2006 Explorer 6 speed transmission shifting issue - update

[bojans]

Best thing I did was get Ford customer care involved. Give them a call, they will get the dealer to take action.

 

[hrachya]

Had my 06 done, made it like a new car and a totally new trans. Bang is all gone and shifts are smooth. The new shift points are closer and mileage on my V-8 has improved. I think the new TSB has done the job.

did you notice slight increase of engine vibration in low speeds or at idle? I did my TSB too and can notice little vibration, dealership says the engine is still learning to the new software..

 

[hrachya]

I'm glad that the TSB works... Unfortunatley my dealer experience was terrible today. They test drove the mountaineer today and said everything was "fine". So, i asked them to update the TSB to the new one listed on the previous page. They said that they can't update it unless the vehicle is exhibiting the problem... argh. Then they also said that this tsb doesnt exist yet and after telling the sevice guy that I read about it on this forum, he said that the people that have had it done are BS'ing about it. So, I am off to another dealer to see if they have it, and then calling my dealer and complaining because i have to drive 70miles each way just so my service is free (only becasue i have been there 5 times for the same issue and i dont feel like paying to get the problem fixed).

TSB definately exists and it definately is fixing the bang feeling (so far so good after 300 miles on my car), try another dealership

 

[dwink]

I had the updates applied and am very satisfied with the results btw.

I also noticed that many people were concerned about the durability of this transmission due to the poor programming early on. It appears that they are putting this 6 speed into a variety of Ford applications now, including the Navigator/Expedition and F150's with more powerful engines and much higher tow ratings. I suspect this unit should be quite stout for our "little" explorers.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I'm glad that the TSB works... Unfortunatley my dealer experience was terrible today. They test drove the mountaineer today and said everything was "fine". So, i asked them to update the TSB to the new one listed on the previous page. They said that they can't update it unless the vehicle is exhibiting the problem... argh. Then they also said that this tsb doesnt exist yet and after telling the sevice guy that I read about it on this forum, he said that the people that have had it done are BS'ing about it. So, I am off to another dealer to see if they have it, and then calling my dealer and complaining because i have to drive 70miles each way just so my service is free (only becasue i have been there 5 times for the same issue and i dont feel like paying to get the problem fixed).

Here are some tips here...
Print the TSB and bring with you if you have either HAD push back or suspect you will.

Also in your case... I would call either the General Manager/Dealer Principle (not always the same person) and let them know what is going on, and let them know you will be contacting Ford customer service as well... then ACTUALLY contact them too with your service paperwork the dealer gave you incase they want any information... then go to another dealership (if applicable...) as this is not new... trust me... I was one of the early ones in this mess... mine has no bump anylonger, but the hesitation between 1st & 2nd under full throttle still is there...

 

[orbyte]

I have the same problem. Not with the downshifts, but with the trans only shifting to 1st 'after' I accelerate from a stop. I'm taking the TSB in to have it programmed. My truck was built in 10/07 and it's really bothering me. IMO, this should had been fixed on the early '07s.

It's going in service this Thursday, I'll post the results.

As for the downshifting, that's normal on all electronic transmission. It's for towing and is called automatic engine braking. It saves on your brake pads, keeps them from overheating, and gives you more control over your rig. My Nissan Titan and Nissan Pathfinder both did it also.

I'm also interested if the TSB fixed this transmission shifting lag. It urks me that the tranmission gets stuck in 2nd and takes a stop and accelaration before downshifting to 1st. I'd rather have a normal shift pattern where the downshift is stiff. If this is a fix for the problem, I'd rather not have it. Funny, if you stop for a second before accelerating, it doesn't happen. It just takes the transmission way to long to shift into 1st now. Normal stops, where you take right off quickly after a complete stop, you'll feel the transmission hesistate and downshift to 1st. In some circumstances the truck will start to roll off of acceleration in 2nd and then downshift to 1st. To me, this is worse than a hard shift to 1st while "coming to a stop".

If any of you guys have experienced this prior to the TSB repair and then had the repair, please post if this was also corrected. I would really appreciate it. Thanks. I've only had my truck for a week and this is very VERY concerning. I guess I should had driven the test drive vehicle more aggressive to notice this, but I didn't.

Have a good one.

I have scoured the net looking for other Ford owners that have similar problems to what I am experiencing and it looks like I found at least a couple!

My situation is really sucky.

I have a 2006 Explorer XLT that recently passed over the 75K threshold (as in I had it at the dealership at 75,800) when it started to experience this strange sluggish shifting from accelerating from a stopped position. It feels almost like the transmission is slipping from 1-2 but its like the engine just revs into the mid 3000 rpms but you can hear the transmision slip into gear behind it.

