krypnotic

I've looked through and can't seem to find another post on this but have seen and heard of the problem I'm experiencing; erratic shifting.
depending on the gear, i notice a shutter between gears, as if it can't decide which one to use. Usually happens between 2 and 2.5 thousand RPM.
It will develop from nothing if I'm steady on the throttle as well. I can watch the rpm jump up and down (+/- 100 rpm).
It also doesn't matter if I'm in manual or have it in Auto
When in manual i tend to notice it in 3rd more than others.

Any recommended solutions or previous posts would be great.

Thanks

popdakebin

I think it is because you are shifting at the wrong rpm. Shifting up at 2000 is too low to get to the next gear. When you shift from one gear to the next, it takes some time. In between this time, even if you have the foot on the gas, the revs drop because the clutch is not engaged. So you're shifting even lower than 2000 rpm. The ideal and lowest rpm you should shift I would say is 2800 rpm. The auto/manual isn't the fastest shifter around.

Also, the stutter you feel is the engine trying to correct itself. If you shifted that low on a manual transmission, you'd probably stall. So what the engine does (I assume) is rev higher for you (the +/- 100 rpm), just enough for the engine to shift to the next gear.

LukeaTron

^^ He obviously has an AT so what you're saying doesn't really apply.

kyrptonic, I could have sworn there was a big long thread on this but I can't seem to find it. It may have been in the TL section... At any rate, I'd probably have the dealer look at it. AT problems are pretty well out of reach for all but the gutsiest DIYers. I'm thinking it could be a sensor or ECU problem. How many miles and what year do you have?

popdakebin

I have an automatic too. From my experience, I've come to that conclusion. It makes sense and if you rev just a bit higher, it doesn't do that. Even with auto, many of the same rules apply technically.

LukeaTron

Except everything about the clutch, seeing as you don't have one and all.

kryptonic, one thing I just thought of that you might want to check is the AT fluid level. If you're over 50k miles you might want to consider having the torque converter flushed.

popdakebin

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/automa...nsmission4.htm

He might actually be driving a new car. He joined Dec 07....

LukeaTron

There's still a viscous coupling between the engine and wheels. You can't stall the engine from being in the wrong gear in an automatic transmission. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to stop with the car in gear.

It sounds to me like there's something wrong with the car. FWIW, I have a 6mt and regularly cruise at 2000 rpm without any sort of hesitation or stumbling. I can dip down to about 1200 before any driveline lash becomes evident. Granted the pickup isn't the greatest in that range but I typically only do so when stuck in single lane traffic where there's not going to be any need to accelerate rapidly.