Who is dissatisfied with the 2020 Ten-Speed Trans | Page 5 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Who is dissatisfied with the 2020 Ten-Speed Trans

Who is dissatisfied with the 2020 Ten-Speed Trans

  • No problems the transmission works well

    Votes: 16 59.3%
  • Occasional glitches that I can live with or rarely notice

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • Constant reproducible issues

    Votes: 7 25.9%
  • Constant intermittent issues that never get dealt with

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    27
Has anyone else gotten or heard anything else about the firmware update for the harsh shifting? Dealer is getting mine back on Monday to quote "do the 10 point inspection" for the HD radio issue that Ford wants them to do after they had a tech line request put in last week and I really would like them to do the firmware for the transmission if its available.
 



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Has anyone else gotten or heard anything else about the firmware update for the harsh shifting? Dealer is getting mine back on Monday to quote "do the 10 point inspection" for the HD radio issue that Ford wants them to do after they had a tech line request put in last week and I really would like them to do the firmware for the transmission if its available.

My dealer claimed there was no software update available for my Limited.
 






I have the same issue a couple of others have complained about with the harsh shift 1-2, best described by another as the throttle cuts out as it shifts. I complained about this when it was in for oil change and other service issues a couple of weeks ago. I too was told there were no updates for the TCM or related drivability issues.
 






I have a 2020 XLT 4WD 2.3l ecoboost 1700 miles build date 12/2. I haven't noticed any harsh shifting with mine but Saturday afternoon pulling out of a parking lot it would not shift out of 2nd and check engine light came on. I pulled over and turned it off for a few min. and tried again and still would not shift out of 2nd. I even tried using manual mode and it still wouldn't shift. Had it towed to the dealer and after unloading it we drove it around the and it was shifting fine but the check engine light was still on. It is currently at the dealership being check out.
 






^^ Welcome to the Forum.:wave:

Peter
 






Have a 2020 XLT for a loaner while mine is in getting the HD radio issue looked at. This one shifts night and day differently, so much better. Seems to hold the shifts till a higher rpm. Took a video while doing a few slow to medium accelerations. Will compare to mine when I get it back so I have something to show the dealership tech.
 






This one shifts night and day differently, so much better. Seems to hold the shifts till a higher rpm. Took a video while doing a few slow to medium accelerations. Will compare to mine when I get it back so I have something to show the dealership tech.

Did you disconnect the battery and then reconnect to see if that helped. For the most part, my shifts are pretty smooth now. Still some rough and long shifts when not warmed up but otherwise much smoother.
 






Got mine back from the dealership this morning and it shifts like a dream now. They claim they "performed module update on pcm and cleared trans adaptive tables. Performed adaptive drive cycle and retested. issue resolved." I wonder why mine was so whacked along with others on here? Especially since there are others who have had no problems. My concern is if the adaptive learning is adjusting the pattern will I have to worry it reverting to a bad shifting pattern? Mine was a demo unit that had 6k on it when I picked it up.
 






Got mine back from the dealership this morning and it shifts like a dream now. They claim they "performed module update on pcm and cleared trans adaptive tables. Performed adaptive drive cycle and retested. issue resolved." I wonder why mine was so whacked along with others on here? Especially since there are others who have had no problems. My concern is if the adaptive learning is adjusting the pattern will I have to worry it reverting to a bad shifting pattern? Mine was a demo unit that had 6k on it when I picked it up.

You are lucky. I got no pcm update when mine was in a few weeks ago. Mine still shifts like crap.
 






Got mine back from the dealership this morning and it shifts like a dream now. They claim they "performed module update on pcm and cleared trans adaptive tables. Performed adaptive drive cycle and retested. issue resolved." I wonder why mine was so whacked along with others on here? Especially since there are others who have had no problems. My concern is if the adaptive learning is adjusting the pattern will I have to worry it reverting to a bad shifting pattern? Mine was a demo unit that had 6k on it when I picked it up.

I noticed you posted on January 8 that your dealer told you there was no software update for the transmission. And then you posted today that you got a software update. I wonder if something was released in the past week or two. Because I was told there was no software update when mine was in at the beginning of the month.
 






I noticed you posted on January 8 that your dealer told you there was no software update for the transmission. And then you posted today that you got a software update. I wonder if something was released in the past week or two. Because I was told there was no software update when mine was in at the beginning of the month.
Yeah I wonder or if the dealership just said that to make me happy after I kept insisting over and over again. Maybe the clearing of the adaptive tables and "performing the adaptive drive cycle" was the magic fix
 






I have mine back and it is driving again. Attached is a copy of their comments.

IMG_20200122_184550.jpg
 






I was reading some customer complaints and one person went through several transmissions, on his own 2020 Explorer and on a loaner 2020 Explorer. Seems hit or miss with these 10R60s.
 






