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Rough shifting in 4L

Shinoko

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Has anyone noticed that shifting into or out of 1st gear in the 2.7 auto is very rough? Like loud, the car lurches, and it sounds violent. I've noticed a somewhat similar effect when shifting into 4L, where the car lurches forward a bit when going into 4L from 2H or 4H, but it is very noticeable shifting from 2->1 in 4L.

Anyone else notice this? It's somewhat annoying when you are manually shifting and it decides to randomly downshift to 1 from 2, it feels like the transmission is going to fly out.
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"Learn to master the gear selector by your thumb. Manually dropping it into 1st will REALLY help with throttle control. The 10 speed loves to bump you up to 2nd or 3rd gear at the worst possible time and will make your actions seem really jerky.

I dented the bottom of my truck bed in my Ranger Tremor before I learned just how important manually selecting first gear is. Ive always off-roaded with a standard trans." -TheHeroFails told me in another thread.
 
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Shinoko

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I have heard manual shifting with your thumb to keep it in first longer is your friend with this 10 speed auto
Yea, that's what I was doing. The issue is when you upshift when needed out of 1, it then will decide at some point to downshift itself again, that's when it gets really rough. Even still, manually doing so is rough, as well.

It's rougher at certain times than others, mainly if power is being applied. The issue is that the transmission lets you start from 2, but once you reach a certain speed or RPM, it will downshift itself back to 1. When this occurs is not consistent, so you could be slowing down for a moment, it downshifts as you apply power, and the result is a really rough shift.

I will try to capture it a little better next time I go wheeling, but was curious if others observed the same thing or not. If it lets you start in 2, it seems like that should be the floor for automatic downshifts in manual mode.
 

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This past weekend I was wheeling and noticed some harsh shifts. It went away if I would come to a complete stop or come completely off the throttle when using the manual shift buttons. Also, if I didn't want to keep it in first I would just shift back into auto.
 

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Has anyone noticed that shifting into or out of 1st gear in the 2.7 auto is very rough? Like loud, the car lurches, and it sounds violent. I've noticed a somewhat similar effect when shifting into 4L, where the car lurches forward a bit when going into 4L from 2H or 4H, but it is very noticeable shifting from 2->1 in 4L.

Anyone else notice this? It's somewhat annoying when you are manually shifting and it decides to randomly downshift to 1 from 2, it feels like the transmission is going to fly out.
Hi there! Can you please send over a private message with your VIN? We would like to look into this for you on our end.
 
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Shinoko

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Ok so my first post was a bit vague, I halfway expected this was a normal issue, but I'm gathering it's not. I have access to another Bronco of the exact same build, I'm going out this evening to see if his does the same thing or not. According to it's owner, he didn't experience the same thing when we were wheeling the other day, but he was in D the whole time.

This is what it does inconsistently:
  • Shifting in or out of 1/2/3 consists of a 'clicking' sound, followed by the vehicle lurching. It is random, I tried to consistently reproduce it with various power settings (on the low end, of course) and situations, none of which reliably reproduced it. All last weekend it did it going between 2/1, but on the gravel today, it was doing it between 2/3.
  • There is a bit of a 'whine' right before shifting, almost like a motor or something turning
  • Engaging 4L results in the vehicle lurching. I tried this in and out of 2H and 4H, with no consistency again. It was super smooth today on a loose gravel section I tried to reproduce it on, but I know I've felt it lurching forward and sounding more violent in the past. The first few times I did it, it lurched and came with a 'clanking' sound. It seems to have dissipated some, but it was never consistent to begin with. I remember it because it was so alarming feeling compared to other vehicles I had been in, but I haven't had an offroad vehicle with electronic mode changes either.
Here is what it does with consistency:
  • Shifting out of D/M to N, D, or R is rough. There is a loud clanking sound that comes out and it shakes slightly (sometimes, it is more subtle), but not superviolently. To be clear, before the pitchforks come out, this happens at a dead stop and every time (so far). This ONLY happens in 4L.
  • Downshifting into 1 results in some lurching, but it's possible that's just because of the downshift. None of this happens at any speed, I was mainly in 2-3mph range both days.
I was paying more attention to the trail this past weekend than I was this, I was also in a group so I didn't really get a chance to diagnose it much further. Everything worked as normal, so I didn't think much of it aside from trying to time throttle with downshifts to prevent it. I did experiment a bit on a gravel road, but it is not 100% reliable to reproduce.

