2011 Explorer Bucking/Hard Shifting after Jumpstart

[RanPSU]

Need help! Needed to jump my 2011 Explorer this morning (cold weather = battery dead). Immediately I felt a bucking or hard shifting up and down the shifting until I got to work. Help... what is going on?

 

[FordService]

Need help! Needed to jump my 2011 Explorer this morning (cold weather = battery dead). Immediately I felt a bucking or hard shifting up and down the shifting until I got to work. Help... what is going on?

Hi RanPSU,

I recommend making an appointment at your dealership so they can inspect. Once you have a diagnosis, touch base with me. If you need any additional assistance at that time, I'll be happy to help!

Crystal

 

[peterk9]

Need help! Needed to jump my 2011 Explorer this morning (cold weather = battery dead). Immediately I felt a bucking or hard shifting up and down the shifting until I got to work. Help... what is going on?

Welcome to the Forum RanPSU.:wavey:
Did this issue clear up after you got to work and for the rest of the day?
Don't forget that disconnecting the battery will cause the transmission to relearn its shift points and also the computer has to relearn its idle conditions.
Not sure if a 'dead' battery may cause the same issues.
In any case I think you will likely need a new battery. My 2011 is on its second one and I only have about 9800 miles on it.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

Dead batteries never go back to 100%. I'd recommend replacing the battery especially with it being 3 years old now.

If you are outside the 3yr/36k, you'll have to pay for the new battery but if you get it done at Ford, they will give you a 3yr/36k free replacement and an additional 4 yr prorated warranty (7 years total - original is only covered for the 3yr/36k).

As peter said, when you have a dead battery (if it was completely dead - no light on when you open the door, no displays lit up on dash - white screen etc), then the Ex will have to relearn shift patterns and driving habits. It could take a good 50 miles for it to smooth completely out (city driving where it upshifts and downshifts).

 

[RanPSU]

Peter & blwnsmoke,

Thanks so much for your responses... much appreciated!

The battery was not completely dead yesterday morning (interior lights came on and displays and such). The bucking seemed to settle down a little this morning but there was still some instances were I felt it. Hopefully, the transmission continues to relearn the shift points and it gets back to smooth sailing. It's only been about 25 miles or so since the jumpstart so I'll wait until 50 miles to really gauge progress. (Hoping the bucking isn't going to screw up anything long-term).

My 2011 has approx 28k miles on it and I bought it used (at 11k miles) in Summer 2012. Must the battery be completely dead for the Ford dealer to give me a new battery under warranty? Would it cost me anything at the dealer to have Ford test the battery to determine battery life and warranty fulfillment?

Thanks again for your help!

 

[peterk9]

Peter & blwnsmoke,

Thanks so much for your responses... much appreciated!

The battery was not completely dead yesterday morning (interior lights came on and displays and such). The bucking seemed to settle down a little this morning but there was still some instances were I felt it. Hopefully, the transmission continues to relearn the shift points and it gets back to smooth sailing. It's only been about 25 miles or so since the jumpstart so I'll wait until 50 miles to really gauge progress. (Hoping the bucking isn't going to screw up anything long-term).

My 2011 has approx 28k miles on it and I bought it used (at 11k miles) in Summer 2012. Must the battery be completely dead for the Ford dealer to give me a new battery under warranty? Would it cost me anything at the dealer to have Ford test the battery to determine battery life and warranty fulfillment?

Thanks again for your help!

