[Flgator]

When I am just coasting to a stop (no brakes applied) my transmission will downshift by itself as if it is “engine braking”. It typically happens when slowing down through the 35mph range. The rpms on the tach will rev at least 500 rpms when this happens. If you are braking at the same time it is more pronounced and will jerk you forward in your seat.

Has anyone noticed this?

I have also noticed the hesitation to accelerate and downshift.

 

[mihalich]

Yup, happens to me all the time (downshifting when coasting/slowing down). I assume it's normal.

- Joe

 

[Narg]

From my understanding, those traits night be from fuel saving methods in the tranny programming.

I've noticed that after 3000 miles on my Trav, the shifting has improved considerably. The "lag" came from 2 things that I found.

First, there was an overall noticeable lag in heavy acceleration. It's still there, but less after time. It might be that I'm learning the Trav more so the difference may be me, and not the Trav though. Normal acceleration and driving, there is zero lag now. Only when I do an instant floor smash on the throttle do I sense the lag now. Shifting overall is getting smoother too as time goes on. I do see occasionally a lag when doing rolling acceleration, and I figure that's from having 6 gears and the tranny needing time to find the right gear in some conditions. 6 gears is nice, but has trade-offs it seems.

Second, one very cold morning a few weeks ago, I noticed that the Trav seemed to be reluctant to move out of my driveway. Took a little extra throttle to get momentum going. This occurred a few days in a row, then I noticed. Due to the cold, my tire pressure (thank God for the in dash tire monitor ) was around 25 pounds! Wow that's low! After about 5 mins of driving the pressure went over 30 pounds, but still low. I aired the tires up to 38 pounds on a warmer afternoon, and noticed a big difference immediately. These are big tires, and it appears the need to keep them properly inflated makes a big difference in the roll characteristics. I guess in a larger vehicle this may not be as noticeable due to physics and dynamics. But in the Trav it was very noticeable. The pressure fluctuation is between 32 and 38 now in normal conditions. Haven't had a similarly cold morning yet though, but I figure as long as the pressure is above 30 the roll lag won't be noticeable.

Hope that info helps.