoaned the shitty transmission, said it was horrible to drive around the town.

I honestly did not get that not even from the initial test drive or the 100 miles home where I definitely played with the acceleration. Maybe this is just me having the majority of my driving experience behind an 2016 kia soul or with a 2001 outback which has a whole 4 gears and 165 hp to move an 3600 lb car.

I will agree with some reviews about the stock FX shocks being floaty, not unbearable for me but noticeable and I might swap out the rears one of these days.

 

[APmech]

You know you can fix the mushy brake issue in 5 minutes with Forscan right?

Yes. I plan to do the slip joint myself too just need the time to do it. Also have the takeoff shudder and checked my pinion angle per the tsb and it's within limits. Just living with it for now. No doubt it's got a good transmission, just bs programming to get the best possible mpg. I bought this so I guess I signed up for the crappy shifting, but the skipped shifts are my biggest complaint. Tuning is in my future....

 

[AdamHarris]

Who really gives a damn if it skips shifts? I mean really. You don’t even really know it’s doing it unless you’re looking at the indicator.

 

[APmech]

Who really gives a damn if it skips shifts? I mean really. You don’t even really know it’s doing it unless you’re looking at the indicator.

While you might not give a damn and not notice, some of us do.

 

[Big Blue]

I have come to believe that no matter how smooth the 10R80 shifted, if it used every gear all the time, no matter how Ford programed it, there would be people that would hate it. Heck it could be a CVT and they would find something wrong with it.

Yes it is different, it doesn't work like we are use to. It's got three overdrive gears. It learns your "driving style", still a debatable subject. Yes it does self adjust its shift tables to an extend. Well maybe YOUR "driving style" trained your transmission badly, confused it so it took longer to figure it out.

As I've said before, I grew up driving stands, every thing from three on the tree to 5 speeds, everything from 4 cyl to 8 cyl. I know what lugging sounds and feels like. I have never felt or heard my Ranger lug. Maybe erratic throttle input is causing the transmission to make unessesary shifts at slow speeds. Could also explain the gear hunt that some complain about.

Then again maybe I'm just crazy, and my transmission is shifting terrible completely unusable in D like has been mentioned. And I'm just imagining that it is not lugging.

I tend to believe that it is likely people just looking to find what ever they about something different to complain about. Because complaining is so much easier than learning about it and adjusting to it.

Sorry for the long rant but just getting tired of the 10R80 getting continually slammed for being different. It is not perfect but what is.

 

[VegasRanger]

The only thing I hate about my truck is the transmission. Mine shifts like crap, especially in town. Doesn’t matter if I use sport, tow, etc. I get clunks, the harsh downshifts, and unless I come to a complete stop perfectly like the truck wants, I always get a thunk like I just got rear ended. I’m at 13,000 miles. I even tried erasing the transmission tables using forscan. I’ve had trucks my whole life, and this one has to be the worst when it comes to the transmission. I had a 2019 Silverado which was a little harsh, but still nothing compared to this.

If I ever did get rid of this truck, it would be because of the transmission. Aside from that, the truck is great

 

[Trapiswp1]

Well, I’m reading this from a gas station 3 hours from home waiting on a rollback for my Ranger. 32,000 miles on it and had issues with rough downshifts for about the last 5k, and the local Ford dealer has checked the transmission twice and found nothing wrong. On the way home from vacation, we started up a slight hill and the truck violently bucked and slipped when downshifting to 8th gear, and got worse over the next 10 miles until it now won’t shift below 9th gear at all. Not happy with this transmission or the local dealership.

I’ve read most of the transmission threads, and had the shift tables reset, which helped the issue for a month or so. Has anyone else had an issue similar to this?

 

[wetidlerjr]

No transmission problems and no brake problems (no tailgate damper either!). I hate it when I get left out!

 

[Dgc333]

I really only have one issue with the Ranger tranny and it is an issue with how Ford decided to program it. I have been driving 2.3 Ecoboost powered vehicles for the past 7 years and 100k+ miles. The engine is just not happy cruising along at less than 1500 rpm. The way the tranny is programmed it will have the rpm around 1200 or 1300 rpm when cruising. I realize you can lock out gears, use tow mode or sport to keep the rpms up but you shouldn't have to.

The FP tune made a big improvement but was not perfect. Since I wanted to get back to using 87 octane with gas prices the way they are. I decided to go to Unleashed for an 87 octane tune with custom transmission tuning. I am on my third revision to the tranny tune and it is now the way I want it. Cruises between 1500 and 2000 rpm. Up shifts are crisp and it willingly down shifts without being over aggressive like tow mode.

 

[JesseS]

No transmission problems and no brake problems (no tailgate damper either!). I hate it when I get left out!

Same here, the brakes were a bit 'mushy' for me, but worked fine, just personal preference to do the ABS purge and firm them up. But so far just zero issues and she will be a year old soon.

 

[Blmpkn]

While you might not give a damn and not notice, some of us do.

Tell you what dude, your wasting the "damn" your giving on the trans skipping gears.

Wanting the tranny to shift though every single gear, every single time.. would just put more wear on parts and use more fuel.. so.. yeah. Wicked awesome thing to bitch about.

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