Here's the story.
Bought a used car, Automatic 2002 with 77k miles.
I bought a warranty for 30k miles/2 years.
I bought and installed a ATC (Hayden 404) at 78K miles and accompanied 1 flush. (Experienced little results 2 out of 10)

Heres what I experience.
General shifting is acceptable and pretty smooth under weak/hard acceleration. The main issue is reacceleration.
I will be driving in traffic and notice stopping ahead, so in anticipation of whats ahead i let off the gas (no braking). Oh look they are moving again, so I gently repress the gas to begin acceleration/obtain previous speed but... when doing that it feels as if it slips into acceleration and or thumps/bangs(no noise) into the reacceleration. This is at all speeds ie: 25 mph around town or 65 mph highway. Please note sometimes even letting off the gas i can feel a slightly stressful thump. It also dosent happen %100 of the time I would say %80. I know nothings perfect and especially a used automatic, but its something a person who likes to not break as little as possible hates and experiences alot, almost every driving trip! I am going to visit my mechanic and take him for a ride/try to see if this is even worth fixing in general (not just if it would be covered). So I am interested on everyones input/opinions/experiences.

So if I can get anything for it I am going to. I know they will typically not cover something that dosent pull a code or is detremental to the car, but for my knowledge and preference I want to know whats going on. We could probably tell the warranty claim it pulled one anyway if it is something to be fixed. Is it me being picky/is this what everyone feels/is it something I shouldnt even worry about messing with? On a side note. In general is it better to leave a "ok" transmission alone than open up surgery on it? Or does it not matter.

Thanks for your Time. =)

 

I think its the same for all autotragics. Mines like that.
How come I've never seen your max around Philly.

 

Never had it with mine, 130K had it flushed about 30K miles ago, will do it again with synthetic and tranny cooler, what kind of fluid did you put it and did you check the levels ?

 

Dextron III ATF (per manual specs)

These expieriences happend before and after my ATC. So I can conclude it has no relation to the cooler.

 

Thanks , anyone else.

 

It is hard to know if you're super sensitive or not. Really doesn't matter since if you think it is a problem then it is.
My Max is 1 yr newer and about same miles. No thump audible or otherwise on deceleration or re-acceleration.
Good luck - I hope your warranty gets you fixed up to your satisfaction.

 

I will add that the OP problem sounds like engine / tranny mounts which should be checked before jumping into a problem with the tranny itself.

 

Both my 4th gen and my 5th gen have done and still do this. I guess I got used to it since my 4th gen did it. So when I picked up my 5th gen, I was already trained and ready for it, so it wasn't much of a surprise. Your right foot will get used to it and eventually learn how to avoid it or just plain get used to it.

One item that will amplify this is worn motor mounts. So, to that.


Typically your right foot knows or will learn where the down shift points are (% throttle). I know when/where in the RPM/speed/%throttle the car will react, usually. There are those times I get a violent downshift or premature upshift re: how much throttle I'm using.

 

NmExMAX Much appreciated. I am sorta going in that direction, But Im almost afraid to hit the acceleration to avoid the thump into accell. And when I do either way it typically does it. I guess i will check the m-mounts. I also plan on gettin Hyper Grounding Kit, maybe that may help a tad little more. Have any of you experienced better performance after repeated flushes say 2x or 3x.

 

I've got a stick max but my previous car, an automatic grand am would do that. It wasnt a piece of junk and had relatively low miles (below 100k when it did it) but I'd feel the same thing. Pushing back into the gas while rolling and it'd clunk/thump as it shifted. Not that GM's 4t40e has anything to do with this but I'd say its fairly common in higher mileage cars.

 

Every auto I've driven has some delay between diver input and acceleration. You can't expect the ECM to know exactly when you want to move. An auto isn't going to respond like a manual any day (unless you've got a DSG or SMG type tranny).

 

Im beginning to accept this, but its frustraighting when a transmission in worse condition felt better in this exact senario. BTW whats... DSG or SMG? sounds new to me?

 

Appreciate the feed back.

 

DSG and SMG are Volkswagen's and BMW's names for their computer controlled manual transmissions, respectively. These transmissions are designed to outperform manual transmissions during performance driving, and they do a pretty good job of doing it. I've never driven one, but from what I've read/heard, they shift faster than just about any transmission available anywhere (both road and racing transmissions) and are very good at anticipating what the driver is looking to do (depending on shifting "mode"). The DSG is especially cool because it has 2 clutches and 2 "primary" shafts each with its own secondary. The odd gears on one "primary/secondary" shaft combo and the even gears are on the other. In order to shift, the transmission engages the dog into the gear it anticipates you will use next and then switches clutches. I do believe that is the fastest shifting transmission on the road today, faster than anything in motorsport as well.

 

Well this is what my mechanic guessed my problem was, and he seems to be right.

Since this is a TSB do I contact my warranty company?
What PART # is this (2002 max)? I cannot figure it out searching the vast internet?

 

All autos I have driven seem to do this. This is mainly because when the car is coasting the trans will essentially go into neutral to save fuel (RPMs are up but no drag on the motor save for the trans pump) and expect you to be off the throttle for a bit especially when braking. When you jump back into the throttle the trans will still be in this freewheel mode and will basically dump the clutch to give you the acceleration it thinks you need.

To compensate for this I usually Feather the gas enough to initate a gear selection, let off so the Rs will match then get back on with full engagement of the gear. This helps a lot with not shocking your drivetrain and will help a little with acceleration from a gas off rolling start.

 

Appreciate that advise, I have been evolving into this kind strategy.

 

any one know what the ES transmission mounts part numbers are