user 83720

Ex, CC not on, going down a hill at 35, then it catches 40, and the tranny then throws it in to 7th, then 6th. RPM's go from 1300 to about 2k. I go back in to manual, put it in 8th like it does itself when driving straight & level, & no sooner I go back in to auto mode does it go back to 7th then 6th. I dont get it. my 88 camaro, 89 dakota, 84z28, 2001 ranger, 2012 elantra and 2015 F150 2.7 never did it. None of them. if you went down a hill, it just upshifted to what it normally would as if you were on the highway.

Not once in my life have a had a vehicle that purposefully downshifted to keep the vehicle at some "arbitrary:" speed not set by cruise control, say 40mph or whatever, on a hill. It just got done with a TSB for the transmission.

77Ranger460

Did you tap the brakes a couple of times prior to it downshifting?

Duaharimau

Mine does this all the time. It knows when the vehicle is on a slope and when it is not. It will upshift when it reaches level or if the rpms get too high. Sometimes this is useful and helpful, sometimes slightly annoying. I never drive in anything but normal mode, so not sure if it does it in all modes.

remltr

I got a 500 ft hill with a steep grade by my house that I go up and down several times a month. I have only noticed this behavior with cc engaged to keep speed to 40 mph. If I release cc then it speeds up and I have to apply brakes to keep it at 40 mph. I have never just let it roll without applying brakes, will have to give it a try. It is just that the hill is a speed trap waiting to happen.

B-ManFX4

Are you sure you weren't in Tow / Haul mode ?

If the truck is in Tow/Haul mode it will downshift to help with braking. If you are descending a slope and touch the brakes it will downshift and try to maintain the speed you were at when you tapped the brakes. If you continue to brake it will continue to downshift. If you touch the accelerator it will upshift and work like normal until you touch the brakes again. Handy feature in hilly areas like where I live - helps to keep from overheating brakes on long hills even when not pulling a trailer.

mikeinatlanta

Mine does this and I really like the feature. Keeps my speed in check in a few places the cops setup for speeders. It's most noticeable in tow mode but will do it at other times as well.

JHFoutz

My '17 F150 does this and so did my '08 Titan.

ProfessorP

iTrader: (1)

My ‘17 F-150 does it and so did my ‘09 Tundra. I really like the feature especially in mountains or hill country. My wife’s Pilot doesn’t do it. Driving it on long road trips can be a real pain. I have to either manually downshift or ride the brakes to keep from speeding down long hills or mountains.

I’m guessing the truck is sensing that you’re accelerating downhill even though you’re not increasing pressure on the accelerator pedal. It downshifts in order to maintain speed. I love it!

Duaharimau

i regularly drive down a long hill that has a stoplight halfway down. Aside from downshifting as I descend, if I have to stop at the light, when the light turns green and I begin to descend again, it will not skip 2nd gear like it usually does. Once the slope ends and after the next time I stop, the tranny will resume skipping 2nd.

Tom_with_a_Truck

With CC on, it will definitely downshift to help maintain speed. It also applies the brakes on occasion if things get out of hand.

My Escape 2.0 EB would downshift itself when braking down a hill, even when not in cruise control. It had 87,000 miles on it when I got the F150, and still had the original brakes with a good amount of lining left on them. No transmission troubles on that vehicle either. Good car.