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3rd gear in 4EAT acting up?


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Since no one would help me over in the transmission forum, I'll post it here.

 

My 06 2.5i has just over 70K on the clock, and ever since I bought the car earlier this year, at about 50K put on it, I've noticed that third gear is a little strange, both in automatic and sport manual shift mode. Doesn't seem to do it AS much in sport auto mode.

 

Anyway, first gear is ok, the typical sharp acceleration, second gear is tame, and fourth gear is fine, but third gear has some issues. For some reason, it seems like the torque converter clutch kicks in way too early and causes the car to bog down a lot. When it kicks in, say at 20-25 mph, the RPM's drop to under 1,000 and causes a lot of drivetrain vibration but if I accelerate enough to unlock the TCC, it feels fine again. Also, the other gears are fine with this as well, but I've noticed that whenever I let off of the accelerator, it takes a few seconds for the entire drivetrain to "relax" I guess is how to describe it, only in third gear.

 

My only guess is maybe the tranny fluid needs to be flushed out with some new stuff, even though it looks to be fine. Could it be something else other than the transmission? Besides the engine vibration (which I'm told is normal in a H-4), the alignment constantly having to be readjusted, the shocks squeaking, and this transmission issue... the car is fine.

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I have the exact same issue with my 07 2.5i. I wasn’t sure if it was just trying to lock up early or shift too soon (should it even lock up in 3rd?). I recently had my 90k mile service and I believe they only “inspected” the trans fluid so I assume it looked fine as well. I’d like to know if a flush (or anything else) helps this issue. This shudder and the extremely slow throttle/trans response has me constantly wishing for a manual.
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Thank you, glad I'm not the only one having this issue. I'm right with you about wishing for a manual... this is the worst automatic transmission I've ever used. When the entire car shudders after the TCC locks in 3rd, it feels like the entire drivetrain is going to just fall out of the car. In my honest opinion... the DBW throttle system isn't safe at all, let alone this extremely unintelligent transmission. There have been several times where I've almost collided with an idiot that suddenly stopped in front of me and luckily I swerved out of the way, but having a very responsive throttle and transmission to accelerate out of the way would be much safer, there are times where the brakes won't save you.

 

That's what I loved about my previous Eclipse, the transmission on it was smart. It learned my driving habits and shifted up or down exactly when it was supposed to and very quickly, let alone the torquey V6 had the power to get up and go.

 

Anyway, anyone else care to chime in on this issue?

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i been having the same issue. even after a total flush and replaced the fluid with subaru hp expensive trans fluid bs. it turns out that 3rd gear is known for jerking. from what i red the only solution is to take it to the dealer and get your trans ECU re flashed.

hope this helps

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