6 Speed Transmission questions
10-22-2009, 03:50 PM
#21
Senior Member
I have a 09 4x4 with 5.4 3v, 6spd auto, and 3.50 posi rear end. The first time I towed my travel trailer the truck had 600 miles on it. I towed up into the hills of Vermont. The truck hunted for the proper gear the whole way. When I got back from the trip the truck went to the dealer about an overdrive issue. I was thinking that when you push the tow/haul button the overdrive was shut off. Not so. On the new 6spd's the only thing that changes is the shifting parameters. All speeds are still available in the tow/haul mode. I didn't like this setup to begin with but I've done some long distance towing since then (1000+ miles) and now the truck has 5k on the odometer and the tranny is perfect. Both for towing and my everyday commute to work. It doesn't hunt anymore and it down shifts and up shifts perfectlly. It will take some miles to get the tranny to learn it's " lesson".
While I never have had any of the towing issues you and one or two others have outlined, I did have the hard 1-2 shift while the truck was cold, for the first minute or so in the AM; however, since I now have over 6,000 even that issue has completely been eliminated now, without having to have a re-flash or any other service performed.
As I have repeated in another thread, my truck now is running the best it has ever run in all aspects, now that it has a few thousand miles of break in time. IMO this six speed is a really great trans.
I love my new truck !!
10-22-2009, 06:31 PM
#22
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I recently purchased a Platinum and I to am a little disappointed in the shifting. When you are cruising at freeway speeds and you hit a very little hill it will loose speed before it downshifts, however, if you give it enough throttle to downshift quicker it will really race back and past the speed you desire. Very abruptly. To sum it up it is holding gears too long for gas mileage purposes which makes it very uncomfortable when it does finally shift. Its kinda like, all or nothing, power delivery wise. I think it defiantly could use new programing. It probably does great in the eastern states but it needs reprogramming here in the mountain states. IMO.
10-22-2009, 07:28 PM
#23
I think it needs "three" different mode settings:
1. Economy mode (like the normal setting now).
2. Sport mode (more aggressive up-shifting and down-shifting).
3. Tow mode (as stock now).
But that's just me, and will probably never happen, but can always hope.
1. Economy mode (like the normal setting now).
2. Sport mode (more aggressive up-shifting and down-shifting).
3. Tow mode (as stock now).
But that's just me, and will probably never happen, but can always hope.
08-02-2011, 03:14 PM
#24
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Braking better option
Thew car talk people 0n NPR suggest using the brakes to slow when towing or even without towing. Thier reasoning is that downshifitn is more wear and tear on the transmission and it
is far cheaper to replace brake lining than a transmission
is far cheaper to replace brake lining than a transmission
08-02-2011, 10:35 PM
#25
Downshifting is just another method to help control your speed. It shouldn't be relied upon all by itself. Using nothing but your brakes can lead to overheating and excessive wear. Assuming towing/loaded.
I think this 6 speed is a bit of a game changer. It was actually designed to do this stuff. And it actually seems capable of doing it too! (unlike the rest of Ford's crappy automatics from years past.. lol )
BTW, I love the 6 speed. Works great. I get sad going to my DD (the wife drives the truck) that has a 4r70w.. Feels like going back into the stone age and the trans is never in the "right" gear..
I think this 6 speed is a bit of a game changer. It was actually designed to do this stuff. And it actually seems capable of doing it too! (unlike the rest of Ford's crappy automatics from years past.. lol )
BTW, I love the 6 speed. Works great. I get sad going to my DD (the wife drives the truck) that has a 4r70w.. Feels like going back into the stone age and the trans is never in the "right" gear..
08-03-2011, 12:31 AM
#26
Senior Member
i have had my truck in more times than not for trans shifting issues. last time i was ready to give it back! the head service guy pulled me aside and told me the learning mode takes 1500 miles and could take up to 5000 miles. all depending on the CPU and ecm i think is what he called it. for the first to months after that every time my truck started to hunt for a gear or the 1 to 2 hard shifts i got pissed but it did steal down and to be honest i have not noticed the hunting for gears or the 1-2 or 2-1 hard shift.
and when i tow my trailer around now it pules the hills like the grape vine (hwy 5 just South of LA.) with way more gusto over my 07 did!
so with all that i would recommend you all let it learn and give it a chance it worked for me. well thats my $0.02 and good luck with it!
and when i tow my trailer around now it pules the hills like the grape vine (hwy 5 just South of LA.) with way more gusto over my 07 did!
so with all that i would recommend you all let it learn and give it a chance it worked for me. well thats my $0.02 and good luck with it!
01-26-2012, 06:12 PM
#27
Senior Member
Ok, Ill post in this old thread rather than start a new one and cause someone to have a stroke,lol. I recently purchased a 2009 f150 with a 4.6 and 6 speed. It also has 3.55 gears. Ive noticed all the same things you have(searching for gears in town and hard shifts). Ive noticed on mine, that if I drive it with the tow/haul turned on, it seems to shift the way I think it should. Good positive shifts and a little higher rpms, and down shifts better as well. It also doesnt search for gears in town b/c it runs at a higher rpm. My questions is, can I run with my tow haul on all the time, or will the destroy my transmission some how? Thanks, Jared
01-26-2012, 07:06 PM
#29
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+1 on the reflash, for j.cagle and everyone else having issues.
mine had the hesitation at 60 described above, i would have hard 3>1 downshifts when stopping, it would seem to shift early and bog, etc. etc.
had my dealer reflash it and drove it like a horse for 5k or so. 8-10k later it feels much better still.
mine had the hesitation at 60 described above, i would have hard 3>1 downshifts when stopping, it would seem to shift early and bog, etc. etc.
had my dealer reflash it and drove it like a horse for 5k or so. 8-10k later it feels much better still.
01-26-2012, 07:24 PM
#30
A has been that never was
You guys should look up how the 6 speed works. It is impressive. It has less moving parts than the 5 speed. The theory of the Lepelletier planetary with the reducer is far simpler and stronger than the ford 5 speed. The 5 speed was just the old 3 speed with an added overdrive to overdrive 1st and as an actual overdrive. Look up the power flow and compare it to the others. Its bad ***. I get a kick out of how it makes 4th and 5th. Check this out. Only two clutches need to be engaged at one time per gear. I think the problem with this transmission is the programming and not the physical transmission. If you take a look at the gear ratios, it’s just like a standard 4 speed with an added gear before first gear and an added overdrive before 4th making a total of 6 gears. I like it. There is a great animation on how the powerflow works for this transmission and compares it to others somewhere online.
http://www.tombirch.com/1/flash/2009...Power_Flow.swf
http://www.tombirch.com/1/flash/2009...Power_Flow.swf
Last edited by PRNDL; 01-26-2012 at 07:27 PM.