Slow shifts / skip gears with casual city driving?

[braptorin]

I've noticed something odd that's a bit hard to describe and I'm trying to determine if it's a problem or not: with casual / average acceleration off a stoplight sometimes the truck has a jerk somewhere in the 5 - 20 mph range. When it happens I look down and I think I'm seeing it shift to 4th gear then become smooth again. Right here I can already ask if this sounds familiar to anyone?

I'm thinking maybe this is just an artifact of the 10speed and I'm accelerating slowly enough that the tranny makes a last minute decision to go from 1st directly to 4th, but that takes a while so it's just a jerkier shift than sequencing through each gear would be? I don't think I've ever experienced this problem when driving more aggressively, which is what helps convince me this is just how the tranny is tuned, and hence it wouldn't be a problem.

My previous daily driver was a Gen1 Nissan Titan which, frankly, was a buttery smooth V8 + 5speed... despite the Big Tow package (so ~3.3:1 gearing), it never missed a shift or did anything like this.

edit: I forgot to mention that just before the jerk there's also a fraction of a second with a lull in acceleration, again, like a clutch disengaged for a bit and there's no power delivered.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

Do you notice this when you first fire the truck up, or if it’s been running for a while?

Every now and then when I first fire up the truck and head to work I feel like the transmission isn’t as smooth as when it’s been running a while. I think it’s just part of a 10spd. Sometimes I wonder if an eight speed would be better?

 

[braptorin]

I don’t think it is temperature or run time related. I’m in SoCal and my entire ownership has been 6 warm months (even with that said I still don’t think drivetrain temp matters- it does this anytime).

 

[smurfslayer]

I don’t think it is temperature or run time related. I’m in SoCal and my entire ownership has been 6 warm months (even with that said I still don’t think drivetrain temp matters- it does this anytime).

What he’s trying to say, and @FordTechOne has articulated this many times previously, when the truck is not yet up to operating temperature, it behaves quite a bit differently, especially shifting. Once it’s up to op-temp, it behaves much more as expected.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that if your transmission is in the process of shifting and you alter the throttle input, it can induce an “inarticulate” and particularly harsh up or down shift and accompanying loud clunk. I’m not sure the best way to describe it, but, can do it sometimes if I’m at part throttle but not exactly gently and then I let up mid shift : clunk. Or the opposite, if I’m in sport mode, I’m caning it, and let off completely mid shift: clunk. It’s not every up shift or downshift where I change the throttle, I have to do it at just the right time. It’s rare, happens a few times per year.

I chalk it up to the truck reminding me that bumper to bumper traffic isn’t her forte or preference.

 

[FordTechOne]

I don’t think it is temperature or run time related. I’m in SoCal and my entire ownership has been 6 warm months (even with that said I still don’t think drivetrain temp matters- it does this anytime).

When the trans is cold, it is normal to experience a slight hesitation between 3rd and 4th gear. It is a result of the TCM cold start operating strategy. Ambient temperature is unrelated; transmission temperature determines operating strategy.

 

[RaptorRnr]

I have found over the years that the 10-speed transmission does a good job of choosing the right gear. Often this is done by shifting over the in-between gears. It would drive me crazy if it shifted through every gear instead of choosing the right one, even with normal driving. For me personally, I set my gauge view to monitor the transmission temperature. I try not to really push it until it has warmed up. I plan to have this truck for many years. And, I tow, so I put a little more stress on my trans than the typical Raptor owner. Often the oil, coolant and cylinder head temperatures are at their normal temperature before the transmission reaches its normal operating temp.

With that said, as others have pointed out on these forums, when truly pressing the transmission I would prefer it was a little more responsive. I haven't taken the time to mod the tranny to change the mappings. I may never do that.

 

[braptorin]

What he’s trying to say, and @FordTechOne has articulated this many times previously, when the truck is not yet up to operating temperature, it behaves quite a bit differently, especially shifting. Once it’s up to op-temp, it behaves much more as expected.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that if your transmission is in the process of shifting and you alter the throttle input, it can induce an “inarticulate” and particularly harsh up or down shift and accompanying loud clunk. I’m not sure the best way to describe it, but, can do it sometimes if I’m at part throttle but not exactly gently and then I let up mid shift : clunk. Or the opposite, if I’m in sport mode, I’m caning it, and let off completely mid shift: clunk. It’s not every up shift or downshift where I change the throttle, I have to do it at just the right time. It’s rare, happens a few times per year.

I thought I was accounting for operating temperature of the drivetrain, too, but the point is well taken now that trans op temp specifically could matter here. That brings up two follow up questions:

1. Do we know the official operating temp (either threshold or range) of the trans?
2. I wonder if there's a "best way to drive" during warmup phase so as to avoid damage?

Now that you describe the downshift issue I can confirm I have noticed the same thing.

 

[smurfslayer]

The good news is, the truck is fine. As enthusiastically as they’re driven at Raptor Assault, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

I hear a rumor that once A/T furloughed this guy, he was scooped up by Ford to QA their trucks