Auto transmission slipping (I think??)

[HerbertThe2020JL]

I got my Jeep back. 11.5 solid weeks of no Jeep, no loaner, but finally have a new transmission! I'm not going to lie, I've already noticed a clunking sound when throwing it in reverse AND the RPMs stay around 3,000 for a while between 3rd and 4th gear. I can't help but feel this one will soon fail. I now have an attorney working on a lemon law case with me and Chrysler gave me a 3yr 100,000 mile warrant for the new trans.

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[Acme]

These ZF all have some kind of issues. I've tried multiple JLs in the last few weeks, all V6 autos, and all of them slipped, clunked, made weird noises and had weird shifts behavior either upshifting or downshifting. The worst, a loaner from Enterprise with 50K KM, had very bad downshifts. All lingered between 2nd-3rd and/or 3rd-4th. All are slipping if you put them in manual and hit the gas pedal in a certain way, like they are preparing for a downshift or something. My all new transmission from 3 weeks ago does it too.

I have a 2y warranty on it so I'm not going to bother. I'll sell it before it runs out.

My dads KIA has a transmission 100X better than this. New gens of Jeeps are just shit. Full stop.

 

[Acme]

Some not so good news... After a little over 1000 km... the "new" transmission has a loud "bang" coming out of park into reverse, not even on an incline. Also has surges/bangs/clunks while coasting... Like yesterday I had my window opened, no music, coasting at 50 km/h and there was a sudden small surge with a loud metallic "clunk" noise and... yeah... let's say it doesn't feel good. I can't say if it's between shifts, yet. Looks like it happens in any gear when coasting with the RPM really low like 1500 or so. I also don't understand why the transmission is insisting on trying to keep the engine at so low RPMs. It feels dead, hesitant and as soon as you want to accelerate a bit it needs to downshift because the V6 had nothing to give so low in the band. This is stupid.

Looks like this whole shit show was for nothing and I'm back to square one. I hate this thing with a passion.

I'll keep driving this P.O.S. for now. I'm on vacation for the next 2 months, hopefully it will last until the end of it. After that I don't really care. I will probably sell it and I'm debating if I'll get another Jeep. I must say I lost a lot of faith in the brand at this point.

 

[HerbertThe2020JL]

Some not so good news... After a little over 1000 km... the "new" transmission has a loud "bang" coming out of park into reverse, not even on an incline. Also has surges/bangs/clunks while coasting... Like yesterday I had my window opened, no music, coasting at 50 km/h and there was a sudden small surge with a loud metallic "clunk" noise and... yeah... let's say it doesn't feel good. I can't say if it's between shifts, yet. Looks like it happens in any gear when coasting with the RPM really low like 1500 or so. I also don't understand why the transmission is insisting on trying to keep the engine at so low RPMs. It feels dead, hesitant and as soon as you want to accelerate a bit it needs to downshift because the V6 had nothing to give so low in the band. This is stupid.

Looks like this whole shit show was for nothing and I'm back to square one. I hate this thing with a passion.

I'll keep driving this P.O.S. for now. I'm on vacation for the next 2 months, hopefully it will last until the end of it. After that I don't really care. I will probably sell it and I'm debating if I'll get another Jeep. I must say I lost a lot of faith in the brand at this point.

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm looking at broncos, old or new. I want something fun to drive and I've really enjoyed my jeep until the issues.

I have a 6 cylinder misfiring code now. It's triggering the auto start/stop light so I took it to the dealer thinking I needed the battery replaced from sitting for 3 months, and turns out it's the pending check engine light that's turning it on. It could be just a spark plug, but I've already hired an attorney to Lemon Law the jeep. I'll have Chrysler buy it back and completely have it removed from the road. It's clear I can't trust this thing anymore either even with the new funky trans.

I used to work as a nurse who responded to emergency calls like heart attacks, or people whose heart stopped and they need resuscitation. My jeep is my only transportation and I'm glad I'm not working there anymore, I'd be fucked having people die if I got stranded on the road

 

[HerbertThe2020JL]

A little update, regarding the misfire... They found coolant in my exhaust. I might be in line for an engine replacement. I must be the luckiest jeep owner alive.

 

[PJM86]

Sorry to hear. Keep us posted.

