Strange tranny behavior (I think).

[5280tunage]

Just completed my first major trip, about 6.5hrs of driving. All in all, this thing is great, comfortable, super peppy, great response. Only three issues I had, Sync 3.4 usability, crosswinds that made this thing feel like I was driving an RV, and the tranny. All in all the tranny was comfortable as I'll get out and did great on mountain passes, until.... Was doing about 82mph, 10th gear, had a semi in the right lane that needed to get over for someone merging on. Car was driving via ACC, slammed on the gas, and had this nasty hard shift that basically shook the car. It found 8th gear and accelerated fine, but it scared the wife it was so bad and frankly, I didn't like it much.

I did try searching through the forum and found a few articles, they just didn't seem to be the same situation or experience.

Anyone experience this? Is it normal with this 10speed? Was running in normal 2WD mode, no programming, etc. subsequent slams produce similar responses. Never had issues like this so far, had it since Nov.

On a side note, even with crazy winds, several passes, and cruising above 80mph most of the time (with ACC), I managed to maintain around 21mpg. Well over 50% better than my previous V8 rig with with multi-displacement tech. Very happy there.

 

[Soliyou]

I had a similar experience on a long trip last year in December.

It has been fine since then but also I haven’t had any long trips after that one.

 

[5280tunage]

Thanks for the response, glad I'm not the only one, but forces like that, on a drive train cannot be good. Just didn't seem right, curious if anyone else experienced this and had it looked at.

Also forgot the obvious, tranny temp was as stable as always, no issues there.

 

[Soliyou]

Tranny temp gives the temperature of the fluid at the location of the gage, but there could be a component that doesn’t get enough oil and may overheat. Most of us who got this jolt had it on a long trip after several hours of driving.

I am not an expert though, but I surely hope that this is not the case.

 

[Fozzy]

If you where in 10th gear doing 80+ your RPM’s where nothing. Then you punch it and it drops 2 gears and raises the RPM with a hard shift. Sounds normal. I’m surprised it didn’t go to 7th. (I bet it did) 7 is 1:1. Or it may have gone to 7th and quickly to 8th. That sounds more like it to me with my experience with the 10 speed. Three gear drops and one up is alway pretty aggressive and awkward as it looks for the right gear. I would also bet you don’t drive it very aggressive normally as the transmission adapts to your driving style.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[5280tunage]

If you where in 10th gear doing 80+ your RPM’s where nothing. Then you punch it and it drops 2 gears and raises the RPM with a hard shift. Sounds normal. I’m surprised it didn’t go to 7th. (I bet it did) 7 is 1:1. Or it may have gone to 7th and quickly to 8th. That sounds more like it to me with my experience with the 10 speed. Three gear drops and one up is alway pretty aggressive and awkward as it looks for the right gear. I would also bet you don’t drive it very aggressive normally as the transmission adapts to your driving style.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In some ways you may be correct, but I looked down at the bezel a split second after I felt and heard the crazy pop, the bezel showed 8th. Regardless. It was jarring, it scared my passengers which in my 15 or so previous cars did not feel like this. I mean taking a race built Acura from 6 to 4 didn't feel like this and you're talking 8k+ rpm.

Regardless, my normal in town driving is good off the line but soft for normal operation. In a passing scenario I'm not sure I understand why that might lead to a rough downshift.

Just trying to understand if others have experienced n this and if so, have they found issues via service?

 

[wakeboarder]

Running in ECO mode with ACC makes the throttle a lot less aggressive. I know it doesn’t directly address the issue, but it may help prevent it from happening again.

 

[Zig10]

Same thing has happened to me twice. Both in the mountains around 75 MPH, going up a grade. First time it downshifted so hard I swore the transmission case split. The second time (around 8 months later) it wasn't quite as violent, but still was abrupt.

In general I notice much rougher shifts when the vehicle is in eco mode, so I just stopped using it. Seems to be behaving much better now.

 

[5280tunage]

Running in ECO mode with ACC makes the throttle a lot less aggressive. I know it doesn’t directly address the issue, but it may help prevent it from happening again.

So does ACC automatically put the vehicle in Eco mode? I hardly ever change the drive mode, so it was in normal mode originally.

 

[5280tunage]

Same thing has happened to me twice. Both in the mountains around 75 MPH, going up a grade. First time it downshifted so hard I swore the transmission case split. The second time (around 8 months later) it wasn't quite as violent, but still was abrupt.

In general I notice much rougher shifts when the vehicle is in eco mode, so I just stopped using it. Seems to be behaving much better now.

Thanks for the response. I literally thought my trip was over when I felt that. Have to watch it though, there's no way that's good for the mechanical systems.

 

[wakeboarder]

So does ACC automatically put the vehicle in Eco mode? I hardly ever change the drive mode, so it was in normal mode originally.

ACC does not put into Eco mode. For my driving style, the ACC acceleration is too aggressive in normal mode. The ACC is tuned differently for each driving mode. My only thought is the acceleration may not have been as hard in Eco mode, so it may not have downshifted as abruptly.