I've driven about 5 2020 Explorers and never noticed any shifting issues. Poor shift quality isn't an inherent characteristic of Ford's 10 speed transmission. I'd visit the dealer.
Beginning to rethink this statement. As I drive more of these Explorers I've noticed more strange behavior. Poor shift quality, whining/whirring noises, and slow/clumsy response are not uncommon.
I work for a car rental agency. A few weeks ago I drove a '20 2.3l Limited with 10k miles and tried to provoke it into shifting poorly. I didn't have much luck. It behaved well. Today that same Explorer came off of rent, now with 12k miles, and it was the poorest performing 10R80 I've driven by a long shot. Poor shift quality at high throttle input, slow/clumsy response, drivetrain wine. This makes me wonder if the adaptive strategy is to blame.
This reviewer was quite dissatisfied with his press car's transmission behavior. Skip to 18:20 for transmission complaints.
 






Beginning to rethink this statement. As I drive more of these Explorers I've noticed more strange behavior. Poor shift quality, whining/whirring noises, and slow/clumsy response are not uncommon.

hmm. i have about 3k miles now and i've been trying to decide if the noises i'm hearing are getting worse, or if i'm just noticing them more. reminds me of the noises a lot of manual transmission cars make in reverse, but happens in forward gears. would describe it as a whining sound.

if i recall, racing gear boxes and reverse gears that make that sound do so because they are cut in a way that gives the teeth more strength, but passenger car forward gears are usually cut to run quiet.

is anyone else noticing this?
 






I thought these were 10R60s? Racing gearboxes like Hewlands would use spur cut gears (like the HMMWV's geared hub reducers) which would whine all the time, and not like how they are random with the 10R60. The way the reviewers lambasted the 2020 Explorer makes sense based on everything I've heard so far. Ford wasn't able to tune the 6F55 shifting properly on the previous 16-up Explorer/Fusion but had it right in my 2014 SHO.
 






Beginning to rethink this statement. As I drive more of these Explorers I've noticed more strange behavior. Poor shift quality, whining/whirring noises, and slow/clumsy response are not uncommon.
I work for a car rental agency. A few weeks ago I drove a '20 2.3l Limited with 10k miles and tried to provoke it into shifting poorly. I didn't have much luck. It behaved well. Today that same Explorer came off of rent, now with 12k miles, and it was the poorest performing 10R80 I've driven by a long shot. Poor shift quality at high throttle input, slow/clumsy response, drivetrain wine. This makes me wonder if the adaptive strategy is to blame.

Some days I drive mine and it seems just fine. I think to myself, hey it's sorting itself out and working pretty well. And then the very next day, it hesitates on shifts and downshifts hard. It seems worse when the vehicle is cold. After I drive for a few miles and it's warmed up, it usually gets much better.

But it is very inconsistent, and not how a high dollar r&d transmission should behave. If I had to bet, I would say it is a software/adaptive strategy issue. I am still hoping they come out with a revised transmission tune to flash under warranty. They have done that with the F-150's and the Mustangs.

Now those with whine should complain to your dealership. That is a mechanical issue, and you should make sure that is resolved while under warranty.
 






Some days I drive mine and it seems just fine. I think to myself, hey it's sorting itself out and working pretty well. And then the very next day, it hesitates on shifts and downshifts hard. It seems worse when the vehicle is cold. After I drive for a few miles and it's warmed up, it usually gets much better.

But it is very inconsistent, and not how a high dollar r&d transmission should behave. If I had to bet, I would say it is a software/adaptive strategy issue. I am still hoping they come out with a revised transmission tune to flash under warranty. They have done that with the F-150's and the Mustangs.

Now those with whine should complain to your dealership. That is a mechanical issue, and you should make sure that is resolved while under warranty.

Everyone I have met in person has complained about the 10-speed transmission on the F-series and Mustang. Even the newer model years (2019). Non-gearheads usually comment that the transmission is often jerky or hesitant, and basically has no clue what it wants to do.

I haven't heard as many complaints from the Silverado and Camaro owners who have the same 10-speed, but GM probably has a better tuning setup and maybe tweaked the solenoids.

I noticed Ford's transmission tuning has gone downhill over the years. My 2014 SHO 6F55 ran like a top from the factory, and required minimal tuning (I basically adjusted the shift points at WOT). The 2017 Fusion Sport and 2018 Explorer experience similar problems as the 10-speeds: jerky one day, smooth the next, etc... and no amount of tuning is resolving it. I even copied/pasted the SHO's trans tune over to the 17 Fusion and 18 Explorer, but it did not resolve it. Ford must have cheaped out on the solenoids or re-designed the internals to make it worse.
 






Of the 3 I drove extensive, a xlt 2.3t, a platinum 3.5t, and a ST, they all shifted beautifully. Recently test drove 2 8 speed bmw x7 and was not as impressed.
 



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Of the 3 I drove extensive, a xlt 2.3t, a platinum 3.5t, and a ST, they all shifted beautifully. Recently test drove 2 8 speed bmw x7 and was not as impressed.

The Platinum should have a detuned 3.0 GTDI. And I think the problem stems from the adaptive learning that tries to compensate for transmission wear/use.
 






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