 

[Acme]

That's terrible news. So sorry to read that. I hope you get out of this mess quickly. I would be so pissed.........

My own situation didn't change much in the last few days. The "clunk" going into reverse from park is still there, so I'm going into drive first... then reverse. It's a workaround. It "works".

As for the micro-surges and clunks while driving... maybe it's getting better. Then maybe not. I'm not sure. I'll see how it goes. Still thinking about trading it in at the end of the summer.

 

[PJM86]

Recently had a new transmission and then a new valve body added to mine. It was doing ok until today, now it is slipping or something between 3rd and 4th gear again. Very disappointed.

 

[Acme]

Recently had a new transmission and then a new valve body added to mine. It was doing ok until today, now it is slipping or something between 3rd and 4th gear again. Very disappointed.

They all slip and linger between gears. I've tried 4 different ones (including mine, with two different tranmisssions), they ALL do it. That's a 2019, 2021... and two 2023 MY. One of them had very bad downshifts too. Either all these had defective ZF transmissions (including mine with 2 different transmissions). Or this is "normal" (please note the quotes).

If you want my honest opinion: these transmissions are crap. The design is good, it's from ZF. But FCA bought the design and are building them, probably to save money? I guess that's like for everything else, they can't do anything right and messed up somewhere.

 

[mwilk012]

They all slip and linger between gears. I've tried 4 different ones (including mine, with two different tranmisssions), they ALL do it. That's a 2019, 2021... and two 2023 MY. One of them had very bad downshifts too. Either all these had defective ZF transmissions (including mine with 2 different transmissions). Or this is "normal" (please note the quotes).

If you want my honest opinion: these transmissions are crap. The design is good, it's from ZF. But FCA bought the design and are building them, probably to save money? I guess that's like for everything else, they can't do anything right and messed up somewhere.

Define slip

 

[Acme]

Define slip

1) Upshifts between lets say 3rd and 4th will "linger" at around 3200 rpm for a good few seconds while the Jeep accelerates but the rpm stays the same until it catches up and rpm starts rising normally again. Feels like a CVT for a good 4-5 seconds sometimes. Ever driven a snowmobile? Yeah, it's like that. Lol.

2) Cruising at speed with the RPM below 2000 rpm (around 1500), accelerate slightly but not enough for the transmission to trigger a downshift. Sometimes the RPM will rise to around 3200 RPM and stay there for a good while until the drivetrain speed catches up to the transmission, again giving the feel of a CVT. This is easy to reproduce with the transmission in manual mode. AFAIK all Wranglers I tried with a V6 do this. Don't know about other engines. Feels like the transmission is preparing itself for a downshift (rev match) but doesn't.... and just slips. And it can slip for a good while.

I'm pretty sure this will lead to premature wear and it's the 1st time I see a transmission do this. There's a normal amount of slip that needs to happen otherwise gear changes would be too harsh, but IMO this isn't "normal".

Once you notice it you can't stop feeling it all the time, it's annoying AF.

 

[mwilk012]

1) Upshifts between lets say 3rd and 4th will "linger" at around 3200 rpm for a good few seconds while the Jeep accelerates but the rpm stays the same until it catches up and rpm starts rising normally again. Feels like a CVT for a good 4-5 seconds sometimes. Ever driven a snowmobile? Yeah, it's like that. Lol.

2) Cruising at speed with the RPM below 2000 rpm (around 1500), accelerate slightly but not enough for the transmission to trigger a downshift. Sometimes the RPM will rise to around 3200 RPM and stay there for a good while until the drivetrain speed catches up to the transmission, again giving the feel of a CVT. This is easy to reproduce with the transmission in manual mode. AFAIK all Wranglers I tried with a V6 do this. Don't know about other engines. Feels like the transmission is preparing itself for a downshift (rev match) but doesn't.... and just slips. And it can slip for a good while.

I'm pretty sure this will lead to premature wear and it's the 1st time I see a transmission do this. There's a normal amount of slip that needs to happen otherwise gear changes would be too harsh, but IMO this isn't "normal".

Once you notice it you can't stop feeling it all the time, it's annoying AF.

I have never had this happen, ever.

 

[Acme]

I have never had this happen, ever.

