this is the 2.5 engine forum. there is a separate ATX forum...

 

How cold is it outside when you notice this? Mine doesn't seem to exhibit this behavior even at 20F after sitting outside overnight. Have you checked the transmission fluid level? It is normal for the engine to have higher shift points when it's cold, but only by slightly.

When you say they're done without lockup engaged, do you mean the engine is free-revving at a set rpm while the speed builds like a typical automatic? I also try to be very gentle on mine until it's fairly warmed up, which may be why I don't notice this behavior.

 

@eyedocorlando


Any winter time driving and i'll notice this behavior. It's a little hard for me to put a finger on the specific temps, as this is my wife's daily driver, and the car is garaged nightly.


You have to be standing on the gas to really notice this. Such as merging from a stop onto a fast moving road.


Typically this tranny shifts gears with full torque converter lock up; which gives quick and snappy shifts. It seems to only use the torque converter when taking off from a standstill.


Before my car is warmed up however (and if it's freezing out), it does not lock up the tc between high rpm shifts...basically it's shifting like an old Ford Taurus...slow and soft shifts.

 

I had a 1993 Pontiac Grand Am with a 3sp 3T40 auto. The torque converter clutch decided to go bad and stay locked in when driving. Slowing down meant the engine would stall (just like that movie with the bus and the bomb on board).

When it was fully locked in, it would bang home shifts like you wouldn't believe. I never thought the powertrain could be so violent. I ultimately made a switch on the dash and wired the solenoid to the switch so I could control when the clutch engaged (rather than replace it).

Perhaps this transmission... being designed to shift smoothly with converter lockup therefore shifts lighter when not locked in.

I believe the transmission requires a certain temperature in order to achieve lockup reliably. As the temperature rises, the pressures are able to sustain lockup. It acts more like a CVT when cold, I do recall... mushy shifts with little RPM change.

Last year, we hit -37F a whole bunch of times. The transmission would never achieve lockup. I would drive down the highway and the blue light on the dash would go out... I would drive for 20 minutes down said highway, and stop at a red light.

The blue light would come back on, and cold air would start coming out of the vents. The transmission had still not locked in. The car couldn't maintain any heat.

I suspect that behavior you're experiencing... is normal!

 

I don't notice this, I have a 14 GT live in MA and traveled to NH over the holiday break. We had temp as low as 8 degrees and it shifted fine on my way to get coffee I didn't notice a difference. I don't mash the gas though, so maybe that's the difference. I also tend to run the engine for a minute or two before I move the car, I don't wait for the blue light to go out but just enough to get the fluids moving.

 

I actually never warm up any of my cars whatsoever. From 100 degree summers to 0 degree winters...Start and go immediately, or as long as it takes to put on my seat belt, adjust the mirrors, and tune the radio. Slow driving (under 2k shifts) when the car is ice cold does not exhibit this slow/soft shifting behavior...so it's very possible many owners do not experience this.

 

It goes the same for me, just off and go. They have that "advanced warm-up" feature... which is basically the engine free-wheeling at 1800RPM with a different fuel/spark map in order to light the catalyst and get the fluids cycling. The neighbors must love it...

If you just start driving and keep it around that same RPM, it accomplishes the same thing... only under load - thus allowing the same processes to occur faster (and therefore theoretically better if the objective is to light off as fast as possible).

The lazy shifting is a byproduct of the trans design. Most people wouldn't notice that kind of thing. If there was a problem with the solenoids, etc., you'd know during regular operation.

In my opinion (and I seem to be one of only a handful of people on the forum who is allegedly not an engineer - so take what I say with a grain of salt) Mazda has created the "advanced warmup" for people who start their cars and let them idle for 3hrs and 45mins while they make some toast. "Brr. Can't bear to get in the car so soon. It's SO COLD."

Basically everybody...

My e36 BMW owner's manual (and subsequently E46 330i) advised to get in and go. No idling. No RPM's above 3000 for the first 5-8 miles, depending on exterior temps. Every vehicle is different, I guess...