Automatic Transmission is bipolar?
 

this is really weird and hoping some other people who have driven their autos can give me some input. This has been an ongoing thing with my car and a bit of a rare oddity, sometimes when I'm driving I'll put the car into full manual mode and use my paddles. when I'm driving the shifting is so brutal and rough and like jerky, almost like the vehicle is on limp mode. But sometimes the shifting is so crisp and silky smooth and just feels beautiful. (Just like a drive I went on an hour or so ago.)

This like rough shifting / jerky sensation isn't exclusive to any specific gear or specific driving style. Yesterday when I drove the car the shifts were so brutal and jerky at times and eventually faded away, but today when I was driving from the get-go the shifts were amazing. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the computers (since I'm pretty much telling the computer to shift and not physically doing it myself.)

A few weeks back I had my car serviced and during the duration of a week or so I had my CEL I drove the car on automatic mode mainly because the shifts felt awful with limp mode and my exhaust was taken off my car temporarily to be sold and for the CEL. I'm not sure if maybe after they cleared the light and tinkered the computer has to re-learn how I drive in the manual mode so it can predict how I'm going to shift or something like that? It's really strange. hoping im not the only one. The gears don't grind or anything, it's literally just rough jerky shifts that only happen when driving with the paddles periodically.

well, I think i know what youre talking about...mine gets a little rougher on the shifts when in sport mode or manual, but i think its just part of the programming. since it shifts faster into the next gear it hits harder and you feel the jerk of the engagement. I think its normal. I had a Golf R and the DSG would get more brutal in each shift when it was in race mode vs soft in comfort.

very possible, i rarely ever drive in sport mode because its extremely useless and I might as well use the paddles. Like its an extreme oddity, shifts will be butter for weeks or days at hand but you'll have that one drive cycle where i feel like there is gravel in my transmission. Its super odd


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i wouldnt say sport mode is useless, but you just havent driven in the right conditions for it to work as intended. If i remember correctly, it holds the gear close to redline in a corner instead of upshifting where normal mode would. Anyway, If anything, try doing a fluid change and see if that helps, Its a 2013 so it might need one anyway.

That feature is useless if im manually shifting the car haha. I plan on getting my transmission serviced @ 60k miles. We're at 45k now so give or take a year from now.


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Contrary to belief, sport mode does not make your transmission shift any quicker.

I know when the transmission is cold, like shortly after the morning start up it can be clunky. Also I've noticed the shift from 4-5 to be clunky sometimes if the transmission decides to throw it into 5th before the rpms drop to the correct speed when you're on throttle.

Could very well be the case. After a few good shifts it tends to go away. Sometimes I wont have any rough shifts for literally days at a time.

Is this from a cold start?
My 2017 86 also has pretty rough shifts from a cold start but once it has warmed up it'll get back to being smooth.

These rough shifts are usually a few minutes after just driving the car from a start. I never drive the car cold, but I suppose the transmission itself needs to warm up with some shifting

It seems to take at least 5 minutes to warm up the transmission. I usually stay below 3,000rpm's (warming motor oil) for the first 5 minutes and after that it seems fine. If I push it any harder I will get rough shifting. This is when shifting "manually"

This makes sense. I usually never go above that threshold anyways. Where I live is a bit of a windy back road with lots of deer. In the mornings and at Night I usually never actually put it into manual mode until I'm actually in town and can kind of open up and put my foot down a bit. I was genuinely curious if there was some sort of like way to avoid this and i suppose maybe thats what I've done wrong. (selecting manual too soon)

The transmission is awesome. It's nothing like the PDK from Porsche or a DCT but I really enjoy using the paddles. I think for what our car is the shift times are good. Just spooks me when the car drives like that sometimes. :(

I use manual immediately. I don't use the automatic trans any other way.

^That sounds odd lol

I'm experiencing the same thing, but i think it's just how the gearbox is programmed. Shift speed is prioritized over rev-matching when in manual, sometimes its almost embarrassing how rough it shifts. In auto it predicts the shifts better to make it smooth.

Pretty much the only time i drive in auto is when using cruise control. It just feels too sedate in auto due to the low rpms. The occasional rough shift is easily worth it. Flapping around is so much more fun as well.

Shifts seem to get rougher around the 35-45k mark on OEM fluid. Havent had the some reaction on Redline ATF anywhere near as often, though I also do 30k intervals if I have driven the car hard and 45k if no track days and minimal canyon driving.

I have never tracked the car (at least under my ownership as im the 2nd owner)

Around 55-60k i plan on doing a transmission service. Just going by what the book tells me


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Fair enough, just wanted to share my experiance. I have used the OEM fluid twice and each time it starts to shift rough more often well before the 60k interval which is why I change early. For reference I am at 136k miles and about to have my ATF changed for the 5th time in another 9k or so.

