2017 doesn't downshift quickly enough, "lugs" when going up a hill

07xln · Apr 23, 2018

star-art said:
I had a 2009 for many years. We live up on a rather steep hillside and have to climb over a distance of more than 2 miles in order to get home. My 2009 with the Triton V8 handled this process very smoothly. The transmission was always quick to downshift as the grade got steeper. It was almost seamless going up the hill every day.

Now I have a (new to me) 2017 with Ecoboost and I notice it is not nearly as smooth getting up the hill. The transmission seems too slow to downshift and the engine "lugs" -- even if I step on the gas. We had a 2016 Explorer that used to do the same thing. It had paddle shifters on the steering wheel so when I got to a point where the engine started lugging I'd hit the "minus" shifter and force the transmission to downshift into a lower gear.

Unfortunately, the 2017 Expy doesn't have those. It does have "+/-" buttons on the shifter but they don't seem to operate the same way as the paddle shifters on the Explorer. What's the best way to deal with the engine lugging while going uphill? It seems the transmission needs to be a bit more sensitive when it comes to downshift points. Am I going to have to just live with this or should I talk to the dealer about reprogramming?

Part of it is turbo lag and part of it is the trans tuning. The shifter works the same as your Explorer did. Before making your ascent just hit the - button and the gear indicator will pop up next to the gas gauge (assuming you have the fancy cluster) showing all 6 gears. Just down shift it to the gear you think you'll need and it will hold that gear or lower. If you want a higher gear hit the + button and you'll add a higher gear to the mix. I think its a great system as you can manually select your top gear and it will still be fully automatic in all lower gears. Its a great feature in the mountains. Or drop the shifter to M and shift it manually.

oldpaddy said:
I've read repeatedly that the ecoboost expy is gods gift to mankind.

You read correctly

star-art said:
LOL! Well, the trans shifting program at least leaves something to be desired. We also have an '18 Expy and while that is slightly better going up the hill it still struggles a bit, just like our '16 Explorer did. What do they all have in common? The Ecoboost powertrain. . .

Yet you you've owned 3 of them. I think you just need to press the go pedal a little harder.

star-art · Apr 23, 2018

07xln said:
I think you just need to press the go pedal a little harder.

Yeah, well when I do that the engine lugs down -- sometimes badly before it finally downshifts -- which is the problem. Sometimes it refuses to downshift until I really step on it. It would be nice if I didn't have to manually downshift. With a sophisticated electronic control system, you'd think the TCM could handle that on its own. After all, the one in my 2009 performed flawlessly every time. The new drivetrain should be at least as good if not better than what came before. This one is performing worse.

As to using the +/- in Drive, if I'm lugging in 3rd gear on a steep grade I'd have to hit "-" several times to lock out the upper gears. That's totally different from using a paddle shifter. With those, you just hit "-" once and it immediately downshifts to the next lowest gear. Much easier!

MidwestBoater · Apr 24, 2018

Owner of a 2016 XLT here.. I haven't had an issue with the trans programming or any turbo lag. Coming from a 2014 Ram Hemi with the 8spd, I'm glad the Expy doesn't shift constantly. When towing I just lock it out of 6th gear, leave it in tow haul mode, and it pulls most hills without downshifting. I'm towing a 3,500lb tritoon (which tows like a parachute) and am amazed at how it just chugs right up the hills without downshifting unless it's a really steep hill.

07xln · Apr 24, 2018

star-art said:
Yeah, well when I do that the engine lugs down -- sometimes badly before it finally downshifts -- which is the problem. Sometimes it refuses to downshift until I really step on it. It would be nice if I didn't have to manually downshift. With a sophisticated electronic control system, you'd think the TCM could handle that on its own. After all, the one in my 2009 performed flawlessly every time. The new drivetrain should be at least as good if not better than what came before. This one is performing worse.

As to using the +/- in Drive, if I'm lugging in 3rd gear on a steep grade I'd have to hit "-" several times to lock out the upper gears. That's totally different from using a paddle shifter. With those, you just hit "-" once and it immediately downshifts to the next lowest gear. Much easier!

Sounds to me like youre just complaining to complain or youre just lazy. Its hilarious to me that pushing a thumb activated button a few times is so much harder then clicking a paddle shifter once. Like I said before just do your shifting before you make your ascent then youre not having to struggle with the burden of pushing that button mid way up the hill :biggrin:

Or drop it into manual and you only have to shift once

And for the record the drivetrain in your 09 is the exact same as the one in your 17 :waytogo:

bobmbx · Apr 24, 2018

star-art said:
Yeah, well when I do that the engine lugs down -- sometimes badly before it finally downshifts -- which is the problem. Sometimes it refuses to downshift until I really step on it. It would be nice if I didn't have to manually downshift. With a sophisticated electronic control system, you'd think the TCM could handle that on its own. After all, the one in my 2009 performed flawlessly every time. The new drivetrain should be at least as good if not better than what came before. This one is performing worse.