Well it happened with my 2019 with my old "shit" transmission that had oil that smelled like it was burned and had particles in it. It also happens with my brand new transmission. It happened just a few KMs from the dealer on my way home when I picked it up after the new transmission was installed, actually. With a 2 years warranty on it, I told myself "fuck it" and drove it home. I couldn't care less at this point. I just want it to last a couple of months.

It happened with a 2023 Rubicon that I did a test drive with and thought about trading my Jeep for. It had 10K KM on the odo. Obviously, that trade was not going to happen.

It happened on a 2023 Sahara from Enterprise (loaner) that I had for a week while they "repaired" my Jeep. That one also had bad downshifts when coming to a stop, like "bangs" between gears. Didn't feel good at all.

It happens to my friends 2021 Rubicon. He has about 60K KM on the odo.

In fact ALL the Wranglers I drove did this. I never tried one that didn't.

So, maybe they all do this and you just don't notice it on yours. Or all these Wranglers I drove have faulty transmissions that are going to "crap out" prematurely. The loaner from Enterprise definitely will not last long IMHO. And if out of 4 Wranglers (spanning 3 different YM), they're all faulty... then well... I'll never buy one again. I'll trade mine in for something else, and never look back.

I would much prefer find out this is normal, and "ok". But I doubt it is.

 

[mwilk012]

Well it happened with my 2019 with my old "shit" transmission that had oil that smelled like it was burned and had particles in it. It also happens with my brand new transmission. It happened just a few KMs from the dealer on my way home when I picked it up after the new transmission was installed, actually. With a 2 years warranty on it, I told myself "fuck it" and drove it home. I couldn't care less at this point. I just want it to last a couple of months.

It happened with a 2023 Rubicon that I did a test drive with and thought about trading my Jeep for. It had 10K KM on the odo. Obviously, that trade was not going to happen.

It happened on a 2023 Sahara from Enterprise (loaner) that I had for a week while they "repaired" my Jeep. That one also had bad downshifts when coming to a stop, like "bangs" between gears. Didn't feel good at all.

It happens to my friends 2021 Rubicon. He has about 60K KM on the odo.

In fact ALL the Wranglers I drove did this. I never tried one that didn't.

So, maybe they all do this and you just don't notice it on yours. Or all these Wranglers I drove have faulty transmissions that are going to "crap out" prematurely. The loaner from Enterprise definitely will not last long IMHO. And if out of 4 Wranglers (spanning 3 different YM), they're all faulty... then well... I'll never buy one again. I'll trade mine in for something else, and never look back.

I would much prefer find out this is normal, and "ok". But I doubt it is.

Considering the incredibly low failure rate of the 850RE in the grand cherokees, why would it be anything other than normal? It sounds like you are either incredibly picky, or doing something very strange. Are you sure you aren't observing torque converter lockup?

When a transmission is described as "slipping", we are always referring to the clutches that engage the gearsets in the transmission. There is also slip built in at the TCC that is intentional.

 

[Acme]

Considering the incredibly low failure rate of the 850RE in the grand cherokees, why would it be anything other than normal? It sounds like you are either incredibly picky, or doing something very strange. Are you sure you aren't observing torque converter lockup?

When a transmission is described as "slipping", we are always referring to the clutches that engage the gearsets in the transmission. There is also slip built in at the TCC that is intentional.

I'm 53. I owned close to 20 cars. Most of them with manual transmissions I'll admit. But a few with automatics. I drove a few dozens more, mostly automatics... Cars borrowed from my family, friends or loaners. Audi, BMW, Honda, Mazda, KIA, Hyundai, etc. Hell I even drove a Lambo LP560-4 around a track for a few good laps. That was fun. Lol.

I never observed such a behavior from an automatic transmission. Like... I put it in manual mode. 3rd gear, 1500 rpm. I floor it. It just picks up, no slipping. Then I do the same, but I put let's say, 40% throttle. RPM rises up to 3200 and stays there like a CVT would do, while still accelerating until it "engages" and then acts normal and starts to rise. Why? How is that a normal behavior?? I'm not picky, I just feel it's not how it "should" be. Is this "intentional"? Could be. But that's a lot of slipping, and I can't explain why it would do this. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

EDIT: And I don't know how one could do "something very strange" with an automatic transmission.

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