I don't know what to make of it but since I just recently crossed over outside of my warranty I am super pissed. It is like the darn car KNEW when to start acting up on me!!

anyways I am looking for as much information as to what could be the cause and possible fixes to my problem. I will check back on this forum and really do appreciate if anyone has any input.

 

[Mike Up]

Dropped off my Sport Trac and they just fixed another Sport Trac with the same problem. There is even a more recent TSB than the last one mentioned here. Took them for a drive and the mechanic said I had the same acceleration 1st gear bang the last guy had and the new TSB cleared it up.

So I'll be picking it up tomorrow so I'm hoping it'll be gone.

BTW, the truck takes only a millisecond after acelerating, before it shifts down to 1st (from 2nd where it's hanging up) so it doesn't get to 3000 rpm before it happens. It's immediate but very jolting.

Have a good one.

 

[Mike Up]

Here's the TSB, it did fix the slamming into 1st after a stop. Depending on the situation, you can feel the trans. engage from a stop, other times not. However, it's not slamming and feels normal now. However, it's definitely not as smooth as the Previous shared transmission I had in both the Pathfinder and Titan. The programming or something that was different on the Pathfinder, caused the trans to shift back and forth on the overdrive at 40 mph. With the Titan, this didn't happen. The Sport Trac transmission has no anomilies besides the take off and stop, unlike the Pathfinder.

Now it may get better as the Techs said the trans needs to relearn and this could take a few days. I could tell a difference in the shifting just from the 35 mile drive home.

Oh, BTW, this TSB improves acceleration from a stop noticibly. I wasn't impressed with the off the stop acceleration previous but now it's very good. I really like this vehicle and now even more.

Here's the newest TSB as of 2-06-06 :

Have a good one.

 

[Mike Up]

Can someone explain what "tip-in" refers to in the TSB? I have a 2008 EB, V8, 6 speed that I notice a delay or lag pulling away from a complete stop before the tranny feels like it engages. Is this what they are referring to?

Also, when I'm driving along at around 30 MPH and let my foot off the break, I can feel the transmission winding the engine and slowing the vehicle down. Its almost as bad as when 4x4 High is engaged and your gas mileage goes to zero. Anyone else experienced this? I have to figure that my gas mileage would improve if the transmission would just "coast" when I don't have my foot on the gas.

Thanks,

Bill

This is much improved if not completely eliminated under most situations. Even before the trans is done learning, stopping quickly and then taking off quickly produces no slams like it did previously. You just feel the trans engaging. The hesitation is virtually eliminated as well. On normals stops, you can't feel the trans engage, shift, and there's no hesitation at all. The trans now feels normal.

Don't know why these vehicles were even delivered with this condition. It's very noticable on some of the vehicles and Ford should had implented the fix before even shipping to dealerships.

Have a good one.

 

[hrachya]

Here's the TSB, it did fix the slamming into 1st after a stop. Depending on the situation, you can feel the trans. engage from a stop, other times not. However, it's not slamming and feels normal now. However, it's definitely not as smooth as the Previous shared transmission I had in both the Pathfinder and Titan. The programming or something that was different on the Pathfinder, caused the trans to shift back and forth on the overdrive at 40 mph. With the Titan, this didn't happen. The Sport Trac transmission has no anomilies besides the take off and stop, unlike the Pathfinder.

Now it may get better as the Techs said the trans needs to relearn and this could take a few days. I could tell a difference in the shifting just from the 35 mile drive home.

Oh, BTW, this TSB improves acceleration from a stop noticibly. I wasn't impressed with the off the stop acceleration previous but now it's very good. I really like this vehicle and now even more.

Here's the newest TSB as of 2-06-06 :

Have a good one.

Thanks for the update. I did the same TSB last week and the transmission is pretty good now, however I noticed slight increase of the engine vibration at idle or low speeds, especially when the engine is hot. Did you notice something like this too?

 

[Mike Up]

Thanks for the update. I did the same TSB last week and the transmission is pretty good now, however I noticed slight increase of the engine vibration at idle or low speeds, especially when the engine is hot. Did you notice something like this too?

This truck from the beginning idles a bit rougher than the Pathfinder's V6 with typical V8 engine quivers. The Nissan Titan's 5.7L V8 did the same. After the TSB, it was no different than before. Perhaps you just didn't notice it before, but are being more observant after the TSB was done.

Have a good one.

 

[ramblinwreck]

I have not had the problem with the downshifting issue on my 06 but I do have other issues with the transmission. Very often when I accelerate at low speeds from a stop (like in a parking lot) it will seem to stay in first and lurch around instead of shifting to 2nd. Also there are lots of times that I go to accelerate fast (like when pulling out into traffic) and it will literally just sit there for a second or two. Needless to say this can be quite unnerving when there is a semi looming in the rear view. Are these things that would be fixed by the TSB or are they just quirks with the transmission?