I was in Normal mode the whole time, lockers/swaybar disconnected, transmission temps read around 200-210 degrees (except today where it was 185 or so), engine temps slightly higher around 220 or so while I was wheeling. I was on trails, so loose ground the whole time (dry/dusty mostly, with some mud and rock, Windrock trails 11, G6, 22, 25, 26). I tried to avoid shifting with power down, but it would sometimes happen if it automatically dropped into 1 or 2. I could not reproduce anything in 2H or 4H. It did most of this before we did any wheeling, although I hadn't done much manual shifting prior to that, so hard to tell if that happened or not.

Hi there! Can you please send over a private message with your VIN? We would like to look into this for you on our end.
Yes, will do! Thank you!
 
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Theherofails

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"Learn to master the gear selector by your thumb. Manually dropping it into 1st will REALLY help with throttle control. The 10 speed loves to bump you up to 2nd or 3rd gear at the worst possible time and will make your actions seem really jerky.

I dented the bottom of my truck bed in my Ranger Tremor before I learned just how important manually selecting first gear is. Ive always off-roaded with a standard trans." -TheHeroFails told me in another thread.
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Keep in mind 4L is a torque multiplyer. All the shifting and gear changing is going to be exaggerated, along with the lurching, associated mechanical sounds and throttle inputs.
 
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Shinoko

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Keep in mind 4L is a torque multiplyer. All the shifting and gear changing is going to be exaggerated, along with the lurching, associated mechanical sounds and throttle inputs.
Yep, understood. That is why I didn't think much of it at first, but it was random enough that it got me wondering if something was off.
 

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Yeah, the noises especially can be a bit unnerving with all the different traction control, ABS, and other systems (i.e. Trail Turn Assist). Ever hear a newer 4Runner using Crawl Control? Sounds like it's getting ready to start flinging things any second.
 
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Shinoko

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Yeah, the noises especially can be a bit unnerving with all the different traction control, ABS, and other systems (i.e. Trail Turn Assist). Ever hear a newer 4Runner using Crawl Control? Sounds like it's getting ready to start flinging things any second.
My last 4x4 was a CJ7, prior to that was a first gen Xterra. I haven't had a lot of them in recent years, none of them had a lot of the new features like electronic shifting. The CJ7 always sounded like it was going to fall apart, even in 2wd :)

At any rate, I don't think anyone else appears to be getting this level of feedback from the vehicle upon shifting. I'm not overly concerned if it is normal, but it doesn't appear to be. We'll see if the other one does it tonight. I'd be less worried if it was just a minor click, but the sounds are more dramatic.
 

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The lurching in 4L has definitely happened in mine. At one point I had to basically stand on my brakes to stop the vehicle from crawling forward. I assumed it was just a really low gear lol. I will have to pay attention next time I'm on a trail as I did get some of the same issues you are saying but not as bad it seems. I have not offroaded any new vehicles. The last time I owed a 4x4 was my 76' Bronco 10years ago.
 

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[/QUOTE]
Keep in mind 4L is a torque multiplyer. All the shifting and gear changing is going to be exaggerated, along with the lurching, associated mechanical sounds and throttle inputs.
Yep, understood. That is why I didn't think much of it at first, but it was random enough that it got me wondering if something was off.
The lurching in 4L has definitely happened in mine. At one point I had to basically stand on my brakes to stop the vehicle from crawling forward. I assumed it was just a really low gear lol. I will have to pay attention next time I'm on a trail as I did get some of the same issues you are saying but not as bad it seems. I have not offroaded any new vehicles. The last time I owed a 4x4 was my 76' Bronco 10years ago.
Not saying your experience is normal but: With my 05 Rubicon with auto, 4:1 transfer case and 4.11's it definitely 'lurched' and was hard to hold back with the brakes when shifted to first gear low range. With a Bronco, especially Sas with 4.70 axles you might feel the same thing.
 

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Shit to 4L, M1->M2 was noticeable during the Las Vegas Off Roadeo. Did not seems like an issue. It felt like you were engaging purpose built heavy machinery if that makes sense.
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