 

[Fozzy]

I think it’s because the transmission can’t decide what gear to put it in. I have had this happen at least 10 times and every time it is a 3 gear down one up shift. I have had it happen more in town. Cruising the speed limit. Hardly any gas applied. Trans is in 8-9 just rolling along. Light goes yellow. You hesitate deciding to stop or gun it through the intersection. You’d decide to floor it and it hesitated. Makes a few gear shifts and shutters and bangs. I have also had it not shift and act like it’s gone into limp mode. Just lugging the engine, it’s very random. I have had mine for almost a year now and no issues with the transmission. Dealer didn’t see any codes, Leaks or broken parts at my last visit. it does run hot towing. And from what I have found in the F-150 forums this is pretty standard for the 10 speed to run hot. I know some have had theirs reset or flashed. I use to always reset the learning curve in my Duramax Allison combo before any long trip or towing. Driving around town all the time would make it sluggish. My F-150 with the 6 speed didn’t do any of these weird shifts. So far I’m not a fan of the 10 speed. Gas mileage and power have been almost identical. And my 6 speed didn’t run hot. On one of the Ford news outlets I read they are already working on a Gen2 10R80 and 10R140 with a new 10R100.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FormerGermanFan]

Just completed my first major trip, about 6.5hrs of driving. All in all, this thing is great, comfortable, super peppy, great response. Only three issues I had, Sync 3.4 usability, crosswinds that made this thing feel like I was driving an RV, and the tranny. All in all the tranny was comfortable as I'll get out and did great on mountain passes, until.... Was doing about 82mph, 10th gear, had a semi in the right lane that needed to get over for someone merging on. Car was driving via ACC, slammed on the gas, and had this nasty hard shift that basically shook the car. It found 8th gear and accelerated fine, but it scared the wife it was so bad and frankly, I didn't like it much.

I did try searching through the forum and found a few articles, they just didn't seem to be the same situation or experience.

Anyone experience this? Is it normal with this 10speed? Was running in normal 2WD mode, no programming, etc. subsequent slams produce similar responses. Never had issues like this so far, had it since Nov.

On a side note, even with crazy winds, several passes, and cruising above 80mph most of the time (with ACC), I managed to maintain around 21mpg. Well over 50% better than my previous V8 rig with with multi-displacement tech. Very happy there.

From a technical perspective I can’t explain it. However even around town when I floor it, my Expy does exactly as you described. It’s shocking (to my passengers), to me I have the extended warranty and don’t care what it does.

My dealer explained that the transmission is designed for smooth, gentle driving (thank you EPA) so it’s not designed for sudden downshifts that require dropping a few gears.

Not that ACC would do this, but what I’ve found solves the issue is if you can lean on the gas slightly so you hear the turbos spool up, then floor it to pass. Something in the transmission engages when I do this and there are no hard downshifts as a result.

 

[lobsenza]

Do you have the 3.31 or 3.73 axle ratio? That could change the feel of the downshift.

 

[5280tunage]

3.73 as I have the heavy towing package.

 

[5280tunage]

From a technical perspective I can’t explain it. However even around town when I floor it, my Expy does exactly as you described. It’s shocking (to my passengers), to me I have the extended warranty and don’t care what it does.

My dealer explained that the transmission is designed for smooth, gentle driving (thank you EPA) so it’s not designed for sudden downshifts that require dropping a few gears.

Not that ACC would do this, but what I’ve found solves the issue is if you can lean on the gas slightly so you hear the turbos spool up, then floor it to pass. Something in the transmission engages when I do this and there are no hard downshifts as a result.

That's very interesting. I appreciate the feedback and will try this on my return trip. I just can't seem how that kind of sudden force is good for anything, I don't care if it was designed to be soft. I to have the best warranty Ford offers for a very extended period, but I hate dealing with crappy service techs these days and dealership that don't want to do lowered price warranty work.

 

[Mike K]

Just ordered the ready lift for my 2019 expy max xlt. Anyone know what are the biggest tires I can put on it?

 

[Craigga542]

How do you reset it? I couldn’t find much in a search

 

[Dice Roll]

From a technical perspective I can’t explain it. However even around town when I floor it, my Expy does exactly as you described. It’s shocking (to my passengers), to me I have the extended warranty and don’t care what it does.

My dealer explained that the transmission is designed for smooth, gentle driving (thank you EPA) so it’s not designed for sudden downshifts that require dropping a few gears.

Not that ACC would do this, but what I’ve found solves the issue is if you can lean on the gas slightly so you hear the turbos spool up, then floor it to pass. Something in the transmission engages when I do this and there are no hard downshifts as a result.

that should drop it out of lock up so I could see that making the shift smoother if the trans struggles to get converter unlocked before downshifting.

 

[LokiWolf]

Dice Roll hit it on the head. The Lockup is VERY sensitive in these 10 Speeds. Basically it changes gear with out an unlock under some conditions. I have logged it. And it causes that jolt, because it is a hard connection and not through fluid.

Cruise Control is actually not affected itself by Modes, throttle mapping is. Cruise control uses the same throttle mapping of the active mode, just for clarity. End result, is why like wakeboarder I prefer Eco when using Cruise, throttle input is smoother.