But definitely consider Redline over OEM as it has held up much better imo. There is a thread on ATF somewhere to get others feedback as well, just make sure you use the correct Redline

For sure. Around 50k i'll probably have it tinkered with then! I plan on taking the car to toyota to have them mess with it so I'll probably have to end up using oem fluid. I dont trust myself enough to try to do a fluid swap


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Not sure where in VA you are but PTuning would be worth looking into for a reputable private shop vs. going to the dealer

PTuning is 20 mins away

If I were you, I would NEVER take my car anywhere but PTuning. Just saying.

For sure. Ptuning hosted 86Expo and i got to check then out then. Its either going to ptuning or the dealer.


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Also, if you feel the tranny getting jerky, put it into SNOW mode for the first 5-10 mins of driving. Helps a lot with the quality of drive in those moments.

dealer will take 2x more and do 2x-4x shittier job. guaranteed.
start going to ptuning and chatting them up. bring a big jug of StarBux coffee and the variety pack of their strudels when you come in for big jobs.
you will be known as the "cool guy with the snacks" and trust me, your car will get the golden treatment.
treat them like kings, they will treat you like a king.

Ptuning is great and I'll be most likely taking it there. I think they quoted me between $225-$275 last time I called and checked. Also about the snow mode thing, is it like harmful at all to run it in snow mode like that? I've considered using snow mode in creeping traffic but didn't want to mess with it. If I'm driving carefully and slow for the first 5-10 minutes is it like okay to just leave it in snow while it warms the transmission up?

I drive about 50% of time in snow mode (year round), it shifts QUICKER (aka the shifting points are set to lower RPM) and it doesn't go into 1st gear.

I do this because most of the time I want a super smooth, chill ride with 0 jerks. Literally drives like a Caddy.

I would do following: start car up, let the RPMs drop (i always do this, sometimes takes fkn 3mins), go out on street, as soon as you feel it hit 2nd gear, press SNOW MODE on button. You are golden.

Technically, it should be safe to go in and out of the snow mode at any time due to how the auto trannies work, but I always switch in/out of it while the car is in 2nd+ gear (there is a fallacy here if you want to put it into R).

My recommendation would be to give it a go tonight and see how it feels.

Why wouldnt you just let it warm up for those 3-4 minutes in snow mode then drive? also what is the error with going into reverse in that mode?

absolutely none. hence the fallacy of my reasoning.

I just never did it before.

So, for science, and you, I will go test it out right now and post in 45 mins when i am back from my short drive.

I appreciate it!

SO. i FKN LOVE driving this car.

and it behaves perfect if you throw the snow mode on right away. no weird shifts due to 1st gear skip, nothing with R as well. I tested it out a few times by backing up.

so from now on, I will be putting it into SNOW as soon as i turn my key.

Thank you for having me go out and figure it out :)

Thats awesome to hear! I guess if i want to use manual mode just swap off snow before going into it and i'll be good.

You probably don't have to. If you are shifting into M, then you have full control of the shift points (moving gear stick).
If you just use the paddles (temporary manual before it automatically goes back to the old mode), then you could turn off the SNOW mode or put it into SPORT (so that the "exit" points are calibrated).

For sure. I appreciate you myth busting haha. I might start just driving in Snow

give it ago and update back with your thoughts

I'm heading into winter #5 with my BRZ, and can tell you for sure that shift performance is hugely dependent on temperature. If ambient temps are above 10C or so, it is fine. Below that, the trans needs to warm up. If it's below freezing, this can take a very long time. I've had it take 15-20 mins of driving sometimes, long after the engine is warm.

I also saw mention of the CEL, seems that any CEL at all will disable rev matching. I had a CEL for a glitchy fuel tank level reading. Only noticable change in the car was rev matching went away and the shifts were brutal. As soon as the CEL went away, trans worked perfectly fine.

If it is specially first gear you are concerned with, you need to watch when you choose to downshift into first. At high revs it is ok, but at low revs it will coincide with the torque converter unlocking. If I'm coming to a stop, I will usually downshift to 2nd and let me the car choose first once the revs get too low.

This makes sense, I usually never downshift into first anyway because I'm just too paranoid. and yeah, whenever you get a CEL that is a referred too as "Limp Mode" where the car drives like that. extreeeeemely annoying.

It's actually nice to drive in snow mode. even when I'm driving around town and want to use paddles and be a bit loud with my exhaust. When using paddles it won't allows you to downshift into first gear at all. It's actually really nice. My biggest complaint with this vehicle is how awkward first gear feels when using paddles. I always just want to get out of it as fast as I can.

Try using paddles with snow mode sometime, its a blast.

We have an auto. I did not like the occasional elastic band surging feeling, occasional bouncy changes and always disliked the lurch when starting from standing. I too checked for harm with the Snow mode trick but could not get a straight answer.

Solution: have just fitted the differential bush inserts part KDT925 by Whiteline. There was no noticeable increase in noise/vibration/harshness, a 60% improvement in the surging and a 100% improvement in the starting lurch. Even the wife noticed it.
Cost $60 - $80 and simple enough to DIY or get it done next time the car is up on the hoist.