As to using the +/- in Drive, if I'm lugging in 3rd gear on a steep grade I'd have to hit "-" several times to lock out the upper gears. That's totally different from using a paddle shifter. With those, you just hit "-" once and it immediately downshifts to the next lowest gear. Much easier!

Put the tranny in Manual, athen the +/- buttons do the exact same thing as the paddles.

It sounds like you're more disappointed that you don't have the paddles and not so much having a problem with the vehicle.

star-art · Apr 24, 2018

So nice to reach out to fellow owners to see what they are experiencing (and get an idea whether or not my truck's behavior is "normal") and get such wonderful sarcastic comments in return.

bobmbx said:
Put the tranny in Manual, then the +/- buttons do the exact same thing as the paddles.

Now that is helpful, thanks. Maybe I just wasn't understanding how it all works. I was under the impression (from driving our Explorer) that tapping "-" on the paddle shifter forced a downshift, otherwise the transmission was still working automatically and changed gears on its own after that. For the Expy, the owner's manual seems to say that shifting into "M" means you are taking over *all* shifting yourself, i.e. if you don't hit "+/-" you will just stay in the current gear.

bobmbx · Apr 24, 2018

star-art said:
So nice to reach out to fellow owners to see what they are experiencing (and get an idea whether or not my truck's behavior is "normal") and get such wonderful sarcastic comments in return.

Now that is helpful, thanks. Maybe I just wasn't understanding how it all works. I was under the impression (from driving our Explorer) that tapping "-" on the paddle shifter forced a downshift, otherwise the transmission was still working automatically and changed gears on its own after that. For the Expy, the owner's manual seems to say that shifting into "M" means you are taking over *all* shifting yourself, i.e. if you don't hit "+/-" you will just stay in the current gear.

Oh. On the Expys, "manual" means just that...manual. If you don't shift using the +/- button, you'll stay in that gear. The owners manual is correct. You will do all the shifting. I didn't realize the paddles worked differently.

ExpeditionAndy · Apr 24, 2018

I'll throw my nickel in from what I've noticed. While in Automatic the first time you click either of the -/+ buttons it displays the gear numbers in the left hand nav display. The second time you press it you can force the transmission to downshift to the next lower gears. Let's say you put put it in 4th and then come to a stop. The transmission will shift normally until it gets to 4th and it will go no higher.

I haven't tried this but I assume that if you are in manual in 4th and come to a stop the transmission will try to start in 4th.

star-art · Apr 24, 2018

Thanks Andy! I think I may have found the answer in the owner's manual under "SelectShift Automatic Transmission." Apparently, it works two different ways. First, if you press the "+" button on the shifter, it becomes "semi automatic" like using the paddle shifters on the Explorer. Once this mode is activated, press "-" to force a downshift or "+" to force an upshift.

SelectShift automatically downshifts at low engine speeds in order to prevent engine stalls. Note: Engine damage may occur if you maintain excessive engine revving without shifting. SelectShift does not automatically upshift, even if the engine is approaching the RPM limit, unless the accelerator pedal is at full travel.

The other mode is "Progressive Range Selection" (PRS). First click the "-" button on the shifter to activate that mode. Then, press "-" again to lock out the upper gears:

With the gearshift lever in drive (D), press the – button to active PRS. The available and selected gears are indicated on the instrument cluster. All available gears will display with the current gear indicated. Press the – button again to lock out gears beginning with the highest gear. Example: press the – button twice to lock out 6th and 5th gears. Only the available gears will display and the transmission will automatically shift between the available gears. Press the + button to unlock gears to allow the transmission to shift to higher gears. The transmission will shift automatically within the gear range you select.

Muddy Bean · Apr 24, 2018

oldpaddy said:
You must be mistaken. I've read repeatedly that the ecoboost expy is gods gift to mankind.

Trolling isn’t going to gain you any friends on this forum. Maybe you don’t desire to make friends here? But they might come in handy just in case you fubar a lift install. Never know.

Jski, I actually am able to manually downshift even in “Auto” mode. Putting it in manual mode automatically brings up the tach and larger orange current gear indicator of course which is nice. But I do indeed downshift sometimes just using the minus button. Likely your hill is a somewhat weird scenario for your truck engine and trans combo as I’ve never experienced what you’re describing before and I have over 80,000 miles on my 2015 Limited.

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2017 doesn't downshift quickly enough, "lugs" when going up a hill

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