sup org,

ok so this symptom has been getting on my nerves lately. it seem that when ever i need to pass someone or beat a yellow light my trans never wants to downshift immediately. instead it tries to power through whatever gear im in be it 3rd, overdrive, or torque converter clutch then BAM! theres second gear when im well passed the light. this also happens going up a hill like the engine is not aware of the load when the rpms drop to like 1300 then it down shift or if my foot goes almost all the way to the floor

my maf is clean and my mods so far are just a custom cold air and a full exhaust with a factory cat that has 220k on it. the trans has about 85k

could this be fixed by a spill and fill? or do i have to worry about some other load sensor like a tps or map or some other

any help is mich appreciated THANKS ORG

 

Seems strange, I keep thinking i have the same problem. My car loves its third gear, that much is for sure...

 

When is the last time you had a Service done on the Transmission, it may help to change the fluid and filter.

 

not since i owned it i bought it from a junkyard with 75k on the tranny the fluid looked and smelled like nissan fluid so im guessing its never been done

but would that cause this problem?

 

Maintenance is always a good thing.

This may simply be the programming of the transmission. If you want it to react quickly then jab the throttle sharply. Seriously.

And yes, the people who programmed this transmission were in love with the third gear. If you slow down to a creep and start going again the wretched thing is still in third gear. You have to really stab the throttle for it to downshift.

 

So basically its just the nature of the beast? thats pretty bad. looks like i need a shift kit. i need to win the lottery first though.

stupid automatic

 

Agreed. Stupid automatic loves 3rd with a passion but you cant really blame the the people who programed it. They were just trying to save a little gas and make the mileage numbers match the Toyota Camry and Avalon V6 of the time.

 

I just click my overdrive off whenever I want to downshift whether it's braking hard, trying to go up a hill or trying to beat a light.

 

i heard manually downshifting your auto is a bad idea

 

test your drop resistor. It may be going.

FSM says to replace tranny fluid every 30k.

 

do you know what it should measure out to by chance?

 

Page AT-134 of the FSM.

11-13 ohms. Its the cylinder on the driver strut tower pointed towards the battery

 

sweet thanks ima check it tonight

 

its not the DR it measured out to 12.1 ohms

 

Don't take this as an insult but do you have a KS code and also what grade gas do you use??

 

Do a drain/fill man!!!

 

Shell 93 octane only
I haven't checked pending codes in a couple months but the previous owner replaced it already and it performs awsome I also get 25 mpg average city driving I highly doubt the KS is to blame

 

how does the tranny fluid look?

OT

Yo maxed_out, i tried those JDM headlights and they dont fit. Did u have a fitment issue too?

 

the fluid looks bright red thick and slippery and smells great


you have "r34" style that came with HIDs? they just sat right where they were ment to for me the only problem i had was, i had to gently force the grille into place. maybe your car was whacked from the front

 

It's how the autos are on these cars, sorry it's not a performance car. The car mainly stays in 3rd for gas saving purposes, even at 1500rpms it will be in 3rd.

I will never get another auto trans car unless it's a dual clutch auto.

 

Clicking off overdrive removes fourth (overdrive) and the torque converter clutch (until 60mph) from the program, but otherwise third gear is the same love affair.

There is a similar love affair with fourth gear - if it is in 4th you can slow down to around 25mph and resume ... still in 4th! Unless you jab the throttle, of course. Their logic must be to let the torque converter handle it.

Not all automatics are like this, it really depends on how hard the manufacturer was trying to meet a mpg target versus making the car fun to drive. Hondas downshift quickly. Even Chevrolets downshift in good time. But not Nissan. Not Hyundai either, they have a serious love affair with third gear too.

 

yeah this is my first auto in 10 years

 

Hmm..yeah I know the autos love 4th gear but for mine, I give it a little effort and it downshifts responsively...not sure if its only me...

 

you know it seems like the more i beat the hell out of it the quicker its starting to downshift but it still gets confused "overdrive no third no over drive i know torque converter clutch"

 

It depends on your driving habits how the TCM decides to shift, for instance when I start driving like a bat out of hell I can damn near redline in first and second after a crazy pull off and it downshifts quick as hell. But while just cruising it downshifts so late like some others said for mpg reasons etc.

 

I second this...especially when cold and warming up. The car is outta here till it gets fully warm and slows responsiveness.

 

so after some careful experiments i have found that it is now down shifting fairly quickly after all the helpful replies and info (thanks org) ive found that if you are just absolutely relentless on the gas pedal for one day it downshifts instantly even while cruising.