 

[BrooklynBay]

That sounds more like an issue with the throttle by wire programming.

 

[Mike Up]

Well I finally talked to the Transmission tech at the dealership then reseached his explanation and he's correct.

This 6 speed is a new beast, actually a high torque replacement for the CVT. The transmission, as I would assume most know, is actually geared terribly for mileage. It has 5 shorter gears than most 5 speed autos but shares the same ratio on the overdrive. Hence, the mileage should be worse, but Torque multiplication for performance and towing should be great.

To acheive this and gas mileage, along with smoother shifts, some redesigns had to take place. The torque converter which has a "1 way clutch", now has no one way clutch. That clutch allow the over-run so while the vehicle shifted to the shorter first gear, the transmission would 'coast' and not lurch as it would do with a 'manual' transmission.

Well this transmission is more like a manual by not allowing over run. It offers all the benefits of a direct coupled manual transmission but with the auto shifting. You now don't have drive loss through a torque converter. Since the design is now different, the clutch packs can engage at lower RPM which allows more efficient performance.

The downside is that since the trans will not coast now when it shifts to 1st, 1st gear must be shifted at the last moment, which is at a stop. With quick stops which are followed by quick take offs, you will feel the trans bump into 1st after accelerating. If you wait a moment, the trans will shift into 1st before you accelerate.

To gain the efficiency to get higher mileage yet get the performance of a 6 speed manual transmission, you have to deal with last minute 1st gear shifts.

Obviously the first program wasn't right so the later TSB delayed the shift to 1st and the harshness of it.

I also found the bump getting harsher on certain stops and goes where it slammed and spun the tires. I mainly do a lot of highway driving. The trans needs 3 - 4 days of stop and go driving to learn the driving habbits. I didn't give it enough time with my 4 days because it was mainly highway driving. So far the trans is feeling good.

However, when driving in a parking lot, the truck will feel as it has a manual transmission in 1st gear. There's no more coasting or as they call it, over run. Look up these new 6 speed trans and the 1 way clutches and you'll find this information on the net. Ford is introducing this 6 speed in the F150 as an option only with the 5.4L and GM and Toyota are also using this technology. Toyota is having a lot of problems with their 6 speed trans in the Tundra right now. A lot of noise and vibration at certain rpms and Consumer Reports rates the reliability of the new Tundra as bad as it gets.

Ford also has replaced their previous CVT driven vehicles with the new 6 speed transmissions. Very good performance with good mileage of a manual, but with auto shifting. This looks to be the future with government mandates on fuel economy.

Am I completely satisfied with this trans? NO, but it does have some good performance benefits.

Hope this helps, have a good one.

 

[A Wise Guy]

I had my truck in for another round of reprogramming and this time they may have actually got it right. There is another new TSB out now. The TSB is 08-4-16. The dealer did a reprogram of the PCM & TCM and for the first time did the Trans Adaptive Learning Strategy. Not to sure how long the TALS is supposed to take but I do know it took them 68 miles to get it right. Now I guess it is time to see how long it will last.

 

[dwink]

I had my truck in for another round of reprogramming and this time they may have actually got it right. There is another new TSB out now. The TSB is 08-4-16. The dealer did a reprogram of the PCM & TCM and for the first time did the Trans Adaptive Learning Strategy. Not to sure how long the TALS is supposed to take but I do know it took them 68 miles to get it right. Now I guess it is time to see how long it will last.

So, this TSB is brand new as of today? My truck is in tomorrow AM, are you saying that they had to road test the car for 68 miles, or you have driven it 68 miles since the update today?

Thanks for any help.

 

[A Wise Guy]

This TSB has been out for a little while now, but it is supposed to be the latest and greatest superseeding all others. As for the 68 miles that was all them.

 

[Mike Up]

If you guys scroll up, I posted that entire TSB. It came out the first week of February. I also reviewed the results in a follow up post.

Have a good one.

 

[Formula 280 SS]

Ours is now back in for the 5th time. The latest TSB was applied and worked for a while, now back to the same old hard shift and lurch.

This is it, I have contacted Ford about a buy back.

 

[Mike Up]

Ours is now back in for the 5th time. The latest TSB was applied and worked for a while, now back to the same old hard shift and lurch.

This is it, I have contacted Ford about a buy back.

What year is your model. I've never had a lurch problem with the factory installed program or the newest TSB program. Perhaps you have a problem actually in the mechanics. My whole disappointment was that the trans only shifted to 1st after acellerating from a stop and it produced a delay in engagement and a bump when doing so. However this is the way the transmission is programmed to operate even if I am finding it to my dislike.

Have a good one.