I'm afraid I don't have the answer to whether the dealer will charge for a test. Best to contact them.
When they replaced my battery last March, it was not dead nor did it exhibit the message about the battery saver program being off. I went in for my oil and tire change and mentioned about having the message pop up several times and handed them a list of the times that I charged it. I think it was about 4 or 5 times and each time took progressively longer for the full charge.
They did a test on the system and told me they were replacing the battery under warranty. This last time, they did not find an issue and even called Ford's tech line but they could not find a reason for the message popping up so nothing was done. That's okay with me because it never got to the point where it was dead and I could always throw the charger on it. Besides, I only have 15 months left on the lease payments and then I'll turn it back to them.
Perhaps you can wait to see if the driving issue fixes itself and if not, have the dealer check both at the same time. The 'bucking' part seems a bit strange though. A transmission 'relearn' usually just affects the shift points.
From the Owner's Guide, 4th printing;

• If you do not allow the engine to relearn its idle trim, the idle
quality of your vehicle may be adversely affected until the idle
trim is eventually relearned.
When the battery is disconnected or a new battery installed, the
transmission must relearn its adaptive strategy. As a result of this, the
transmission may shift firmly. This operation is considered normal and
will not affect function or durability of the transmission. Over time the
adaptive learning process will fully update transmission operation to its
optimum shift feel.
If the battery has been disconnected or a new battery has been installed,
the clock and the preset radio stations must be reset once the battery is
reconnected.

The fact that the battery wasn't completely dead and you are feeling this 'bucking' is a bit of concern since I think there should have been enough power left to keep the 'learned' transmission program intact.

Peter

 

[RanPSU]

Thanks so much Peter! I will definitely get a new battery (I'll check regarding the warranty with the dealer first). I feel like the "shift firmly" language from the owner's guide is what I'm experiencing. Thanks again for your help and insight.

 

[DubbsFaris]

Guys, same exact problem with my Taurus SHO after I had to jump the battery to start. Basically, they are the same chassis and drivetrain, and I own both. The answer is partially that your transmission may be relearning shift points, but its mainly due to a voltage regulation issue. Your vehicle begins going into a sort of limp mode which overrides some of the ecu functioning which ends up giving you a very jerky ride. Once your battery is replaced, this issue will go right away.

The short and easy answer is to keep your batteries in good condition, cuz these vehicles (SHO and Sport) run like crap on a ad battery.

 

[peterk9]

The 2011 Owner's Manual also has this notation;

After battery replacement, or in some cases after charging the battery with an external charger, the BMS (Battery Maintenance System) requires eight hours of vehicle sleep time (key off with doors closed) to relearn the new battery state of charge. Prior to relearning state of charge, the BMS may disable electrical features (to protect the battery) earlier than normal.

I guess I never really ran into this issue since after charging the battery, the vehicle always sat in the garage for at least 8 hours every time. I wasn't aware of this either. There is just so much information to try and remember with these new Explorers.

Peter

 

[virtual]

There is just so much information to try and remember with these new Explorers.

Peter

You should try to Engineer one of these puppies! I'm a computer nerd by profession, and deal what we call "complex systems" (which is pretty much everything these days..). I don't do cars, and based on what I know, I'm kinda glad about that

Pretty much about 75-80% of all car features are now software enabled (provided by software). So cars are now basically software systems.. And what is the first thing tells you to do when you call tech support. Reboot!
Also, to give you an idea of how complicated cars are, here's a comparison between a modern car and the Space Shuttle:

Space Shuttle:

5 computers
~500,000 Lines of computer code

Modern Car:
50-70 multi-core computers
~15 Million lines of computer code

As we all know, despite the "safety above everything" mentality of NASA we still had some horrific failures of the Space shuttle. But then again as John Glen once said (when he was still an Astronaut): "It's a strange feeling sitting atop of a complex spacecraft made out of 100's of thousands of components, all provided by the lowest bidder!".

In the commercial world, fear of liability is a significant design driver, as well as safety regulations, and trying to ensure fail safe designs often supersedes usability or convenience. The days of where there are people who know how everything is intended to fit together in the system top to bottom are gone, and so it doesn't surprise me anymore when I see things put together in a way that often fails to meet the original intent. In the case above though, I'm pretty sure that adaptively relearning the transmission is a feature that was considered as worth the inconvenience of the relearning period that occurs after power failures, and better than not having the adaptive learning feature in there at all.